Lest You Think I Didn't Do It

For doubters (Rebecca-bo-beka), I give you this Kodak moment, proving I did spend the last week-and-a-half encamped in my favorite Wilderness Area. That is indeed the Velmanator on that rock, gimpy knees and all. Note the effort required to hoist both myself and all the crap I've carted in; also note that this is my EMPTY pack, what's left to hike out after all the food and booze has been consumed. 9 days in the wilderness requires, when done correctly, a tremendous amount of gear and alcohol. For some crazy reason, I decided I needed to create a list of all the paraphernalia I deemed essential to this trek. My purpose at the time I compiled it was twofold: allowing the obsessive-compulsive aspect of my personality to run free, and to give an idea to readers what a ridiculous mountain of STUFF I schlepped in on my back. To whit:


VELMA'S '06 SISKIYOU TREK GEAR LIST

On My Person:

• Halter bathing suit top (brown w/pink edging)
  
• Bikini bottoms (blue floral)
  
• Third St. Aleworks Got Beer? t-shirt (I wear it hiking in every year)
• Columbia convertible pants/shorts
• Leather belt, from Hot Topic (pink suede, what else?)
• Up a Tree Arborist Services baseball cap (memorial to my friend Xman)
• 1 neoprene knee wrap (for "good" knee)
  
• 1 cotton/lycra knee wrap (worn under knee brace)
• Donjoy Defiance knee brace (tiger-striped)
• Thorlo Trekking hiking socks
  
• Raichle Mt. Trail XT GTX hiking boots (bought 'em 'cause of this review)
• Canon SD500 Powershot + extra battery + case (LOVE it)
• 60gig Photo iPod + earbuds + Macally neoprene armband case
• 2 Leki Makalu hiking poles (couldn't do without them)
• Pair leather gloves (to deter blisters from poles)
• Eagle Creek Herbals organic lip balm
• Moleskine cashiers ruled journal (mostly to make a list of the things I forgot)
  
• Innova golf pencil
• 1oz. Repel 100 insect repellant (thinkin' I might lay off the DEET next year)
  
• Bandana (green, thanks for askin')
• Prescription glasses, sunglasses, case, & lenscloth (check me out, I'm sparkly)
  

On or In My Lowe Pack:

• 32oz. Nalgene water bottle, w/water (covered in stickers; what do they weigh?)
  
• Sierra Designs Electron tent (for gear; Cole carried his tent for sleeping in)
• Thermarest LuxuryCamp sleeping pad w/stuffsack
  
• 3/4 Thermarest Ridgerest sleeping pad (I need TWO mats to sleep)
• North Face down sleeping bag w/stuffsack (had it for years, don't know which model)
• Thermarest pillowcase (ah, filled w/ the down jacket & it's just like home)
  
• MSR Bath Packtowel (in lovely, dusty blue, to hide my grime)
• Evernew non-stick titanium1.9L cookpot + 2 lids (gonna trade 'em in for NON-non-stick)
• Katadyn Hiker water filter
• MSR Pocket Rocket stove (Cole carried both of the fuel canisters)
  
• Bic lighter (ubiquitous and useful)
• Red shop rag (also ubiquitous/useful; for dish washing, schmutz-wiping, etc.)
• 2 empty 1gal. Crystal Geyser water jugs (for toting filtered water back from the creek)
• 6 carabiners (for attaching all this crap to my pack, then bear-bagging the food in a tree)
• 1/2 lb. ground Co-op mystery coffee (NOT enough)
• 4oz. French, brown sugar cubes (freakin' expensive, but so adorable)
• #2 Melitta cone
• 20 #2 unbleached cone coffee filters (extra, so we can share)
• 12oz. coffee mug, w/lid (from Los Bagels)
• 27oz. stainless steel bottle, w/ 1/2 & 1/2
• Lexan spoon and fork (Cole carved us a spatula, 'cuz we forgot it)
• 3 17oz. Boddington's ales (Cole brought the PBRs, for rammin')
• 4 12oz. Olympia beers ("It's the Water!")
• 12 Tecate beers (for sippin')
  
• 750ml Jaegermeister (Cole carried the tequila)
• 1 lime
• Raminator (Dutch's one-of-a-kind, aluminum & plastic beer opening tool)
  
• 1/2 pkg. Fig Newtons
• 6oz. kumquats
• 2 chocolate Power Bars
• Bag of Jet-Puffed marshmallows (can't have a campfire without 'em)
• 5oz. bag of NY Style garlic pita chips
  
• 8oz. dried mango
• 4oz. sesame stix
• 2lb. granola (of which I think we hiked out 1.78lb.)
• 10oz. Mother's circus animal cookies (no camping trip would be right without 'em)
  
• 8oz. Hershey's Special Dark bar (my favorite, local Sjaak's, was out of stock)
• 8oz. malted milk balls
• 1lb. trail mix
• 8oz. sunflower seeds
• 8oz. almonds (I don't even eat 'em, I'm allergic)
• Granny smith apple
• 8oz. Rachel's hummus (note that this is the only actual food I carried)
• TP and baby butt wipes (Cole carried the shovel)
  
• 2 vintage cotton sundresses (just 'cuz you're in the wilderness, doesn't mean you shouldn't look hot)
• Floral halter from Tar-zhay
  
• Patagonia Capilene short-sleeve tshirt
• Stop Playing with your Balls tanktop
• Patagonia Capilene light-weight bottoms & mid-weight zip t-neck johnnies (longjohns, to you)
  
• Mt. Hardwear fleece zip t-neck (mine's an older version of this one)
  
• Patagonia Supercell rainjacket (mine's red)
  
• Mt. Hardwear Phantom down jacket w/stuffsack (mine's French Blue, oui oui)
  
• Pair polypropylene glove liners
  
• Thinsulate booties (ancient blue ones from REI)
• Keen Taos river shoes (for in camp)
  
• 2 pair extra Thorlo Trekking socks
• Outdoor Research Helium compression stuff sack (to put clothes in, duh)
• Petzl Tikka Plus headlamp
  
• Deck of cards & cribbage board
• Novel (The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger)
• Inflatable lawn flamingo tent stake
• 13 skeins wool yarn (green tweed from eBay, for sweater in progress)
• Zippered fabric bag w/ knitting tools: 2 pair Addi Turbo circular needles; Clover measuring tape; Clover stitch markers; scissors; pencil; 2 medium Clover cable needles; Chibi yarn needle w/o case; 7" Clover stitch holder; 4 Clover needle point protectors
• Knitscene magazine (contains Central Park Hoodie sweater pattern)
• $37 (for tourney entry fee, side bets)
• Lafuma butterfly chair (the discontinued - lighter - aluminum model)
• Solio solar charger (for iPod; wish they'd had the pink one in stock)
• 3M Nexcare instant coldpack (to ice my knee upon arrival)
• Prescription bottle w/meds (chock full of goodies for pain & allergies)
• SPF 15 Ecolips mint sunscreen w/clip
  
• 2 elastic surgical knee wraps (to keep my knees warm & happy)
• Zippered toiletries bag, w/: travel-size toothbrush/paste, lotion, & deoderant; lipbalm; bandaids; mirror; 2 hairties; 4 condoms (Cole brought more, yeah!)
• Empty, 10lb. plastic mesh mandarin orange bag (to stash beer in creek)
• Revolution Mini disc golf bag (lime green; my quiver) + Quad Shocks
• 6 golf discs: 171g TeeBird Pro; EliteX XPress; EliteX XL; Stratus; 172g Roc; 172g Aviar Pro
• Flannel golf towel, w/mini carabiner
• 3 agates (yes, I was carrying rocks for god's sake; for pocket - don't ask)
• Rubber chicken (for Hole #18 tee marker, see photo)
  

(That's me on the right, in the loud(er) dress + my friend Michelle + the Chicken).
Whew! So although my pack weighed in somewhere in the "Oh-shit-I-can't-lift-it" 75lb. range, I must confess that I didn't actuallymake it all the way in to the final destination with all this stuff; Cole actually had time to drop off his (1oolb.+) pack in camp, run up the trail to meet me, and hike MY pack the rest of the way in (I was about 2/3 of the way when he caught me) before I set foot in camp. Note also that there is virtually NO food whatsoever in my pack; he carried almost all of it, plus much of the gear. What a stud! And he managed to find me another heart-shaped rock for the collection he's amassing me. Not just a stud, but a sweetie too!! AND he went for a food & beer re-supply halfway through the week, carrying empties out with him. He rocks my world. How'd I get so lucky?

Tags: disc golf knitting backpacking wilderness velma rubber chicken Siskiyous