Trip planning is coming along for August. I was not able to get out of school for that week, but I am going to make it work. I am hoping to get all of the work for that week done ahead of schedule and bribe someone who will be around to submit the information for me. Any takers? I may even make it worth their while through reimbursement with some sweet coinage.

So far it is Eric July, Chris A., and I as definites. Matt is still trying to decide whether or not he wants to go? My question is why would you not want to go? I have tried to get ahold of Justin Walters and Pete Gaffney from South Bend to see if they can come, but I have not heard from them as of yet. I will most likely contact some guys from the household up in Dinkytown this week or after I get back from Montana.

My dad and I were packing food today for the Montana trip. I think I am becoming a "ounce counter" after reading so much about people's AT thru-hikes. I was trying to stuff all of the gear I would be taking into a 2800 ci pack and it wouldn't fit. My dad stuck me with the whole tent and it takes up most of the room in my pack! On another note I was packing all of the food with him and I have a suspicion that we may be bringing too much food. The beauty of having a big group of people is that you can spread the load between them all, with two guys there is a heck of a lot more to carry. If I was doing the trip myself I would definitely do everything different. I would use a tarp tent (18oz) as opposed to a 2 man tent (6 lbs). I would bring 2 lbs of cheese, 10 bagels, 6 boxes of assorted noodles, a bag of granola, and 1 lb of soy meal. I love the fact that my dad enjoys cooking gourmet in the sticks (as do I), but I think I would stick to one really good dinner (pita pizzas, mmmm) per a week and just regular high calorie light weight food. Just a difference in opinions. Also, I think we must be carrying at least 1 lb of plastic bags as all of the food is separated into individual meals. I guess that is enough of the backpacking banter I am sure I could count the number of people reading this who actually care about backpacking on my right hand that only has 3 fingers. Actually I doubt that many people read this blog, but I will stop with the backpacking anyway.

My grandmother fell a couple weeks ago and hurt her back. She hasn't been doing very well since(because of the pain). It is hard to listen to how bad she is doing because she is one of the toughest ladies I have met. She is also one of the most selfless individuals I met as well. She is always helping other people in the complex she is living in. She walks a couple miles a day too which is where I get the hiking itch from. She has lived an amazing life though. She worked with the dentist who came up with the idea of adding fluoride into the municipal water system and the use of fluoride to prevent tooth decay! This was back in the day when dental assistants didn't need formal training. She never went to college and she has achieved so many awesome things in her life. I am hoping she has many years ahead of her. We are all praying for her full recovery.

School is pretty blah... I don't know how people can do this type of work. It seems like there is no light at the end of the tunnel with all of the regulations and all of the problems healthcare faces day to day. I am assuming they can handle it because there is hundreds of colleagues around that share the same plight. Who knows. I just want to finish this degree and move on to the next chapter of my life whatever it might be.

I've read through almost the whole Dune series, and I think I agree with Steve Ambrose's opinion on the it. The first book was awesome, but each one after that gets more and more bizarre. What I can say is that Frank Herbert (the author) has an awesome imagination. There are some very interesting ideas of power and politics and religion and money and dependence on one source of energy that I could write my own book on if I wanted to. One thing that I took from the series is how systems become corrupt no mater what they be. There are too many things too think about and write about and I am sure that they would all come out in some crazy jumble so I won't even touch it. All I can say is give the series a chance if you have the time it is pretty interesting.

Other reading has to do with preparing for a Thru hike and I will not go into that either. I am almost done reading "Ultramarathon man" again. I can't get enough of it. I needed some inspiration for running. I may commit to doing a 50-miler next year, but I have to think about it due to time restrictions that I already have with work, school, and the household.