The Camino.   The fun starts April 23.   I will be hiking the Frances route with my brother in law Joe.   This will be his first long distance hike.   For me, it will be my first since.wrapping up the PCT in ‘21.  We hope to finish by June 1 or so.  After that, Joe heads home and I head somewhere to get a couple weeks of alpine hiking before returning on June 17.   No plans yet for that bit.      

My cousin JD wanted to join for this one, but life and some injuries got in the way.   Going to miss having him around on this trip.  

 Last 2 months I have been pulling out all the old gear and giving it a makeover.   My old tent was trashed, the old jetboil was looking ratty, and I needed to sort out better rain gear.   Keeping the old sleeping bag, but I’ll likely toss it when I get back.   The zpacks bags are amazingly light and reasonably durable, but over time the thinness of the material is easily compromised.   Each new hole leaks feathers until I slap on some duct tape.  When I see gear with some fixes like that, I think “well that person has some experience”.   If I see gear with dozens fixes, that changes to “well that person needs a job”.    I’m somewhere in between those two right now with my sleeping bag.  

My blogging gear and software seem to work.   I”m writing this update on an iPad with a new Logitech key-to-go keyboard.   Feels nostalgic.   I’ve downloaded the buencamino app, booking.com app, updated my garmin software and tested it out.   

My pack’s base weight is around 22 lbs now.   I am carrying a tent, stove and sleeping pad even though most of the time we will be staying in hostels.    Really want to do some tent camping during the Camino, but if I never do, I’ll certainly need this stuff for the second segment of the trip.  

So that’s there you go, time to do the Camino