back in the straps again.

it’s been a strange summer. most of the day feels pretty normal. mowing, planting, bucking, splitting, maybe a dip in the river. but then it gets odd when going to the farm for our CSA pick up, or if we want to invite friends over. i’m not sure how folks in the city are doing it. i don’t think i could be cooped up like that for this long. even as it is with all my relative freedom, i’m still feeling a bit pent up. it sounnds so trivial, but i just want to go to a bar and have a beer with friends.

being retired during COVID has emphasized why i wanted to retire in the first place. i’m not worried about a job letting me go, unemployment, or having to work in unsafe conditions. i’m not worried about paying my rent or a mortgage. the waves breaking on the economy eroding what little if any protections others have reach me as ripples in a pond.

with my free time, i’ve been able to do maintenance like replacing the fraying throttle cable on the tractor. i took down the barn i’ve been wanting to remove for years. i’ve been able to bolster friends and family around me to help them weather the storm. day to day i’m busier than i’ve ever been, except that it’s all voluntary so it doesn’t feel busy at all. maybe busy isn’t the right word, maybe full. even events out of my control, like a tenant leaving my rental unit don’t hit me like they used to. it’s a thing i’ve got to do, but it’s not contending for my time with a 9 to 5. all my time is mine now. i used to jam all the things i didn’t want to do into the week days so that i could (in theory) have my weekends be free. now it’s all my time. i’m happy to do my taxes on a saturday if that’s the best time to do them.

the black lives matter protests were both uplifting as well as depressing. where i live the demographic is very very white. seeing so many white people gathered to show solidarity after george floyd’s death felt like saying “we see you, and your struggle”. it was also eye-opening in the way the police responded. in some towns near me, the police set up barricades to prevent cars from entering the protest, and once that work was done joined the protest. other towns’ police addressed the protest armed and in full protective gear and then were the towns with “incidents”.

the “defund the police” movement was something i had been thinking about for a very long time. police are called for everything, and as the old addage goes, if you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail. i’m 100% in support of diverting money from the police to things like education and mental health services. the truth is during the protest, the only unsafe spaces were in direct vicinity of a police officer.

i haven’t done a huge amount of hiking this summer aside from my daily walk (mostly), which is a measly 3 miles. too full. :)

that’s about to change however. tomorrow i’m heading out to attempt an out and back of the long trail in vermont. it’s close enough to home that if rerations are too risky, i can bail easily, or possibly ask my amazing pit crew to bring me a reration (and maybe hike some miles, hint, hint?).

my gear list hasn’t really changed from the the things i will carry post except i got an extra dry bag for my clothes as my backpack wasn’t as water resistant as i had hoped, and i replaced the tripod i left near the albert mountain fire tower. it’s a smaller version of the one i had, so it fits in my fanny pack better. hopefully it’s not too small for the weight of the camera. also, as a quick aside, NONE of the links on this site will ever be affiliate links. i provide them only for convenience.

i also should “come clean” about the item “TP” on my list. (ba dum tsss) i’ve never carried TP on the trail. i carry an additional 1 liter bottle and use it kinda like a bidet. it doubles as a receptacle at night in the tent so i don’t have to get up to go pee.

there is a hurricane movning up the east coast at the moment, so it’s looking like i’ll be having some weather early on trail.