A new obsession

Some people might have noticed my slight obsession with the exact number of kilometres we are going to walk (I like measurable goals). But now I have a new one – WEIGHT. Not my weight, that is an old obsession and a different blog……………… the weight of our rucksacks.

Naively or wisely we have never walked anywhere with a big hiking rucksack on our backs – EVER. I am sticking with ‘wisely’ because having experienced our first outing with a slightly weighted rucksack makes it insignificant if we walk 100 kilometres less or more. Even though our first outing went well, our journey has just gotten a whole lot more challenging in my head.

Luckily Gary and I can be very determined and we have also told way too many people about our plans so we can’t chicken out anymore. However, I still have a slight niggling worry in the back of my head that I will end up with egg on my face because I can not last the distance. So I have to remind myself that for me this walk is a lot about feeling the fear and doing it anyway. When the going gets tuff I can become totally single minded with tunnel vision. This trait has served me well in the past and I am sure will kick in when needed. It is also comforting to know that Gary is one of the most mentally strong people I have ever met. So unless our bodies fall apart we have a pretty good chance of making it.

But I digress, back to the weight issue. I am now wondering about how much five pairs of knickers weigh and will I really need hair conditioner or will walking without its weight make up for my hair looking and feeling like a scrubber. I have never been much into make up so that will not be a problem. Overall it is of course not about one individual item – it is the accumulation of them which adds the pounds (great metaphor, I should write a diet book). In particular it is our current need to have some home comforts with us, like two I pods, a diary, two books, mobile, camera, deck of cards…………….. a laptop ...................plus all the power cables and chargers for the electronic gadgets.

You can purchase pretty light yet amazingly powerful laptops these days. Rule of thumb, the smaller the more expensive. Our current one is out of the question as it is weighing in at 5 kg plus a very heavy power lead. We have seen a good range in funky colours weighing about 1.5 kg and then there is a more expensive one weighing about 1 kg. Gary and I are talking ourselves into a purchasing decision by collecting arguments ‘for’ and ignoring the only one ‘against’ which is that it has to be carried all the way.

There are also all the maps we need to bring along because we decided against a GPS system which was just one gadget too far. Electric toothbrushes have already been ruled out and Gary is looking for an acceptable alternative for his electric razor. Just listing all these items makes me aware of how many electronic appliances we rely on.

Anyway, if any of the things we will take along get in the way of achieving our goal, there is always a post office nearby where we can post all the surplus stuff home. Oh we are soooooooo skilled at talking ourselves into stuff.

It's all part of the cunning master plan