Gotta love MEC

This afternoon I met my Dad for brunch, enjoyed a couple of martinis, a nice sunny walk, and then wandered over to MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-op to the uninitiated). I've been meaning to get over there for a little experiment for a couple of weeks now, and given Dad and I were walking in that general direction I just kept going till I got there. Seemed like the right time. (In retrospect that might have been the second martini talking.)

For those of you who don't know (and yes, there are people who don't know about MEC - yet) MEC is the place to go if you have any plans of doing anything outdoors for any period of time. Or at least, in my opinion (and judging by how busy it was today alot of other peoples) it is. It's where you go to get hiking stuff, camping stuff, general backpacking stuff, all the really neat dooies (thoughts on how to spell that correctly anyone?) for climbing, kayaks, canoes, SUP. And all sorts of stuff I have no idea about as I haven't ever fully explored it. Anyway, once the boys and I decided we were taking this trip I new that was where we were going to get our stuff.

But first research.

I'll start by saying I love Google. I don't know how anyone planned this sort of thing before Google. I've started reading backpacker blogs and peoples write-ups on how much it costs to travel for a year, how to travel lightly, what to pack if you're wanting to travel lightly, and all the sorts of things I know absolutely nothing about but need to have at least a little clue about in order to pull this trip off. And while I may not know a great deal, I am good at correlating multiple sources of information and averaging them out to reach some sort of conclusion that I feel confident is not going to cause us any harm, and hopefully not too much hassle. And what I learned through all this reading was:

1. We don't need nearly as much stuff as you'd think.
2. It should all fit nicely in 40L backpack, that, if possible should be carry-on size to make our lives easier along the way.

Naturally the next step was to call for a second opinion on my primary sources and conclusion so I turned to my friend Marc - the most competent human-being I know. Expect to hear more about him. And Marc pretty much agreed. Marc agreeing had two key effects: 

1. I was quite proud of myself for making the right decision.
2. The boys got a little bit more confident that they might actually survive this year with me after all. (They too find comfort in Marc's competence.)

Then began the bag research. And surprisingly, this was fun. Two months ago I would not have seen myself as someone who would be reading reviews of backpacks. I don't read reviews. Movies, books, restaurants - all really important things to me - no review reading. Doesn't happen. Apparently though, when I decide to fit everything I need for a year into a bag the size of a carry-on AND I've reached the conclusion that the satchel equivalent of a TARDIS is not available yet on ThinkGeek, then, well then I get pretty motivated.

A few reviews later and I land on this one - the Tortuga. And might I say, I never would have thought I would get excited about a backpack. I mean, I really love my work bag and all, and yes, I got kinda excited about it when I bought it and I think once actually referred to it as my precious, but that was a one-off. I know people with bag collections, fetishes, issues, call it what you will. I am not one of those people. And this is a backpack. But oh what a backpack. I think anyway. I certainly hope so. The sucky part - they're only available online and they're out of stock and not expecting new stock until May. Noah and Jake love them too, so we're all crossing our fingers that we'll be able to get them on time.

Anyway, MEC. The experiment.

Before buying any backpack, no matter how cool that backpack, it seemed like a good idea to try and fit all the stuff I decided to bring into a similar sized bag to see how it actually went. So today I went off to MEC and did exactly that. And might I say, the folk at MEC are patient, and kind, and really, really cool. I explained what I wanted to do and that I wouldn't be buying anything, just grabbing a bag and a whole bunch of stuff to stuff into it to see how it all fit, and then likely coming back another time to buy three versions of it all and they were totally good with that. Perhaps a common request they get? I really don't know. 

I started with the bag - carry-on size. My plan was to get everything on the list and neatly put it into the bag and see what kind of room I'd still have if any. Oops - no list. Kinda didn't bring that with me, and didn't feel like reading it via my phone's browser. But I remembered a lot of the key items and started pulling them all together in my little cart, sometimes grabbing more than required - just to make up for the things I figured I was forgetting. For some reason I picked up an inflatable travel pillow that was a couple of inches square. Neat. Why I grabbed it, no clue. Let's blame the martinis. This item I will note was the only small item I grabbed (and it wasn't even on the list I don't think).

I also blame (or thank) the martinis for me not actually trying to pick out the exact clothes and gear I would want to be taking. I was all ready to start looking for the different pants and shirts that I would want, get the right size, colour, everything. Find the universal sink plug, chargers, adaptors, sewing kit, first aid stuff, little containers for detergent, bags to put them all in. Find all of it (or at least as much as I could remember) and stuff it in.

Do you ever get a voice in your head that starts with "Um... Ah... Um.... Excuse me?" I do. After the um-ing and ah-ing settled down the very practical question "What do you think you are doing?" meandered across my mind, paused to look pointedly in my direction, and silently added (yes, a voice in your head can still add something silently to a thought) the not necessarily unnecessary moniker "dumbass" to the end of the query. I am thankful for that voice. It's that voice that got me to grab three of the same pair of pants, two of the same shorts, three of the same collared shirt, two... you get the idea.

I then found a bench in the shoe section and proceeded to try and get it all in. And to ensure I was compensating for not having gotten everything (or perhaps I was just really bloody lazy and the compensation line is simply a justification I sold myself on), I left everything on their hangars. So it was a really crapping packing job with all this awkward plastic stuff in there too. And you know what? It all fit. No problem. Fit just fine. Fitty fit fit. See kids - the internet does tell the truth. Lesson learned.

Satisfied with my learnings I hauled all of the stuff out, got the clothes on the "put-away" rack, and then put away the remaining few items in their proper spots. With a nod and a thank you to the kind fellow who helped me when I entered I took my leave of MEC - twenty minutes after having arrived. Not a penny spent, but a big comfort now actually knowing that that is what we are going to do, and that we will be able to pull this off.