Tonight I am prepping for my very first week-long backpacking trip coming up in just a few days!  We leave on Saturday to drive to Copper Harbor, at the tip of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.  From there, we take a ferry on Sunday morning to Isle Royale National Park.  Once we land on the island, we are taking a “water taxi” to another part of Isle Royale so that we don’t start off in the same place as everybody else.  We’ll likely just set up camp and do some exploring that day.  We have Monday through Friday all day to hike and explore (we have a quasi-planned route), and by Saturday afternoon we must make our way back to the ferry. 

To date, I have only done weekend backpacking trips, which haven’t been much of a challenge to pack for.  This trip is proving to be more difficult on several counts.  If you recall my recent packing challenges from my trip to Colorado, you’ll remember that I do have a slight tendency to over-pack (ahem, be sure I’m well prepared for…whatever).  Over-packing is not a good habit for a backpacker.  Especially when going longer than a couple days.  First, there is the issue of clothes.  I know I’ll need to re-wear things, but by the third day in a shirt, it’s really going to stink.  I’m not sure what opportunities we will have to wash our clothes, but I’m hoping there are some.  The weather there is also very unpredictable, so I’m trying to bring enough layers that I can handle colder temperatures, but that I’m no over heated in long sleeves all day while hiking.  I’m also bringing my newly purchased pillow-coat…if I don’t end up needing a coat, I just turn it inside out, and it’s a pillow!

Secondly, there is the issue of food.  I like to eat.  When I hike I get hungry, and I like to eat a lot.  If I feel like I don’t have enough food, I feel even hungrier.  That’s just the way it goes.  So, I may have over-done it a bit on the food.  I will probably end up dwindling this down a bit, but here’s a look at the types of food I’d like to bring:

I did not want to get bored eating the same things everyday, so I tried to spice things up a bit.  Oatmeal really is a good backpacking breakfast, because it’s fairly light-weight, it’s filling, it warms you up in the morning, and it’s good fuel for your body.  I am not a big oatmeal eater to begin with (it’s a texture thing), but I decided if I made my own oatmeal and added fun stuff to it, I could probably do that for breakfast all week (and it’d be better for me than Pop Tarts).  So, here’s what I ended up making:

-          6 cups quick cooking oats

-          3 tsp. cinnamon

-          1 ½ tsp. nutmeg

-          1 tsp. salt

Fun Oatmeal Blends

-          Dried Blueberries / Pecans

-          Dried Cranberries / Almonds / White Chocolate Morsels

-          Dried Cherries / Walnuts / Dark Chocolate Morsels

-          Mixed Berry & Nuts (dried berry mix, walnuts, pecans, almonds)

-          Brown Sugar & Spice: 2 Tbsp. brown sugar and a couple dashes of Allspice

-          Spiced Blueberry Pecan: dried blueberries, pecan pieces, pumpkin pie spice

Trail mix really can be a good snack while you’re hiking, but I tend to get bored of it before too long.  To help prevent this, I mixed up a variety of trail mixes, using some of the same ingredients from my oatmeal mixes.  Again, I divided these into baggies for Tom and me.  Here are the mixes I made:

 -        Dried Cherries, Dark Chocolate Morsels, Walnuts

-          Rice Chex, Pretzels, Reese’s Pieces, Pecans

-          Peanuts, M&Ms, Dried Mixed Berries

-          Dried Cranberries, Walnuts, White Chocolate Morsels

-          Pretzels, Yogurt Covered Raisins, Peanuts, Sunflower Seeds

Hopefully that will keep me from getting tired of eating the same things each day.  We are also bringing hot dogs to cook the first night, and this will be the first time I attempt to bring cheese and summer sausage…which I think I will be craving after just a short while.  Along with everything else in the mix, I think I am more than set on variety and quantity.  I’ll try to do a better job of determining my daily rations tomorrow!

The problem with packing for a backpacking trip is two-fold: weight issues and pack size issues.  I suppose these are the same problems you have while flying, but here I don’t get a carry-on, and my maximum size bag is only as big as my pack (a good sized but not overly large women’s pack).  Right now, my pack seems to be pretty much filled with clothes and food alone.  Hopefully Tom doesn’t want me to carry too much of the actual gear ;)   

 

Plus, it’s not like I can just pay a fee if my bag is too heavy.  Well, I will pay a fee…it will take its toll on my body!  The unfortunate thing is that we no longer have a scale in our home, so I will be guessing on weight and just be judging by how the pack feels on my back.  The good news is that if food is a good chunk of my weight, my pack will be getting lighter each day!!

I am very excited for this trip, as it is something that we’ve wanted to do for a long time.  The island is supposed to be beautiful, and we should finally get our chance to see a moose!  Of course, one of my biggest fears for the trip is being charged by a moose…or attacked by a pack of wolves.  At least there are no bears on the island.  But if you want to know what my biggest fear really is…

My biggest fear is having an RA flare-up while on the island.  I’ve had flares in my feet while backpacking before (though at the time I was naïve enough to think that maybe that’s just how feet are supposed to feel after a long day of hiking…sharp, intense pain with every step you take?), and it was not fun.  Still worthwhile, mind you, but it makes for a difficult day.  And, it’ll be harder with a larger group, because I don’t want to slow everyone else down.

I’m trying my best to preempt a flare, though.  To start with, I’ve scheduled my Enbrel so that I will take it the day we leave for the island and the day after we get back to the mainland.  That way I don’t have to miss or be late for any of it.  I also requested a small burst of prednisone from my rheumatologist, who suggested a 10-day plan: 10mg/day for the first five days, then 5mg/day for the second five days.  I will start this on Saturday to get it into my system and will take it through the Monday after we get back.  I haven’t taken any steroids since 2007, but they worked wonders in short doses like this for me before; I’m hoping they will again.  I am bringing my Naproxen, as well, and will try to remember to take that twice each day to cut down on any inflammation.  

Whew.  It’s been a while since I took this many drugs, but I want this to be a good experience.  So far this week I’ve only had noticeable inflammation in my fingers, so hopefully I’ll be able to start out on the right foot (literally)!  If you think of it, say a prayer for no flaring joints on this trip – particularly my feet & knees.

Oh, but the good news is…the boys agreed to carry me if I get stuck in the middle of the island, unable to walk.  We figured they could create “litter” of sorts to carry me on like a princess.  Hmmm…a “bad” day might not be so bad afterall!

In about 36 hours, we leave for our long-awaited family ski trip out west!  I’ve been looking forward to this trip since Christmastime, when it all started to fall into place so that almost my entire dad’s side of the family will be able to spend some time on vacation together in Colorado.  If I counted right, when we are all together, there will be 20 of us (those who are not coming – you will be missed!).  I’ve never been on a family vacation of this magnitude before, but it’s sure to be a good time.  The last time Tom and I were out in Colorado was in 2006 – we took a road trip with some friends, and met my dad and some other friends out there.  

We were at Breckenridge, which is where we’re going back to this year.  Out of the places I’ve been, Breckenridge is my favorite place to ski.  They have a good variety of runs, with varying terrain and difficulty levels.  The runs are well laid out on the mountain, and the views are beautiful.   

 

I’m not the best skier, but I’ve been skiing since I was about 4 or 5 – so, I’m at least to the point where I can get down almost any hill…I just don’t look very pretty doing it!  I’m thinking this year I might make a goal of getting down every run at Breckenridge--minus any that resemble death traps.  We have three ski days in which to get this accomplished.  If I can get others to go along, it could be fun! 

But, before we get to those choices, I am facing the difficult decision of what to bring with me!  I started packing a couple days ago, but this trip poses a few special challenges.

Ski trips require lots of extra gear that you don’t have to bring on most vacations.  This includes skis, poles, boots, winter coats and other warm outer gear and clothing.  We are also bringing my dad’s skis along with ours, and will likely be returning with some of his other gear, as he’s headed straight to Canada for work after our trip.  Skis are probably the hardest challenge.  It took us a while to find the proper size ski bag that was long enough and also big enough to hold three pairs of skis and poles.  After buying the longest one at one store, bringing it home and finding out it wasn’t quite long enough, my dad was finally able to find one that fits everything properly:

I have a boot bag for my boots; Tom does not.  I put my boot bag, stuffed with other winter gear, and Tom’s boots together in a very large duffle.  Fortunately, we are allowed two checked bags each on our flight.  The ski gear takes up two – that means we each get one checked suitcase.

What I really mean by this is that my family loves games.  We plan on playing lots of them, as we are sharing lodging and will have lots of hangout time in the evenings and non-ski days.  While our typical games of choice are card games, board games are fun, too.  The only problem is that those take up a lot more space.  I’ve narrowed it down to a select few games, and have removed some of the parts and pieces from their boxes to minimize their space requirements.  Here’s what I’m bringing:

-          2 decks of playing cards

-          Yahtzee (dice and score pad)

-          Blokus

-          Ticket to Ride (European Edition)

-          Curses (just the cards)

Yes, in this instance I am a typical woman and tend to over-pack.  I like to think of it as being prepared.  I don’t know right now what I’m going to want to wear on Wednesday – I don’t even know what we’re doing Wednesday, so I’d better have some options on hand.  Do I need to bring some nice clothes?  What about shoes?  Then don’t forget the toiletries, hair dryer and flat iron – those all take up room.  I also don’t want to be re-wearing stinky ski clothes – and warm clothes are bulky.  Plus, it’s going to be “layering” type weather out there.  So, I’ll need sets of warmer and cooler clothing.  I usually end up making stacks of all of the clothing I’d like to bring – then whittle down each category just a little.  I also stole the nicer/bigger suitcase for this trip.  Sorry, Tom!

I thought things were looking good when I realized our tickets came with two checked bags, plus you’re always allowed to bring two carry-ons.  Then I realized that there’s no way I’m going to be able to carry all that – and it probably is overkill.  So, no carry-on suitcase for me this trip.  I’ll bring a backpack and my purse.  Then I should be able to roll my suitcase and the ski boot duffle along with those.  I learned from a few past trips the importance of packing some extra clothes in a carry-on in case of lost luggage.  An extra set of clothes, books, camera, and a few other small items will go in the backpack.  Purse will hold…you know…pursey stuff.

I am going to attempt for the first time to bring my Enbrel injection (my weekly medication for rheumatoid arthritis) with me on the airplane.  I realized earlier this week that my Enbrel day is Tuesday.  If I didn’t bring it with me, I’d be almost a week late on getting my next injection, and would likely not be feeling my best for skiing.  Skiing is hard enough on healthy joints, let alone trying to ski with flaring RA joints.  So, I’m going to do my best to feel my best and bring my shot along with me so that I can take it on time.  The main challenge here is getting it through security.  Not only does it contain a needle, the medication is also supposed to be kept refrigerated.  I’m going to pack it in a soft cooler with an ice pack and see what happens.  The best I can tell, the TSA shouldn’t have any problem with my medicine itself.  I am making sure to bring it in the original box with the Rx label.  I’m not sure how friendly they’ll be about the ice pack, though.  It’s not really liquid…and hopefully it’ll still be frozen when we go through.  Oh well, we’ll see what happens.  The meds will be okay, but I’d prefer to have something keeping it cold since I won’t be using it for a few days, and we’ll have a long ways to travel with it still once we land in Denver.  At any rate, this will be a learning experience!

Whew!  After that…I think I’d better get back to packing!  Look for some fun mountainous pictures coming soon!