Today I’ve been scrambling around town looking for the only Solio in Pittsburgh to keep my phone charged. As it turns out Nathan’s cute little Hymini doesn’t power iPhones and for a few hours today I was panicking that I’d not even have emergency phone contact after a few days. The crisis is over – thanks Best Buy for stocking this great product! I have a few more things to pack, wrap up some work, stuff my phone with tunes and then its off to bed to try too sleep.

Here’s my new shell for the next week –

Granite Gear’s Nimbus Meridian Ki. Made especially to fit women’s curves and hip movements, and this model is designed especially to fit a smaller than average torso. Its a great option for the ultra-light purist who needs to carry a lot of gear for extended trips. This one looks small but packs a lot! Its got a great zipper right down the belly so I can get into any part of the backpack without having to unpack the whole thing. The lid extends up to pack more, it has straps for sleeping equipment and it comes with zippers where I’ll keep all my rain gear, water and emergency stuff. It comes with custom width shoulder straps, custom back height and custom hip belt right down to the exact proportions of the body, and BearRidgeOutfitters.com provides all the options.

The pictures dont really do it justice on the site. The blue is far more saturated and the brown is lighter and warmer. I have it almost fully packed and it felt totally different to the backpack I used for Hadrians Wall – this one puts pretty much all the weight on the hips so my shoulders don’t die on me.

I’m very grateful to uberpest for all her advice which helped me to finally make the right choice. I only hope to one day catch up to her amount of trekking experience.