To St. John’s.

I had a nice breakfast with Armin and Hilary and their kids before taking off for St. John’s. This was still to be about a 4 hour drive. Thankfully, stopping at Armin & Hilary's was able to shorten this quite a bit from what it would have been from L'Anse aux Meadows. I had an Airbnb booked for the night because I had my last class so I needed Wi-Fi.

On my way to the Airbnb I stopped at Canadian tire and bought a tent. I have decided not to take the hammock tent on the trail. This was not an easy decision, especially with how much was put into getting it to me - I bought it off a friend of my dads in Ontario. However, at the end of the day I had too many concerns/anxieties about it.

Here is my tiny cheap tent, yes I set it up on the bed because I wanted to check it out before packing it.

As for as my concerns and anxieties I will detail them all so anyone else considering the hammock tent can make a decision for themselves. When I was considering it, all I was really told was it was easy, comfortable and had lots of options for setting up since you just need trees.

First of all, I couldn’t get actually camp site data from anyone. I have been in contact with others who thru hiked or sectioned hiked it and they have recommended places for tents. All of this information would be relatively useless for the hammock. Many said that a hammock would be easier but none had one to give actual first hand experience. 

Then there is the logistics of setting up my gear for the night. I can’t bring my pack in with me which means if I’m cold I can’t easily grab my puffy or chaos. It’s harder to charge my electronics because the charger is either on me or under me in the hammock. Same for the water bottle, and any other gear I want in with me. I also like to sleep with my noisemaker and knife. The hammock does have a little pocket in it but it’s not ideal. 

Then there is the most important reason; I feel vulnerable in it. I know an animal isn’t likely to come under it and attack me but at night alone in the dark...plus as Armin pointed out a man could just wrap his arms around the hammock and then I’m trapped. There was an assault on the ECT this summer, it was in the early evening and she wasn’t camping but I want to feel safe. 

This trip is meant to be enjoyable for me and I think a tent will help with that. I could just need more time with the hammock as I have been tent camping my whole life and only hammock camping for two months. I’ll definitely test it out car camping or maybe backcountry with friends. But for this trip, I will get a good night sleep in a familiar way. 

After buying the tent I had to go check in at my Airbnb. The woman was super nice and on her way to work but told me to make myself at home. She had amazing reviews and was pretty cheap so I wasn’t worried. I knew she had cats too which is always a plus. Turns out she had two adult cats and two kittens! One of the kittens took a real liking to me and helped me pack my bag for the ECT. 

After checking in I went to the local outfitters store. I felt like the selection of food and items in genera lately in Halifax was really picked over. Plus shopping in Halifax is targeted a lot to tourists and therefore pricey. I told the woman what I was doing and said I was hoping to find a new puffy. She suggested Arc'teryx which I didn’t think I was quite ready to pay that much. She pointed out that they were on sale and all the benefits of the jacket and I was sold!! I bought myself a 200$ puffy! Everyone I know who has one absolutely loves it and the reviews are out of the world. I know this is something I will get a lot of use out of.  I also know that the brand makes a lot of sustainable and ethical decisions, plus they're Canadian.

After running some errands (it took 3 grocery stores to get tortillas) I went back to the Airbnb for class. It was really hard to concentrate when I wanted to keep packing and organizing. I managed to get through it and then dove back into packing. Now that I have the tent I need to reconfigure how I’m packing and so far I don’t think I have a good set up. 

I also think my bag is too heavy, I like to keep it down near 30lbs, and my base weight is 20lbs which isn't terrible. I would like to get my base weight down toward 15lbs but with a heavier sleeping bag for cold Newfoundland nights, it's hard this trip. Once I add 3-4L of water and a couple days food...I think it’s over 40lbs now. It just means I need to eat a lot, right?

I find I have a hard time eating while hiking. I’m kind of hoping that this trip will break that habit as I really need the food. I find I only eat breakfast and dinner on backcountry overnights, no lunch. Instead I’ve started putting protein bars in my hip pocket and constantly snacking on them.

Spoiler alert, today I ate 3! If I’m eating 3 bars a day, I need lots!

I didn’t make it to bed until close to midnight and had my alarm set for 5am.  I really want to go over my bag once more before heading out. I had two months practicing packing with the hammock tent and just tonight with the tent.

What’s the most expensive impulsive purchase you’ve made on a trip?