Post date: May 22, 2009 1:51:46 AM
I'm a friend of Todd's in Madison, WI.
I dropped Todd off at the Megabus yesterday.
I'm pretty sure that this the hostel he is staying at in the Twin Cities before he starts his trip. He should be getting a ride to the Kekekabic trailhead near Ely next.
Todd wanted to start out going 'ultralight' but when we picked up the final pack I was surprised at how heavy it was.
One fun fact about Todd's trip. He wanted a polyester shirt (polyester is a performance fabric compared to cotton) and in true trail rat fashion picked one up from the local Dig & Save. Its Silver and has a great texture woven into the fabric. I told him he should hum the 70s Disco tune 'Stayin' Alive' while he starts his through packing trip.
I talked Todd into buying the Spot satellite messenger because I was worried about him being out there by himself if something happened. I used to do a lot of solo backpacking by myself, and the spectre of a mishap was always in the back of your head. The updates from Todd are going to be fun, but the real comfort will come from the fact that Todd has other buttons on his Spot in which he can 'ask for help' from those of us on this list, and, more importantly, contact emergency personnel if he gets hurt and needs help. I feel much better knowing that Todd has the capacity to get emergency extraction if he needs it. However, as I put it to Todd, it was easy to recommend the Spot satellite messenger because, I wasn't the one that had to pay for it.
It will be fun to see how much skinnier is when Todd comes home. Some Appalachian Trail 'packers literally drink liquid margarine because it is the cheapest and fastest way to get enough calories while backpacking.
With this amazing experience, Todd, literally will leave a part of himself on the trail...