Yeah, a 20L pack might be a bit extreme but I already own a kick ass 20L waterproof pack. Once I get around to packing I might find I have to consider something around 30L.
For me the minimalist thing is one of the great attractions in the idea of a long hike. For some time now I have been growing associations between minimalism and simplicity and comfort and complexity. One thing I certainly took away from the cross Canada tour last year was the simplicity of living life uncluttered. I certainly didn't miss having to clean the house or sort through my mountain of stuff to find the right item. That said, back in the real world just one year and I can already see myself slipping back into "needing" the exact right bag or jacket or shoes and not just making do with what I have.
In this sense I like the minimalist element as a device in the transition to a new way of living. In the future I want to learn to make do with less stuff. I think that will be easier to do after a few more months living with almost no stuff. It's like this: to go from having 20 pairs of socks to having 8 pairs of socks might seem like a big sacrifice. But to go from 20 pairs to 3 pairs for a few months and then back up to 8 pairs might not seem so bad. Once I've learned how to live with only 3 pairs of socks 8 pairs will seem like more than enough socks rather than less than half the socks I had.
That's my theory anyway.
I can say for sure that when I first got back from the bike trip I seemed to have an overwhelming amount of stuff. I got rid of what I thought was a lot that fall. Then I cleaned up to sell my house and realized I still had way too much. So I got rid of more stuff to ready the house for showing. I've gotten rid of still more stuff during the move and I still have a ridiculous amount of "essential" stuff in storage.
This needs to change
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Monkish Luxury
After reading the start of the book I'm pretty much convinced that I want to do the Camino this spring and I think I've settled on a three pronged approach to assuage my concerns about dodging the deprivation of the AT for the luxuries of the European tourist industry.
Step one: go early spring rather than late spring. 2010 is a holy year of St James so I should expect the trail to be crowded with throngs of pilgrims. The best way to avoid that is to go in the off season or the shoulder season. The weather is cooler (snow is possible!) and the boots on the ground are much thinner. The downside that for me is an upside is that a lot of tourist sites and pilgrim refuges and such are still closed. This means that there will be a bit more roughing it, finding a place to buy food and a decent place to sleep will be a bit more haphazard.
Step two: no boots on the ground. I'd like to get off the freighter in Barcelona and wear the "gloves for your feet" all the way to Santiago. I wonder how many pairs it will take? The sole is kind of thin.
Step three: a small backpack. 20 litres capacity? The idea is to enforce a minimalist approach on myself. The thought is that since shelters do exist and food can be bought regularly, by using a very light pack I will be able to push on if conditions insist. In that way I will be able to just carry what I really need and still maintain a level of safety. The AT will require a lot more gear to maintain that level of safety.
I have no interest in dying of exposure. Or even coming close to dying for that matter. Just enough discomfort to remind me to appreciate the everyday luxuries of home will suit me just fine.
Step one: go early spring rather than late spring. 2010 is a holy year of St James so I should expect the trail to be crowded with throngs of pilgrims. The best way to avoid that is to go in the off season or the shoulder season. The weather is cooler (snow is possible!) and the boots on the ground are much thinner. The downside that for me is an upside is that a lot of tourist sites and pilgrim refuges and such are still closed. This means that there will be a bit more roughing it, finding a place to buy food and a decent place to sleep will be a bit more haphazard.
Step two: no boots on the ground. I'd like to get off the freighter in Barcelona and wear the "gloves for your feet" all the way to Santiago. I wonder how many pairs it will take? The sole is kind of thin.
Step three: a small backpack. 20 litres capacity? The idea is to enforce a minimalist approach on myself. The thought is that since shelters do exist and food can be bought regularly, by using a very light pack I will be able to push on if conditions insist. In that way I will be able to just carry what I really need and still maintain a level of safety. The AT will require a lot more gear to maintain that level of safety.
I have no interest in dying of exposure. Or even coming close to dying for that matter. Just enough discomfort to remind me to appreciate the everyday luxuries of home will suit me just fine.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Biggest Day Ever Anniversary
One year ago today I rode my biggest one day total 194.73 kms. Mostly in the rain and against a headwind. I slept well that night.
On Monday I discovered the new bike commute is about 1:40 minutes and closing in on 40 kilometers. Bear in mind when you look at that time the traffic lights when on the roads and the crazy heavy pedestrian traffic on the bike paths around Ottawa. You can't really go fast or build up a decent rhythm when commuting in this town. I figure that's too much time to do it every day but I am going to try to do it a couple of times a week. Maybe Bike in, bus home, bus in, bike home.
Yesterday I went for a run. My first run in too long. 45 minutes, not sure how many kilometers but my quads are not my friends today. I'm still at a level of fitness where I burn out my legs but my cardio is fine. It's funny that I'm undisguisably fat and I've got none of the strength I had and yet despite months of not using it I still have decent cardio. Good cardio seems to be a lasting effect of the 11,000+ kilometers I rode in 2008.
Just for badness I did the run in my new Five Fingers Sprint shoes, also known as "gloves for your feet". For those who do not know what "gloves for your feet" are here is a picture:
It's like walking around barefoot minus the cutting, burning, puncturing and fungal sensations. And, so far at least, I haven't been refused service in a restaurant while wearing them. To date I've mostly run on the treadmill in the Five Fingers but there were good for running out doors too. Even the short stretches of concrete. Most of my run yesterday was on grass where the shoes give surprisingly good traction.
On Monday I discovered the new bike commute is about 1:40 minutes and closing in on 40 kilometers. Bear in mind when you look at that time the traffic lights when on the roads and the crazy heavy pedestrian traffic on the bike paths around Ottawa. You can't really go fast or build up a decent rhythm when commuting in this town. I figure that's too much time to do it every day but I am going to try to do it a couple of times a week. Maybe Bike in, bus home, bus in, bike home.
Yesterday I went for a run. My first run in too long. 45 minutes, not sure how many kilometers but my quads are not my friends today. I'm still at a level of fitness where I burn out my legs but my cardio is fine. It's funny that I'm undisguisably fat and I've got none of the strength I had and yet despite months of not using it I still have decent cardio. Good cardio seems to be a lasting effect of the 11,000+ kilometers I rode in 2008.
Just for badness I did the run in my new Five Fingers Sprint shoes, also known as "gloves for your feet". For those who do not know what "gloves for your feet" are here is a picture:
It's like walking around barefoot minus the cutting, burning, puncturing and fungal sensations. And, so far at least, I haven't been refused service in a restaurant while wearing them. To date I've mostly run on the treadmill in the Five Fingers but there were good for running out doors too. Even the short stretches of concrete. Most of my run yesterday was on grass where the shoes give surprisingly good traction.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Seeds of Dissent
The seed of the AT trip is Bill Bryson’s humorous travelogue A Walk in the Woods so I decided that in all fairness I should read a travelogue of the Camino de Santiago before making any firm decision about which to do. I checked out a local bookstore and quickly narrowed my search down to two choices – a humorous book written by a German guy and a Canadian book written by a guy who has hiked the Camino de Santiago 5 times.
In the end I chose the Canadian book (buy local!) because it was published more recently (2007). The book title is All the Good Pilgrims, it is written by Robert Ward – his first book. I’ll let you know how it reads. The reviews on the back cover are positive…
In the end I chose the Canadian book (buy local!) because it was published more recently (2007). The book title is All the Good Pilgrims, it is written by Robert Ward – his first book. I’ll let you know how it reads. The reviews on the back cover are positive…
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Freight
I looked into booking passage on a freighter. There are travel agencies that will do it and some shipping companies take direct bookings. On the interweb it says $50-$75 per day. I found a company that takes passengers and does a fairly regular grain shipment of Montreal to Barcelona that takes about 10 days. That's $500-$750. Cheaper than flying but not exactly hoboing it. I did see some scant mention of working for passage on some shipping lines which would be even cooler.
As for training for a long hike - I've done nothing for far too long. The result being that I'm in pretty poor condition. As is if I tried to book passage on a freighter they might want to charge me as freight by kilo rather than human passage... So I'm going to have to make some kind of fitness plan for once the move is completed. That's in one more week and I'm looking forward to it. As an aside - if you are a single person and your main hobbies aren't watching TV and shopping, my advice is don't buy a house. A condo maybe.
As for a new exercise regime the relocation to Kanata will have a huge impact on what I do. I'll be living with the running man and family ans they are a pretty health conscious crew so I'll have the moral support. I'm thinking there will be some trail running at Kanata Lakes, some work with the weights and more yoga. Anyone have any recommendations for a good Ottawa west end yoga studio?
As for training for a long hike - I've done nothing for far too long. The result being that I'm in pretty poor condition. As is if I tried to book passage on a freighter they might want to charge me as freight by kilo rather than human passage... So I'm going to have to make some kind of fitness plan for once the move is completed. That's in one more week and I'm looking forward to it. As an aside - if you are a single person and your main hobbies aren't watching TV and shopping, my advice is don't buy a house. A condo maybe.
As for a new exercise regime the relocation to Kanata will have a huge impact on what I do. I'll be living with the running man and family ans they are a pretty health conscious crew so I'll have the moral support. I'm thinking there will be some trail running at Kanata Lakes, some work with the weights and more yoga. Anyone have any recommendations for a good Ottawa west end yoga studio?
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