Well, it's going to be a while before I recover the stamina to think about backpacking for a couple of days anyway. It's just a long term goal. I can barely get through a normal day at work without collpasing from exhuastion when I get home. My fall semester has just started up and I have to pack up everything in my office for a move--after two hours of packing boxes today, I was physically wiped out. All that esophagus surgery, the collapsed lung and subseuqent chest tube for a week and further surgery to insert the stent earlier this summer really took it out of me (and there's more to come--blech).

I think I'm thinking about hiking because I need the positive goal at this point to keep me going!

Nelie

p.s. I get those pill grinders from Walmart you mentioned in some othyer topic (can't find it now). Do you find they eventually seem to grind less well over time? Almost like the plastic has worn down at the grinding spot? Also I had one get totally jammed once when I was trying to grind a big multivitamin pill in it so now I always have a backup........