Christmas is here already! At least the catalogues anyway. I was leafing through the LL Bean Outdoor catalogue last night, saw a pair of gaiters for about $19.99. I marked the page, I’ll tell my son that’s what I want for Christmas this year. I don’t have gaiters. I need them. Really!Funny how in the space of about six months, I went from nothing as far as hiking gear to possessing loads of garments, trinkets and gadgets. Aside from gaiters and a GPS, I have pretty much everything I need and some things I hope I’ll never need, like one of those shiny, keep the body heat in, survival bags. Of course, there's still things I want, I just haven't thought of them yet!
Rich is the kind of guy who takes every caution and precaution when hiking and from him, I learned to be prepared for anything, even a creek crossing in 27 degree temperatures on New Year’s Eve! To this day, when I see someone on a hike wearing jeans, in my head I hear Rich's voice saying (over and over) "Cotton Kills!"
I already had good base layers from cycling so as far as clothing was concerned, I really only needed a pair of synthetic hiking pants, a thin fleece and an extra pair of wool socks. I already had a nice warm outer fleece that, with the right base layers, would keep me warm through the coldest hike. Then there were the wants that I was able to convert to needs to justify the purchase. Especially when I found just what I "needed" on the sale rack at REI or LL Bean! So my fleece gave way to a cool new hiking jacket. The baseball cap was retired in favor of a totally fun knitted cap that even had a spot for my ponytail!
Bob, another hiking friend, gave me one of his old hiking poles on one of our early hikes. He had switched over to using two poles. Something I’ve tried and just can’t get the hang of. I did like using a pole but was longing for a real wooden hiking stick.
I didn’t start off carrying much in my day pack, other than my lunch, some water, a pack of tissues, some bandages and a rain poncho. My first gadget purchase was an inflatable cushion, way better than sitting down for lunch on the ground or a cold rock It was after the first of the year that I really starting adding gadgets. I picked up a whistle, compass, signal mirror combination on one shopping trip. Waterproof matches on another. Though I already had a Swiss Army knife, I added a lightweight folding knife to my gear collection ( on Camino I needed something to slice my Chorizo and the Swiss Army knife was way too heavy)! I even found a tiny roll of "travelers" toilet paper. After the New Year’s Eve hike, I added a small wind up flashlight to my collection.
My Camino companions and I would share our latest purchases, via e-mail then show them off at our next hike. Karin gave Joe and I the coolest hiking bowl for Christmas. It packs flat, weighs nothing, and folds up into a perfectly leakproof bowl.
An aching corn after one long hike led me directly to the foot care section at the CVS Pharmacy. You know that thing you always hear about not going grocery shopping when you’re hungry. Well don’t go to the drugstore foot care section straight from a hike! I was like a kid in the candy store and came home with all kinds of goodies. Gel corn pads, moleskin, callous cream, and Compeed, the miracle product of the Camino. I added moleskin as well as some basic first aid items to my pack. Things like twine, safety pins and a bandana made their way into my pack. The "survival" bag and emergency tent (just a piece of plastic really) are just my latest additions.
What’s kind of funny is all of this is really just hiking stuff. Camino gear, that’s a whole other entry.
My day pack these days is fairly heavy but it doesn’t feel heavy on my back. With another Camino coming up, I need to keep my body accustomed to carrying the weight. On Camino I will carry a lot more. What’s best though is knowing that I really am ready for anything, even a late night winter creek crossing!
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