Getting in gear

Dispatch from Michelle Olson — June 15, 1997
This week Dan, Morgan, Bill, and I (Michelle) have been doing individual training mostly. This will change on Monday because that is when the local pool will open up. When it does, Morgan, Bill, and I will start swimming together every morning. Bill will not be able to swim with us because he lives in Corvallis. Bill will be coming to Astoria to be with the rest of the group around the 23rd of June.

On the 12th, some of our gear arrived. We received our gear from Patagonia. We received a very nice synchilla jacket, pants, and a hat. Plus our long underwear.

The other day Morgan, Billy, and I went on a little training trip. We all went to Cullaby Lake with Morgan's two kayaks, just for fun. We did it for something to do as a group. We were out there for about four hours. Bill swam the length of the lake. Once he was there he realized that he could not swim back and Morgan went to help him in the kayak. Do not think Bill is a wuss or something; it is a big lake. Dan has been doing Tae Kwan Do and a variety of other things to keep in shape on his own.

We all are very much looking forward to the big trip. It is only about a month away. Which reminds me, our original schedule has been changed. Instead of doing training trips spread out before we leave, on July 5 we are driving up to a NOLS camp in the North Cascades, I believe. All of us will be training up there for roughly two weeks before we leave from there to Mount Sir Sandford, camping all the way. We can't wait!