a change in priorities

I leave in 2 days...so things are getting real. If you had asked me about my biggest concerns for my hike a week ago, I would have gone on and on about how I will manage coffee without a pump of caramel syrup and a quart of half & half (I am so tough!). I would have detailed my planned skin care regiment - how I had triumphantly reduced my required products from 16 to 4!!

 But today, with just hours remaining before my departure, I am much more concerned with how I spend some quality time with my daughters and also test that the stove-thing I will have with me works? How do I finish up all my to-do's at work and repack my pack based on the 20 YouTube videos I watched last night? How do I ease my panicked 7 year old's fears about my departure while masking my secret excitement about being kid-free and responsible for only my own survival for 7 days? So my priorities are shifting rapidly...and I am guessing there is more of that to come!

I will write more later about my pack and gear because it's intense! Hopefully I can figure out what these poles are for too...the ones I had to have because it's required for any serious hiker. Back to YouTube!