Coat-o-paxi?

One of the things I like to do is "stalk" gear before I buy it to get the best price. It's a game I'd like to think I've become good at but its also pretty much out of necessity. Deals on outerwear on my favorite. I choke on the huge prices of these items. Of the above, my favorite deal was $47 for a $169 Mountain Hardware fleece jacket. I stalk less than I used to because I have a fair amount of gear that will most likely last me for years to come, probably even a lifetime.  But I am partial to  certain stores and brands and have gotten to know their markdown cycles return policies. Today my $120 gloves arrived for $49. It pays to be size Unisex XS I guess.

Layering my outwear-In order: Peak XV parka from First Ascent, REI 3 in 1, North Face Apex Bionic shell, Mountain Hardware Thermostatic, First Ascent WindFoil Elite, REI Rain, North Face Khumbu, North Face Denali, Patagonia R1, North Face TKA, Mountain Hardware MicroChill (in 3 colors, I could live the rest of my life in this thing), and the newest addition: Mountain Hardware Hooded Pyxis. Im not taking all of these but probably half of them. Thank goodness for stuff sacks.

You Only Live Twice

The name of my sparkly red nail polish that I use to mark my gear is called You Only Live Twice (hmmmm...). Just a few dots on each piece for identification purposes. Half of you are thinking right now, "She owns nail polish??"
I'm struggling this month with balancing the facets of my life -work, family, Ecuador, and "other".  Almost everything seems to be changing at the same time. Its a feeling I typically experience as the season changes from Summer to Fall, but this year feels so much more pronounced.  The shorter days and colder weather wreak havoc with my intentions. Last pre-trip was colored by some unexpected surgery and my husband getting laid off.  This year, the government shutdown as well as parts of the Affordable Care Act implementation have drastically affected my work hours. Which translates into affecting income.
I'm all but done with acquiring my gear and now am moving on to the next level of training, which is to say, "gear-specific training".
September and October were productive in terms of training...
Generally:
Mondays-Core/Crossfit and Spin
Tuesdays-Core and Incline
Wednesdays-Potluck
Thursdays-Bootcamp and Incline
Fridays-Swim/Volleyball
Weekends-Running/Hiking
November will see the same training, with additional weighted-pack hiking trips, ropes review, boot breaking-in, and of course, YOUTUBE  instruction/review videos (glacier travel, route-finding, self-arrest, etc.)

Crampons

My Grivel G12 crampons arrived today. I have a hard time looking at directions for Lego sets so it takes a lot of patience for me to sit down and adjust these things using only vague pictures and a few sparse descriptive paragraphs, but I think I got it right.

Wisconsin Hikes

Spent Columbus Day holiday hiking with the boys in Kettle Moraine State Park, a few hours drive from Chicago. Weighted pack of 30# for me, about 7# each for the boys, we hiked the better part of 5 hours. Couldn't have been a more perfect Fall day!