Yesterday morning Jeremy and I set out late and walked about eleven kilometers. It started to get hot in the afternoon so he suggested stopping for a few hours to rest and eat. I was tired as I'm pretty much out of shape despite the last few months of gym every morning and having already lost three stones. I lay down to rest a while and slept four hours solid. Admittedly, this gave the phone and other equipment time to charge on the solar panel I brought along for the purpose. We were on a little used farm track so Jeremy suggested stringing tarps and hammocks across the path for the night. I wanted to re-pack my bag so I waited. Sitting down I felt odd and noticed a lump in my back. It was then that I realized that my spine was curved crazily due to the weight of the pack. I think I'm in trouble there. Re weighing pack including food and water came out at a whopping 32 kilos! It may not be much for an elite commando but I'm an old fat computer programmer that spent the last few decades slouched at a desk. I cannot carry my pack at that weight, not if I hope to get fitter and not crap out from injuries.
So, back to the main story... I messed with the pack and trying to build a travois to pull it on and didn't set up my tent or my tarp. It was only at nightfall that I found the ground too stony to take a tent peg so in desperation I just put my big waterproof sleeping bag cover on the ground, threw the tarp on top like a blanket and slept there waking to the sound of torrential rain in the early dawn.
The equipment kept me dry but it was nasty crawling out into the downpour. The tarp went up strung on bushes and I am sat in poncho and Aussie hat while the rain continues. Buddhist teachings say that life is a series of moments. We cannot change the moments we had and should not grasp for moments in the future. This is fine by me.
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