Expedition Update: August 27th 2013

I'm back!

I took a couple weeks to spend some family vacation time. I went to Whistler, where I hiked and biked and climbed and had a great time.  I also took in the International Federation of Sport Climbers Youth World Championships, which was here on Vancouver Island this year.  Great times.  But, the departure date for this year's expedition is fast approaching, and it's time to get serious.

I spent Sunday morning purchasing all of the camp fuel and freeze-dried dinners that I will need for the trip.  I still need a little food, namely some more oatmeal for breakfasts, and lunches (which will be comprised mainly of Jerky, trail mix, and chocolate).

I still don't have a good hat.  The weather is cooling, however, so I may just pack a ball cap.

Speaking of weather...it's looking iffy.  I new from the beginning that rain was almost certainly going to fall during my hike, but the weather this summer has been spectacularly good, and I was kind of hoping that it would extend into the fall.  Recently there has been a cooling trend, however, and some showers.  Nothing too terribly worrying, and in any case I'm going even if it pours the whole time, but enough that I'm keeping a close eye on it as departure date approaches.

Transportation to and from the trail has been settled.  George and I are positioning his car at the southern end of the trail the day before we leave, Saturday Sept 8 (we're also doing the trail orientation that day so we don't have to wait for it on departure date) and our friend Darren Carlyle has agreed to drive us up to the Bamfield end of the trail on the 9th, for which we are very grateful.

My training is plateaued for the moment.  I'm continuing to swim for the next week, ending Thursday Sept 5.  Climbing is probably off, mainly because camp food is expensive.

The next week will see the darwinian process of packing:  assembling all my stuff, weighing it, and then seeing what I can get rid of to make it weigh less.  Ideally, I'd like a pack weight of 35 pounds, but we'll see how much it ends up weighing.  Unfortunately, encumbrance in the real world doesn't work like Skyrim, where you're fine right up to your max weight, and then you can't run any more.

All in all, getting really stoked for the expedition:  I can't wait!