Spreadsheets, Stress and Starbucks

Seattle, U.S.A. - July 23, 2005

Planning for the trip took off in full gear this week (as well as our stress levels) as we began to coordinate the complete list of logistics in order for the trip happen: inventory, trip routing, building contacts, research on country climates, transportation, planning our projects, refining the budget and much more.
(L-R): Tent, sleeping bag, nalgene bottleWe have had a major dose of reality this week, as we continue to realize the mountain of work and research that is left in making this trip happen. Hopefully with the energy elixir offered by our friendly Starbucks establishment, we will soon be making a little more progress.

We currently have spreadsheets for every possible scenario. As I write this, Patrick is currently working on the inventory and is literally counting tenths of ounces for each item to cut down on overall weight. Our goal is to each take a 45 liter pack (..for 18+ months, that's a pretty small bag). However, we both think it's feasible because of the amazing ultralight gear that is currently out there. The picture on the left is actually our tent AND our sleeping bag! I included a Nalgene bottle in the photo just so you can see how small these items actually are.