I had a headache today

I learned how to meditate today. So after dinner I went into my room and pushed a my headache out of skull. I felt a lot better. It was very interesting. I feel strange talking about this...

On Wednesday I will be peacing out to do a 4 day hike. Lake Waikaremoana will be my first "Great Walk" in New Zealand. It's been raining all week, so I am hoping that Mother Nature is just getting getting all of the rain out of her system before we leave, making way for sunny days and clear nights. We'll be staying in huts the whole time. Great Walk huts are the nicest huts that the New Zealand Department of Conservation owns. However, the huts on the Waikaremoana trail are not nearly as baller as the huts on more popular Great Walks like Milford Sound and the Kepler track. Either way, I don't have to carry a tent: choice! Saving me some weight. I'll also be taking less gear with me, mainly less clothes, in attempt to find the perfect configuration for future trips. Don't worry, when I say "less clothes" I don't mean "I am not going to take warm clothes". There's an art to it. It takes practice.

I cut my pack size from 5,000 cubic inches to 3,000 cubic inches. This allows me to be less generous with the stuff I bring. I am slowly learning how much stuff I really don't need while I am backpacking.

Part of the reason Steve and I did not make it on our Smoky Mountain Thru-Hike was because our packs weighed 50 pounds! Observe:

That's me with 4 pairs of socks, a change in pants, 2 pairs of shorts, 4 pairs of underwear, and countless other bullshit items. Now look at this picture:



I have only minimal items, and I'm carrying a pack that is 2,000 cubic inches smaller. In that pack I have everything I need. Although I was only on a 3 day hike, I had enough room left to pack a week's worth of food. It was colder at the cape than it was in the Smokys, and I still stayed warm. I rest my case.

I love messing around with this sort of stuff. It gives me something to do. Less is more when it comes to leaving complexity behind.