[at-l] Holiday Greetings

Seasons greetings to all !!!

After reading Saunterer's post I decided to post some of my AT ( hiking ) gifts that I have received from friends and family, all of which do not hike or backpack. Some of which had to go to an outfitting store near them. Of course it was me that has dragged them along on past visits and as you can see this tactic has paid off. This was not my intention when I asked them to come along, but boy what a subsequent benefit.
Anyway some of these gifts may seem strange in any other forum but not here I am sure.
For example, I began opening some packages with a familiar shape and to my delight they where Mountain House freeze dried dinners! Not that I am a big fan of how these taste, but I sure do like not having to clean up after dinner, so these are considered prized gifts in my book. 
My sister, whom has hiked with me only one time, during a visit, must have been embarrassed by my 8 year old ll bean nylon climbing pants, (to be honest I too have been thinking they where just about at the end of there service life) decided to buy me a new pair as her gift. I will have to admit, the mustard stains in the crotch could possibly give someone the wrong impression so it is for the best to retire the ll bean pants :)
Other gifts include two P-38s ( can openers ) , a photon flashlite, waterproof match holder and a small salt and pepper shaker, of which I do not own, but on several occasions wished I had.
To myself, and this may seem shallow, but you only go around once, the Cannon EOS Rebel 2000. If you have not picked up one of these you will be greatly surprised, as I was, it weighs in at a mere 12 oz. lens not included. For the longest time I have been toying with the idea of carrying a full size 35mm SLR, but as most know they are heavy. I have found that I love photographing the trail as much as hiking it and with my small Nikon Lite~Touch Zoom 80, I was not getting the results I had hoped for. So this year I decided to heck with the weight, I was gonna buy one and carry it.
Well its time to shove the beast in the oven and prepare for the hordes, to all I hope you have a safe and merry holiday as I have.

Doug

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