"I am a stuffer; you are a folder."
These words spoken matter-of-factly by Jessica as she was completing a pack check at the trailhead of our first backpacking trip together and my first backpacking trip ever. I cringed as she dug through an old nylon stuff sack my dad had lent me full of neatly folded clothes and pulled out a hoody and an entire change of clothing - items she correctly deemed 'unnecessary.' She then proceeded to show me how when you stuff your outer layers - coats, vest, sleeping back, etc - in your backpack they can fill in empty spaces; utilizing critical real estate when it comes to backpacking. Tried and true methods of a seasoned thru-hiker. She then emptied my pack again, made her final recommendations on what I should keep and what I should leave in the car and said, 'But you do whatever works for you. You're carrying it."
Since that first 2 night trip I've come to understand and embrace exactly what Jessica was teaching me and I've learned a bit about what does and doesn't work for me while hiking. I've figured out the clothes I like to hike in, where in my pack everything goes (and I mean EVERYTHING), the method of setting up and taking down my tent, even the order I get dressed in is specific and fine tuned while hiking.
In my yoga practice, I've been working on integrating the Yamas and Niyamas in my daily life. These are the restraints and observances that make up the first two limbs of an 8-limbed yoga path. I like to think of them as the 10 Commandments of Yoga. The first of the Niyamas is Saucha, which invites us to be pure in thought, word and deed. Preparing for this hike is, in many ways, a saucha practice. In order to be successful as a backpacker, one must continue to sift and refine until all you have is exactly and only what you need. The other stuff is simply too heavy to carry.
Gear sorting in Tucson
Our arrival to Tucson marks the final stage of our gear refinement - checking and rechecking gear, final food shopping, final resupply review.
Resupply boxes that will be shipped in a few weeks
Organizing my home and preparing to leave my life for two months has taken preparation, organization and hard work. When I reflect on the work I've done to get me to the trailhead - I see it all as an act of purification. My home, my work, my relationships and my backpack are at their purest, most simplest state. Now, taking my saucha practice to the next level: the physical and mental purification that will come from spending 60 days in the backcountry of Arizona.
The outer layers are stuffed... I'm still folding my clothes though ;)