All Packed Up!

There are 13 days until I leave Asheville. I am shamelessly writing this post at my front desk job because I am more mentally checked out than a lobotomy patient. I honestly, truly, don’t care anymore. You could say I’ve been hiking for weeks in my head.

That being said, I’m all packed up and ready to go. Seriously, my pack has been sitting in my living room completely sinched and full for 7 days now. Here’s a list of the awesomeness inside it (and/or on me):

1. Gregory Z55 Pack

2. Hennessy Hammock Deluxe Asym.

3. Kelty Cosmic Down 20

4. GoLite Bitterroot 850 Fill DriDown Ultralight Jacket

5. Stanley Adventure Camp Cookset  (sans cups to save weight)

6. Piezo Ultralight Stove (inside the cookset where the cups would be)

7. Brooks Men’s Cascadia 9 Trail Running Shoes (Black/Red)

8. Patagonia Men’s Baggies Shorts (Black)

9. Patagonia Capilene 1 Baselayer (Baby Blue)

10. Columbia Men’s Evap Softshell

11. Ex Officio Men’s Give-N-Go Boxer Brief

12. Sawyer Mini Filter

13. Superfeet – Green

14. Patagonia “Viva Los Fun Hogs” Hat

– You should read the story behind that saying. It’s pretty cool.

15. Sea To Summit XS DryLite Towel

16. Champion Gear Polyester Running Socks (2 Pair)

17. Anker 10,000 mAh battery pack

18. HMDX Jam Waterproof Speaker

19. Philips Earhook Headphones

20. Outdoor Research Ditty Dry Bags

21. Small tube of toothpaste, contact lens solution/case, a toothbrush, ibuprofen, moleskine, small Vaseline, gold bond medicated lotion, Wet Ones

22. A standard size fuel canister.

23. And of course, a classic Nalgene.

I still need to buy some sunglasses, but they won’t be more than $10 from Target.

Total pack weight before food, 18.6 pounds.

As for food, I developed a strict regimen of 4 Nature Valley bars a day, smothered in peanut butter. For dinner I cook one pasta side fortified with a cup of instant brown rice, sliced hot dogs, and a packet of velveeta cheese, all together usually totals about 4,000 calories. Once I discovered how amazing this dish was and the speed/ease of sticking to the bars all day long, I ate only that stuff every day for a month. I’m open to changing it up but will be sticking to that diet for the time being.

If you have Spotify, you can find me and see all of my playlists as William Evans Prater. This link may or may not work.

So far I’ve downloaded Moby Dick and The Count of Monte Cristo audiobooks with LibriVox, the free audiobook app.

I have AWOL on the AT, Wild, and Slaughterhouse Five on my Kindle app which I will also use on my phone. I will download new books upon reaching new towns and just seeing how I feel/what I feel like reading and/or listening to.

I’m also going to be toying around with writing a screenplay via my voice recorder while I work. My parents have agreed to type it out if I send them the sound files. So that’s pretty cool.

I think I have everything. I may have forgotten something. Feel free to let me know if I did.

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