::goes to Amazon…buys book::
Thanks!
My $0.02:
My biggest recommendation is to get out for a weekend shakedown cruise if at all possible. The first night of a ten-day hike is the wrong time to find out you can’t get your stove to work, or the tent is missing a pole, or something.
I think for equipment, you got it originally pretty well (plus the TP and first aid); my only thought was you might want some DEET for the skeeters. Don’t forget some cool weather clothes – at least polypro long undershirt and fleece sweater/jacket plus a hat and waterproof outer something. I don’t really like ponchos, and prefer a Goretex jacket and rain pants plus a waterproof pack cover. I can’t imagine going a week in Washington State and not expecting rain.
Food: My standard multi-day meal is cous-cous plus instant bean soup (there’s curry lentils, split pea, and bean soup in the bulk bins near me. Right next to the bulk cous-cous). Boil water, add the soup (adding flavors in whatever portions strike your fancy that night), let it cook for a minute or two, then turn off the stove, add cous-cous (but less than you think you need. It swells up a LOT), cover and let it sit for two minutes.
You’ll eat a little more than you would at home (assuming at home you don’t spend all day constantly hauling 35 pounds around), so plan generous portions.
You can do just fine with one, but two gives you more options. Trees are usually what holds it up, but you can improvise as needed. The trick is getting it nice and tight. Bungee cords are nice becuase they have natural tension. They can quickly stretch from a corner of the poncho to around a tree and pull the whole thing tight. Ideally, you’d have all four cornes bungeed low on four little trees or bushes, and the middle pulled upwards and attached to a branch or something. This creates a low pyramid type shape. Also, as see here you can make a classic tent shape thing.
Tilley sent me a new hat last year – after I put on my 10-year-old hat, tugged at the brim, and it split over my eyebrows! Ten years of hard wear and abuse, but my new one is nice – and only cost me shipping.