a month of change

today is the first day of April, i am now officially in the month of change. in the next few weeks i am ending a job, leaving the state, visting others, leaving the country, and beginning a pilgrimage that will keep me quite literally on the road (or path, or chemin or camino or ruta...whatever you want to call it, you get the picture).

now i play the packing game. i don't own much but what i do own is currently spread all over which requires me to remember what is where and then figure out how to get all the things i think i will need in one place. it is almost laughable because when do we ever really know what we will need? my room now contains sections: items for now, items for next week, items for Oregon, items for Arizona, items for France-Spain, questionable items- will i or won't i need them and for which trip? then there is the ever growing pile of stuff to be given away, this has become the default pile.

of course there is the on-going travel book review and internet research...towns, trains, weather, hostels, maps, lists, beaches, bikes, hikes...many many hours have been spent pouring over details. many more hours have been spent pondering the oh-so-important (?!) pilgrim packing lists and the conundrums they present:
hiking shoes or hiking boots? and should/shouldn't they be waterproof?
           ...ultimately i decided on mid ankle hiking boots, not waterproof
rain jacket or poncho?
           ...i have a water resistent shell (see below) and will also purchase a poncho
fleece jacket or shell?
           ...compromised on a thin fleece running jacket and a shell
hiking pants vs. hiking pants w/zip off shorts vs. shorts vs. capris?
          ...ugh i am currently dealing with this one, i hate hiking pants...
42 liter backpack vs 50 liter backpack?
          ...still debating...literally debated with a guy at REI, a customer not a sales rep!
sleeping bag vs sleep sac vs nothing
          ...after weather pattern research and reading reviews of "cleanliness" in the hostels/alburgues where i shall lay my head i opted for a    
          sleeping bag

i am guessing there are other decisions to be made and i am confident some will work out as expected and others will not. such is life, especially when traveling!