Pass Me The Pop Tarts Wouldja?

The problem with stocking up on high-energy backpacking food is that you eat it before you're actually backpacking, and this inevitably leads to, as Bill Bryson said of hiking partner Stephen Katz after an extended break in their hiking, "starting several score pancake breakfasts to the wrong side of square one."

This is why I probably should not have purchased that large bag of peanut butter stuffed pretzel nuggets at Costco last week -- or at least should not have opened it and propped it up next to my laptop.

Crunch. I just ate one. Yum.

But there's no way around it. Backpacking's hard no matter how lean you are, and I'm not entirely sure why I do it. No, that's ridiculous. Of course I know why I do it. Because even though it's hell, it starts to feel good after a bit. The ascents get easier with every day (even as I get grubbier) and then there's that whole being-out-in-nature thing, which is the whole point.

But it's also a compulsion to see what's around the corner. Just go around this one curve, and then stop. But maybe just one more. There's always something you can't see, just around the bend.

Crunch. Tomorrow's gonna hurt.