Used Gear Sale

Well that was thoroughly frightening. I arrived at REI by 8:15 as the sale was to begin at 9am, only to make it into a line that was almost to the street 200 meters away from the entrance of the building. As 9 o'clock struck I saw some things that I'd only heard about with shoppers. As the used items were located outside the complex on the opposite end of the parking lot the line was snaking, those of us in the middle of the line not yet on the street observed the first wave of shoppers rush the backpack and tent section immediately as though all hell had broken loose. Teams of two and families would separate, collecting what goods they thought might be of value to them, piling them into mounds, sorting through their claim and discarding the rubbish for those left in the back to scavenge.

By the time I made it inside, most of the things that I might possibly need had been sorted, claimed and removed. Had I some aggressive attitude in the shopping world I would have undoubtedly been snarling, face to face with an opponent for something as unimportant as an old sweater. Even a passive customer, just looking to see what was available became treated as unwanted competition. Upon approaching boxes to scan, hordes of others would move in for the kill, muscling out anyone who might claim the camping pop-corn popper. Once they had deemed that popper unsuitable to their needs they would then allow the meek looky-loo to take their gander.

This "used gear sale" was more a gladiatorial arena for bloodthirsty, semi-hippies than a docile shopping event. For this shopper, the desire to acquire the best deal around served little motivation to his day's goal. After finally reaching any sort of box or bin, the price on the tag often resembled that of a brand new model. I was astonished that these once gentle creatures who clamor for ends to violence, who lack proper hygienic care and whose diets consist of mold grown in their backpacks, could be so aggressive and combatant.

After an immense disappointment in products and a fried brain due to the overwhelming crowds and bins of assorted goods, I decided to make a break for the inside. After a perusal of the standard items of REI, I decided I might buy some sock lining (made to prevent blisters and stop the making of holes in hiking socks) and some other items, but after seeing the line leading from the check-stand to the outside where I'd just come from, I thought better of it and left REI empty-handed and in a daze, amazed at the display of animalistic qualities I'd just seen in these humans.

A trip to Bass Pro on Monday will be quite refreshing as the crowds will be nowhere near the same and I'll soon have a food drier in my possession. That means jerky, trail mix, dried fruit, deliciousness. The food drier is to be a huge aid in my future backpacking excursions. After the food drier, my next big purchase will be a pair of boots and perhaps a bivy sack. I'll get to give the backpack another go-around this week. And these hiking socks are great. Comfortable and breathable.