Onward!

Last week, I went camping in Joshua Tree National Park (Jumbo Rocks campground; highly recommend) and tested out the sleep system I have:

Sea to Summit Trek II bag (pre-2017 version)
REI Quarter Dome 2 (pre-2017 version)
Klymit Static V Insulated Sleeping Pad
Sea to Summit Areos Inflatable Pillow
Klymit X-Pillow

And it all worked beautifully. I already knew the X-Pillow wouldn't work for my head (but it came as a package deal with the sleeping pad) but I could easily use it between my knees while sleeping on my side or under one side of my chest while stomach-sleeping. The Sea-to-Summit pillow works great though when sleeping on my side, I have to stand it on end so my neck doesn't hurt. It also has to be slightly under-inflated for the most comfort.

I picked up a knee strap for my knee pain which is what I've come to realize is (dah-dada-DAHHH!!!!!!!) patellar tendonitis. I read about straps helping with pain and hoped it would.

And it did.

I did a lot of hiking, sans backpack (that was left back at camp). A total of about 18 miles over two days (according to the FitBit on my wrist...).  And my knee did a lot better than I had feared it would.

So, now I'm back home, doing exercises to help actually fix the problem with my patellar tendonitis and shopping for the next items on my backpacking list (stove for having hot coffee in the morning, now a must-have; and other things) and planning where the hell I'm going backpacking for the first time. Ever. (Redwood Canyon? Big Meadows? Sierra National Forest?)

And, just tonight, I loaded up my pack (a Cinnabar Red Osprey Atmos 65 AG) with the stuff I think I'd need for an overnight backpacking trip. It weighed about 20 pounds. And put on the pack. It felt really, really good. (I'm still struggling with the shoulder strap twisting when I put on the pack but I'll get that sorted out soon, I'm sure.)

All in all, I'm about 90% confident I could load up all that stuff for an over night, hike about 6 miles in, and then haul it all out the next day with ease.

I'm actually fucking thrilled.