Project Eveningland

2/23/2023 Thursday

I spent my morning doing something I enjoy in a way I never get to do. This little hostel has a tiny outfitter. The male half of the couple that runs it was a car salesman, and you can tell, but not in a bad way.

He is good at business and that means he offers services others don’t and does so well. That kind of entrepreneurial. The good kind. I’ve always thought there was a niche to make good money by applying real method and thought to hiker-oriented businesses. One thing he does is stock packs and other equipment from “cottage” makers—the kind of product that is innovative, uses the latest (and I mean the latest) materials, offers features designed for thru hikers (rather than those big packs you’d buy from, say, Osprey). Normally you have to order that kind of thing through the mail, sight unseen. Here you can try them on at leisure and put all your gear in to see if it fits, and weigh your stuff, and weigh the new stuff. He sold me $400 worth of gear, including a new pack, because it was so damn cool. And 10oz lighter than the one I have.

I bought a fanny pack because the new pack doesn’t have hip pockets. It’s great! I can take it into town with all my essentials. It was MVP of my resupply. It made it easy to juggle my wallet and notebook and everything else. The hostel is divided against itself, however, on a related matter: does one have to add a fanny pack’s weight to one’s baseweight? Or does it count as a “worn” item (the same way as shoes) and therefore not part of the baseweight? And what of the items inside? I choose to preemptively agree with whatever position Trip takes. Trip, weigh in in the comments, would ya? Neil, Rob, or anyone else with an opinion on the matter should also weigh in.

We had such fun debating this. Will is particularly vociferous that it should count because it’s a vessel, like the pack itself, which is certainly a part of the baseweight. I was ably assisted (both in the pack purchase and the weight debate) by Lennon, who’s working here with his wife after finishing a flip flop in December. He looks like Lennon and his excellent glasses encourage the comparison. I could tell immediately that he’d been a professional—in IT.

Mitch made us egg burritos with food left by others. We left to resupply at 2:30. I asked if they could bring us back from the store after the other stops, instead of on the 5:15 shuttle. The driver said he could swing back if we could shop in 15 mins or so. It would have given me a panic attack on the first AT journey. This time, I had a list and was ready to go. The driver still almost left without me. And then I did something and realized something. All those uncomfortable political conversations in the hostel shuttle? I’ve been causing them all along. I am that guy. And I cannot help it. We talked ATC Covid policy which is an incredibly loaded topic on trail. The driver took partial responsibility but really it was my fault. It did distract me from the curvaceous, nausea-causing mountain roads.

Talked with Ben for a while as I sorted food and gear. Shit, I still have to mail back the old pack. I want to keep Colonel Mustard so he can fight another day. Thinking of calling the new pack Jean Grey (on account of the color and in the hopes that my own story might be more phoenix-like as a result—but regular phoenix, not X-men phoenix).

Ok I have to quit writing and start on dinner: huge salad, frozen pizza, cookie sandwiches. Had strawberries this afternoon. And a 500 cal bag of Cheetos. And a Reese’s.

There are two elderly Maltese mixes at the hostel. One has an eye that just squints all the time. It’s sad, but also a little bit… metal.