The Planning Process

Marc spent pretty much the entire month of December reading travel guides, researching hotels, hosterias and hostels throughout Southern Patagonia and generally planning where we are going to go, how we are going to get there and where we will be staying. He's the real hero of this story.

Now that those pesky details are out of the way, we've moved on to Planning Phase 2: Shopping.

Considering our garage is basically a scaled down version of your local REI, you'd think we'd have all the necessary details to hit the trail running. When we started thinking about this trip, Marc proclaimed we were going to do it without buying any new stuff. Not so.

Marc opted to buy a new ultralight 3-season tent for the trip. I'm pretty sure this decision was solely driven by the fact that it was a killer deal at Sierra Trading Post. I needed a new sleeping pad, because I seem to have lost mine (thanks mom!). And then there is the camera ... semi-pro digital set up that needs lenses, filters, tripod, carrying case, extra battery, extra memory ... seriously, the list will go on, and on, and on.

Of course, there are also wardrobe considerations.

Hiking pants for Marc. Socks and boots for me. I just placed an order with Athleta for a wicking UV-protection hoodie and a little travel skirt. Because we're doing this trip a little bit city and a little bit country, packing a convienent, yet stylish (and lightweight), wardrobe is going to be a challenge.

And the most exciting part of developing a "travel wardrobe"? The ExOfficio underwear my mom got me for Christmas. Wicking, odor-resistant and dries in like 2 hours! The packaging says, "16 countries, 4 weeks and 1 pair of underwear." I think I'm going to try 3.

These Boots Were Made for Hiking

My new Asolo Stynger GTX boots arrived last week and I'm starting the slooooow process of breaking them in. Considering it's been about 10 degrees everyday this week, I've been wearing the boots on the treadmill at the gym. Yeah, I know I look hot. Most people have their boots with them to wear out in the snow, but I do the opposite and change into the boots once inside.

So far, the Asolo are performing well! No hot spots or blisters and I'm feeling really excited to get these babies in some Chilean dirt in Torres del Paine! I got the color scheme "sage/black" but I'm wishing now I had gotten this orange color (pictured above). C'est la vie.