Things I hope to achieve in the next 5 4 years

• Make "environmental scientist" my occupation.

• Buy an ocean-going sailboat and learn to sail.

• Pay my debt down to zero.

• Meet a girl. Fall in love. Get married.

• Walk the Pacific Crest Trail from Canada to Mexico.

Things I don't eat anymore

• Animals
• Monosodium Glutamate
• High Fructose Corn Syrup
• Hydrogenated Soybean Oil

I'm mildly allergic to MSG, but otherwise I consider it to be the tastiest of all man-made chemicals. Meat may or may not be Murder, but industrialized meat-farming is Mass Stupidity. Adding HFCS and Hydro Oil to the list was an idea I lifted from [Michael Pollan]; I'm avoiding them not so much for health reasons as because these two ingredients are an excellent tip-off that "all proceeds from the sale of this food-like substance go directly into a major corporation's 'Hey, Let's Screw Up The World Some More' Fund".

(btw, Pollan's book [The Omnivore's Dilemma] is a vindication of right-thinking people everywhere. Go read.)

Things it'd be nice to have

a.k.a. my gear list

• an ultralight 3-season tent
• a [Hennessy Hammock]
• a courier bag
• a pair of [trekking poles]
• a [Trangia alcohol stove]
• a new, larger capacity backpack
• a snowboard

a big-budget item, I know, but I'm workin' on it.

• snow pants, boots, gloves, goggles, helmet

... sigh.

• a [water filter]
• a [bear canister]
• a new, more compact sleeping bag

The one I have now is too fluffy, not designed for hiking. It's also not particularly warm.

• 2 sets of all weather (non-cotton) hiking clothes

([Cotton kills], yo. It also wrinkles.)

Last update 9 February 2008

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