I made my original plans for the Big Walk back in August of 2021 using 119,000 United Frequent Flyer miles I had acquired while a road warrior in the 90's and 00's. Due to the pandemic and reduced flights, despite it being 9 months away, the route selections were not good.
Note: I have over 160,00 miles left with a life time accrual of 505,047 miles to date.

In the past when flying from California I had several standard routes to choose from 

• San Diego-Denver-London-Aberdeen
• San Diego-San Francisco-Frankfurt-Aberdeen
• San Diego-Chicago-Amsterdam-Aberdeen
• Or some combination of these.

I learned to avoid London because going through customs there was a zoo and then usually I had to hang out for 6+ hours for the flight to Aberdeen. 

When I went to United to search I could not see these routes. Using the planning calendar and selecting business class for the "over the pond" leg, I was able to book the following flight path:

• Flights out: San Antonio to Chicago to Zurich to Oslo to Aberdeen
• Flights back: Aberdeen to Oslo to Frankfurt to Washington D.C to San Antonio.

I would land in D.C at 10 pm and my flight to San Antonio would be the next morning BUT because my sister lives in D.C. we made arrangements for me to spend the night with her and have a quick visit.

In December I got notice that my departing flight from San Antonio would be an hour later, but everything else was the same, no big deal.

Then yesterday I received another email form United about a flight change. When I looked the new flight paths going and returning had a new stop AND I was departing from Stavenger, on this new leg, BEFORE I ARRIVED - WTF!!!!

• Flights out: San Antonio to Chicago to Zurich to Oslo to Stavenger (Norway) to Aberdeen on the way over.
• Flights Back: it would be Aberdeen to Stavenger (Norway) to Oslo to Frankfurt to Washington D.C to San Antonio.

​I called United and the first agent I spoke to said that if these connections did not work for me, I could cancel. Now, lets be honest that's not good customer service at all. I asked about changing the connections out of Stavenger so I could catch the next flight. Well there were none those days so I would have to stay over night on the way to Aberdeen and then on the way back stay TWO nights and rebook the rest of the flight. So I was put on hold so she could investigate and I hung up after 30 minutes since I had been on the phone for over an hour already and had work to do.

Later, I called back and explained the situation to the (new) agent and got her to agree with me that the new flight plans were rather impossible to do. I then explained that I can't cancel the trip but I could, with her help shift departure and return dates only one or two days as there were things that would happen while in Scotland that could NOT be changed.  So she started looking at options and she even got a supervisor on the line to authorize a few things that I assume I the agent could not do nor would I have been able to do via the website. 
The result was new flight plan leaving a day later and with less connections. Then we moved on to the return flight which caused more issues but a flight was found out of Edinburgh - which would mean I would have to take a train from Inverurie, which is the closest station to where Elisa lives. 

I said "Book it Dano!" and I was put on hold so the agent could first confirm the new flights and connections. THEN she canceled the other flights; she didn't do that first JUST IN CASE. 

• Flights out: San Antonio to Chicago to Frankfurt to Stavenger (Norway) to Aberdeen on the way over.
• Flights Back: it would be Endinburgh to Washington D.C to San Antonio.

I will have 5+ hour layover in Stavenger but they do have a nice lounge I can get into and I think I will raid the duty free shop and get some Aquavit to try.

For the return flight I depart of Edinburgh around noon so I decided to take the train down two days early, arriving in the afternoon. My hotel is near the train station so I can easily get back to the train station (Waverley) to get the tram to the airport. my first afternoon will be wandering the city and visting the Weaving Center as well as DoveCot Studios to see an exhibition on William Morris. Then on my full day there I will visit the Scottish National Museum. 

I have been to the museum, which was just the Natural History Museum in the early 2000's with the shop elf. It's a great Victorian building with balconies and wrought iron railings, glass skylights, decorative tile floors. We went to see the Gem & Mineral collection. Then in 2004 we planned another visit as a side trip to Elisa and Mike. Unfortunately when we arrived at the museum we found it has closed THAT DAY for a massive renovation as part of the merger with the Art museum to make it the National Museum; parts of the museum where reopened in 2011 with it being fully completed in 2019. This time I will visit the Arts & Crafts, Pictish, and Mineral collections with lots of pictures to share with the shop elf. 

The other big change is that I now do not have an overnight layover in D.C. so I won't see my sister. We will plan a visit for that later in the year when the world calms down more.

Over the past several weeks I have had to make several adjustments, again. As I wrote earlier, I went to another store (not REI) in SA to get a new pack that fit me better and new shoes.

I have returned the shoes because they did not fit me well once I did an actual walk in them; my heel kept lifting and I was concerned that a blister would develop plus the toe box was too long. I had tried on a smaller size but it was tight over the ball of the foot thus the next size up was put on but not having the opportunity to walk any distance, the issues I experienced had not been apparent. I ended up buying a pair of Keen hiking shoes that are waterproof; I wear a lot of Keen shoes as the larger toe box fits me across the ball of the foot while not squishing my toes and they have a full shank which counter acts the pronation that occurs due to to being flat-footed. 

The next change was the pack - yes again. The Osprey pack that Jordan helped me select and fit was good, again, in the store but when I went for a test walk 2 weeks ago I had issues with the hip belt.  Despite that I felt the belt was small and did not wrap enough (see picture below), Jordan convinced me it was ok. I had looked at another Osprey pack the Aura AG 50 which has an adjustable belt but at 50L it was just too big to I chose the Archeron. 

So what happened on the test walk 2 weeks ago?? I loaded it up with most of my stuff, donned the pack and went to the walk. After about a mile the belt was pinching my hip flexor and it was getting painful; worried it was too low, I loosened the load stabilizers, shoulder straps, hip belt and started over in putting the pack on. Pack on shoulder straps loose; bend over and clip the hip belt; stand up and tighten the shoulder straps; tighten the load stabilizers. I walked another mile and nope - the hip belt was more on my waist and not holding the load and the weight was all on my shoulders let alone there as a gap between the top of the shoulder strap and my shoulders. Once again I repeated the process and the hip belt was putting pressure on the hip flexor.  I went home and decided this was not right.   I then went on-line (YouTube) and watched the Osprey videos on how to fit and put on the pack; just to be certain I was doing it correct.  The next day my hip flexors still hurt so this was not good.  Yesterday, I decided to give it another try and after 1 mile I was hurting again so I gave up. I started to analyze what was causing the problem and I found that the hip belt has a sewn edge binding that is semi-rigid (see picture below) and along the bottom it is tight against my body while along the top edge, it is loose that is ; so that's why there is so much pressure; the belt might be ok wrapping around my fat hips but it's not the correct shape for MY HIPS. 

Back to the web and looking for another pack that has an adjustable belt in a 40-45 liter range.  And on a whim I googled "women's back pack plus size" - it's that or go for a men's pack. SURPRISE!!! an article popped up about Gregory Packs having a line specifically for PLUS sized people men and women!  I went to the website and looked at the woman's 44L pack, watched the videos on the development of these packs and how to adjust/fit it, and then I bought it. From the pictures and video I could see that the hip belt has a soft rolled edge and this should also be better (see picture below). I will go for another "test walk" next weekend.

The other changes I have made are in a few things I will carry: I have removed the binoculars as i can always use the zoom on the camera to looks at wild life; I simplified the first aid kit I will carry; I bought a 3L water bladder with drinking tube and returned the 3L reservoir; I am also adding a quart size zip-lock freezer bag into my daily food pack so I can put the rice side and boiling water into it and seal it while the rice re-hydrates and  warms the added protein and I don't have to worry about it tipping over and spilling which it almost did yesterday during the test cook.

The last "change" is shipping some of the food items I want to Elisa next week so they arrive in time. What am I shipping? I went to the Tesco (grocery store near their house) and looked for the single serving foil packets of tuna and chicken which would be perfect to carry for each day's lunch along with a rice side.  They don't have them and when I searched Amazon UK, so I could order them; well they don't have them either.  And while I am at it I will add in some of the dry sausage (jerky) I like along with some squeeze peanut butter.

With just under 2 months until I start THE BIG WALK; and 1.5 months until I actually leave; it is now time to do some training walks.  Today I loaded the pack - extra clothing, rain gear, stove, some food, water, hygiene bag, electronics, donned by walking clothing and hat and hit the road. My plan was to walk 3-4 miles then stop for lunch and then walk another 3-4 miles. Stopping for lunch would mean using the Esbit stove and testing it so I am not out on the trail in Scotland not knowing what the frack I was doing.

I left the house at 9:15am and it was 44F; I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt with the mid-layer top over the shirt due to the nip in the air. I walked around the neighborhood, just over 4 miles in 1.5 hours. I ended up back at the house where I went into the back yard to cook my lunch.

What's for lunch? A Knorr Rice side, a cuppa tea, and a protein bar. I set up the stove with 2 fuel tablets, put 16 oz. of water in the cup/pot and set the tablets a fire. Oh, I started a timer to see how long it too to come to a boil which took about 10 minutes; I think this was longer than the tests I saw on YouTube due to the slight breeze that was blowing. Once the water came to a boil, I opened the foil packet and poured in the 16 oz. of water, stirred with my spoon and set it aside to "cook" and I put another 16 oz of water in the cup and set it back on the stove so I could make some tea; about a half a fuel tab was left over but I knew it wasn't going to be enough to boil more water so I put another, number 3, in the stove. After another 10 minutes, I poured that water into my silicone cup and made tea, sealing the lid for later and by this time the rice was ready. I also had a visitor, Cowboy Boots came to investigate and enjoy the sunshine.  The rice wasn't that bad but it was salty; I think adding some protein, which I did not do this time, would make a very hearty meal. 

After I put the stove away, I grabbed my tea and bar, finished them off and put my pack back on for another go around the neighborhood. I did another 4+ miles in 1.75 hours, for a grand total of 8.2 miles in 4.25 hours including the hour break for lunch.    My hips are a wee bit sore so I have taken a large dose of aspirin and I am drinking lots of water.   Next week I hope to do another walk with a 9-10 mile total.

No, I am not channeling my mother.  My mother would start packing for a trip 2-3 months before the departure date and yes, while I am buying, trying, and figuring out what to take - it's all walk related; not all the other stuff I will take for my flight and visit with Elisa and Mike. 

With the final choices made for the all the various kits it's is time to start make final selections on the small stuff, test putting stuff in the dry sacks and seeing how it all fits in the pack and to see what all of it weighs.

To calculate the total weight, in the past, you would weigh and write it all down, then sum it up. 
With the development of computers, paper, pencil, and calculator gave way to spreadsheets.
Now there is a free website to assist and track your gear so you can reuse items from trip to trip. The website is LighterPack and despite a few things it doesn't do: sorting by name, category, weight; have a global database so you don't have to enter everything yourself vs. looking up something someone else entered; or searching for other peoples lists it's still pretty good and the graphing is excellent. Two other nice features are for items you are planning on wearing, you can mark them as such as this gives you an idea of total weight vs. carrying weight, on colder days I will be wearing the "other clothing" so it all works out in the end. Then for food, water, fuel it can be marked as consumable and that weight will become less as the trip progresses - but I am only carrying 1.5 day's worth so that really won't change much day to day.

So today I gathered my gear, my postal scale and started building my list! 
First up was creating categories and after looking at lists by others, that I follow on YouTube, I came up with what you see in the picture below. Then I went through the pile(s) of stuff on the floor of the bedroom and started entering the items, weighing and adding pictures to the list. 

I eventually stopped adding the pictures because it was just taking too much time. As I finished a category being entered I put items in the stuff/dry sack and put it in the pack.

Here is a link to my list, it is public. If you click on a category in the chart, the chart will change and display an outer doughnut and hovering over it tells you what the item is and the weight. This would allow you to find items that might weigh more than you want.

Some might think this is too much for a "day hike" but considering I will be in the wilds of Scotland and the weather will be cool or down right cold, I think it is very reasonable. 

Now to do some test walks!

It's time to get a backpack. In the picture below you can see all the items I will be carrying: sit pad, thermos, binoculars, electronics kit, trail hygiene kit, walking pole, base layers, cold weather clothing, puffy jacket and gloves, whistle, compass, multitool, head lamp, safety vest, first aid kit, stove and cooking cup, a day's food for coffee, lunch and snacks, rain gear, a small digital camera, water bladder. I weighed all of this and it's about 15 pounds; the weight could go up or down depending on the day and any last minute items I add.

To select a pack there are two important choices: your size and the volume of the pack.

1. For the size of your pack; your torso needs to be measured, not your height. Some packs have adjustments for the shoulder straps and hip belt allowing it to fit your torso. Packs are also sized as one-size-fits-all, or come in S-M-L for men or women or unisex or are adjustable. Just because you are a man or woman does not mean you should limit yourself to a pack labeled for your gender; it's how it feels on you. It could be a Large woman's pack but if the hip belt doesn't sit properly on your hips or even wraps your hips such that it can be buckled then try a man's pack. 
2. For volume of the pack, it's usually expressed in LITERS, not the weight you plan on carrying. The amount of gear a pack can hold will vary depending upon the manufacturer including outside pockets in the volume or not or them rounding up or down from the math based upon height, width, thickness.  

I know I have a long torso and my hips are large; I am not a svelte 115 pound person. But what pack would fit;  I needed to go try the pack on and make sure my stuff fits and not order off the web and have to worry about returns.
​
​Three weeks ago I went to REI looking to get a fitting and seeing what size it would take to hold all my stuff.  I had a woman help me get a size fitting but every pack she had me try on was a woman's large and the hip belts were too small - duh, yes I have rather large hips. Then if I could get the hip belt to fit, the pack would ride up, off my hips, when I tightened the shoulder straps and tensioners. I was about to ask for someone else to help me because I was getting frustrated and she did not seem to grasp that maybe I should be in a "man's pack" when she said "My shift is over and this is going to take a while" and got someone else to help me. The young man who took over was very helpful. I must have tried almost 10 packs from 5 or 6 different (Osprey, REI, Deuter, Gregory, Arc'teryx, etc.) makers just for fit, not even getting to how much stuff it would hold. In the end there was only ONE pack that "fit" (more on this later) - a Arc'teryx Aerios 45L Men's backpack. It fit my hips and was comfortable but it was a giant sack with a roll top; the tightening system is all elastic chords including the chest strap and just 2 pockets on the outside, one on each side. I bought it; it wasn't cheap either.

After about a week at home, I just felt that this wasn't the right pack, so I went back to the web and did more research. For every pack, there are hundreds of reviews on why such-and-such pack is good, not right or bad.  I was convinced that this 45L was tooooooo big and from my newest round of research, I decided that I would specifically look at Mystery Ranch and Osprey in 35+L volumes.

I contacted Good Sports Outdoor Outfitters, (Jordan to be exact) a family owned store down in San Antonio, for another pack fitting, to verify size and to see if my stuff will fit in a smaller volume bag without being crammed and have space for a bottle of scotch, when (not if) I visited a distillery, or possibly 2, or 3 bottles. 

This morning, I put all my stuff in the car, including the pack I bought at REI and headed down to the store arriving just around noon.  Jordan and I talked a bit about distance, terrain, weather conditions and what I planned on carrying. I then told him about the pack, still in the car, and what I was interested in and why.

Starting fresh, we selected the Mystery Ranch Scree 32 L, he was actually shocked I knew about it because it is a specialty pack (they make packs for the military) and no other store in the area carries it; I was interested in this pack due to the 3 zipper closure and the pockets outside and inside. We went over putting it on, tightening the shoulder straps, the belt and tensioning the pack on my back. The pack did fit but damn, it would not hold my stuff and the internal pockets were too small for most of the filled stuff sack, sadly it was not meant to be.

Next up was the Osprey Talon 36 one of the most popular packs. It fit ok but I didn't like the way the straps felt on my shoulders; it has a square edge, not rolled like the Scree, but my stuff literally stuffed the pack full, no room for any thing extra let alone an airline sized bottle of scotch.  Conclusion - a 35-ish L pack was not going to cut it unless I really compressed all the stuff sacks and removed some non-essential items OR changed out some of the items I had (rain gear, cold weather clothing) so I back to a 40+L pack.  

I was confused...

After more discussion, I brought the Arc'teryx Aerios 45L pack in from the car and put my stuff in it and put it on.  It was comfortable and though it was bigger than I needed, it would do. 

We took a break and Jordan and I discussed boots.

It's now two months until I leave so now is the time to get my over the ankle "boots" and get them broken in. When I started training I bought a pair of Oboz hiking shoes (below the ankle) - full shank and water proof with a rounded toe box.  They feel good on my feet but I now realize they are just a bit too small because if I wear a thicker sox they are tight across the ball of my foot and after an 8 mile walk my feet swell and my toe tips are rugging the inside; this is not good so I should get shoes a half size larger.

I also wondered if I really needed over the ankle boots; the tour company has suggested them as part of their general equipment list but for most of the trip I am walking on either pavement, the road side (packed dirt and gravel), or dirt tracks that were once a rail road bed. To a lesser amount I will walking on tracks innfields which will have some water and rock but not in massive boulder fields like on the northern Appalachian Trail (AT). As as side note, the videos I am watching of various AT through hikers, the majority are NOT wearing over the ankle boots; some wear hiking shoes, trail runners, even a Teva style sandal.

Having said all of this, Jordan measured my feet, with the socks I will be wearing (a liner and and an outer sock). A few boxes of shoes were brought out and I tried them on and settle on the Northface FastPack IV shoes that are waterproof, full shank and weigh less than the Oboz - shoes ( 20 oz vs. 26 oz). 

Here is Jordan helping with the shoe selection.  Time to checkout.

As we headed to the register, Jordan started to tell me about a pack that were not in the store but might be there in a few weeks by the Osprey Atmos.  Then he stopped and decided to check in the back just in case it had arrived and he found ONE though it was a 50L. 

The Osprey Atmos 50L has an adjustable molded hip belt, shaped shoulder straps, outside pockets, and a removable top lid for extra storage. The hip belt adjustments were wonderful and I liked how it felt but it was even bigger than the one I had already purchased and I just could not accept it. 

Now I was conflicted AND confused.

Once again I tried on the Arc'teryx Aerios and ​Jordan then told me somethings about the pack - it's geared towards fast, light multiday trips which is why it's so light, has lots of elastic chords, is a large sack with no pockets and has a roll top closure. Jodan also talked about how the Arc'teryx are over engineers which is why they are very expensive. Then, in front of a mirror, Jordan pointed out that the pack is too long for me as evidenced by the gap between the top of my shoulders and where the shoulder straps attach to the pack this results in the weight being mostly supported by the belt and not really along my back PLUS their is no way to adjust the torso length; yes it was comfortable now but after 13 miles of walking what would my hips think??

​I was still conflicted about what to do.  Jordan then went into the back of the store and brought back a woman's large Osprey Archeon 45L. It has shaped shoulder straps, a molded hip belt, tensioners and adjustable shoulder strap position - but no adjustable hip belt like the Osprey Atmos 50.  I tried it on and it fit. Then we loaded my stuff which fit very well with room to spare for a bottle of scotch and surprisingly it seemed more full than the Arc'teryx Aerios 45L. The hip belt felt a little high so we adjusted the shoulder straps and when I put the pack back on it felt GOOD. I walked around a bit and pondered a bit more.  

I decided that it would be the Osprey Archeon 45 and along with my shoes, checked out.  

Jordon was so helpful and was amazing for the amount of time he spent with me. 

On the way home we went out for dinner and chocolate cake. 
​
Here are pictures of desert which is almost gone and me with the pack when I got home.