Prep #2 -- Gathering of friends

Fundraising update: I've received support from the Volunteers of America in Portland. And Greg Stone from the Men's Residential Center has expressed his appreciation for my idea and work for the Al Forthan scholarship fund. I've felt a little bogged down with numerous loose ends I have concerning drafting request letters, compiling potential donors and then making contact. However, I'm strengthened as I remember that I'm not asking for myself and that asking is not a demand, but an opportunity for others to express their truest self thru generosity.

Trip planning update: So, I've begun a gathering of friends. Old friends and new friends are all beginning to meet up at my place in Ohio. I purchased a used Six Moon Design Lunar Solo tarp shelter. My order of databook and three guidebooks arrived this past weekend from The Pacific Crest Trail Assoc. Gear Gear Gear, a friend of any outdoor enthusiast. This week I hope to begin two projects. First I'll make up some homemade protein bars and dehydrate them. I'm conducting an experiment to see their shelf life for potential maildrops. And two, I will start a Thru-hiker sewing project of a minima vest. This is a progressive step towards an exciting possibility that I will sew my own 10.5 oz down jacket.