Tomorrow I fly to Sacramento CA at 6AM to take Ned Tibbit’s Mountain Education’s Snow Basic course at Echo Lake CA (near South Lake Tahoe) from April 11-13. Thanks to Terry S. who will pick me up and together we’ll attend the course. My equipment is purchased, my prep hiking is done, my resupply plan is prepared, my suitcase is packed, I’ve gone over my resupply with my family and I’m ready to go. For the past few weeks I’ve been waking up early, that is, well before dawn. I think it’s nervous energy. This hasn’t been a problem because I just get dressed and go out and do some prep hiking. This is no longer the case. In a matter of a few days I’ll be on the actual trail and reality will be set in. I wonder if I’ll be able to sleep tonight. Hmmm.