Over the last 3 weeks my family and I have been in the process of moving out of my small apartment and into a new larger house. On top of this, I have been working a lot. In the mist of it all, I have been trying to keep up with my typical websites in which I frequent (backpacker forums) as well as everyone else’s blogs / sites, and then of course my own site. And of course, I have been trying to get some gear reviews in here and there.

As all of this has been going on, in the back of my mind I have been contemplating my much-anticipated hiking trip next month. My wife and I will (should) be able to escape for 9 days to do some hiking next month. However, with all of everything going on, I had not been able to sit down and take the time to sort out all the details. Finally I was able to get around to it.

What I have come up with is a 5 day loop in the Smokies, and then a drive to Max Patch to spend the night on the summit. I am also hoping to get a day hike in to Chimney Tops while we are there. So, I was able to secure my reservations in the Smokies for the loop, and thankfully I do not need a reservation at Max Patch.

Now is the planning part. I pulled out all the boxes in which my hiking gear was packed up in and tried to reorganize it. I have started working on a gear & food list for our trip, so I still have much to do. (The food list is the hardest part for me…)

So, anyway, hopefully soon I will begin to have a few more items to review and post about. Until then, I will be happy reading everyone else’s reviews and comments on gear. (Oh yeah, and the grass needs cut… the joys!)