Packing

So….(I thought I would begin this adventure blog/diary with the word that everyone seems to use to begin a sentence nowadays in my meager attempt to give it a more up to date feel rather than beginning with “Well….” as President Reagan might have done since he began almost every answer to a question with that word, and therefore encumbering it with a stodgy, stately feel, or just beginning with something like “Today…..” which will end up sounding repetitious after a few weeks go by, requiring me to be much more creative with the beginning of each post than I actually am, when in all likelihood, I will be somewhat exhausted, both physically and mentally, each day and not really be in the mood for creativity, being taxed enough to just recall all the events of the day much less wax poetic like Ernest Hemingway !!) ….I began to pack most of the non-clothing items for the trip (camping gear, tripod, sleeping bag and pads, etc) meticulously placing each item into a spot within the bag so as to utilize the space as efficiently as possible, all the while being keenly aware that even with all the gear squeezed into it, it should still allow the bag to be zipped closed and buckled securely while still falling below the 50 pound weight limit imposed by the airlines, but nonetheless, although I did manage, with a valiant effort and breaking into a sweat, buckle and secure everything within the bag, I would ultimately fail miserably having to remove my hiking boots to achieve said weight limit, but leaving me with the perplexing quandary of: Where the hell do I put the boots now !?!?! If memory serves me, the following is a list of what went into this poor, hapless although cavernous, bag: tripod, large umbrella and an attachment for tripod, cane (for hiking the Virgin River in Zion), camp stove, camp pots, lighter, eye dropper, funnel, gas bottle (empty), railroad lamp, freeze-dried food (8), sleeping bag, blow up pillow (2), foam sleeping pads (2), plastic bottles for water, plastic bottles for food, full hiking backpack, Leatherman tool, Swiss Army knife, cleaning kit for my glasses, bath towel, plastic bags, garbage bags, toilet paper, river walking shoes with wick socks, spare AA batteries and a few other small items I’m sure I’ve already forgotten about and will probably never need, but will ultimately scratch my head and wonder when I’m finally back home and unpacking saying, “Why in the world did I pack that?”