2.50 am

a voicemail from a boy describing a girl he is looking for. he then describes himself. his entourage is shouting around him. at the end - you can hear them all discussing how that message was as they hang up the phone.

i love drunken messages - they honestly are hilarious.

2.52 am.

returned phone call.


so i was on a mission today. yet not a lot got done.

today i learned two things - finding a pack is not as easy at i thought it would be and coats i like are expensive.

I have been in "love" with an Arc'tyrex bag for years - problem - the price. it's over 400$. but it's a beauty with a lot of nerdy features i don't want to get into too deeply.

so i settled on the idea of the MEC replacement - the good ol' Brio bag. a mere $109. but MEC quality guaranteed that i would be in good hands.

SO today, at MEC, i spend some time with a floor rep, and do the next step in the backpack purchasing process...

The learning of the packing and of the eventual 'putting on the back' aspect - and ultimately learning about your abilities to carry your life on your shoulders.

And here, I learn, that the MEC brio bag does not fit me well. Major back pain - as it doesn't work with my back's contours. I can't even begin to tell you how much my back was hurting - and all i was doing was toting 30kgs around the bag section of MEC.

So i speak to the guy - and he suggests I try on another MEC brand name and then this one Arc'tyrex bag - ah yes - the one that i was always eyeing.

Now - here i have a problem. I do have to return and try on the Bora 65 vs the Bora 75 (men's vs women's) because i was having a problem with the hip belt jacking up - and this is like the most important fastener you will ever have - as it distributes 80% of the weight to your hips. The problem - i am facing the 400$ bag purchase scenario again - the same scenario that i finally cut out of my head. But man, that bag felt soooo good on my back. And to know that I'll be doing a hardcore back travel through NZ - it's best to get a great pack and a great jacket.

i do enjoy my back...

Packing these bags is funny. I have no idea what i'm going to do when i hit up NZ. The guy said you should never carry more than 1/3 of your weight. I am fine with that - cause i now know how 60ish lbs feels and it aint pretty.

anyway - it was a real eye opener. I really really need to start strengthening my back muscles - esp my lower back.

thinking about carrying your life on your back and actually trying to carry your life on your back - two very different things. i bet i'm going to leave with like nothing out of fear of overweighting myself.

So - that's the bag story.

On to part two - the inevitable need for a super strong shell.

My coat. This too has been something i've been working at trying to get for a long time now. I have been trying to find a good gore-tex shell coat that will be my everything coat - with layering for the colder months. Now - knowing this - i have to be prepared to pay a good amount of money for this jacket - cause it's going to be a very vital part of keeping me dry and ultimately happy as i backpack over the next year.

Gore-tex my friends - is not cheap.

The other part is the cut of the coats. I am a petite person - and the sad part of that is that most things at stores like MEC do not fit me properly. This includes their coats. Either they simply are too boxy and baggy or they just don't sit right on my body (arm length/shape). This has been a great letdown in the shopping department for a good coat. I have to love this coat. It has to keep me dry. It has to endure a heavy backpack grinding away at the shoulders and waistline.

In comes the new line of Spectre jackets at MEC. Beautiful new colours - i found a blue one that caught my eye. and they are a nice fit. for the first time, a size actually fits me in a way that i feel comfortable.

again, i'll spare you from all the product information.


My favorite part - the price tag.

$399.00 with tax.

Yup - read it and weep - and i mean that more to myself.

I'm not saying i'm made of money - cause i'm not - and i did have to crack into my last $100.00 GC from MEC. But in the end - this is a great coat. It just hurts to know i could bundle it up into the tiniest ball of material. :p

So now i've got my coat and my sleeping bag. the next two big hits are the bag and the boots.

wow - this is really happening.