Bennett Lake Hike

Randy and I decided to do a short hike this morning. I thought, this is a good time to test hike my new gear. So last night I tried a couple different ways of packing the new pack and settled on a configuration that seemed most stable. It has the full bear canister on the outside top of the pack which seemed a little top heavy but I went ahead with that configuration for the hike. I was needlessly worried. The pack carried well. We hiked the Murphy Lake trail but only went as far as Bennett Lake. Round trip, only 2.6 miles. With the full bear canister and a full load of water, I'm guessing the pack is at 45 pounds. I still need to figure out how to carry the fuel for my cooking stove. I need to carry liquid denatured alcohol and the pack is already full. I'll just have to figure it out I guess.

My feet did OK. At this point in the afternoon, my left foot is pain free and the right heel hurts. I did work pretty hard at making sure I was stretching it so I think it just needs some time to heal. At any rate, I thing my newly revised orthotic inserts will do the trick. I am still considering a hiking boot that has more cushioning. My backpacking boots are great but they have no cushioning in them. I'll see how my feet react over the next week or so.