Packin the last bits in. Long Trail Attempt Nº1 and Hurricane Irene

My Gregory Massif, fully loaded.

 Loading a backpack is a complicated process. Oh how I forgot..The bulk of the volume seems to be the rather light food cache and cooking stuff. The worst is going to be the camera equipment and the water bladder, but that is going to ride on the top where they will do the least harm to my spinal column. These long distance packs are incredibly well designed. The folks at Gregory informed me the Massif was designed for Appalachian Trail (AT) and (PCT) Pacific Coast Trail thru hikers. Organizing, packing and taking my time is easing the anxiety.
I bought my Gregory Massif 2nd hand, the padding decomposing I thought was just sand. Gregory Packs, you just have to hand it to those folks, they repaired the padding free of charge... 

Enjoying my recollection of reading Colin Fletcher's The Complete Walker. Fletcher made the Gregory pack famous. He used the Gregory Cassin and was out on the trail weeks at a time.

Colin Fletcher came to grief in Monterey CA hit by a car sustaining fatal head injuries. What on earth was he doing in lala Land crossing a bloody street?! Ironically, he was much safer in the back country with the coyotes, bears, rattle snakes, and cougars.. Remind me to stay away from car congestion! Life just has to be easier trying to befriend a bear. Your chances getting hit by a car are by far far greater than coming to grief in the back country. (bear photograph not mine)NY Times Colin Fletcher, 85, a Trailblazer of Modern Backpacking, Dies.