REI

A hiker's paradise. REI has everything any lover of the outdoors could possibly want or need. Portland's REI is the Mecca with the equipment on hand and the knowledgeable staff to help you find the right stuff.

I got there at about 11:30 this morning and by the time I left at 3:30 I had picked out a pack, tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, GPS unit, and water filtration kit. Pretty much all of my big ticket items. The really great news is that when the manager at the store heard why I was doing the thru-hike of the PCT, she said that she would honor the sale prices that weren't supposed to kick in for a couple of days yet, saving me over $400! And Brian, one of the supervisors, definitely gets a shout-out for guiding me through all the choices that I had to make. But I've got a few more items to pick up on Friday. Should be fun.

So now I'm down to less than three days until my departure down to San Diego. If everything goes according to schedule, I'll have just finished my third day of hiking one week from now. Hard to believe.