To take list (July 24)

I prepared a detailed To Take list for our first road trip (to Alaska in 2000) and have essentially used the same list ever since, give or take a few modifications each year, based on the previous year's experiences and special needs for the next trip.  Despite the list's length, there is nothing that is superfluous or a luxury item on the list.  If something on the list is not used daily or regularly, it is there for emergency purposes.  I have had to use the latter items enough times to know that I cannot leave them behind.

Elsewhere on this blog I posted the detailed To Take list itself.  Below is a screen shot of the entire list at 38%.  Of all the good things I can say about this list, the three most important things I can say are that I have never forgotten to take a single thing on the trip,  I have been prepared for every emergency we were hit with, and I did not have to waste valuable time on the road hunting for something I needed, except to replensih my 10-day food supply, of course, and then I do not go hunting, I go shopping. (The only hunters you will find on this trip are Leben and Erde, and their hunting is aimed exclusively at treats.)

Preparing for this tip is not like preparing to go on one of those $25,000 safari trips where you essentially show up with only the clothes on your back. (I read of one trip where they even provide camouflage tooth brushes and tooth paste.)  The truth is, most of the benefit I get from these trips is the planning and preparation that I have to do for it.  Knowing that the success of failure depends upon your own preparation and planning, including contingency planning, enhances the whole experience.  Anyone who has done this themselves understands this.

Remaining ToDo list, July 23rd

My to do list is getting down to a manageable size. It is now a half page.

Today I put my health club membership on hold for an indefinite period starting August 1st and I ordered the satellite phone for delivery on July 29^th, so that means I am optimistic about getting on the road next week.

The below photo shows a screen shot at 25% of my ToDo list.  The four pages in the top row show the items remaining (left page) and those completed, postponed till I get back or dropped. The different colors show items to buy (blue), things to do dealing with the Defender (green), things to do at my desk or on the computer (orange) and things to do generally (pink).

The page in the bottom row shows  my check out items I do before I walk out the door (top, shaded) and the bttom part shows the 17 or so different containers etc. I have to pack (white) starting three days before. So, when the remaining ToDo items are done, I have three days left, four, really, since once I am packed, instead of running out the door, I intend to rest up for one day and spend the day planning the first five days of the trip, making reservations at campsites along the route. 

The Journey begins to take shape

Journey begins to take shape (Unedited)

Note: this entry replaces several other related previous postings related to this one.

With our estimated date of departure now set for around July 29^th, this year’s journey is beginning to take shape. The one current snag that could throw a spanner into the journey is my back.  For the third time in seven months, I threw it out again two weeks ago. (Usually, I would throw it out once every five years or so, but managing Leben seems to have accelerated that schedule, although it is not his fault.) I am loading up on visits to my chiropractor, acupuncturist, and massage therapist to help accelerate my back’s recovery so I can get on the road. My hope is that if it occurs again in three months, I will be safely home by that time. The last thing in the world I need is to be 6000 miles away from home with two German shepherds, one paralyzed, with 600 pounds of camping gear I have to lug around, and have my back go out on me again, when I can hardly walk let alone manage Leben or set up and break camp. Fortunately, it is easer to manage Leben on the road than at home, so if I can only get on the road I hope I think I will be home free.

This is will our third attempt at Alaska in three years. In 2012, we set out to Alaska by way of the end-of-the-road in Labrador, but made it only to Thunder Bay, Ontario, where we had to turn back because of a few issues with the Defender and Leben. Then, last year, I delayed the trip until after Leben’s spinal surgery for a couple of ruptured discs, but, unfortunately, three weeks after we got underway after his supposed healing period ended, his recovery failed and the operation left him paralyzed. Now that he has adjusted well to his new life (and to his wheelchairs and strollers), I decided that this may be the last chance for the three of us to take one more road trip, so we are going to try again for the third time.

In the 1990s, I visited Alaska five times, flying there each time, without my dogs, Sonntag and Kessie. In 1992, I took the ferry from Seattle to Juneau, took a bus and camped along the ALCAN (Alaska-Canada Highway) to Fairbanks, backpacked in Denali for three days just a few miles from where Chris McCandless (the Into-the-Wild guy) was spending his last few days, visited Brooks Camp and the Valley of 10,000 Smokes (VTTS) in Katmai National Park, flew to McNeil River to watch the brown bears fishing for salmon, rented a car and drove to Homer, Seward and Valdez, and then flew home. Bitten by the Alaskan bug (not to mention mosquitoes and, almost once, a bear), I returned in 1993-1996 to visit McNeil River again and to hike solo the entire VTTS three more times and then went on a month-long expedition with Outward Bound to the magnificent Gates of the Arctic National Park. It was in researching the latter that I first learned of the Dalton Highway, the 500-mile dirt and gravel road that goes up the North Slope from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay, and promised myself that someday I would drive that road.

In 2000, before I was to take a position in Russia with, I decided to take Sonntag (Kessie, sadly, had died in 1999) on one last road trip, Sonntag’s favorite treat. I looked at a map and saw that the longest drive from DC in North America was to Prudhoe Bay along the Dalton Highway, so off went. An editor from the National Geographic, which had just opened up a story on dogs, approached me and Sonntag on the street one day before the trip and asked if he could accompany us in Alaska for some photos, and I agreed. That trip was 45 days, 12,500 miles. On that trip, during one glorious night 150 miles south of Prudhoe Bay, in an absolutely magnificent setting, as I sat with Sonntag on a prominence that jutted out onto the tundra of the North Slope, I promised him that someday I would return to that glorious spot to scatter his and his sister’s ashes. That site, the next night, was captured for posterity in one of the several photos of our trip included in the January 2002 National Geographic.  Click here for a YouTube of that story.

Sonntag died in April 2001, and after Leben and Erde arrived on the scene a few weeks later, I decided that I had better get on the road again that summer before it was too late, and so off we went. That trip was 50 days and 14,500 miles. In addition to going to Prudhoe Bay again, and scattered Sonntag’s and Kessie’s ashes where I had promised, we took a side trip of a few thousand miles to Inuvik, Northwest Territories, and then another of a few thousand more miles to San Francisco on the way home. I had to bivouac in Indianapolis for a few days on the way home because I dared not drive into DC on September 12^th with my Defender looking the way it did.

Each of the above two trips had a specific purpose, the first to meet up with the National Geographic and the second the scatter my dogs’ ashes where I promised, which purposes served as magnates to keep us headed toward our destination.

In 2002, I took a break from Alaska and drove with Leben and Erde to the end of the road in the northeast in a little community called North West River, Labrador, by way of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland on the way up and Prince Edwards Island on the way back, 60 days and 10,000 miles. We were making plans to set out again in 2003, but Erde’s immune system took a hit that year for some reason and the trip was cancelled. Any trips I might have planned for 2004-2010 get set aside for one reason or another.

In 2011, we set out again for Alaska by way of Labrador, but I had to delay the trip by two weeks and then cut the trip short after reaching Labrador in Thunder Bay, Ontario, after my vehicle appeared to be overheating (false signal) and Leben developed a terrible skin allergy that was difficult to control. That trip was 8,000 miles and 37 days. In 2012, we were getting ready to set out again on July 15^th for Alaska, when it was discovered that Leben’s difficulty running was due to two disc ruptures. Hoping to avoid his becoming paralyzed like Sonntag, when I believed the chances of surgery arresting any further decline were good, I went ahead with the surgery on July 17^th. Unfortunately, Leben, who was able to walk OK the day of his surgery, never recovered fully from the surgery. After his healing period ended, we got on the road for an abbreviated trip starting in mid-September, headed for at most Banff in the Canadian Rockies. Unfortunately, Leben’s recovery failed and then, with just normal activity, he became completely paralyzed three weeks into the trip at Pukawaska Park on Ontario’s Lake Superior. Knowing how to manage a paralyzed dog, we finished our tip the next day at Thunder Bay again, and then set out for home, 4000 miles and 21 days after we started, where my number one goal was to learn how to manage him and get him acclimated to his new life. (In retrospect, it was mistake on my part putting that magnificent dog through that surgery. He was not a good candidate for it. I should have waited for nature to take its course and then put him into a wheelchair if he indeed did become paralyzed at all that way.)

So, the purpose of this trip is to pick up where we left off last year at Thunder Bay, and head to Alaska again. While that may be enough to give us a purpose for this trip, I wanted sometime a little more tangible to plan for, a magnate that would pull us the 5880 miles to get to Prudhoe Bay.  Remembering my backpacking trip into Denali in 1992, and remembering Sonntag’s excited reaction to our brief excision into the park to Teklanika Camp (milepost 30 along the 91-mile dirt and gravel Denali Park Road to Wonder Lake) in 2000, I entered the lottery for a coveted permit to drive the park road the weekend the park closes in mid-September. I entered last year but lost, as I entered only once (as is allowed) and had to compete with 10,000 other anxious souls for one of the 1,600 permits (400 per day for four days). Immediately after I applied for the lottery this year on May 21^st, I was able to secure a coveted campsite Teklanika Camp for the five days of Road Lottery, just to cover myself with a campsite for whichever day I won, if at all.

On September 15^th, I waited anxiously by my computer at 9:00 a.m. for word about whether I won or lost the lottery. (I knew my odds were low, 1/7 to be exact, as 11,000 people had applied. When word never came, I finally figured out that my on-line application, although submitted, was not accepted because I had not signed into the National Park Service website, but they never told me that. So much for good websites. (Blame it on the sequester, I guess.) That’s the bad news. The good news is that I immediately put up an ad on Anchorage’s Craigslist and was able to get a permit. The details of that I will keep to myself. Suffice it is to say here that persistence and reason pay off. So, we now have a magnate, something that will pull us to Alaska, with a date certain. Now that I know we must be in Denali starting on September 12^th, I can plan the rest of the trip around that date. But once thing that will factor heavily in my planning is that we do not arrive in Alaska until after August 21^st. The reason for that is that the weather has been warmer than usual this year, which means that Alaska is suffering through one of its worst mosquito seasons in years. It is hoped that after August 21^st or so, the cooler night air will have decimated the mosquito population, if not eliminated it. I do not recall that we were bothered by mosquitoes too much in 2000 and 2001 when we arrived near that time.

Later, I will post a new map showing our new tentative plans. I say tentative because every mile of this trip is optional because anything can happen to change those plans, as I have learned on all of our last four attempts. Our number one goal of any trip we take is to make it home safely, and that dominates the entire trip.

So, Leben and Erde, who first visited Alaska as four-month old pups, will return (it is hoped) as 12-year old dogs. I am extremely fortunate that they are still with me and in good health. Now, if I can only get my back to work again.

Tuesday, July 16th...The Good News, The Bad News, and The Worst News

First, the good news.  Yesterday, immediately after I figured out that I did not win the Denali Road Lottery because my online application failed without my being told that it did, I placed ads that I had already prepared on Craigslist both in Anchorage and Fairbanks.  Sure enough, starting at about noon (8:00 Alaska time), Craigslist in both places started to light up like and blue and white Christmas tree with ads, split evenly between  winners trying to trade the dates they had been assigned for other dates and losers trying to buy a permit from a winner.  Technically, my ad did not fall  under the losers since I never really entered the lobby, but as far as I was concerned I was a loser and felt like that for the next four hours.  Then, at 5:30, a gentleman contacted me over Craigslist and offered to sell me a spare permit he won for Sunday, and after a series of e-mails, I purchased it at 11:00 p.m. So, the good news is that I now have a permit and the trip now has a focus, a goal, other than to drive to Alaska.

The bad news is that now I have to drive almost 6,000 miles to get there.

The worst news is that once I am there, I have to drive 6,000 miles to get back home.

Results of the Denali Lottery

I applied for the Denali road lottery on May 21st by way of  the same simple online process  I used last year.  Each vehicle can only submit one application.  I was notified just after 9:00 a.m. last July 15th that I did not win, and so I was expecting the same kind of prompt feedback this year.  Hour after hour went by this morning, and no e-mail came in reporting the good news that I won (unlikely) or the bad news (more likely) that I lost.  I then checked online at the lottery's web site and it indicated that the winners and losers had already been notified.  Since  I did not get either email, I dug further.  Well, as it turns out, my entry online never went through even though I know I completed it.  My mistake was in not checking for a receipt in my email (I did just now, and found none) because I was not about to sit there and wait for one to come in, especially since none was promised.  Once again,   our government fails the test of competence.

I am not disappointed because it was my own mistake for not following up on this or for not applying through multiple people.  I just assumed that these online programs work as they are supposed to.  As it turns out, 11,000 people applied this year, 10 percent more than last year, so my odds of winning were 1 out of 7, not very good.   Having traveled that road once before in 1992 by camper bus,  I am not too sure it would have been a pleasant experience traveling that road after all with 399 other vehicles out for their annual stroll in the park.  I'll enjoy my time more sitting back at the Teklanika campground those five days resting for my long trip home.  I will, however, put up an ad an Craig list in Anchorage and Fairbanks to see what kind of luck I have.  I have only a window of about 24 hours to bring closure to this.  If I cannot find someone willing to sell their permit, this will  force me to pull back and reevaluate my plans, but I was already expecting to have to do that anyway.

Leben at Dean and Deluca

On Sunday mornings, I usually head down to Dean and Deluca with my dogs for a few hours.  I used to go there to read the Times and Post, but it seems that I get very little reading done these days there as my time is spent  in conversation with friends or passers-by interested in the dogs.  That does not matter much any more as my real pupose these days is to let Leben sit there very alert the whole time just looking around, as his sister (seen in the background to the left and in an earlier photo) sleeps.  Soon, the routine will change dramatically for them as we get on the road, I hope for the better.

Saturday, July 13, 11:30 a.m. : Comparisons with "Travels with Charley"

Saturday, July 13, 11:30 a.m.

When I tell people about my planned drive to Alaska, they often remark, "Ah, a Travels-with-Charley trip, " referring, of course, to John Steinbeck's 1960 10,000-mile, three-month, 40-state road journey with his little black poodle dog, Charley, documented in his 1962 book of that name. As memorable and wonderful as that book was, let me set the record straight right away and say that this is no Travels-with-Charley trip for at least seven reasons.

First, my trip will be almost 16,000 miles, 20,000 when you include part I, our travels to the end-of-the-road in Labrador, the real starting point of the trip.

Second, Steinbeck traveled in relative luxury compared to what we will be traveling in. For his trip, Steinbeck bought a new GMC pickup, which he fitted with a custom-made camper. Even if the two books that came out recently questioning whether Steinbeck actually slept in his camper (who actually cares?), his camper was luxurious enough compared to what we sleep in. 0n my luxury scale, with 10.0 being the fanciest luxury hotel in the world, Steinbeck's camper was a 9.1; my three tents, as nice as they are, come in at 1.2, 1.3, and 1.4. With no disrespect meant to Steinbeck, who all but admitted this himself, a tenting road trip is almost as low as you can go.

Third, Steinbeck's supposed theme of his trip was in Search of America. Heck, I'm trying to escape America. If you want to find America, just surf your TV any evening during prime time. Like it or not, that's America, because we are what we watch on TV. Beyond that, the road from DC to Prudhoe Bay is 5100 miles, depending upon what route one takes. All but 1100 miles of that is through Canada, so I can tell you right now that you are not going to fine America on the way. Moreover, when you get to Alaska, on the 700 miles you will cross there, you'll come to only one settlement, Fairbanks, of more than a handful of people. And finally, most Alaskans proudly and purposefully try to distinguish themselves from being considered plain-vanilla Americans. That's why they live there. Just look at the most famous Alaskan ever, Sarah Palin,  if you do not believe me.

Fourth, by concealing from his readers that he actually traveled most of his trip with a human companion, his concerned wife, Steinbeck was admitting that traveling solo on such a long trip is really a big deal, and not because you have no one with whom to share the multitudinous and arduous chores of the journey. The real reason is that you have no one's thoughts but your own to hear for 92 percent of the day, or to keep your own thoughts from going over the edge, and even the remaining time is spent with strangers with whom you share such profound thoughts as the weather, the price of gas, where you might buy some fresh groceries, and, for better or for worse these days, how far it is to the closest Walmart. (The answer to the latter these days always seems to be less than 90 miles.). If I had time on these trips to sit down with people and ponder the state of America, I could justly be accused of having too much time on my hands. For Christ's sake, I don't even have time to ponder the state of my Defender or tent most days.

Fifth, Steinbeck and, as we have learned recently, his wife, had the comfort of their little black poodle, Charley, as a companion. What a joy that must have been. But, look, I never met Charley, and I'm sure he was a wonderful dog (if, indeed, he actually existed, that is), but Charley is no Leben and Erde, my two sibling, 12-year old German Shepherd dogs, 110 and 80 pounds, respectively, the former of whom is paralyzed. Enough said.

Sixth, the year Steinbeck published his still-famous book, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, in part because of the commercial success of that book. Let me be frank. I have no intention of seeking, nor will I accept, any Nobel prize for Literature, Peace, or anything as the result of what I may write after this trip. Heck, I didn't even have time to finish unpacking from last year's trip let along write a book. And as far as taking notes on the trip is concerned, there is hardly time to plan the day.

Seventh, I am 16 percent older than Steinbeck was when he made his trip. That speaks for itself.

To summarize, let's say that each of the above factors causes my trip to be twice has difficult as Steinbeck's journey, underestimates, really. That means this trip will be at least two to the seventh power more difficult than his, or 128 times. I hope I do not remember this two days from now as I rethink the trip after I hear about the Denali lottery.

Photo below is of Erde sleeping today at Dean and Deluca in G'town, my weekend office.

 (mobile

"Was there a fight in your condo last evening?" my neighbor asked.

I share the 9th floor of my condo with one other person, a guy named John.  This low population density  allows me the luxury of talking to myself  from time to time with impunity.  I often wondered whether John  could  hear my occasional outbursts over one irritating thing or another, but he never told me so I assumed not.  On Wednesday, however, as I was leaving to take Leben swimming in Middleburg, John caught me in the hall and asked, 'Was there a fight in your condo last evening at about 10:30?"  Since there was none I answered, No, and then asked, Why did you ask that?  He then said that he had heard some loud yelling and cursing for a few minutes.  Then I remembered.  As it turns out, after I finished giving Leben his evening therapy on the floor, as I attempted to get up, my back gave  out on me and pinched a nerve.  I couldn't move without exacerbating the pain.  It took me minutes of struggling, accompanied by a  few choice words of frustration, to finally get up and then carry Leben to his bed. Eventually, the pain diminished to bearable, where is still is now.

I have suffered from chronic back pain in one degree or another since I was 17.  Usually, though exercise, I can get the pain to go away within hours or, in some cases days.  A few times the pain was so great I could not get out of bed or walk without intensifying it.  My guess is that this happens once every three or so years.  It happened once when I was in Banff  with Sonntag on our way to Alaska in 2000, but fortunately, after a series of exercises, accompanied by a generous  dose of cursing, the pain diminished and we were on our way.  Managing Sonntag, also a paralyzed German shepherd, was a cakewalk compared to managing Leben. Leben is 110 (Sonntag was 90), his rear leg disability is greater than Sonntag's and he has cartilage issues with his elbows.  Moreover, I am  with Leben about 100 percent of the time (with Sonntag, I was working)  and I am 15 years older than I was when Sonntag became paralyzed.

Since I started to manage Leben as a paralyzed dog last October, this is the third time my back has given out on me, once in January, once in April and now this month.  The once-very-three-years rule does not apply anymore.  The xrays show that it is compressed dics pinching a nerve.  Fortunately, visits to a chiropractor seem to help. (Cursing also seems to helps, but the right kind of cursing.)

All of this is by way of saying that I need to do something to deal with this before I leave for our trip.  I cannot take a 16,000 trip (if that's what it turns out to be), alone with my two dogs, and have my back go out on me with all the work I need to do on the trip.  In addition to managing Leben on the road, there are the numerous chores associated with setting up and breaking camp every day, including my lifting  50 pound containers to and from the roof rack several times a day. And the last thing in the world I need is to have my back go out on me when I am climbing the ladder to or from the roof rack.

To solve this potential showstopper before I go, I have three appointments with my chiropractor set up before I go.  Also, I scheduled a visit with my masseuse to deal with a serious muscle problem in my right shoulder I got from the way I have to lift Leben.  And just to make sure I covered all angles, I have scheduled several visits with my acupuncturist to get my system in balance after what I have been through these last six months.  And this is on top of the final visits to a physical therapist following my arthroscopic surgery in March after I tore both menisci in my left knee in January getting Leben into my Defender, and three visits to my orthopedic surgeon for  cortisone and U-Flexa shots in my left knee to eliminate the residual pain there.

A little snag

It seems that starting two weeks before I take these trips, little snags begin to pop up all over the place, some with the potential to delay or even cancel the trips.  Right one schedule, they are starting this year.  I took the Defender into the Land Rover dealer today for its final servicing and came away with the bad news that my transfer box, which houses the gears, was almost empty of its oil because of a leak.  I have to take in back in next Monday to get it repaired, which means being without it for two days.  If I discovered this on the trip, I would have simply loaded up on cans of oil and filed it every now and then, but I cannot start out knowing what the situation is.  Every time I discovered a leak in the past I got it repaired right away and so I will do that now.  This trip is already fraught with enough potential problems as it is, and I do not need to worry about another one I now is there, or have to take the time ater a long day's drive to check something else.

African Queen

Starting two weeks before each trip, I enter a dark period: no TV except the Russian satellite service I get, only one daily newspaper (vs. the four I read daily), cancel Netflix, no phone calls except those related to the trip, no more entertainment or socializing, etc.  To all intents and purposes, the trip starts now.  On Thursday, I will pull out of storage the hundreds of  items I will take on the trip and then, next Monday or so, set up about 14 stations around my home and start packing, one item at a time.  Anticipating this, last night I  allowed myself one last TV movie (the only thing I watch on TV) and, as luck would have it, The African Queen was playing.  How ironic, I thought, because that kind of is like what these road trips are all about (without the romance, unless you want to call my relationship with my dogs a romance of sorts, which it is). Watch the movie and you will get some sense of life on one of these trips. Maybe I'll christen (or whatever a more secular word is) the Defender "The Alaskan King" for this trip.

Trial Run

Took a 250-mile drive into West Virgina in the wicked heat yesterday to see how the Defender, the dogs, and I held up in the heat.  The Defender and the dogs did fine, but I can see where this upcoming trip is not going to be like the ones to Alaska in 2000, with Sonntag in his wheelchair, or in 2001, with Leben and Erde as 4-month old pups. To avoid the oppressive heat, at least until we get far enough north to leave it behind, my hope is to get as much done in the evening as possible so I can get underway  by 900 each morning and get into a camp by 1500 at the latest, doing no more than 200-250 miles a day.  It may take us 24 days to reach Prudhoe Bay, instead of the 15 it took us  in 2000, but at least we'll make it.

New Tent for the road

Over the last 21 years, I probably bought 8 or 9 new tents.  On these trips, I always take along at least two of them, sometimes three, just in case.  Things happen to tents on these trips that may make them useless.  For instance, in Alaska in 1992, a bear destroyed my tent as he (or she) went ambling thought my campsite.  Fortunately, I was in a cookhouse about 30 feet away when this happened.

Last year I bought a new four-person (or one person, two-big-dog), three-season that worked out extremely well except in high winds (impossible to put up) or in the real cold weather like we had in northern Ontario in October.  I also brought along my two-person, extreme North Face expedition tent, which worked well during the several times we had extreme weather, although things were a bit snug in there with Leben and Erde (they would say "with Ed.")  Because of Leben's situation this year, and because of the chances of more extreme weather this year, I just bought a new North Face VE25 three-person, four-season tent to take along this year.  (See photos and diagram below.)  We'll have a little more room than in the two-person tent, but will have to sacrifice ease of setting it up for that extra comfort. I will not be able to stand up in it as I can the 4-person tent, but who wants to stand up for long in a tent anyway? Likewise, we will not be able to use our big, 8" thick air mattress in it, but I will probably not take that along anyway because it will be too difficult for Leben to maneuver around on. Instead, I got two  extra-wide 3" thick self-inflating air mattresses that will fit just perfectly inside the three-person tent, and will allow me to leave a gap between the two so that the dogs fall into the 3" crevasse as they attempt to expropriate my mattress from me. We'll see.

New Estimated Date of Departure

Although I have been planning for months to set out on July  15, I have just moved that until July 22 for several reasons, not to mention that my to-do list seems to get longer and the non-trip but essential time-consumers seem to be popping up a little more than usual.

The first reason is that I will not learn whether I won the lottery to drive the 80-mile road into Denali national park until July 15th.  Whether or not I win it means that I have to prepare for different trips. If I win it, I could very well end up in some pretty severe winter -like weather during the weekend of he drive-in on September 12th or so.

The second reason is that I need to finish some physical therapy on my knee following the arthroscopic surgery in March after I tore both menisci in my left knee getting Leben into the back of my Defender in January. I also need to get a third shot of that U-Flexa fluid pumped into my knee to reduce the pain that seems to persist following the surgery.  The last thing in the world that I need on this trip is to have bolts of pain shoot out from my knee as I climb that stainless steel ladder on the back of my Defender at least four times a day.

The third reason is that I need to wait and see how the new course of antibiotics Leben's dermatologist prescribed for him is working. Two years ago, we had to abort our trip at Thunder Bay (ON) because of a  terrible skin allergy or infection that afflicted Leben.  It came back again last year, although we cut  that trip short because of his paralysis.  I think, finally, we got the right prescription as his problem has all but disappeared in just four days.  But in case it flares up again on the trip, I bought and will take along a Big Kahuna portable shower  (see below photo) to bathe him twice a week.  Because space is a premium in the Defender on these trips, I still need to figure  out what I will have to jettison in order to take this along. My guess is that I will use it for the dog's first-aid and grooming kit.  I have already given Leben several baths using this (it connects either to the Defender's cigarette lighter or to my portable battery charger) and it works beautifully. It holds 4.7 gallons of water, and to wash one big German shepherd it takes about 4 gallons. What a relief it was to find this.  Especially since in the campsites they do not allow washing pets at the water spigots.

To Take 2013

Washington, D.C., July 4th, 2013.  In a few days, my home will start to  be populated with about 14 different  stations, each one to contain the contents  of one of the 14 or so containers, boxes, storage units, etc. that will accompany us on our trip.  Here is our to-take list for this year, which is simply last year's minus the items from last year,   plus the new items for this year, of which there are few.  The most difficult thing about packing for a trip like this is deciding which heavy-duty winter clothes to take when the temperature outside is 95 degrees.  My guess is that 98% of the items on this list will eventually go with us, as I gladly toss things aside when I am in the process of packing.  The factors I use to determine whether I  toss something aside are the probability of needing it; whether it would be needed  for an emergecny and whether I will be able to buy it somewhere en route.  If the answers are "Low, No, Yes", the item usually gets tossed .

COMMUNICATIONS  BOX (+ Instructions)

iPad , keyboard; mike, etc;  

Cell phone etc.; Satellite phone etc.;

Multi-Charger in Defender;

Cameras; charger; etc; memory chips and battery

Beet headphones, other headphones

CLOTHES BAG –

Green Bag:

T shirts (7); shorts (7); socks (; bandanas (7),

Blue Bag: 

Polo shirts (1); T-neck long sleeve shirts (1);

brown and gray hooded sweat shirts

black & green  LS shirts

jogging suit; (maybe)

LS shirts (2) (black; officer);

Blue Bag purple tape: 

suspenders, Jeans; 511 pants/shorts; hiking pants; black jogging pants;  Blackhawk belt; shorts; swim trunks

Camouflage bag:

Boots; Merritt’s; sneakers;

Blue bag:

North face shell; black rain pants; rain hat; rubbers

Maroon Bag:

Black Patagonia coat; red wind breaker

Large Purple bag  purple tape

 Green REI winter jacket with liner, pants; wool hat; heavy gloves

Small Purple bag

(2 watch caps;  rain gloves; hats (2);

Thermal underwear  wear: tops (2); bottoms (2);

(blue TENT bag:

thermal blue and black top and bottom; socks; watch hat; wool socks)

BACKPACK:

foot powder; Towel; toilet kit; laundry bag, blue tent bag

                  

TOILET KIT:

Pill box; scissors; shave cream; razor; blades; skeptic stick; lip salve; deodorants; after shave; lotion; toot brush; paste; floss; rubber tip; night guard; cleanser; nail clippers and brush; soap; wash cloth; brush; comb; VJX kit; OFF + Cortisone, tweezers, handy-wipes, TP

MEDICINE CHEST (weekly pills in pill boxes)

 My: Prav; Hydro; Aleve; D13; Multi; CoQ10; Aspirin;  SS; Ambien, Derm med; cold pills; V

Dogs: Dasuquin; Previcox; Gab; Trem; L’s antibiotic Ear drops; 2 topical antibios; Erde’s Ointment; Enzymes

Ear Cleaner + gauze pads; syringe for HPO, Frontline, Heartworm

FIRST AID KIT: Usual stuff: band aids; etc.,

Burn items; cal lotion; Neosporin; fleet, cortisone, HPO,

First aid books

DOGS’ stuff loose

Elizabethan collar

3 Bowls (2 LARGE , ONE SMALL)

red beds in D

step stool on rear platform step;

Wheelchair plus kit

canine coach + repair kit

Daily food box: Dry food; spoon; Viokase; pill box

Portable shower (Kahuna) with shampoo, Zymox, mousse

DOG FOOD BOX: 42 pounds + 4 boxed treats

DOGS STUFF BOX

Leben’s coat

Brush

Leashes: 1 long; 2 regular; 2 metal; short leashes;

collars; Chain Collars;  tags

Blue dog; blue harness; sling

2 white blankets; 2 red blankets

4 towels; wash cloths

Muzzle

Paw boots

2 sets Bandana repellant bandanas

Fly off; Cloud nine + dispenser

Nail clippers; tick kit: tweezers + cotton + HPO (in frst aid kit)

Nylon bones (large); rawhide bones

Dog bags   

Hose (maybe) and double connection

AC hose and funnel

Red lights (4)

L&E Papers (in Office), Lost dog posters (in office)

Cloth Underpads 2 large; 2 small

LEBEN’s WHEEL CHAIR AND STROLLER

Wheelchair + accessories

Stroller accessories and flat tire repair

                  

ED’S STUFF BOX

Thermometer (on D)

Handicap pass (on visor)

Glasses: Distance; Reading (2); sunglasses

Magnifying glass

Compass

Binoculars

Duct tape, glue, ties

DEET etc., DEET candle, mosquito  nets (2)

Multi-tool, hunting knife, pen kmife

Screen + Velcro

Batteries D; AA; AAA, etc.

Lights: Tent; flashlights: black, yellow; headlights

Pipe, tobacco, lighters, cleaners

Mosquito nets

IN DEFENDER CABIN

Dash tray

Dash Board

Console: flares; flashlight; battery jumper; Def Op manual;  chargers; SDB

Elsewhere Emergency contacts (under seat)

         

MAP ROOM 

Woodall’s; Milepost; ANNR; KOA; AAA Maps

LIBRARY: Tesson; Books?

                  

OFFICE

Clip board

Pens Bix

journal; notebooks

Check list; rules of road; contact list; papers; etc.

Lost dog posters

Planning Book for trip (contacts, PWs, etc.)

                  

SDB

Dogs’ papers;

Passport

Extra car keys; house keys

Extra cash; checks

Extra credit card;

Cards: KOA; ANNR; national Parks ; Fed ID; Navy ID

Copies of driver’s license; insurance card; passport; etc.

LINEN CLOSET

Towels (4+2) + pillow cases; small towels (3) wash clothes (3)

Red blankets; white blankets

EQUIPMENT

Sleeping bags (2)

2 mats + pillow

4 man tent:; floor; footprint/tarp; stakes; extra poles

Tent: North face + footprint; extra poles

Extra Stakes + rope

Green floors (2) (in Defender)

Red Emergency blankets (in Defender or linen bag)

Tarps (3)

2 Set(s) of 2 poles + rope/stakes

Nylon Rope (in Garage or Recovery Bag or Stuff Box)

Stake bag: stakes, rope, mallet, D clips                 

DEFENDER

Winch + control cord; air compressor hose

Air pressure gauge (in dash tray)

Off road recovery rope, hitch; winch bag; tire iron; rope

Workshop manual + parts manual (CD; iPad; hard copy in GARAGE)

Electric cord + grey cord for battery charger

Chains

Battery jumper + light + charger+ instructions (in console)

2 spare tires (wrench for rack if there)

Shovel; pull pal; Hi-jack (+plate)

5 gallon spare water tank and spout

5 gallon Gas can and spout

Stool for top of recovery platform

Screen for radiator; wire mesh for headlights

Flares (in console); warning triangles

Fire extinguisher (in Console)

Chair

Strap bags (2): bungee cords, container straps

Trash can + platic bags

Dog’s insulated floor board

GARAGE

Extra parts; key/ignition, distributor, belts, hoses

Oil 5/30 synthetic (2); antifreeze; gurry/brake oil; window fluid

Oil filters

Workshop manual and parts manual

Flat tire repair kit

Rearview mirror repair kit

TOOL BOX

wrenches; pliers; screw drivers; mallet

JB weld (2 kinds); Extra fuses; lights; headlight

Bolt cutters; wire cutters; hack saw; hatchet

UTILITY ROOM

Brush

Lysol cleaner liquid

Lysol cloths

Shop (Paper towels)

Air spray

Green trash bags

Doggie wipes ; dog powder

KITCHEN

DEET candle

Table cloth; napkins

Trash bags

2 green cups, brown  cup, wine glass

Utensils: Spoons, can opener

Coffee pot

Bowls; plates; COOKING POT

Stove fuel (6); matches/lighters (fireplace)

Pipe, tobacco, tamper

Soap; pot scrubber

Kitchen towels; hot mat; Shop towels

Everyday Food Bag (EFB) in kitchen  (red)

coffee, tea, lemon juice; banana chips, peanut butter, dog treats;

Extra food bag (XFB)

FOOD BOX Daily meal boxes)

Juice, Oatmeal (2),Raisins, Soymilk; fruit cup; coffee(silk)

Energy bars, Trail mix,,, PB crackers; coffee (silk)

V8 juice,(Soups/ fish., veggies, rice), Wine, Choc/Cook/Yorks

Green Cooler

Thermos

Container for dog treats in car

Dogs’ food: Dry; treats

SUPPLY BOX

Extra fuel

Extra Food

Extra dog food

Rules of the Road 2013

To ensure that we reach the ultimate goal of each of our trips, for all of us to get home safely, I set out a series of Rules of the Road, which I have learned how to follow religiously.  This year, there are 45 of them (so far), shown below.  As the trip progresses, because life on the road is quite different from life at home,   I develop a whole series of other ad-hoc rules which I have to constantly reinforce in me.

RULES OF THE ROAD – 2013

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43   44   45	Do not set off until I am fully prepared and rested Avoid emergencies by doing contingency planning. Don’t leave the Leben and Erde unattended or unsecured. Know where Erde is at all times. Exercise Leben and Erde every day. Let Leben and Erde have fun. Keep Leben and Erde clean, dry, comfortable, and healthy. Blame nothing on Leben and Erde. Follow the rules for managing Leben. Don’t neglect Erde.
	Don’t drive when tired. Drive safely. Drive only a reasonable distance each day. Don’t drive after sunset. Keep the car clean, neat, and maintained.
	Retire early; get a good night’s sleep; get up early. Exercise every day. Eat healthily. No drinking except a daily glass of wine No smoking pipe on roof rack, near tent floor. Stay clean, dry, comfortable, and healthy. Keep the Defender clean, organized, and tidy. Keep the tent clean, organized and tidy Put everything in its place. Get on road early, efficiently each day. Plan each day’s goals and the rest of the trip daily. Follow the checklists. Keep a daily log and journal. Update the blog regularly. Enjoy the moment.
	Act smartly, intelligently, safely, especially on roof rack. If there’s a problem, fix it; prevent it from recurring, move on. There’s a solution for every important problem so don’t give up. Don’t blame anything on anyone, including yourself If something is important and urgent, Do it now! Help others where you can. Don’t take any unnecessary risks. Respect nature; leave campsites as I found them or better. Keep the right views thoughts, words, and actions. Leave DC behind. The one goal of the trip is for all to get home safely. Turning back is always an option. Do it right the first time. Do what is right Follow these and all other ad-hoc rules

Our daily schedule on the road

After five road trips with my dogs, I finally realized that there is no reason to lug along a library of books to read.  The reason is that there is little time to read, as the below daily scedule shows.  If I am luck, I can get in 30 minutes of reading a day, unless I am staying at a camp for more than one day, which happens sometimes.  I also decided that I would not take along any e-books this time, mainly becasue they consume valuable iPad battery time, and I would rather page through a hard-cover book anyway.

0600            Reveille

0615            Walk the dogs

0635            Breakfast for dogs

0650            Breakfast for me

0720            Plan the day*

0730            @Service Defender*

0750            @Clean Defender*

0815            @Groom/wash dogs*

0835            @Leben’s therapy*

0845            Exercise/therapy for me*

0900            Strike Camp*

0930            Load Defender*

0945            Shower

1000            Move Out

                     Drive*; pit stop*, walk dogs*

                     Errands en route

                     Drive*; pit stop*; walk dogs*

                     Drive*

1600            Arrive camp; check in

1630            Survey camp site*

1640            Walk dogs

1700            Set up camp*

1745            Supper for dogs

1750            Prepare fire

1800            Supper for me

1830            Clean up after supper

1845            Chores (laundry; repair, etc.)

1930            Plan Remaining trip

2000            Journal; blog

2030            read

2100            Taps; lights OUT

* Treat dogs   @Do evening before to move out by 0900