Countdown begins...

Less than 36 hours and I will be on the road to Idaho. I have done a lot of packing, from my food, to my clothes, to the gear and then some. I feel as I am headed to Alaska to climb Denali (Mt. McKinley for you old school people). I just want to be prepared for anything thrown my way.

Damn the Boy Scouts did a number on me. My grandfather, who was at one time the oldest active Boy Scout in America, would be proud of my preparedness.

I am only going to be in the back country for a couple of overnights, but I will be living as primitive as can be out of my truck. Someone asked me if I was going to watch videos at night or listen to music. I am sure my look on my face was one of bewilderment. My response was you don't do that when you are out in the woods with grizzly bears. You want to hear them sniffing around your campsite so you can make some noise to scare them off (hopefully). I am a very light sleeper out in the back country. In fact I will probably get more sleep during the daylight hours than in the dark. That will make some tough days of climbing.

Below is a picture of my gear all packed and ready for the bed of the truck. I will post a picture of the load out before I leave on Saturday morning.

Those crates contain most of the camping gear. Everything from tents, to ropes, to cooking items, backpacks. And yes, in the corner is the shotgun - loaded for bear. This does not include my clothing and food stuffs.

The only bad thing will be the miles traveled to get to these places, but that is part of the adventure. I am sure I will be sore after driving ten hours a day. The climb up Borah Peak in Idaho will surely do a number on my legs, plus the fact that I have not run in a week due to work and gathering my gear.

Afterthought - went to get an oil change on Saturday and the technician stated I had a leak somewhere in my Transfer Case. I have no clue where that was, but upon reading some things on the Internet, it is an important function on my truck to get the 4x4 in gear. The dealership hopefully fixed the issue on Wednesday, but yes another added cost to the trip. Good times!

Lastly, I will leave you with an image I really do not want to see while in Glacier NP. A momma grizzly and her cub. Maybe from the safety of my truck, but not out in the back country.