13 Days To Go

Well, it’s been a while since I wrote, like 8 days. I’ve been busy with grandkids and training. Haven’t felt very reflective. I had a new pack and was training with it. I really liked it’s color (it was raspberry pink) and that it was smaller than the one I used last year. However, problems arose in training. First, my lower back started to hurt. Now my back has been a long time issue, even had surgery a few years ago, but since the surgery it has been pretty benign. 

New Pack

Last year I noticed that I never had any issues with my back on the Camino, only my knee. It occurred to me that maybe the pack acted like a brace, keeping my back straight and encouraging good posture. I threw the thought out there in a group of other pilgrims and a couple of people responded that they had had the same experience and also wondered if the pack actually helped. 

Well my new pack is certainly not helping, it is actually causing a problem. then yesterday it rubbed sores on my shoulders. “Enough!” I said, this pack is going back to REI. REI is great that way. You can buy something, road test it for as long as you like and return it. They have a parking lot sale a couple of times a year and sell all the returned stuff. I think it is a great business plan. I shop there a lot, and know other people who do as well, because of their liberal return policy.

Old Pack

I am going to take my old pack on a couple of training hikes, to make sure I am not just romanticizing how great it was last year. Weight wise the packs are about the same, but the old one holds more. I don’t need the space, but empty space doesn’t really weigh anything. As long as I resist the urge to fill it up, I will be fine. Mr Burple fits better in my old pack too. If the old pack gives me problems I may go into panic mode, since by then it will only be about a week until I leave. But, I am not going to worry about going into panic mode, I am not going to worry about going into panic mode, I am not . . .