Camino de Santiago - The Way of St. James: 3/26/13 - More Gear

REI Standby ...

Using up the Gift Card

Late Posting ... Today (3/26/13) I had scheduled to visit REI - Framingham (the nearest one) to make purchases of more gear and to use up the gift card money from Boston Centerless employees. So, shopping list in hand, I headed to Rt. 9 and Framingham.

The list had Poles, Socks, Sock Liners, Stuff Sacks, and Convertible Pants. Two hours later ... mission complete. All the above plus some rubber tips for the poles, and a micro-fiber wash cloth. They do a good job at REI. And, as the name implies, and as folks will tell you, REI stands for Return Every Item... and they honor that if you have a problem. Keep your receipts.

UPDATE: Late April - early May. Training walks have begun in earnest. I have routes of 8 miles all the way to a little over 15 miles, all starting at the back door. Another route, to get in some hill training for the mountains, is to walk up the road way from the Base of Mt. Wachusett, below the ski lodge facility and walking up the road to the Visitor's Center and then following the Up-Summit Road to the top for 4.5 miles...returning for another 4.5 miles and then doing it all over again! That's a gut-buster.

The thing about training walks is how they help you prepare, not just for the distance; that might be the least important. Other than that, one gets used to his pack weight, where the various zippers are, what to do when something doesn't feel right. Essentially training gets one accustomed to everything automatically. If something doesn't seem to fit right, a discovery might be made on the road ... at home! For example, I had my camera in its case but really no place to carry it where I could have quick access to it. Hanging it from my neck was a problem and that seemed to be the only solution. Then, I realized that the case has a velcro lock belt loop! Problem solved ... it fits perfectly on the backpack waist belt. I tether it to my pants, position it to the left side of the backpack and I have the quick access to retrieve it, shoot, and return to the case, all without missing a stride!

Training also breaks in the feet and the shoes. One learns what works and what might not for blisters or other problems. I am now comfortable with snacks in the backflap which I can unzip over my head, retrieve a snack, rezip, and continue. Of course, water management is also learned with daily use of the sipping tube and the water bottles.

Aside from that, my daily routine (not all days, but many) becomes automatic and much like it will be on the Camino. Early rise, grease up the feet, get dressed, put on the shoes, leave the house, strap on the backpack, and start walking - all in about 30 minutes ... in the semi-dark hours of early morning.