Packs and Shoes and Credentials, Oh My!

Hey Tribe,

Gear accumulation is underway as TheAunt, TheMother, and I prepare for our hike across Spain.  Choosing a pack was a big undertaking and several packs were considered, a few bought, a few returned, and it is possible we all now have what we will be using.  Shoes are another major dilemma for us at the moment – take care of your feet and your feet will take car of you!  The sleeping bags, blankets, or sheets decision not been put to rest yet (pun totally intended); the jury is also still out about ponchos vs rain jacket/pants.  Oh brother.

My pack full of all my gear and my shoes...for now.

I sent away for our credentials about a month ago and they arrived sooner than expected, so we are all set there.  Whew!  At least we can check one thing off our list.

TheAunt has been dutifully following a training schedule to ensure that her body is prepared for a lot of daily miles.  TheMother has been following suit.  I have slacked, preferring to sit on the couch and eat popcorn than spend quality time in my training shoes.  I will regret this.  I will amend my ways.  I promise.

TheMother and her fully loaded pack.

In that vein, TheMother, Fly, and I eagerly set forth Sunday evening on a hiking trail we believe will be similar to what we will encounter on our Camino.  It is 6 miles one way and has lovely Spring and Fall views of the riverbed and the surrounding snowcapped mountains (in the summer, leaves rudely obstruct the view).  I wrote about this trail last fall, after recovering from running a marathon.  Note to the wise, hiking so soon after that much running is not a stellar idea – or so it goes for my non-athletic body.

Fly and I had participated in our SAR team training all morning and afternoon.  The day was spectacularly bright and warm and enjoyable.  Mosquitoes are rare this time of year and the early hatch are the dumb, slow ones, so the day was especially enjoyable without the presence of the vampires that will soon plague Alaskans.  We savor these days; as such, TheMother and I didn’t hesitate when we jauntily set out for a lengthy hike in the early evening.

We met several people at the outset of our journey, with their happy, long-tongued dogs, heading in our opposite direction, but soon we had what felt like the entire river valley to ourselves.

It must have been a ridiculous sight for those passerby: two women with larger than necessary packs strapped to their backs.  Most trail users were equipped with little more than the ubiquitous cell phone and there we were with gear for a month’s travels abroad.  Our purpose was kept to ourselves, though we received a few side-eyed judgmental inquiring glances, nobody was brave enough to question our sanity and we merrily traipsed along the trail, testing out our gear and pack setup (which worked wonderfully, I might add).

TheMother tests her balance skills on the trail.

Temptation whispered for us to hike the entire 6-mile trail, but was wisely over-ruled by the timepiece on TheMother’s wrist at mile 4.25, where we reluctantly decided to make a U-turn.  Looming rain clouds were not our concern, since we carried wet weather supplies in our out-of-place packs, nor was the amount of daylight, since the sun has returned to give merit to the Land of the Midnight Sun nomenclature – but TheMother had other plans for her evening at home, so rotate in our tracks we did and were mightily glad of it once we finally reached our parked truck.  8.5 miles in one evening was enough for our first training hike – a successful gear trial hike.