06/01/2005

Well, it's a very rainy day in Sarasota today. But it gives me some time to work on details for our walk. Janice (a member of our HOT HEELS team) found this information on a 3 Day message board. If I were packing to walk today, a rain poncho would be on the list...wonder what October weather will bring? Anyway, here are some of the things walkers will be thinking about:

SOME PACKING TIPS

I wanted to share some tips on packing that should make things a lot easier for you on the Walk. There is a lot here, but it might help alleviate some of your stress about getting ready for the event:

- The packing list on the Web site is a complete list of what you MIGHT need. Check the weather a couple of days before the event to see if you'll really need a sweatshirt, raingear, parka, etc.

- As a rule of thumb, your clothing (with the exception of your jacket, sneakers, fanny pack, sleeping bag and air pad) should fit into a paper grocery bag (just to measure). If you've got more than that, you may be bringing too much.

- Your toiletries should all fit easily into a paper lunch bag (again, just to measure). Don’t bring full size bottles of shampoo, bath size bars of soap, etc. Bring trial sizes or the little bottles you get at hotels. And don’t bring a blow dryer, since there is nowhere to plug it in

- Separate your clothing into what you need by day/night (e.g. Day 1 morning, Day 1 night, Day 2 morning, etc.) You don't need much for the evenings, as most people shower, put on their pj's or other sleeping stuff, go to dinner, then go to bed.

- Put each set of clothing into a 2 (or 2.5) Gallon zip lock bag, and squeeze out all the air (have a kid or a friend sit on it while you zip it shut). When it is sealed, the bag should look “vacuum packed”, and is now air-tight and waterproof. Write on the bag, with a wide tipped Magic Marker, the contents (e.g. Day 1 AM). This has 3 benefits. It makes the bags easier to pack, it makes it much easier to find your clothing, and it keeps things dry in case your bag gets wet (it happens).

- If you plan to bring a pillow, consider bringing a small (camping) pillow. If you want to bring a full size pillow, try to roll it up into your sleeping bag, in order to compress it.

- If towel service is provided, use it. If you do choose to bring your own towel, it doesn’t have to be a beach towel, bath sheet, or something gigantic. Trust me, no matter what YOU might think when you look in the mirror, your body is not that big. Since there are no blow dryers, if you are bringing your own towel, you might also want to bring a towel for your hair. Or, if towel service is provided, use it.

- Put your sleeping bag (rolled up, or in a stuff sack) in a large Hefty bag, sit on it (to squeeze out the air), and then twist tie it shut. The bag should look "puckered". Leave it for an hour, and then check to see if air leaked back in. If so, then repeat the process. If not, the bag is now air-tight, and waterproof.

- If you've done all this, you're things will take up much less space (since you aren't packing extra "air"), you can use a smaller (and lighter bag), you'll have more room in your tent, and your things will stay dry if (when?) your bag gets rained on.

- Your gear should weigh no more than 35 pounds. And 35 lbs is a LOT of gear. The simplest way to measure it is to weigh yourself on your bathroom scale, and then weigh yourself holding your fully packed duffel bag. The difference is the weight of your duffel and gear. And if you can’t manage to lift it to hold while you weigh it, then you have too much stuff!

- put something "unique" on your duffel bag to make it easy to identify. There will be 250 seemingly identical black wheeled duffel bags (available at Target for about $30) on each gear truck. Attach something to yours that will make it easy for you to identify. No, a pink ribbon is not a unique idea.

- yes, you are "allowed" to strap your sleeping bag to the outside of your duffel bag, as long as you don't use bungie cords (since they can snap and injure a crew member). You are also "allowed" to walk all 26 miles in high heels, wearing a scuba diving suit and a mink coat. Just because something is "allowed" doesn't mean it is a good idea. If you strap your sleeping bag outside your duffel bag, it is very likely that it will get lost, torn, or wet. Or maybe all 3! So just don't. If your sleeping bag won't fit into your duffel bag, get a bigger bag, get rid of some of the other things you were planning to bring (I told you that you had too much!) or have someone help you pack more efficiently.

Larry (DC/NY/Philly Crew)