Work has been interesting. Usually, news are quite slow this time a year. We call it "Summerlach": summer hole. It's that time of the year when elusive leopards suddenly appear in the woods of the Grand-Duchy, politicians send in inquiries about "monster rats" and the stolen bike becomes first page news. EVERYONE is away. And I have this feeling, that it is even worse in Luxembourg. During school holidays half of the country vanishes for a couple of months. On the one hand, traffic becomes bearable all of the sudden, but on the other hand, journalists begin to doubt their qualities. You get handed a story in the morning, or you come up with something halfway decent, and you hit the phones. You leave messages but no one calls back. Until September, 15th. In the afternoon, you suddenly get a police bulletin and you squeeze the last little bit out of the few "chiens écrasés" (journalist lingo for traffic and petty crime news, meaning "dogs hit by a car". Or "Blut und Sperma" - blood and sperm ... journalists are quite a weird bunch of people with a pretty peculiar sense of humour btw. more on this later though) just to fill your 3 minutes of news.
But this year, people have been very busy providing us with stuff to report on. Good for us. So, anyway, busy week. But I did get the time to get out on the trails around my hometown. I've been out there three times this week, exploring the woods. As a kid, we've been in those woods the whole summer long. Playing Indiana Jones, building tree houses and huts, exploring the quarry behind our property. So it was fun, revisiting all those great places or trails we used to ride our bikes on for days without end.
On another note, I guess I got hooked up on gear. I've been visiting outdoor stores, looking up backpacking blogs and online shops whenever I got the chance these past few days. First conclusion: I need to stop buying stuff. Although I started compiling a list with gear and material for the big trip, I kept buying things which were not really a priority. But they sure will come in handy ... If they survive the cut.
Because right now, I am panicking. I've been reading a lot about backpacking, hiking and the AT. With the most recurring topic being weight and packing light. And I really don't know why, but it did not occur to me for one second, that I would be affected by the same problem. I was secretly laughing at all those people telling stories about how they struggled with their heavy backpacks until they had the opportunity to get rid certain things. And while I was laughing, I kept adding things to the list and compiling gear. To be honest, they will come in handy. Like the mobile sonar panel to charge my electric devices. Or the 10 L sink, to transport water from the source to the camp, to wash the dishes or yourself.
I'm months away from going on the trail and my backpack is already FULL! I decided to go on my first two-day-test-hike tomorrow and my pack is FULL¨! Besides the essential gear (tent, mattress, sleeping bag), I only packed food and clothes for two day. And it is FULL ... with material for two days. In Luxembourg. Close to home. How am I supposed to last a full month on an infamous hiking trail in March, 5000 miles away from home?
But I'm already working on that. I packed the sleeping bag in the main compartment of the backpack and it takes up half of the space. And there is some wiggling room left with the tent and the mattress. Both are cheap, low end and heavy. I will get new, lighter gear before hitting the AT. For now, this is good enough.
So, back to my "trip": I will hike a section of the Mullerthal Trail again. Day One will take me from Larochette to Mullerthal, but on a different loop than last week. It's about 22 km, passing Medernach and Berdorf. Supposedly a very nice trail . On Day Two, I'll hike to Echternach, adding another 13 km to the route. At that point, I will decide if I add another day, hiking back to Mullerthal on a different loop.
I guess, we'll know more by Tuesday. I'll keep you posted.
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen