3+ months until Superior

It's only 3+ months until I head off to my first multi-day backpacking adventure. The plan is to start at the North end of the Lake Superior Hiking Trail and hike south from there for about two weeks. I had today off, so I spent it refining my packing list and jotting notes of what I still need. 

All I'm missing are a backpacking stove and fuel, a few more moisture-wicking layers, extra batteries, and food (dehydrator is running in the kitchen as I write).

After spreading all the gear out on the floor, it doesn't look like much:

But somehow when combined it becomes an almost bulging pack:

Amazing to think that of all I have and enjoy at home, all I really need can fit in an 80 L pack. It makes even my junkiest possession look like a luxury item. 

Just looking at this pack nearly ready for the trails makes me excited. June come quickly!! 😁🌲🎒

Bucket List (as of Sep 2016)

Here's all the stuff I really want to do, as of this month of this year. Goodness knows it could change again any day. My blog seems the best place to store it, as a sheet of paper could be swallowed by the vortex of our house quite easily. =)

Work at the Renaissance Festival
  -as a food vendor
  -as a musical performer (penny whistle)

Camp and/or Hike
  -in Duluth (again)
  -Lake of the Woods
  -all over Minnesota
  -Yellowstone (again)
  -Zion National Park, UT
  -Grand Canyon
  -Black Hills
  -Grand Tetons
  -Canada wild

Travel
  -visit the British Isles
  -visit France (St Michel, Bayeux Tapestry, wine in a little café, local eats, Normandy beaches, Provence, Aquitaine)
  -Italy (pizza and wine on the Med, Venice)
  -Greece (on the Med, Athens)
  -Iceland
  -Norway & Sweden
  -Germany (Hofbrau Haus, racetracks, ...snowboarding?)

Write
  -Sabel (a novel)
  -Prairie Tales (short stories)
  -In the Family (family history)
  -Food: Simple (easy cooking & baking)
  -In My Wildest Dreams (the stories within dreams & nightmares)
  -The Menne Boys (small town fiction)