Down south

Here I am visiting family and it's been raining in some places but snowing in the mountains. I dropped off our Idyllwild resupply boxes yesterday with my old friend Stacey and all I need to do now is finalize which pack I'm taking. I know, it's a bit late isn't it? Well I'm stuck on super lightweight and an old comfortable friend I have confidence in. Do you toss out old friends just because you meet someone new and exciting? I thought not. I guess I don't really have to finally decide till Thursday night. Friday will dawn and a pack will have been chosen.

I think I'm getting pretty nervous. I must say though that I am way more calm than the last attempt in 2012. Possibly since I've been here before and was successful with this portion of the trail. That's part of it I'm sure. Maybe more importantly, I'm beginning the hike with two others and just that seems to feel better somehow. I haven't introduced them yet but they are Diane aka Tidy Camper and Caroline aka Dirty Girl. I've known them for years in Santa Cruz but this is the first time we've attempted backpacking together. Nothing like jumping in with both feet, eh? I will post pictures of them at the border after we begin on Friday.

I checked out my Spot device today and it seems to be working well. At the end of every day I'll try to find a clear-of-trees spot and push the OK button. If all goes well, and you click on the Where Is Shelly tab, you should be able to see my location. Crazy huh? If for some reason there doesn't seem to be motion, I'm probably just parked somewhere with my feet up for a day or two. Not to worry.  And sometimes the device just doesn't work perfectly so I have to factor this into the trip and let people know ahead of time that it might be spotty.

Ok that's it for today. If I don't get to post tomorrow then I'll update folks on Friday. Happy trails!