Michael: Supplies

Tears not yet fallen
Shimmer on the morning leaves
Like uncut diamonds.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Tomorrow we start our 3 day adventure into Boquete. This is my equipment list. Everything I’ll be carrying, with a few minor exceptions, will be light weight, dry fast, and protect me from the sun, bugs and rain.

 For Monday’s 12 hour Volcano out and back run:

Clothes: cap with neck cape, long sleeve shirt, gloves, underwear, shorts, belt ( to attach headlamp to and use on waist if necessary), calf sleeves, socks, shoes, rain jacket (attached to pack).

The reason for the long shorts/knickers and calf sleeve combination as opposed to hiking pants are for two reasons; 1, It makes it easier to run while providing almost as much protection as pants and 2, After I’m finished I’ll most likely be wet and it’ll feel warmer to peel off the wet calf sleeves. For the same reason I sometimes opt to use a short sleeve shirt and arm sleeves, but the long sleeve shirts I have trombone up and down the arm pretty easily.

Equipment: Osprey Rev 1.5 pack with 1 ½ liter reservoir, phone, first aid kit, headlamp, safety whistle, insect repellent, watch ( with timer set to repeat every 15 minutes to remind me to drink), plastic bag.

Food: 2, 5 oz. gel flask with a blend of liquid sugar, honey, molasses, and electrolytes. I also have 2 large Baby Ruth bars and 2 half liter bottles of water stashed on the mountain. I’ll talk about caloric needs in another post.

Miscellaneous: Wedding ring, surf necklace, Road I.D., cash, license, credit card, and an optimistic outlook regarding the weather and my ability to accomplish this goofy challenge.

What I won’t be carrying: a map and compass (I’ve done this route and it’s pretty straight forward without any major trail intersections.), an emergency shelter ( I sometimes do, but rarely on day hikes. If I get hurt, I’ll hobble down to a lower elevation where it’ll be warm enough to sit it out. In the states I have a great poncho that‘s extraordinarily light and would serve the purpose.). A filter ( There is a spring in route and if I had my filter here, I’d consider bringing it. That’s why the food and water stash was necessary.), duct tape - that stuff is magical even though I rarely need it. If I had some it would be wound around something and in my pack.  

I’ll carry my around town clothes and gear in round town clothes in the Osprey Talon 6 lumbar pack: long sleeve shirt, underwear, shorts, calf sleeves, sandals, writing pad and pen, toothpaste and brush.

I think that should do it. We considered bringing our ipad but it won’t fit in either of our packs.

How this all works out will be fun to find out. Rarely does all go as planned and it’s always interesting to discover what went well and where I goofed. 
(Note: picture is missing 2 flask and sandals).