Preparing for Departure

I'm always anxious before leaving on a big trip.  It's a mix of excited anticipation for another great adventure, and serious anxiety about what could and should be done before we take off. It's not 'real' stress (in comparison to what my old day job used to inflict), but everything I do and each decision I make is tinged with an unusual significance.  

Do I pack this t-shirt or that one? It seems like an unimportant choice, but when I have to live what that choice (and that t-shirt) for seven months, its a decision that I could come to regret each and every day.  It's not always possible to purchase specialized clothing (especially for a six-foot tall woman with long limbs like gumby) in other parts of the world. Case in point: when I travelled to Egypt and Jordan with my sister in September 2006, I neglected to pack a t-shirt of technical wicking fabric or an appropriate sports bra.  My smart little sis had brought multiple MEC wicking t-shirts and was kind enough to loan me one for the duration of our three-week trip, which made the 47 C temperatures just a little more bearable. But I was out of luck with the sports bra. (I now have a master packing list that I consult before each trip to make sure that I don't repeat that mistake and forget such an essential item.)

On this trip, Adam and I are headed to New Zealand then Sydney, Australia for a few days before going to Nepal and Asia, so I'm fairly confident that unlike other trips, we will actually be able to purchase anything we forget. Our key problem is getting all those essentials to fit into our backpacks. For those of you following the backpack saga, we finally did get our hands on two Gregory packs - a 95L Whitney for Adam and a 90L Deva for me.  (Quick summary: Gregory packs were sold out in our sizes almost across North America and no packs could be found in Toronto or Vancouver. We had to order from a retailer in Quebec, and had some serious snafus with the shipping. We didn't get them until after we'd moved out of our house in Toronto.) You'd think with packs that huge that space wouldn't be an issue, but all our climbing gear (rope, draws, harnesses) almost fills a 35L pack on its own, and then there's the extra climbing clothes and two pairs of climbing shoes for each of us.  We also have sleeping bags, sleeping mats, and considerable cold-weather trekking gear for New Zealand and Nepal, as well as (on the other extreme) swimwear, shorts, etc. for hanging out on the beach in Thailand. Given that we will see temps in excess of 30 C and approaching -30 C on this trip, it's a lot of gear and clothing.  And I can't make it all fit in my backpack.  I've resigned myself to the fact that until we leave Nepal (and send our cold weather gear and sleeping bags home) that I'm going to be lugging around a huge backpack, a duffle bag and a day pack, while Adam has a huge backpack, a bag of climbing gear, and a day pack. (Six bags! Ugh.)

I am very excited though, and even though it's another two sleeps until we leave on Tuesday, I'm already having trouble going to bed each night.  I'm like a six-year old kid on Christmas Eve waiting for the big day. My heart is beating just a little bit faster just thinking (and writing) about it.  I'm definitely anxious for another adventure to begin.