One Hike, Two Sandals, and a Beautiful Backpack
Sunday, August 6th, 2006Yesterday we went on a very long hike in part to prepare ourselves for the hiking that we plan on doing on our trip, but mostly just because some friends of ours asked us to go hiking with them. I discovered a couple of things about myself on this hike. Firstly, I’m exactly like my mother when it comes to hiking: I tend to walk very fast; if we’re on a hike, then we must be headed somewhere and why not get there quickly if we can? And secondly, I should buy some hiking boots because it is hard to get places quickly in my sandals.
In other news, I bought myself a GOURGEOUS backpack, which will be my traveling companion while we’re on the road. AND, I got it for less than half of what it’s worth. Woot! Since we decided to go on this trip, I have been a frequent visitor at the REI Used Gear Sales at which the nice people at REI sell all the stuff that people have returned for a fraction of what it was worth originally. Some of the things are old or damaged, but some are beautiful, pristine, and new. For example, my new backpack was put in the Used Gear Sale because it was “too old to re-stock.” Now, it was very clear that the backpack had never been used before. It still had its tag and everything. But it had been sold several years ago and the buyer had promptly forgotten that she ever bought it. She must have let it sit in her closet for years before returning it. Anyway, point is, I got to buy an unused North Face backpack for less than half of what it was worth. And therefore, I win.
Score: Me and my backpack: 1, Whoever it was that we were competing against: 0
-Sarah
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