Prep Week #3 ~ Walking Loaded

Bought more stuff this week. I am testing the Therm-A-Rest Z-Lite at left. How?  I had to give up my bed for my sister Lindsay & brother-in-law Brandon, for their belated holiday visit. So, I'm sleeping in my summer sleeping bag on the Z-lite.  Jury is still out, but I'm sleeping the whole night without much problem, so I should roll with it.  I also bought Smartwool trekking socks and love them so far on my boot breakin walks.  I am also field testing Smartwool and Patagonia Capilene baselayers.  The Cap is a bit less scratchy on the skin than the Smartwool, so I'm digging the Cap.  But, I'm reading that the Cap retains odor much more, so we'll see.

I have also emailed the maker of "The Packa".  The Packa is a rain poncho that has an integral pack cover.  The dude on the right is wearing one. This keeps rain out of the gap between the back and the pack.  It has gigantic armpit pockets for air circulation and the whole thing packs into one small pouch that can be used for a camp pillow.  It's only $115. So, it should save me some cash by combining a pack cover and rain jacket into one item.  I am hearing rave reviews about these and I'm looking forward to scoring one.  IF... he emails me back.  Cross your fingers. If this is a no go, I will probably be going with Marmot Pre-Cip rain gear and a Sea-to-summit pack cover.

Workouts...  I am now carrying a 25 lb loaded pack on long walks 5 days a week.  Sorry to disappoint if the title of this post made you think something else. HA. So far my legs, feet and boots are holding up well.  I will be ramping up the distance on these walks over the next couple weeks.  The goal is to have most of my gear purchased in the next two weeks so I can spend most of February walking with the ACTUAL gear I will be hiking with.  So far so good!

Nate