Pack Swap

Swapped my almost 7 pound pack for a lighter one.  I'm not sure if this will be the one either, but it is for sure several pounds lighter than the one I started with, holds almost as much weight and volume, and even has a few features my other one was missing.  I am most impressed with the quality of help you get from REI.  I walked in there a few minutes before they closed, hovered close to employees until someone asked how they could help, and proceeded to get the best customer service I've ever had in my life.  They didn't have the pack I was looking for, but I already knew that ahead of time.  They did have several packs that were an improvement on what I had.  They took the time to measure me correctly.  My original guesses were close but not exact, and it turns out that my torso length of 20 puts me half way between two sizes in a lot of brands.  Even though the store was technically closed by the time I had decided something, they still took the time to exchange my old pack for the new one, which was cheaper, resulting in some money back on my card.

Civilization

Headed back to civilization for a few days to accomplish a few things.  I'm going to swap my pack for a HMG 4400 Southwest.

Heavier

Today I hiked the falls again, but this time with 30-35 lb of pack weight.

Steps: 9892

Distance: 4.46 Miles

Flights climbed: 66

Max HR: 169

Breakfast

Tuesday, March 14, 2023 08:30 EDT

Ate breakfast buffet

Eggs

Biscuits

Potatoes

Blueberries

Blackberries

Orange

Yogurt

Orange juice

Coffee

(? Calories)

Load Test

Today I revisited the falls with a much lighter pack to see if it was maybe all the weight that was giving me a hard time.  I went all the way back down to where I started the first day and all the way back to the top.

Steps: 11674

Distance: 5.41 Miles

Flights climbed: 90

Max HR: 153

Retreat!

Originally posted March 12.  Gave my water to a fellow camper and he agreed to help me carry my stuff to the closest road.  When I got to the bottom, Dan called to check in and happened to be talking to Ron, who told me Uber and Lyft don't operate out here and offered to extract me.  45 minutes until I can warm up.

Financing

Some troubles sleeping last night, watched some TV on my iphone.  Finally woke up at noon, paid for another day here at the hotel, and talked to a colleague about accepting some side work to help finance this side journey.  While I have daylight, I may go hike the falls, if the weather is agreeable, so I can build up my strength, while I am reducing my pack weight.