Getting Really Close

Less than a week to go and this time has had its challenges. My 88 year old mother-in-law who lives in Arizona fell suffered a couple hairline fractures in the hip and femur.....as luck would have it this occurred as we were out visiting so my wife and my dog stayed in AZ and I am doing the final prep solo. On top of that, some sort of viral infection latched on to me 5 days ago and is only now lessening it's grip. Hopefully, by next Tuesday I'll be back to me normal self again......been running a fever for 5 days. Went to the Hospital to rule out anything really bad and I guess I am fortunate that it is viral. I keep telling myself that this is all good in that my immune system should be good and tested by the departure date.

So today's little project involved a final checklist, gathering and packing. Here's all the stuff on my bed.

We've got......

Osprey Exos 46 backpack
Osprey in pack hydration system
Rain Gear - Osprey Pack cover and O2 cycling rain jacket
4 pair of lightweight Smartwool hiking socks
2 pair of medium weight Smartwool hiking socks
Teva Mid Hiking Boots
Kenkoh reflexology flipflops
2 pair of underwear
2 Smartwool Merino Poly Blend T-Shirts
2 Pair of convertible hiking pants/shorts
1 long sleeve cyclist shirt
1 long sleeve quick dry travel shirt
1 set of light weight thermal underwear
Deuter 600 ultra-light sleeping bag
European & US USB Charging ports
1 charging chord & my Samsung Galaxy Note II
Plastic Spork
1 Bar Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Soap
2 - 4oz tubes of Vaseline
Small Swiss army knife
Toothbrush
Travel size toothpaste
Lightweight Sunhat
1 pair of Diamond Z pacer poles
1 extra pair of shoelaces
Assorted Bandages & Pads and Tapes
Small Day pack
Passport, Euros, credit/atm cards & travel docs
Pilgrim's Credencial
Brierley Guide to the Camino Frances
46 days worth of my Melaleuca Vitamin Packs

I think that's everything. Putting everything in the pack except for 1 change of clothes and the pacer poles will give me my pack-weight without food and water, All of the experts say that this should be less than 10 percent of your body weight, 20 lbs for me. Well all packed up it came in at 16.08 lbs, 1.5 lbs was just for the vitamins so those will be going away as each day passes. At the end of the Camino I should be at about 14.5 pounds. Here is a picture of the pack all put together!!