something new every day...

so i bought a new book today. =) backpacker magazine's "everyday wisdom." i bought it because i don't have any trail common sense - yet. when i first looked into hiking the AT, it never dawned on me that you might want to bear bag & cable your stuff. i would have been eaten the first night, had i not done any research. i'd never thought about taking hiking poles. i was pretty naive.

anyways... so i bought this new book and it should wisen me up. i also bought a backpacking magazine, but i bought it mainly for the ads in the back so i can go online and get a few more catalogs sent to me. :)

i still don't know about taking the dogs with me. a lot of people on the wb forums seem against taking a dog on a thru-hike. most of them are concerned about the health of the dog, while the rest of them seem to just be anti-dog.

i don't know what i would do with them for six months if i didn't take them with me. i hate to say this, but the thought actually crossed my mind of just taking swayze and leaving jolie behind. i don't like to think that's playing favorites... but swayze *is* my firstborn. o.O plus, jolie is a boxer and would overheat really quickly. who knows?

i did start a discussion on a whiteblaze forum today regarding dogs and water supply etiquette. i don't want people on the trail to hate me, so i asked everybody else what they thought of letting your dog(s) swim and play in rivers/streams as long as they were downstream from the main collection site. i just don't understand why some people would get upset about that! bears and raccoons and all the other wildlife POOP AND PEE in the same rivers and streams that we're getting our water from! that's what water purification systems are for, people. i don't know... i just don't understand some people's logic. if they can see the animal playing in the water, they have a conniption fit, but if a bear craps upstream around the bend, it's outta sight, outta mind.

i'm still on the fence about whether to go or not. i'd really, really like to and it's the only thing i've been able to think about lately. i just don't know what i would do with all of my bills and whatnot.

if i could keep my truck until february and then just sell it off, that would be awesome. daddy did mention buying my truck, and that would be the perfect scenario, but i don't want him to feel obligated to buy *my* truck just because he's looking for another truck of his own.

so i wouldn't have rent or electric or cable to pay. i wouldn't have insurance or gas to pay on my truck (maybe just the actual note). i would have to buy my food. i would call the student loan people and get another six-month deferment. i would still have a cell phone bill. i would still have a minimum monthly payment due on the credit card, should i start using it again.

maybe i just need to buy another lottery ticket tomorrow. =)