The inevitable post about packing

We all knew this one was coming so best get it out of the way now.  I need to pack.  For a ten month trip to a place I have never been.  I have been told many things about Togiak, like how they get upwards of 100 inches of snow per year, possibly 20 inches in a 24 hour period.  But that it was a "brown winter" with very little snow this past year.  Compare that to Portland, or Seattle where I grew up, where it snows 6 or 8 inches per year every couple of years, and the whole city shuts down until it is gone, usually within a day or two.

 In fact, here is a picture of a snow day in Portland from Feb, 2014.
 As you can see, the snow didn't even come up to the wheel well, and yet, school was closed for nearly a week.  It is true that ice is more of a problem in Portland when it snows and it really isn't safe to drive but you get my point.  "Snowing" takes on a whole new meaning.

I have also been warned that gale force winds and rain blow a lot this time of year in Togiak.  I was advised to bring a good waterproof coat, waterproof pants and a sturdy hat with a chin strap, especially for our new teacher training fishing trip.  Luckily, a fellow teacher taught me the benefits of buying a truly waterproof coat when she heard that I was going to be doing daily recess duty as part of a job I had a few years ago.  Rain, I am familiar with.

But one thing that made my brief job in Medford wretched was that I packed for a week, and wound up staying two.  I was so sick of my teacher clothes by then, I wanted to chuck them all, and though the job paid a lot (I mean, a crazy lot even if it was to work a strike), it wasn't enough to redo my entire work wardrobe. 

Now I have the added difficulty of bringing not just teacher clothes but regular everyday clothes as well for a new climate.  Because of weight issues with the planes, I also need to weed carefully.  The tiny plane that will take me from the bustling metropolis of Dillingham (population 2400) to Togiak charges .95 cents per pound for all my luggage.  This means I have to pick and choose which sweatshirts I absolutely cannot live without, which shoes are most practical, which jeans will fit until I lose all the weight I am bound to drop while living in a place with no fast food, which skinny jeans to take to wear when I lose said weight.

Plus there are the little things I take for granted around my house.  A bath mat, perhaps.  Or more than one kitchen towel.  And don't even get me started about pillows!  I am an unabashed pillow whore.  Currently, I need four to sleep well: one under head, one under knees and one on each side to hug when I sleep on my side.  (Sure, "get a girlfriend" takes care of pillows 3 & 4 but work with me here.)  I know I have two pillows waiting for me that the woman who used to live in my apartment left behind but who knows if these are adequate, the right softness, the right rigidity, the right material.

I also have to keep in the back of my mind that this is a solo trip.  There will be no one but myself to haul all my gear from car to plane to motel to plane to new apartment.  So I have decided to bring one suitcase on wheels (thanks for the loan, Mom!), one Europe Through The Back Door backpack that I can wear, one carry-on duffle, and my nose hose (a specialized piece of medical equipment that keeps me from not breathing when I sleep, because sleep apnea is sexy) that thankfully flies free.

Into these, I must pack up my life.  Yah, okay.