July 12, 2006 Ardsley, NY

After planning and planning for a looong time, some things are meticulously in order and ready to go - e.g., the huge travel pharmacy bearing the absurdly understated title of "med kit" is probably Zach's favorite thing about the trip so far. We've spent many hours and dollars researching and buying everything from packs to underwear to duct tape. In a not-atypical fashion, we left a few things to the end-we ordered an international plug set, my sleeping bag, and a gps to be delivered this past week. Armed with tracking numbers and earnest guarantees that our final items would arrive in time, we headed up to Connecticut to spend the day before we left with Zach's parents.

You know this isn't going to have a happy ending already, don't you?

I have to start with the sleeping bag, because it's the thing I was probably most excited about-I spent weeks researching online, looking for the lightest, most highly recommended bag. The Western Mountaineering Ultralight got rave reviews everywhere, but the cost was huge-so I spent more weeks debating whether we should spend the money. After making the decision, Zach and I both spent time finding a place to buy the bags-Bob's Wilderness House in Boston promised us the bags were due in "next week" for about a month, until we finally gave up and decided to order online. More time researching online retailers, trying to find a good price and good customer service record. After some promising exchanges with Tim Harris at Hermit's Hut, Zach placed the order with them. Zach's bag arrived promptly, and Tim promised mine was on the way direct from Western Mountaineering-and he was including a free travel pillow and nalgene bottle. It was the end of June when we had this exchange with Hermit's Hut, and while we were nervous about how close we were cutting it with an essential item, Tim assured us we'd have the bag on time and we received the UPS tracking number so we could follow it's progress across the country. I was sweating a little when I realized the bag was due to arrive the day before we left, but when I saw that the UPS truck had left at 7am to deliver the package to my parents' house, I figured I was safe. When we were up in Connecticut and I checked that the package had indeed been delivered, I felt assured. When I got home late Tuesday night and saw the small size of the box, I got nervous. I rationalized that the sleeping bag packs down really small. But Zach's had come in a box about 10 times as big. I opened the box and stared at my free nalgene bottle and travel pillow. No bag in sight. It was midnight in NY, and 9pm in California, where Hermit's Hut is. I left a frantic message on their answering machine, but knew I wouldn't be able to talk to anyone until noon Eastern the next day-that would be 3 hours before we were supposed to leave for the airport. Suddenly it dawned on me that the bag was supposed to be coming directly from Western Mountaineering, the manufacturer. I googled their address and phone number. Also in California. No answering machine. Dammit.

This is probably a good time to add that the GPS never arrived, and the plug set included 2 coverters for Sweden, 2 for Denmark, 2 for the South Pacific, and one for South Africa. Amazingly, though we are traveling around the world, exactly zero of these plugs is useful for us. Disbelief gave way to frustration, anger, and panic.

Then I had a revelation-this is the trip. This kind of disaster and disappointment is going to happen often. This was like a little sign from the travel gods saying, "get used to it." And also, a reminder that while it's important to be prepared, really the trip is not about having all the right stuff. Then it was funny, and I remembered all the crazy scrapes we got into on various journeys and jobs, and remembered that we were good at improvising and being flexible. We'd figure it out.

On Wednesday morning, I got through to the Western Mountaineering warehouse (Sarah, you're not the only person who has to be at work at 6am!) and the woman said that while she had the order for my bag (and while the bag was ready and sitting in her warehouse), she had never been given a shipping address to send it to. So the miracle delivery of my bag on the day I departed was not going to happen. While I waited for Hermit's Hut to open, I called around to see if any stores carried my bag. Unfortunately, mine was special ordered short, and the stores that had bags only had longs. No dice. When we finally got through to Hermit's Hut (three hours before we were leaving for the airport), they agreed to get the bag from Western Mountaineering and express ship it to India. I still won't have it for the Himalaya trek (which is probably where I need it most), but at least I'll have it for the rest of the journey. I'm going to rent a bag for the Himalaya-which is a little sad but really fine. As my mom insists, all the college kids in India do that when they go trekking.

As for the plugs and GPS, we picked up cheaper, simpler versions of our initial picks before we left. And we're off.