My planned Portland trip is less than two weeks away. I first came up with this mad scheme back in January. Early on, I obsessed about it quite a bit. Now it’s getting close and I find myself back in obsession mode.

Here’s the quick rundown: spend two days driving to Maupin, OR. Take a three day trip down the Deschutes River. A track day at The Ridge Motorsports Park followed by a track day with Club Lotus Northwest at Portland International Raceway. Hike Mt. St. Helens. A third track day at Oregon Raceway Park. Hike Mt. Hood. Spend a few days in the office. One day on the road headed to either Yellowstone or the Grand Tetons. Hike there. Drive home.

That’s the plan.

Although there are some missing elements – I only know where I’m sleeping on eight of the fifteen nights – I’ve definitely moved from planning to preparation.

The car is nearly ready to go. I changed the oil today. I had the brakes flushed Friday, along with a couple minor repairs. I still need to clean the air filter.

I have a lot of kit to take. I feel a bit like Imelda Marcos, taking driving shoes, hiking boots, old shoes for the river trip, and a pair of sneakers. I have my fanny pack for hiking and my backpack full of work stuff and the laptop. I have helmets, driving suit and gloves, and tools for the track days. Cameras, tripods, connectors, chargers. Poncho, windbreaker, sunscreen. And, of course, clothes.

It’s a small car. I’ve been concerned it might not all fit. When I do track days, I have too much gear to take a passenger. But I’ll leave the five gallon gas can at home and won’t bring a lawn chair. Not as much gear when I hike, but still a non-trivial pile of stuff. Neither of those requires me to pack ten days of clothes and my work backpack. I wonder if I need a TARDIS to fit it all.

This evening Genae helped do a dry run.

Amazingly, everything fit. Note that I had the top in the drivers seat. I’ll start with the top on and when it’s nice enough to go topless, it will have to ride in the passenger seat. And I’ll need to make sure some items are handy, but I’m pleasantly surprised with the results.

And I still have ten days or so to go over the lists. I wonder what necessity I’m forgetting…