Ready, Set, Go!

Coolmaxed, Goretexed, Syncpacked, and ready to go!
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The last few days before any trip can be hectic, but this trip is w-a-a-y-y-y different.  In addition to figuring out what to "pack," I need to check the weight of everything I bring, because all of it will be on my back.

Speaking of my back, I have had to get my body ready for long stretches of Spanish meseta with a full pack on my back.  The only way to do that is to walk, walk, walk. So I started walking from Union Station in Washington, DC to my office every day, 2.4 km (1.5 mi) each way.  I graduated to walking wooded trails near my home, though we have nothing like the Pyrenées on the east coast of the US!  Am I ready??

Maybe Thoreau was right ...

Even my iPod has travelling gear.
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I learned that my feet need to be tough for long hours of walking, that my socks can't rub, that my clothes have to breathe.

I never paid much attention to the breathable clothes market before.  The term "breathable clothes" pretty much means "Coolmax" - and, before March of this year, I hadn't really known much about Coolmax.  Plus, since I didn't have any Coolmax clothing, I didn't know they were "leaders in moisture management."  Who knew there even WAS a moisture management industry?

So, acknowledging that I wanted/ needed/ now craved, Coolmax, I set off early this spring to buy some.  That quick little shopping trip turned into an "outfitting expedition."  Coolmax, Goretex, Osprey, Equator, Merrill, Bridgedale - names I had never heard of, but now swear by.  Will it help me?  Time will tell.  Maybe Thoreau was right when he said "Distrust any enterprise that requires new clothes."

Here's a photo of me prepping for the walk.  (Missing is my wide brimmed Equator hat.)

Many friends were good about contributing song ideas for my iPod "Walking Songs" playlist, so I now have a four-hour playlist  - everything from These Boots are Made for Walkin' to Walk Away Renee, Walk on By, Walkin' to New Orleans, Walkin' My Baby Back Home, you name it.

And look, I even bought my iPod its own carabiner!