Rain and good deals

Well this weekend was supposed to be a backpacking weekend near Grand Marais, MN, along the Superior Hiking Trail with myself, Alison, and our friend Julia, who we've been trying to get out with for quite a while. We finally marked down the weekend and we're going to make it happen. But as nature would have it, it wasn't the weekend for us. MN has gone from summer to cold, wet, fall in a matter of days. We had a couple great 50 degree sunny days that definitely elevated my mood from the hot sticky days of summer. But in the past few days the rain came. And the wind came with it. The forecast for the weekend up north was highs in the high 40s, gusty winds at 40mph in some spots (trees crashing on the trail all over) and steady rain. So the trip got "weathered". I probably would have still gone, but didn't want to force my craziness on Alison and Julia, so we're hanging out at home this weekend.

It was worth being around last night. We headed out to REI to get a pair of shoes Alison wanted, and discovered that the "scratch and dent" sale from last weekend was still going with a few items left, and they were getting rid of those things at an additional 50% off. Sweet. We ended up getting a basecamp tent for $43 instead of the regular $400, and another bivy for $63 instead of $200. Nice. Smokin' deals on gear make me love the REI co-op. I tend to end up buying gear for adventures on the weekends that I'm not on adventures. :)

As for the rest of the weekend...not sure yet. Looks like the climbing gym and a run is on the menu for today. And yes, I said run. I've tried to pick up running in the past unsuccessfully, but Alison and I are giving it another go. I've got to get stronger in that realm for backpacking, and hopefully some mountaineering ventures sometime soon.

Anyhow, a rainy weekend cancelled a trip, but it seems to be going ok anyhow...