It was a beautiful day in LA yesterday and I went on my last long hike before I take off for Africa next weekend. I would like to do more but there doesn’t seem to be time. I went on my standard “training hike”, the route I usually take when I’m getting ready for these things. I take off from Will Rogers State Park (click) off Sunset and go out for about six-hours with a 40 lb pack back up into the Santa Monica Mountains. Am I ready? I’ll let you know in a few weeks.
The “training hike” is a beautiful trek but I’ve done it a hundred times so I usually take along my iPod and listen to audiobooks to make things a little more interesting. I’m not one of those guys who necessarily needs to be alone with my thoughts in the wilderness. I’d actually rather listen to a book and lately I’ve been into James Patterson (click) murder mysteries such as The Post Card Killers, Swimsuit or Run for Your Life which was yesterday’s entertainment. Not real highbrow stuff but they hold my interest and they usually run about 6 hours so I can almost listen to a whole book in one hike.
Today, I’ll be watching the Super Bowl while I work on the checklist (yes, still working on that). I actually have almost everything I need. Last week, I picked up an inexpensive cell phone to take along. I should be able to buy a SIM card in Tanzania, activate the phone and buy minutes. That was the situation in Ghana when I spent some time there a few years ago. They had little, makeshift, cell phone stands along side the road. You simply gave cash to the person behind the little counter and they would call the phone company and add minutes to your phone. It’s a crazy financial model but it seems to work. Everybody has a cell phone. I was talking to a guide at RMI and he thought the porters actually take their cell phones up Kilimanjaro so I may be able to make a few calls to the States from the trail. You’ve got to love modern technology.
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