Mommy, look at the drifter!

Sometime during the Fall, in between planning for this monumental excursion, and trying to keep all of the plates in the air, I looked down and saw, instead of my feet, a large rotund object which frightened me. Not because I couldn't see my feet, but because I realized that looming in the not so distant future was the impending 4 Day backpack on the Milford Trek. Forty miles and 40-50 lbs on my back was not going to be helped by my "built in beer holder".
So... I kept going to the gym, doing the obligatory cardio and weights, but added a new wrinkle on weekends - Taking Ralph, the similarily fed, yellow lab on a walkabout, usually in the neighborhood of 90 minutes or so and about 5 miles. We had good times, especially in the early mornings in the nearby flood plane open space, where coyotes would stalk us, while we took in the sights and sounds of the dawn. Each walk would unfold the same way - Ralph pulling me down the street earlyy on, instinctually, by his olifactory urges, with me pulling him home the last leg, following my lavaratorian urges!
As we both got more accustomed to the walk, I decided to add a new wrinkle - why not throw the backpack on my back, my boots on my feet and try to assimilate the pending Milford experience? While I think my idea worked and after 15-20 such walks, I do declare myself "good and ready", I can't tell you how amusing it has been seeing the varied looks on people's faces as they pass me walking their dogs, and in their cars. Police patrol cars slow down to scope the potential menace to the neighborhood, people cross to the other side of the street when the big scary man with the pack comes toward them, and several good hearted soles actually offer me a handout, thinking I'm a homeless drifter moving on to what life offers me.
1 more day!!!!