T+8 “Lazy” 0 day

Hamburg with the ridge I hiked over yesterday in the background.

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​T+8 (Mar. 26, 2020)

So what does a 0 day actually entail? Lounging around in bed relaxing? Hardly! Lots of chores, actually.

Banking and finances I did last night. Also, planning for resupply was completed last night. Planning for what? Gear alterations, mainly.

1) Hip irritation. I think the irritation I'm experiencing is partly due to the rocks and extreme jostling. The worst pain and numbness was experienced after traversing the roughest terrain. But I still experience a bit of discomfort on more gentle terrain. I believe the underlying problem is the belt being too short on my pack. Thus the buckles ride directly on my hip bone. While there's padding underneath, I think it's just too much weight being transferred to the hip bones.

2) I've already mentioned my loathing of the rain pants. Well, I made some modifications to get me far enough along to pick up new gear. I used a safety pin and duct tape to slim the pants down. Plus I chopped bits out of the heels, so I would stop stepping on them. (I also added duct tape to seams of the jacket where I saw the seam starting to split.)

After that I had to decide on a replacement. I find the floppy nature of rain pants annoying. It causes me to wander the forest like I dropped a load in my pants so as to avoid the legs rubbing together. Thus, I will be getting a rain skirt as a replacement. The problem with this change is that it leaves the openings to my socks and boots exposed for water to run down into. So, I'll be getting gaiters as well.

3) Decide what to add to my kit while at Walmart.

- Underwear and T-shirt, so I have clean / dry clothes for bed time

- Sunscreen. This pale ass white boy got a Sunburn on his face in PA...in March.

- Bug spray. They're not bad now, but I can see the trees starting to pop and the insects won't follow too far behind.

- Camp shoes. I avoided these for weight space considerations, but it was a serious pain to go potty during the night with soaking wet boots and dry sleeping socks.

- Wet wipes. Again, I avoided these for weight / space considerations. I think I'd prefer to schlep them around than rinsing off my face and arms (only) off in streams.

- Food stuffs. I generally just note the number  of granola bars or dinner entrees, see what's available and attempt to buy only the number required.


As planning was done last night, I was able to get out around 8:30 to get breakfast and head to Walmart. Was able to get most everything at Walmart. Unfortunately, they were sold out of fuel canisters. Tried Cabela's, but single canisters aren't available online and nobody was answering the phone-though I did see people utilizing the curbside pickup option. Oh well, worse case scenario I move to cold soaking until I can resupply that. There's probably 3 days worth left. Though I tend to underestimate such things out of an abundance of caution.

Once back at the hotel, all of the purchased items come out of their packaging and I have to find homes for them in appropriate stuff sacks or in the backpack.

Next up? Call Verizon about data plans. Clearly the 4GB my wife and I share wasn't going to cut it. Unlimited for me, but metered for her would be ideal to save money: Unlimited is $70 per line and that's quite steep! Unfortunately after talking with the agent, it's clear Verizon wants all the monies. They will not allow an account to split between unlimited and metered. It's all or nothing. In the end, I decided to double the date and revisit. I will pull the trigger if need be, but an extra $120/mo is currently too rich for my blood!

After that comes work on blog posts. Writing and attempting to upload them while I have access to WiFi. Unfortunately, the WiFi is borderline worthless - especially in the evening. Thus, posting to the blog is an exercise in finding my inner happy place. I started posting of the The post, but while waiting the 20 minutes for a picture to upload I fell asleep. So add a nap to the "To-Do" list I guess.

Next up is the repacking of my bag - including divvying up food into the zip lock bags I use to ration my food by day. Can't finish this one because the batteries for all my devices need to be charged before storage. Halfway there with the rest all ready to go will have to do.

After that more writing and successfully posting T+6's post. This was intermixed with a phone calls with Dad and Mrs. Tedward. And the day is finished off with dinner and more writing / blogging. Currently, its 1:45 AM and it's WAY past bedtime! But, I’m nearly all caught up!!