Metro to Mountain Journal

There is only eight days until we leave for Colorado. Yikes. We are close to being ready to go but there are still a few time consuming issues and unresolved choices.

To begin with we are busy trying to put online "Cloud Hiking", the sister site to Metro to Mountain. We will try to update Cloud Hiking (linked through metrotomountain.com), the story of our summer trip, as we are traveling through wi-fi areas. No promises, but we hope to keep it weekly current at least. We are committed enough to even pay for access if need be.

Diane, my mother in-law, is going to help us sew a mosquito curtain around the bottom and over the door of the Mega Light (a teepee shaped tent from Black Diamond). If it works, we will carry it as the backup to the Tarp Tent Rainbow 2 which we bought for the trip. But if we are not happy with the netting, we will bring a Bibler Eldorado instead.

Shoes are our other big question, we are always in search of just the right ones. Though we are packing eight or nine pairs each, we think we will use most of them, depending on the weather. Our plan is to do whatever it takes to have dry shoes. We actually know that keeping our feet absolutely dry is impossible but we are trying hard to prevent blisters.

Then there are tons of other things to do. We are going to be gone for over seven weeks. We are not starting any new projects, we are just trying to maintain, pack, clean, pack, and repack again.

The Climbing Workshop is this weekend at Fall Creek Falls State Park. We have helped my buddy Ray with the workshop for years, but will be unable to attend this year. If we went, we would pay for it every day next week as we would be forced to try and complete the long list of chores and duties. Still, we will miss seeing friends, climbing, and the Saturday night gathering.

Only eight days left. Yikes. Yikes. (That is a double yikes!)

Happy trails.