Dec 19, Rest day,Thredbo

A wee bit of drizzle today, so it would have been perfect for a stroll but also good for resting. We managed to get our toilet trowel from Jindabyne via the ladies who work here at the Youth Hostel as one commutes from there. We also bought new foot beds or insoles for Lee's boots as her current pair had gone soft with age and her feet were unstable, rolling too easily. Other purchases included a spare lighter, anti-inflammatory gels and tablets, insect repellant (80% DEET), Band-Aids and spray on bandage for blister control (though we seem to be past the blister stage now), Dubbin water proof for our boots (no Nikwax in Thredbo!) and some butterscotch which are the best legal pick-me-up we've found for those times when the damn pack is too heavy and your feet are saying 'hey, this looks like a dandy camp spot just here'.

For those of you who've never had the pleasure of overnight bush walking, these are the contents of our packs:
Food and snacks - see earlier entry.
Tent - Lee, 2 kg
Ground sheet - Brian ? 500 g
Fly tarp for rainy cooking, Brian, 600 g
Self inflating mats - both, ? 700 g
Sleeping bags, down -5 degrees, both ?1.7 kg
Stove, metholated spirit, + pot, Brian, 1.5 kg max. capacity
Bowls, cups, spoons, Brian, 500 g
Fuel, meths, Brian, 175 g per day
Toilet trowel, Brian, 500 g
Toilet paper and wet wipes, both, 200 g
Maps, both, various up tp 500 g
Crocks, light weight holey foam rubber shoes, camp wear and sream fording, both, 500 g
Pack rain covers, both, 250-500 g
First aid kit - bandages etc, Lee 250 g
Medical kit, headache pills, anti-inflammatorys, diarrhea pills, Brian, 400 g
GPS, Brian, 700 g
Compass, Lee, 100 g
Camera, Brian, 750 g
Repair kit - numerous goodies, Brian, 500 g
Insect repellant, Brian, 75 g
Sun screen, Lee, 75 g
Pocket knife, Lee, 100 g
Kitchen sink colapsable bucket for bathing, each, ?125 g
Towel - microfibre, both, 75 g
Water filter, Brian, 750 g
2 4 litre pack taps, usually empty, (wine cask bladder with canvas cover), Lee, 100 g
3 litre hydration bladders, both, 1 to 3 kg depending on how often we think we can filter, based on stream on map.
Mobile phone, each, ?200 g
Solio solar charger for phone, Brian, 500 g
Clothes, both have approximately:
3 pairs socks
3 pairs underware
1 pair light weight tough pants
1 pair shorts
3 microfibre wool tops
1 pair thermal bottoms, sleeping
1 pair fleece pants
1 100 weight fleece jacket
1 down jacket
1 rain jacket and now supplimentary poncho
1 sun hat
1 beenie (touque)
1 pair gloves
1 pair reading glasses
1 pair sun glasses

Other gear we each have:
toiletries
2 walking poles
Canvas gaiters
Boots

I have about 20 Gutenburg ebooks on my phone, Lee has a giant crossword mag and sometimes a book.