Can I be over-prepared?

I did:
-Dehydrate or buy dehydrated food for 10 weeks.
-Sleep in my tent in the backyard at 20F.
-Make some short backpacking trips, sometimes with my daughter, on the Mountain-to-Sea Trail.

-Hiked solo/backpacked every other weekend for the last 9 months.
-Occasionally I brought my 13 years old four-legged companion for an 8-miler along the river.
But still I have the feeling that ole body will not last.

What do I have for me? The MOTIVATION!!!!
« ma grosse tête dure » (my bullhead). I asked one of my oldest friends if she believed I would succeed … Her answer: “I know you’re going to hike the whole trail , even if you have to crawl at the end…”

The DESTINATION! I am walking home to my little 160-year old house by the stream… I intend to make a drastic career change once I get there. Anybody needs an English to French translator?

My FAMILY antecedents : my brothers used to bring me with them while they were working as patrol at the cross-country ski station. My brothers and sister were part of an autonomous cross-country adventure through the wilderness north of Quebec city. My sister and brother-in-law hiked in Tibet for a few weeks when they were my age. And this is only the tip of the iceberg.

My own OUTDOORSY path: I did many cross-country skiing/backpacking adventures in the province of Quebec: Parc de la Jacques-Cartier, mounts Valin, Chic-Chocs.

I spent 4 years of my life in Montreal, where I met many friends in my group Cyclo-Nature. Together we spent so many weekends biking, hiking and cross country skiing! The Whites were our favorite playground.

I once biked in Provence for 2 weeks starting from Nice, finishing in Marseille, with mont Ventoux and wine cellars in between…

I also biked in Cuba (yes, us Canadians can get there! 😉) and hiked in Peru (Machu Pichu via the Inca trail).

The only problem is that this was all 20+ years ago, in the BK (Before Kids) period, and also before the advent of the digital camera!

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