It's right around 0300 (3am) on the day of my WNC trip. I plan on leaving around 0400-0500 ish. I woke up early like I am want to do on days like this. I got as much finished on the truck as I felt comfortable. It's far from complete, I lack the time to try to tackle anything else and be able to make the trip.
The truck is packed, I will say that being just a little more organized makes a difference. I don't have so many bags in the rear of the truck which cuts down on the paranoia of keeping things easily visible from the outside the camper shell. Thinking to what I have packed I think I packed too many books. I brought along a few nursing related text books and 2-3 easier reading books. Perhaps before I leave I'll unload all the easy reading books to force me into a strange bookstore if I stumble across one. This time I did not pay attention to what I'll be reading as I have in the past. I was able to get the rear curtain and velcro of the truck fixed so it won't look completely ramshackle. That caused me a little stress last trip.
I was able to get my action packers into the truck. I wanted to eliminate one of them by making cabinets, it just did not happen. I still have my "Ah shit" box which has tools, jack, jumper cables etc in it. and my "Yum" box which is all kitchen and food type stuff. On the subject of food I still have the old igloo with beer bottle caps sloppily glued to the side of it. I had my eye on a Yeti cooler I just really lack the 200-300 dollars to spend on that just yet. Besides I have plans for the old igloo which consists of sending some good BBQ out to some friends in California, more on that later.
I went through most everything yesterday and tried to make things just "so". There is a forecast for 30-40% chance of rain (much like last year) the exception being that spending 5 dollars in the local army surplus store will save me from the rain this year. I shake my head even now, I swear I without a second thought I do most of my shopping there. I buy pants, shorts and various camping implements from that establishment. sheesh. Instead of making the effort to ride daily I am going to switch sites daily nearly. Ride one day and day hike another. I have my wonderful trail running shoes that more than proved their worth at Yosemite's hiking trails and hell I even dug out my gaiters.
I'm pretty excited about the trip. How I know is that despite taking an ambien I am up SO early. I'm ready for some good quality adventure and alone time. Although I have gotten adventure time lately I have been short on alone time. Yesterday I had about 5 hours of it and while packing the truck, which for that task I needed it because it was a lot of talking to myself and repacking. I look forward to my time in the woods because it gets me back to the basics of life on the trail which I enjoyed so much in Colorado. I ride/hike I come back drink a little beer, eat some dinner, read maybe or if clear enough look at the sky and then fall asleep in the back of the truck.
The alone time is important to me in order to sort my thoughts without something in the background. Whether that is a TV blaring in the background, worrying over the various truck projects, worrying over my mother or older sis, being paranoid about work and school or feeling lonely because I'm seemingly doomed to lack "friendly" female companionship during my time in nursing school or for the rest of my days in Georgia. No matter, alone time cuts down on the chatter and skip cuts in my mind.
I gave myself 45 minutes to write before I left. I'll write when I can once I get back. Thanks for reading.
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