Come Along With Chong: I Shouldn't Be Doing This

As if I needed more things to worry about when I hike...I recently stumbled on the TV show I Shouldn't Be Alive. It's a sensational show that reenacts survivor's tales about their tragedies and struggles to stay alive in the wild. Stories vary from falling off a mountain, surviving a bear attack, and being swept out into sea. During the episodes, I was tense, nervous and in awe of the survivors' hardships such as broken hips, legs, arms, and gangrene. I have my fingers crossed that I will never encounter such scenarios. One can hope and try to be well prepared!

Besides scaring and worrying myself witless, M and I received our new Kelty 65 liter backpacks. We gave it a test run by stuffing it with 35lbs of equipment and weights, and went on a 2 mile neighborhood walk. With this trial run, M and I realized we will need to do more walking with the packs so we can get used to carrying the weight around our waists instead of on our shoulders. The 2 mile walk was rough and required more use of our core muscles and legs than our usual day packs. I now know that I will need more time to build up endurance in order to carry a substantially heavier pack and am excited for new backpacking adventures.