T - 24 hours

As I'm writing this, it's T - 24 hours until departure and my mom's suitcase still isn't packed... She has all of the anxiety about all of the things. I'm still planning (which seems as if I've been doing nonstop for days).

Please pardon the assortment of things on my breakfast table, but sometimes planning is a process. We've definitely relied on this year's copy of Milepost and our National Geographic Road Atlas. (Sorry Google, but you've told me there are no roads where I want to go, when in fact there are.) I've been killing trees and printing all of the hotel reservations, activity confirmations, and itineraries so they can be organized in a binder. Just in case there isn't cell reception at some point. I've always found binders great for organizing complete with sticky notes and page flags. No need to say it, I already know, I'm a nerd (as if the glasses didn't give it away). [Just a side note: I've had giant glasses since before having giant glasses was cool.]

The Kelty bag on the left has camping gear (including Jetboil stoves, fuel, headlamps, towels, etc.) The North Face bag is my hiking bag. The Kelty bag in photo on the right contains all of my clothes, shoes, and personal care items. The Yeti cooler currently contains an unreasonable amount of La Croix sparkling water in assorted flavors. Don't judge: sometimes you just need the comforts of home. 

We've had a few equipment changes, including my new Peak Design Tote that Trey ordered as a surprise.  I will be taking the Novo Explora T5 Carbon Fiber tripod. Just playing around with it, it seems awesome. It's like they've thought through every possible scenario and adapted the tripod for it, without compromising on aesthetic or quality. I can't wait to test it in the field (and I've single-handedly destroyed a 3LeggedThing).  I've also added a Fuji XF35mm f1.4 lens to my kit.

Now... back to planning.