Hi, I said I would add some things so here is some info for those interested about what gear I brought and how it fit into the kayak. First off the kayak has about as much space as a 50 – 60 liter pack. For those of you who backpack you should understand. The issue is that it isn’t a cylindrical backpack; thus there is a need to pack in small packages. The smaller more flexible the package is, the easier it will be to pack into the kayak. So lets start up front in the compartment there, as you can see the opening is a limiting factor in itself.

In the picture you see the main thing up front was food. The orange dry bag was where all the dry food stuff was. I had a loose bag of bread and another of tangerines that fit in with it. At the top of the picture you see a jar (Ghee for cooking – that is clarified butter), above that is a green sack of tent pegs. The MSR bag is my cook stove, the blue bags are baby wipes (4 bags), under those are two packages of tissues. The off white bag is the hammock tent sans the tarp in a compression sack, the black bag is my cooking pots (three pots with tops, three plastic (measuring) cups, three spoons 4 sets of chop sticks and a fry pan). There is the egg carton, and the grey topped container is a GSI French press (inside it is a cup and the workings of the press); the yellow bag are my medications (more on those in a moment). There are two lengths of rope, and at the top left of the food pile is a plastic bag with a two red bags within; that is my first aid and dental hygiene stuff. I used Colgate whisps as my tooth brush, small light and disposable. The first aid kit had an assortment of bandages, gauze, tape, Polyisoprene, sun burn ointment, Benadryl, pins and the like. Then there are two containers of hand sanitizer, that fit here or in the cockpit.

So you push the meds, pegs and three of the wipes way up into the front point of the kayak. Then the orange dry bag of food is pushed in. The ghee, other wipes and tissues, coffee pot, cook kit, egg carton, first aid/whisps are then loaded up against the cockpit wall. The remaining space is filled with the rope, hammock, tangerines, extra gorp(trail mix), extra bread (naan) then topped off if possible with whatever doesn’t fit elsewhere. A tight fit to say the least. Here is a list of the food in the orange dry bag:

• 8 pkgs of Bear Creek Soup mixes (I broke down to larger pkgs into the 8 single servings – Broccoli and Cheese & Potato Soups)
• 12 pkgs of tuna or chicken foil packs (6 were mixed – deli style… and 6 were just chicken or tuna) The plain packaged meat was used with the dashi and soba to make a hearty meal.
• soba noodles
• Dashi mix (dried fish stock base for soup)
• 20 ct. box of Cliff Bars
• 16 Quaker oatmeal pkgs
• 20 ct. of Justin’s peanut or cashew butter foil pkgs
• Honey
• sugar (about 3 cups)
• M&Ms (sharing size)
• 2 lbs of yogurt covered cranberries
• cinnamon
• cookies (Lorna dunes and Fig newtons)
• box of brown rice
• sandwich thins

As you saw in an earlier post I had 3 lbs. of home made beef jerky (Maple and Teriyaki flavors), and I also made trail mix. For that I dried many of the fruits (cherries, cranberries & blueberries) then I add nuts (peanuts & cashews), M&Ms and then some chocolate and yogurt covered cranberries I get commercially. I carried about 15 lbs of gorp. I tried to place the jerky up here in the front compartment under the food bag (too keep it cooler). If not here then in the rear compartment again on the bottom to stay cool.

Now more on medication: I am on meds for high blood pressure and stents I have as well as some supplements. So to carry 62 days of meds and not look like a drug dealer (bags of pills); I removed the prescription label from the pill containers and placed them inside each of my baggies of drugs. I have traveled enough to know law enforcement looks at that seriously, and although I may have been detained, I would have contacts to verify that the drugs are for my use and necessary. I did not expect that anyone would detain me but I felt it best to be safe. Also in that bag was Naproxen Sodium, aspirin, a heat pad and NuSkin.