And then there was one

In one week and three hours I will be sitting on a plane headed to Helsinki (via London). It will be the beginning of 97 days of adventure and exploration. The amount of things on my to do list is still much longer than I would like with such little time left before departure. The last week and a half was busy with Rob and Erika's wedding in Grand Forks, a weekend of pure insanity on a house boat on Shuswap Lake, and a nice dinner at Quilchena Ranch just outside of Merritt to celebrate my Mom's birthday. All three events were good times, but did not help in any way with the trip preparation. Today I have started to pack my belongings in order to put them into storage while I'm away. The packing process makes me realize how much useless junk I have accumulated over the years. I have boxes that have not been opened since they were packed 5 years (and 3 moves) ago. If I haven't needed the stuff in that long then what are the odds I'll ever need it? I also have to find a way to pack over 3 months worth of stuff into one 70 L backpack. I've never had a problem packing light for trips, but this trip is almost 5 times longer than any I've been on in the past. I will also have to pack two seasons worth of clothes as it will be fall while I'm in Europe and then will be beach weather once I make it to Thailand and SE Asia. I guess sitting here writing this entry isn't helping with either issue so I'd better get back to it! One week, two hours and forty minutes to go...