It’s true. It was my idea. Also true is that I was inspired by Steve’s cross country bike trip. I thought it was awesome. I like to cycle but I don’t know if I like it that much. Not too long after Steve’s bike trip we moved to Calgary. It was here that I fell in love with hiking. I was hooked! I had also recently started to read several books by female adventurers. It started with Cheryl Strayed’s ‘Wild’ but then really took off after Robyn Davidson’s book ‘Tracks’ and Sarah Marquis ‘Wild by Nature’. I found myself thinking out loud ‘I wish I could do something like that…’. Luckily, Steve heard me and said “Then do it”. Hmm simple, yet very effective. It took some convincing, (not really) but I sold Steve on the idea and now here we are, in the final prepping stages before we start.
In the illustrious words of Reggie Warrington in the Nutty Professor, “Women be shoppin’! You can not stop a woman from shoppin’!”.
I have never been much for fashion, most of my family and friends can attest to this. However, something to note about us is that we are self professed gear junkies and we have certainly enjoyed testing and prepping different types of gear and clothing for this trip. My thing over the past year or so has been shoes. Sounds typical of a woman but the ones I have interest in are leather and Gore-Tex. Most of the research I have done into what others have worn and used, has been extremely useful. In the shoe department, most suggest the use of light weight trail runners but I just don’t think they are for me. Wearing ultra light trail runners one can expect to go through about 5 pairs of shoes. I believe by wearing a more durable trekking boot they will not wear out as quickly and I will only go through 2 pairs. I understand the reasoning behind wearing runners. Better breathability and dry better but I tried about 6 different pairs of light weight trail shoes over the past year and never found anything that I liked as much as my leather and Gore-Tex boots. Maybe I’ll regret that decision, but I’ll cross that river when I get to it.
The gear will likely change as we go and we will adjust the list accordingly, but if you find yourself wondering ‘What is she going to carry to survive for 6 months on the trail?’ Click HERE. So far I have a base weight of 10kg (22 lbs), which comprises all of the gear and clothes I plan to carry, minus food and water. Seems reasonable. It adds up quickly though. For example: 1 litre of water weighs about 2 lbs. I may have to carry about 6 Liters of water at certain parts in the desert. This instantly adds 12 lbs to my pack. That’s 34 lbs and I haven’t even factored in food yet, let alone the whiskey! Tabernac… It going be hard but I think it is going to be worth every ounce. There is just something I find so exciting about going off on adventure like this. As Eileen Collins, an astronaut and commander on STS-114 once said, “We want to explore. We’re a curious people. Look back over history, people have put their lives at stake to go out and explore… We believe in what we’re doing; now it’s time to go.”
2 Canucks in a Tent 