Gear

So just about all of my gear has now arrived.  In the last few days I have gotten the solar panel and my new headlamp, as well as most of my clothing.  I have a pair of lightweight quick dry pants that zipper into shorts.  I also have gotten a microweight wool T-shirt for hiking and and a lightweight wool hoodie to keep me warm as needed.  These items will be my staple for the trekking part of the trip (i.e. the stuff to get all sweaty!!).  Today my water purifier and sleeping bag arrived as well.  The sleeping bag is a bit tight (i.e. as a mummy bag should be...), but super light and small.  

All-in-all, I'm pretty much all set.  I have everything I need except for a fully functioning stove.  This is still a bit tricky as I want to use the aluminum can stove but I can't get it to work just right.  I would hate to have to buy a stove, as the one I'd need to guarantee it would work was over $100.  So I'm just gonna keep trying...  ;)

This is gonna keep me warm late at night!!

But fact of the matter is that most all of my gear has arrived now.  I can now really start thinking about the last little things and how I want to pack everything up for the trip.  Someone asked me yesterday if I was ready to go, I was iffy on answering.  I would say unequivocally now - not 18 hours later - that yeah, I'm ready to go!!