They say all things come in threes, hmm, I don’t think so. The past few days can be pretty well defined as the “double whammy”. We have been fortunate enough to have two extra generations of family members in the house simultaneously – our children and our parents. We had two happy events our youngest child, Beth Ann’s, graduation from high school and a graduation party. And our son, Andrew, was able to join us from his station at Camp Pendleton, California. The whole shebang fell over the course of two days.
Today I had my own set of double take moments. I scheduled a doctor’s appointment before my expedition for the sole purpose of acquiring some preventative antibiotics in the event of any type of infection or illness, since there appear by all accounts to be no hospitals or medical offices on the peninsula of Kamchatka. We discussed my upcoming adventure and how to best handle my medical preparations. Yep, a tetnus booster and a Hep A vaccine - One in each arm – that’s two. The able nurse who gave me the injections had a great little procedure. First she preps your arm and tells you I’m going to inject you on the count of three….one, two – WHAM – right there on two – nope never got to three. She then explains this is so I don’t tense up and cause myself more pain than necessary. Okay, now arm number two, she says now I’m going to count to four. So, I’m no dope – I got this – I’m getting it on three. One, two – WHAM – on two again. I guess that nurse is no dope either.
After some discussion my doctor decided I needed two prescriptions – one in the event of lower intestinal distress and one in the event of upper intestinal distress. As I prepare for this expedition, I find that no topic is too embarrassing to discuss. In fact, I feel that some discussions go into much further detail than most people would usually feel comfortable having with anyone, physician or not. I get the details of what symptoms would require which prescription and there you go – two little brown vials. Double the information about what kinds of bacteria and protists (one-celled critters) can cause what kinds of discomfort. Oy!
I return home to begin the task of packing. So far it has been list making and gathering of various gear, food stuffs, over the counter medicines and clothing. From the mountain of fleece and rainwear that has erupted in the living room, I sort everything into two piles. What I need in Moscow and the flight over. What I need from Moscow to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Kamchatka. This leaves me with two rather large piles. Thankfully, I have purchased and PolarTREC has issued me lots of lightweight gear and clothes. Of course, once I put them in the internal frame backpack and camouflage duffle bag, it appears that I have packed enough stuff to equal my body weight. If you have ever tried to carry something equal to your own body weight at a dead sleep, you have some idea what I am talking about. I attach the carryon bag to my chest, the backpack to my back and then, I make a near fatal error. I tried to simultaneously carry the duffle bag. The ensuing balancing act left me staggering around the living room like a sailor on shore leave. As I jettison the duffle, I collect myself enough to avoid a near collision with the stereo cabinet and nearby floor lamp. Looks like when I get there, I’ll have to make two trips to get my belongings to the campsite. I think this will just make it double the fun.
So, as I sit here on the patio enjoying the summer solstice I have just two thoughts. One, I am very prepared for this expedition and have a firm grasp of everything I need to know. Two, I have no idea what is going to happen on this expedition and I am losing my grip on the rope that I am hanging on to. I think I need a couple of aspirin.