Greg's Wanderings

Author: Greg H

  • My Fanny Pack

    My Fanny Pack

    While my backpack will tote the bulk of my belongings, my little fanny pack will be responsible for carrying the most important items. The fanny pack will never leave my side. If I’m not wearing it — for example while showering — it will be in the shower stall with me keeping my towel company.

    The reason for this obsession is that it will be carrying the irreplaceable items I will have on my trip, as well as some things I’ll just want ready access to while hiking.  I suppose I should clarify that the term “fanny” pack is a bit of a misnomer.  I’ll be wearing this with the pouch in front for both easy access by me and less easy access for anyone who would attempt to have me part ways with my valuables.

    So what will be in this marvelous non-fanny pack?

    Passport and Camino Credential – both in a silicone waterproof pouch.  One proves I’m an American citizen.  The other proves I’m a Camino pilgrim and entitled to stay at alberges and also receive discounts on admission to various attractions along the route.

    iPhone – my phone/camera/wallet/guidebook/blog posting tool. 

    Battery bank – for charging my phone, watch and occasionally my headlamp.

    Money clip – I won’t be carrying a traditional wallet.  Just a lightweight clip to contain my cash, a credit card and my Resolut ATM card.

    Chapstick, hand sanitizer and sunscreen – to protect me from both germs and UV rays.

  • Clothing care

    Clothing care

    While there may be the occasional accommodation that includes washer and dryer, most of the time, laundry will be a daily hand-wash process.  The daily ritual will be as follows:

    • Arrival at alberge and check in
    • Take a shower
    • Change into tomorrow’s hiking clothes
    • Hand wash today’s hiking clothes
    • Hang to dry
    • Hope things are dry by morning

    To facilitate this process, I am bringing three laundry-related items. 

    Earth Breeze Laundry Sheets – l LOVE these sheets and have been using them at home for the past several years.  I typically use a half sheet for a normal sized load at home, but for washing a handful of items, I’ll likely tear the sheet into about 12 pieces and that one little piece should do the trick.  For my hiking purposes, these sheets are great because they are super lightweight.  Three sheets weighing in at 10 total grams.  On a more general note, I really appreciate how I’m not paying for a bunch of water and that they come in biodegradable paper envelopes.  As a bonus, they are a local Oregon company, so I like supporting my state’s economy.

    Travel clothes pins – These are an item I’ve had for a long time and I can’t identify where I purchased them from.  They are very lightweight, but will keep my clothes on a drying line if a breeze comes up.

    Diaper Pins – there will be times when things are not completely dry by morning.  These pins will allow me to secure still-damp items to the outside of my pack so they can continue to dry as I walk. 

    Towel – while not officially part of my laundry kit, I do intend to use my microfiber towel to help squeeze out as much moisture as possible from the washed clothes before setting them out to dry.  By placing items flat on the towel and then rolling up and wringing out, I should be able to remove more moisture (with less concern for stretching out clothes) then I would if I wrung them up by themselves.

  • 20-miler

    20-miler

    Wednesday morning, I took my dog out to pee at 5 AM. It was pouring rain. I had a 20-mile hike to and from my parents house scheduled and the thought of canceling crossed my mind. Then, I remembered that it rains in Spain in Portugal too. In fact, by the time I reach Galicia, the state where Santiago is located, there’s a 50% probability on every day that there will be measurable rain. So on with the hike.

    By the time I started walking at 7 AM, it was just the typical Oregon pissing kind of rain that really never gets you wet. It’s just more of an inconvenience. 

    As the crow flies, my parents house is only about 5 1/2 miles from mine. But with a US highway, an interstate freeway and the Willamette river standing between us, you have to make some detours in order to get there.   I spent some time the day before mapping out a route on AllTrails. The route initially looked pretty good but on closer inspection, I realized I’d have to do some on-the-fly adjustments to avoid some tricky intersections and scary streets.

    While most of my training hikes have been on forested trails or in quiet residential areas, this one perhaps best replicated the types of conditions I expect to encounter in the Camino: getting from point A to point B can sometimes mean walking alongside busy roads.  

    Walking streets in Portland, Oregon is normally a pretty safe endeavor.  The city is generally pedestrian friendly, many streets have sidewalks and motorists generally try to scoot over to give you a little extra space.   

    But not all streets are created equal and there are a few that a downright frightening to walk  with non-existent shoulders around blind curves.  

    I use AllTrails as my mapping App.  It shows all the roads, the cut-through pedestrian paths, intersections with walk signals and contour lines so you have an idea about how steep the grade will be.  

    It also shows streams and helps explain why it’s impossible to get to an adjoining neighborhood without traversing at least short distances on scary roads.  

    During my 20-miler, I experienced both some of Portland’s best and worst pedestrian experiences.  The photos included here illustrate the variety of conditions. 

    One of my favorite options is a path with dedicated foot and bike lanes and a small barrier between the car lane.
    The Springwater Corridor. No cars in sight. Just watch out for the bikes speeding past.
    SW Multhomah Blvd. A five block section has this divider posts to give you some distance from cars.
    SW Palentine Hill. Very limited shoulder and only a ditch to jump into if cars get too close.
    SE 17th Avenue has a nice wide pedestrian/bike lane with a median separating from car traffic.

    The drizzle I experienced as I set off at 7 am quickly disappeared.  Aside from the occasional drop falling from a tree I made it to and from my parents place precipitation free.  I made great time and added a quarter-mile detour in Sellwood to stop at Blue Kangaroo for coffee and a pastry.  Even with the detour, I arrived at my folk’s apartment around 10:40.  

    Stopping in at Blue Kangaroo for a cold brew and berry muffin.

    I carried my full backpack and did a little show and tell of what and how I had packed.  We then had a nice lunch before I reversed course just after noon.  

    In my way home, I didn’t follow my own policy of stopping every two hours to rest my feet.   While I made it home by 3:20, I paid the price for not taking a break midway to give my feet a breather.  After a good soaking in Epsom salts, they were as good as new.

  • A perfect day for hiking

    A perfect day for hiking

    We could not have asked for more perfect weather for our most recent Camino simulation hike. Today I was joined by eight others including three repeat hikers from my previous simulation hikes.

    With temperature starting in the high 50s, we were able to complete our 15 mile journey a little before 1 PM and the weather was in the mid 70s when we reached Waterfront Park again.

    As with our previous hikes, we stopped in the Sellwood district for a coffee break and then had a picnic lunch in Hamilton Park along the Terwilliger Parkway.

    Fancy goat house with adjoining chicken coop.

    This time as we were leaving the coffee shop, some locals asked us if we were going to see the goats. They described a house, just a couple blocks out of our path where they had a goat pen in their front yard. We made a little detour and saw the cutest goat pen, which also happened to house, rabbits and chickens in the front yard just a couple of blocks off of the main business district in Sellwood.