Note well...




Saturday, August 6th, evening.

I lost five hours tonight searching for a critical part for the Defender that I just bought in July and that can only be gotten from England, but is backordered.  I went through every container I packed to make sure I did not mispack it. I finally found it at 11:00 - It was in the air compressor compartment under the passenger seat where I put it on Tuesday when I organized the Defender.  I have never stored anything there before, but had to now because free space in the Defender is rarity - if I add something, something else has to go, and the only other thing left that I could bounce was myself. And when I am packing, I always change the location of something from its usual place on my To Take list. The problem was, this item was not in its usual place since it was new. And I did not have the list with me when I was organizing the Defender, and forgot to add it to my list when I got back to it. I could not wait unit I was on the road to look for this as it is needed to fix a flat tire, which could occur anytime, although I have never had a flat in the Defender. This puts a big dent in my plan to leave Monday, but I’ll make that decision at 5:00 p.m. tonight.

This is the first trip I am taking where I am setting dates when I will leave instead of targeting them.  I always set two dates: the date I must leave by to make any scheduled items on the itinerary, and the date I would like to leave by, and then I leave when I am ready and rested. I I have never broken that rule, so I will not now. If I miss a day in leaving, I’ll make it up on the road or change the itinerary.  I have only one scheduled even for the trip, Denali on September 15th, and I can make it there in 12 days, plenty of time. While it is still possible for me to leave Monday, as of now, I am neither ready nor rested, but I still have 11 hours tomorrow before I have to decide.

This will probably be my last posting until I walk out the door to get on the road.

ED

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