Well, aren’t I lucky?

Just this week I got hooked up with a project for Backpacker Magazine to log my hike through GPS. At first it seemed like an overly daunting task. Too much time plugged in, worrying about quality of the finished product, dealing with battery life and the like. In short, it seemed too much like work! I’ve come to grasp with that though and I’m no longer fretting. It’s actually kind of fun to log way points. I get a decide what’s worthy and what’s not. And for especially worthy spots it pushes me up the trail with aplomb, knowing that once I crest the ridge I get another way point! In reality it is work though. I’ve whittled it down to a few simple compromises. First is weight. The unit plus ten days of batteries weighs one pound. That’s “a lot” when one considers how much time, money and comfort I’ve parted with to loose a pound in other pieces of gear. I’ll have to stop for five seconds every time I take a way point so that I can write down it’s name. And I’ll have to be more connected to the postal service hours of operation for battery resupply. My original plan was pretty much a pure buy as you go strategy. Now I’ll have to pick up battery packages in more places because I’m going to be using lithiums. I’m deciding now how I want to balance buying batteries as I go and having them mailed to me. When I’m done, I’ll have something to be proud of, a connection in the magazine and more money in my pocket. I’m literally getting paid per mile! YEEEEEHAW!