The List: Obsessive Gearhead versus Procrastinating Slacker

When we had made the plan to do this trip, a very major part of me sadly cared little about being out in nature for a week. About the camaraderie with Don and Julian. The great eats. The thrill of riding so far, so high and being in shape to do so. The mind-numbing beauty. The adventure.

When I looked through the “hut bible” provided by the SJHS, that part of me gave little attention to the description of the terrain, the dangers we would face or the formidable logistics.

About ten pages into the document, I found what I really wanted to see. A gear list. A long, detailed, shopping trip generating gear list.

We needed bike parts. Our bikes needed to be in top-notch shape. We needed tools. And Gore Tex. A new wilderness coffee-making system. Perhaps a GPS. MAYBE one of those really cool cycle computer GPS! Lightweight gear. Cool gear. State of the art gear. This gear, that gear, the other gear. Sweet, delicious gear.

I am the outdoor industry’s dream customer. I own scads of gear – much of it totally necessary, as I cycle, kayak, ski or hike nearly every day of the year. Over the years, I have learned in many cases to evaluate whether I own something that DOES what the cool new item does and then make a good decision about whether I need to buy it. But, it remains easy to convince myself that I don’t have something that meets a particular need, and then I fall off the wagon. New fleece makes my nipples hard.

So I began work on the definitive list for the trip. We needed to be warm and dry – and it could snow. We needed to be safe and to be able to respond to injury. We would be a long way from a bike shop, and we needed tools and parts to repair the range of things that can go wrong with three different bikes over a week on dirt. We needed to carry things. We needed personal gear like clothes and soap and books and cameras and journals. And, being modern Americans, we needed our electronics – iPods and cell phones and a video camera and the chargers that go with them.

And a damn Hummer to carry it all in.

But when it all came together in a big plastic box in our living room, it wasn’t really THAT much stuff. I then attempted to cram it all into a daypack, as the guidebook we have showed pictures of riders wearing ONLY daypacks and no panniers.

Wrong. It took about a minute to bag that idea, as a single breath of air would have knocked the top-heavy me right over.

So panniers it was – and of course, a rack to go with it. Or actually three, as the first two I deemed inadequate for the task and returned to L.L. Bean via their generous return policy.

In the end, I’ve ended up with two small (and very old) panniers, each weighing about ten pounds, and a 100-ounce hydration backpack weighing about ten pounds before water (that much water weighs in at six pounds). It doesn’t feel bad . . . he says at sea level riding on level ground.

So, on this list, we have stuff I think we really need. I’ve been through my list over and over, and with the exception of some small stuff that came in the pre-packaged first aid kit I used as a starting point, I have a good reason for everything on the list. I don’t have THAT much clothing, and the bike parts and tools will save our asses big time should certain problems arise.

But somewhere on this trip, we will encounter the Procrastinating Slacker, and I will be insanely jealous. We’ll meet him on the trail riding an old Schwinn five-speed, carrying a daypack with an old college windbreaker, and having NOT ONE THING from my 158-item gear list. He decided to go on the trip at the last minute. Grabbed a Power Bar on the way out the door, and hitched a ride to the trailhead in the back of a pickup truck. He’ll figure out how to get home when he gets to the other end.

He will not have obsessed over anything. He spent little or nothing. He looked at no websites and no catalogs. He didn’t have to return anything, as he didn’t buy anything. There was no perverse joy at making recommendations to his friends that caused them to spend hundreds of dollars.

And at the end of those 210 miles on dirt, he’ll have the same smile on his face and the same joy of accomplishment we do.

I run into the Procrastinating Slacker nearly every time, and I am envious. But I will never change.

Shown below, in no particular order, is the final version of the gear list:

Bandana, Bike helmet, Camera/charger/batteries/memory card, Cell phone/charger, Coffee, Coffee cup, Coffee filter, Coffee grinder, Comb, Contact lenses, Cotton balls, Cycle socks (2), Cycling shoes, Cycling shorts, Earplugs, Energy Drink, Fingerless cycling gloves, Fleece jacket, Flipflops, Glasses, Hut key, Hydration backpack, Journal/pen, Lightweight rope for panniers, Lightweight shorts, Lunch for first day, One silkweight shirt, Personal medications, Sleep mask, Sunglasses, Thermometer, Toothbrush, TP, Book, Maps, Guidebook, Route information, Bike repair book, Local emergency information (in Hut Bible), Emergency contact information, Insurance information, Flight paperwork, Inventory list, Cables – brake and derailleur (have 2 each), Cable housings, Chain spares (8 and 9 speed), Rotor spare, Tubes, Axels, Bike pump, Bracket spares, Brake pads (for 6700s only), Chain lube (have wet only), Chain tool, Chain whip, Crescent wrench, Derailleur spare, Extra tire, Hardware, Hub tool, Lube rag, Multi-tool, Needle nose pliers, Patch kits (3), Pedal spares, Pedal wrenches, Screwdrivers, Spoke wrench, Spokes and nipples, Tire levers, Wire, Ace bandage (small), Antibiotic ointment (3 packets), Antifungal cream (tube), Antimicrobial hand wipe (in bag with latex gloves), Aquaseal, Band-Aids, Benzoin tincture swabs (2), Cold pills – daytime (12), Cotton applicators (1 packet), Diphen (cold symptom) tablets (2), Duct tape, First aid book, First aid pads (with Lidocane), Gauze rolls (2), Hydrocortisone cream (tube), Ibuprofen (in bag), Irrigation syringe, Latex gloves (light blue), Life-threatening injury pamphlet, Matches, Moleskin (1 sheet), Pads – 3x4 (2), Pads – gauze – 2x2 (2), Pads – gauze – 4x4 (2), Patent assessment form, Pencil, Safety pins, Scissors, Space blanket, Steri strips/Secure strips (1 packet), Sting relief (pads), Stretch wrap, Tape – 1 ¼”, Tweezers, Tylenol (in bag), Wire splint, Aloe Vera, Compass, Contact lens solution, Deodorant, Duct tape,Floss, Headlamp/batteries, Hut key spare, Insect repellant, Lip balm, Nail clippers, Personal soap, Razor, Saddle sore stuff, Sewing Kit, Sunscreen, Swiss army knife, Tiger balm stuff, Toothpaste, Vaseline, Vytorin, Wasabi, Wire splint, Balaclava, Baseball hat, Cable ties, Cycling gloves – full finger, Drybags, Firestarter, Garbage bags, Handwarmers, Long underwear bottoms (2), Long underwear top, MatchesPack coverPacktowelRopeShell pants Shell top – heavy Shell top – light, Sleeping bag liner, Socks (2 pair), Triangular bandage, T-Shirt – nylon (1), Underwear (2) Warm gloves, Wool hat