Preparation Continues

My plan for the trail—and for life—is to be mightily prepared, to have all my ducks in a row, all the blocks stacked up in order by size, color, and shape, all my ingredients measured and staged. And in regards to the trail—as always in my life—my preparations in these passing days have been erratic, random, and slapdash. It’s kind of whatever I can get to, when I can get to it.

Part of this lack of plan is plan. That is, I am intentionally trying to stay flexible and see what the trail will throw at me without overplanning. It’s frightening, but I think it’s important for my journey.

In that vein, I’m just getting to some of my limited resupply boxes. I cruised through the supermarket, trying to pick up the kinds of things I might on a resupply stop and attempted to compile seven days worth of food. This was the result:

Don’t judge me. It’s what I have to work with.

This is probably a bit of overpacking. They say that it’s pretty common for the greenhorns to carry more than is needed. Then again, by the time I need a supply box this large, I may require this many calories.

I was fairly concerned about packing this, but after about six tries, I got everything into the postal boxes I have to work with:

It’s like Tetris, but tastier.

Two problems made themselves clear:

1) This does not include the maps and other incidentals (sunscreen, toiletries, et cetera).

2) After testing some of the ingredients, I’m really lamenting the amount of processed stuff that shows up in here. It’s a necessary evil of supply along the way, but I’m hoping to be able to balance with as much “real” food as I can get away with.

Given that the resupply boxes can be made with some care, I am planning to make them as power-packed as possible.

On the shinier, simpler end of things, the great folks at Tarptent did a fantastic job of patching the holes I managed to put in my little beauty. I set her up in the yard (in a safer position this time) and sealed the seams a couple of days ago. She’s fantastic; my home away from home for the next many months. Something about it just makes me happy.