Tomorrow is a training hike.  Not even remotely prepared for this!  I have been taking care of a litter of feral kittens…from bottle feeding to socializing.  As I write I hear the patter of little kitten feet in the room above me.  They are about seven weeks old now and will be ready for adoption through the Animal Welfare League of Frederick in a few weeks…but I digress. 🙂

Back to the training hike.  I ran around tonight just gathering my back packing gear.  Where did I put the pack again?  Oh Little Caesar moved it into the storage room.  I have all my gear stored in the pack for easy access.  Carried it downstairs to organize.  Sleeping pad…check, tent…check, first aid kit…check, new pillow (in my best happy squeeky voice 😀 )…check, sleeping bag…uh…sleeping bag…WHERE IS MY SLEEPING BAG???  My stuff sack is here, but where is the bag?  Crap!  Okay…calm…maintain…Little Caesar in her gestapo cleaning mode probably put it up in the storage room…  Went back to the storage room.  God, it’s hot in here tonight…oh there it is…whew! relief…exhale!

Okay so in the pack so far is:

Sleeping Bag

Sleeping pad/pillow

tent, first aid, hygeine, compass, pocket knife, bandana (1), fuel, water filter, stove, cookware/bowl, headlamp, pack cover, rain poncho, and bear vault w/o food

Tomorrow I will add water and some clothes for weight.

Doing a 5.5 mile loop up and down a mountain.  Should be humbling! 🙂 🙂 🙂