I have just delivered to Meredith a copy of my book “A Journey of Days” and a copy of the audio book. They will be part of the silent auction at Steel Toes and Stilettos, the annual Habitat for Humanity gala on Friday October 15^th. I won’t actually be there … just my book. I hope it auctions for lots of money. Habitat will use it wisely.

On another note, I weighed my backpack this morning – it is 25 pounds. At the moment it is full of two large jugs of water to simulate the load I will carry in France. This is a little more weight than I plan to carry but it is good for training. When I pack it with the real contents it will seem lighter … I hope. This is the same pack that I bought in Pamplona when my original backpack failed to arrive in Spain. Another small change that I have made to my gear was to get rubber tips, just simple ones, for my walking poles. I find when I walk on asphalt or cement that the noise of the metal tips is like a Chinese water torture. Just slightly annoying at first, then slowly growing into a large and intrusive aggravation. Since being aggravated is not what my walking is about, the addition of rubber tips to the poles is a blessing.

Many people have asked me about the poles. Do I need two poles, do I need poles at all? For me the answer is yes. Poles are of minimum use on level ground, unless the surface is rough. On climbs the poles help reduce the load on my legs and on descents the poles help reduce the strain on my knees. I wouldn’t be without them.