Blog

  • AT preparations

    So Bunny has been sick lately and I really didn’t want to leave her alone for any longer than I possible had to and this has put the kibosh on me running around.
    I have plenty of things to do around the house, so I’m not cranky about it (plus, taking care of Bunny is never an issue, I just wish she wasn’t showing her 16 years.)
    I figured now was a good time to start organizing my stuff for the trail.
    I know that some of my gadgets will be hotly contested as extra weight, but they will have to just deal with it.

    So far my list of things in the pack is:

    REI Ultralight pack
    1st aid kit
    camelbak
    water bottle
    waterproofs
    2 tshirts (coolmax) + 1 on me
    1 pr pants(zip offs to shorts)
    yoga pants
    hiking socks 4 pair
    fantastic and magical underwear
    smartwool long sleeve shirt
    long janes
    sleeping bag*
    stuff sack for sleeping bag*
    sleeping bag liner
    GPS + map
    charged batteries
    camera
    flashlight
    headlamp
    toiletries
    trekking poles
    hat
    gloves
    notebook/pen

    The food and the tents will all be shared when we get there, but I’ll definitely be bringing some nibblies. I don’t do well under group feedbag situations.
    I’ll add and refine to the list later.

    *stuff still on the to buy list

  • Church



    Church, originally uploaded by fredlet.

    In a little church near Chatelet Les Halles (no flash used)

  • Fredericksburg, TX



    Almost there!, originally uploaded by pdflesher.

    as seen from the front seat mom’s car as they were driving to Texas.

  • Packing List: Green Bay, WI (in the freakin’ winter)

    American Tourister carry on American Tourister carry-on*
    Clothes:

  • REI Mistral pants
  • blue wool sweater
  • black merino wool sweater
  • long sleeve black tshirt
  • wool zipper neck layering shirt
  • long janes (two pair)
  • yoga pants
  • Champion khaki quick dry pants
  • robot boxer shorts (as jammies)
  • long sleeve burnt orange tshirt (as jammies)
  • socks/undies
  • tennies, crocs
  • REI Ultralight DaypackToys and Sundry Items:

  • Mylo and various tv shows
  • knitting (soon to be a scarf) and some knitting catalogs (porn)
  • Treo 600
  • Solio
  • Camera
  • hats, earwarmers (180’s), gloves, jacket
  • polarfleece remnants (larger than scarves, smaller than a blanket.)

  • *You wouldn’t think that this is big enough for a weekend in the cold, but since it is so very devoid of weird pockets, rigid walls and things that take up space where you should be able to put clothes, it does actually hold quite a lot.
    The actual suitcase that I will be checking has swag in it.
    I’ll probably end up dropping this into the suitcase and rolling it on board on the way back…unless I buy lots of stuff there…. like 70 pounds of cheese curds.

  • West Texas sunset



    West Texas sunset, originally uploaded by fredlet.

    See? NO mountains.

  • PACKING LIST: Fredericksburg, Tx

    I was gone for a long weekend, and in Texas you can get a range of weather in a very short time. There’s a saying that “If you don’t like the weather in Texas, wait 15 minutes.”
    Well, yeah, it happened.
    I stepped out of the airport in San Antonio and started sweating – it was in the 70’s. I shucked off my down jacket and scarf (and pondered if I should have brought shorts in addition to the lightweight yoga pants that do almost as well as shorts.)
    Later on that weekend it was in the upper 20’s and they shut down the airport just shortly after I flew out due to ice and freezing rain.
    So saying that, I was actually completely comfy just having brought a backpack like this for the whole weekend (but mine cost $14 at Ross. The shoe pockets on the side are very handy since I put a pair of tennies in there and wore my Crocs on the plane).
    I really liked this for the plane since the new regulations for the liquids in a ziploc bag rule is making me re-think my packing technique for toiletries. I put the ziploc in the top most zipper pocket so I can hand it to the stern looking security guard and I put my somewhat girly flowered half moon dry goods bag (well, whatever is left that isn’t liquid) in the mesh area previously defined for a basketball. Heh. Fits really well actually.
    I also had a Longhorn’s cap in the mesh pocket, but somehow it ended up on Bud’s head instead of mine as I flew back home, so it wasn’t there on the trip back. =)

    4 days in the Hill Country:

    silk sweater (worn on the plane)

    black Mistral pants from REI (worn on the plane)*

    white tshirt

    black yoga pants

    khaki quick dry pants

    wool zipper neck long sleeve shirt

    long sleeve black t shirt

    long sleeve grey shirt

    bright orange long sleeve shirt

    black button down short with skulls (jammies)

    a pair of black long underwear (doubled as jammies)

    socks and undies

    down jacket

    pashmina scarf

    I know it seems like a lot, but frankly when I visit my mom (even for a 24 hour stretch) I have to have clothes from anything as dressy as dinner at a really posh restaurant down to running around in the mud with the poopers.
    I also managed to fit all of this because all of these items by themselves are rather thin. I layer them for warmth when it is cold and leave them single when its warm. It doesn’t hurt that I tend toward the wool stuff from REI. Yes, its an investment, but I find them and snap them up when they are on sale and I wear them non-stop, so I think I am getting my moola’s worth.
    The only thing I thought might have been good was one more of the white tshirts (Hanes vnecks) and my khaki yoga pants as well since I live in them.

    *These are great because they have about 12 gazillion pockets to put my plane tickets, ID for security. Then later I can put my Mylo and plane toys in the pockets so I don’t have to get into my bag when I’m trapped in my seat by a sleeping, drooling person.

  • F’burg jail tree



    F’burg jail tree, originally uploaded by fredlet.

    I’m such a texture ho.

  • Live Oak in the fog



    Live Oak in the fog, originally uploaded by fredlet.

    Its cooler today. Probably in the 40’s, but I don’t have a thermometer handy. Foggy outside through the area and VERY pretty.