Time is really flying now. I'm looking hard at the short February coming up and can't believe how little time I have... to get so much done. Worried? Not at all. I had lots of gear arriving in the mail daily over the last week. Some of the highlights...
During January, I wasn't impressed with the outfitters I have been exploring in Mass. Hiltons Tent City, EMS, REI, Bob Smith's Wilderness House, LL Bean, etc have all been OK for certain items and are great for shopping around, but none of them can touch the vast selection and cheap prices offered by the World Wide Web. My favorite gear vendor is
AntiGravityGear.com. I ordered a few items from them, the most important being my cook pot. This
Evernew pot is made of non-stick Titanium, has a 1.3L capacity, fold away handles and weighs only 5.7 oz.
A lot of people have been asking me about water. How much I'll need, how I'll get it, how often I'll get it, how I'll carry it and most importantly... how I'll ensure it's safe to drink. I'll need 1 to 2 gallons minimum per day. I'll get water from mostly springs, some from streams and whatever I can get from towns. Some combo of these sources will be available often enough that I should only have to carry 1 to 2 liters at a given time. But, in some cases more, so I'll have a 1 liter Nalgene and a 4L collapsible plastic water tank on hand. Water potability will be very simple... a bandanna to filter out silt, bugs and floaties... and
Aquamira Chlorine Dioxide water treatment to kill the invisible nasties. Chlorine Dioxide kills everything a healthy body doesn't need and has a negligible taste. I will not be carrying a filter.
Lastly... I reached "Cedar Tree" via email about the Packa (see
"Prep Week #3" post). It arrived this afternoon and I'm really pleased. It's large, with big pit vents, elastic corded cuffs and an ingenious integral stuff sack that serves as a large front pocket when in use.
Every piece of gear I get makes me more and more excited.
Nate
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