I almost have all my gear!

I did it. I can't believe I did it. Maybe I'm in denial and I'll accept that I did it tomorrow. I bought a backpack. (Here is why I needed a new pack.) I got a tip from my backpacking buddy about a place in Eagle River that sells backpacking and camping gear, and the knowledge to go with the advice about the various products. I spent a good hour and a half trying two backpacks.

Yeah. A long time for so few packs, but you can't really tell how a pack fits unless you wear it for a while with some weight in it. So while I waited for the pack to settle, the shop owner and I talked about reducing weight and some tips about other gear. I'm going to use the gear I already have since I've already spent the money on it, but he did have some good tips. And there are several places I can cut down, even a little, on what I took.

A couple of them were in regard to food and meal times. I can implement those. I took a lot of food that has water in it already: cheese, pitas, tuna. That was my lunch food. But what he does is he sits down and cooks a meal for each meal, so that all of his meals are dry weight. That way the food takes up less space and weighs less and you are already stopping to take a break for lunch so why not cook a meal? I don't want to cook at each meal, I want my fuel canister to last as long as possible. There is the cold cook option for lunch though. Something like cold oatmeal you can just pour water over, hike a bit more, and by the time you are ready to eat you have fully "cooked" oatmeal (with or without fruit) without having to boil water. I could try some of that, I've seen several recipes for meals similar to cold cooked oatmeal.

He also said he has no problem hiking for a couple hours before having breakfast, then stopping to make a meal. If I don't eat before I start moving, I will be crabby and I will have a blood sugar problem, I know this about myself, so I will still be taking something I can just grab, go and eat breakfast on the trail. But he also will stop, make supper, and then keep hiking for another couple hours until either he can't see anymore or until he is done for the day. He has set up his camp so many times that he can do it pretty much by feel and doesn't need good light. Right now I'd rather get my camp set up when there is still daylight, but I can see the benefit in hiking as long as you have daylight.

They were also having a deal. If you bought a pack bigger than 30L, you'd get a water reservoir free (while supplies lasted). So now I have my tent, backpack, water bladder, sleeping bag and pad, and all those other little things to live on the trail... Except shoes. I still haven't found a good pair of hiking shoes that fit me. I've tried on several, men's and women's, different sizes and brands. Only one pair even came remotely close to feeling good, and it was the first pair I tried on more than a month ago. When I tried those, I thought, "I'm going to end up just getting these." And I think I'm going to go back and get those.

Musings

It's been a while. Sorry.

I think I have been trying to play catch up in my day to day life. I honestly don't know all that I have done in the last two weeks. I did get a bisque firing done with all the work from demonstrating at the faire, and it took me three days to glaze all that work. I didn't get to do a glaze firing until this Monday and I unloaded Tuesday and took pictures today.

One of the pieces that came out of my glaze firing this week.

I did a show in Waupaca. A fall festival type thing, I'm not sure I'll be able to go it next year because the organizers of the Renaissance Faire are talking about changing the weekend, and I'd rather do the Renaissance Faire.

At the end of the festival, tired, a bit sunburned and ready for bed. We didn't get there for another 2 hours and then had to change rooms at the hotel because our toilet wouldn't flush.

This weekend I went to the big Renaissance Festival at Shakopee with my sister-in-law. We had fun, but it was very overwhelming and we got stuck in the parking lot for an hour and a half after the faire was done because of a train. We decided not to go back for the second day and instead visited the biggest candy store in America and we went to an REI store. The candy store was awesome, every type of candy you can think of and other things as well. Including a tardis, yes, we were geeks for a bit and played in the tardis. I think it is required when you come across one.

So yellow! Everything outside was yellow. 

I had hoped to get a backpack while at REI. But the first woman who helped us spent more time lecturing me on tents, pots, stoves, and planning ahead of time (unlike her nephew). And then we had very little time to look at and try on backpacks, and the guy that ended up helping me there didn't offer up any information. I had no idea what to ask in regard to picking out a backpack and he wasn't very helpful in offering me tips. I left without buying anything. Yesterday I got a notice about a sale on the tents that the woman had been suggesting through a different company and it was a bigger sale than what I would have gotten at REI so I bought a tent from there. But not the exact one she had recommended. I went with a one-person instead of the two-person in order to save on weight and some money. It is bigger than the one I borrowed, so I hope I don't feel too cramped.

Playing in the Police box. 

I don't know how much of my inner thoughts I should share on here. I've spent the better part of the last six years focused on getting property and starting a farm. I haven't done that. And because it has taken so long to get there, I'm not sure that is what I want anymore. I have no idea what I really want out of my life. When I become so focused on one thing, everything else stops existing for me. I'm so focused on my hike next year that I've forgotten about finding property, a farm, for a while I forgot about pottery. Instead of going out to the studio, I would research gear and food. I would read blogs and peruse Pinterest. I wasn't making any work. Now I have many of the things I need for a hike so I have started making work again, including my crocheted animals which need some restocking desperately.

But I'm still unsure. I don't want to decide on my life because I don't know what I want. I feel like I am in school again and my teachers expect me to pick a field of study, except that was easy for me, back then I knew I wanted to be in art. I can't change careers even if I wanted to, there isn't anything else I am interested in doing. And I don't want to go back to school. What I really want is to not have to make a decision, ever. Maybe I can just not decide until after my hike next spring. Maybe I'll figure out what's next while I'm hiking.

Porcupine Mountain Adventure

My gear. Several things are going to get the ax!

The last week has been busy. Starting about ten days ago I began firing my kiln to have all the pieces I wanted for my big art show. While I was firing and glazing I was also trying to prep for a backpacking trip to the Porcupine Mountains.

My tent at the Renaissance Festival

Having never been on this type of trip I ended up taking more than I needed for the length of trip we had planned and way more than the amount of gear and supplies for the length it ended up being.

Some of the brushed design pieces I'm enjoying making.

Back to the Renaissance Festival though. I enjoy making creatures and dragons. I enjoy the highly involved style of pottery that I have started doing with the brushed on designs. I think I may need to try some more Renaissance Festivals in other parts of the state, at least, and maybe eventually work up to one of the bigger faires. At the very least I am going to look into the smaller faires and see if I can get them into my regular show schedule.

A carved stein that I really like.

The faire last weekend ended up being quiet with bad show weather and road construction messing up the highway. Attendance was down from last year. But the organizers have plans and are taking suggestions from the vendors and exhibitors as to what can change for next year.

The map of the Porkies. We started out from Presque Isle on the Lake Superior Trail and were going to take Cross Trail to Little Carp, but ended up coming out on Pinkerton Trail and then taking the road back.

The faire was done on Sunday evening and Monday morning I immediately began preparing for three days and two nights in the backcountry wilderness of the Porcupine Mountains. We were going to leave Monday afternoon and head out on the trail Tuesday morning. Come back Thursday afternoon. It took me most of the day to get my gear into my pack. My pack was not designed to hold 40 pounds of gear and it ripped before I even left the driveway. I ended up using my friend's extra pack and wishing I could drop 10 or 20 pounds of gear.

We slept in her camper van Monday night and left Tuesday morning as planned. The hike was hilly and very boggy. A lot of rain this year meant anywhere that could hold water was holding water. And anywhere that was a steep hill, was suddenly a mudslide with a clay based mud making the downhills fairly treacherous.

On the boardwalk overlooking the falls before we really got into the hike.

About 5 miles in at the most soggy place we had seen so far, my friend fell from a log we were going to use to cross over the water and sprained her ankle. We had one more mile to the campsites and she trekked on. We decided to head out the next day on an easy trail that would take us back to the road and try to hitch a ride back to her van.

Lots of really awesome mushrooms, good inspiration for my pottery.

I tried for over an hour to get and keep a fire going at our campsite, but things were just too wet and it was just too windy. So we missed out on having some awesome looking burritos that another friend had made for us. But the sunset that night was gorgeous, the waves huge and the night, thankfully quiet except for the sound of the waves. No wildlife trying to get in our tents or in our food bags. Those were secured in a bear pole down away from our site.

At the two mile mark we had already seen plenty of mud.

We headed out in the morning, after using some of the tape in my first aid kit to wrap the sprained ankle. For a while we went one behind the other and after a quick rest I suggested I take one pack up ahead, drop it off then go back for the other pack and play leap frog with them while my friend could just go on at a comfortable pace without the extra weight. We did this for a while and thankfully the trail was fairly level and the paths did have boardwalks over the muddiest and wettest areas making the hike much easier for both of us. Eventually she took her pack again and we finished up the last mile or so, got to the parking lot and road and started back toward the van. We were only walking a short time when a truck came along and we got a ride.

I scrubbed off the day in the lake with a handkerchief.

It was only a short drive back to my house and we were there well before noon. We of course have plans to try another hike in the future. But even the two days we were out there I learned a few things: I must reduce my pack weight, I don't think I will be able to manage 2 months with a 40 pound pack if I was that tired after 2 days; I need a better padded pack, more lightweight and yet able to handle all the gear I need (need not want); I think I took enough food for 5 days instead of the 2.5 plus one that I needed, so there is something I can adjust there; I definitely need better shoes; and a different water system, I took two Nalgene bottles and I could reduce some weight by getting a water bladder. I'm already trying to think what clothes I can get rid of, I didn't have that many to begin with and if I can find an even more lightweight tent than the one I borrowed. I am very glad I got trekking poles, I would have fallen many times without those to stabilize myself.

The view out my tent.

I think I am ready for some changes in my life. I don't know what they all are yet, but even that day and a half on the trail made me think I can do anything. I can go where I need to go and not feel guilty about the changes. And I shouldn't fear those changes. That doesn't mean I won't fear them, just that it isn't a bad thing to change when it comes time to.

Sunset over the lake was gorgeous, so many colors. I'm glad there were clouds to catch the pinks.

Still afraid, and somewhat overwhelmed.

I've got most of my gear for my hikes. I have a practice trip planned for a little later this month (with a friend) and another one for in October (in another state, but it is with another friend who backpacks.) I haven't taken the tags off of any of the gear I have gotten.

I am still afraid.

My gear thus far. The big white bag is my sleeping bag (it does have a stuff sack for packing away.) The box is my random food stuff that I have gathered thus far, I still have a few more things I need there. I also have some items I will be collecting from my car and bedroom and I still need a first aid kit.

I'm worried that something might happen and I won't be able to go. I'm worried about going alone, but that is what I want to do. I'm worried I'll have the wrong gear or not enough gear (or too much gear).

I've only taken the tags off of my clothing because I know I will always need clothes.

Somehow this month has come so fast. I have less than four days to get my pottery done for the Renaissance Faire. I'm not sure I'm going to get that done on time. Then after four days at the Renaissance Faire, I have part of one day to make sure I am ready to go on a multi day hike, four days in the Porcupine Mountains and one day to get ready for a fall art fair. Then almost a week and I will be going to a Renaissance Faire to have fun with my sister-in-law. So many things happening all in a row. Usually I have a week between events in my life. Not this month though. This month I am planning and getting ready for four events all at the same time.