of backpacks and finding a way

Bags are packed, maps have been procured (except for one that's on it's way). We are both once again broke. Apparently that's what happens when you wanna go adventuring. That is what we have noticed the most about getting going, it cost a lot. Things that we usually take for granted like shelter and food become a huge issue. So we sifted through all the things we thought we needed, like blankets and electricity and with some help of some books and blogs and goggle  we narrow our necessities down to the things that are actually absolutely necessary.

Carrying around all the things you could possibly need means that you have to know exactly what you need. It means prioritizing through all the things in your life and realizing that it is possible to go through life with three or four pairs of underwear (the one you are wearing, the one you just washed and one or two extras for unexpected situations), that you can get your protein from tuna, that you are ok with drinking water from a stream, that a thin piece of water resistant plastic is the best shelter you can hope for. because that is what we are carrying as of now (in no particular order):

• Tent (which turned out to be larger than expected, but still light weight)
• Sleeping bag (huge as well but free thanks to our friend Lesley <3)
• Backpacks (one of them from amazon and the other from an army surplus store, both cheap)
• Clothes (mostly athletic gear, quick dry.)
• Food (tuna, sardines, pasta, instant oatmeal anything that cooks fast and is tasty)
• Stove and Fuel (again free courtesy of Eddie's ex-boss)
• cooking/eating supplies (we still need a knife and a good pan)
• First aid kit (because i am very very clumsy and you should always have it)
• Camera (to document our journey and Eddie's photography)
• water bottle and purification system (going the traditional route with iodine)
  

There has been some doubts too, when i was still in school and i was dealing with finals and papers and i was so broke it hurt Eddie didn't think it was going to happen. Then he lost his job and things really started looking down. So i went around the web and found sites on how to make your own gear, and  cheap stoves(which incidentally cost a fortune), but we didn't end up using either. When there's a will there's a way and we just started to slowly get stuff. We borrowed stuff, we bought stuff on the cheap..all and all this trip has cost us less than 700 dollars.
As it turned out i was very methodical about preparations: i read a lot about the things we "need" and how to procure them on the go. this guy was pretty useful, mostly because he's really really living it rough and has some pretty good advise on how to do it. I scared Eddie after reading this by being convinced that the best way to get our protein was to hunt for it ourselves, i even suggested bringing along this machete my mom has around the house for protection...

We are W-A-L-K-I-N-G to Canada.

A simple introduction is harder to write than originally expected. I'm seating here trying to figure out what this blog should be about, there are many things that need to be addressed. The most important seems to be our goal: we are walking close to 400 miles from New York City (that island at the end of the Hudson river) to Montreal Canada (the city at the U.S- Canada border where apparently pot is legal).
The reasons for this trip are many fold, and hopefully by the end of this journey we'll be able to tell you exactly why we are doing this. However at the moment it's all about being young enough to do it with abandonment. We want to truly immerse ourselves in the adventure, the thrill of not knowing anything at all about our task and still achieving it. 
You don't know who i am, or who Eddie is and it seems imperative that you should. We are both entirely new to this hiking thing. Completely new, except for my Outward Bound expedition when i was 15. That's as far as our combined experience with over night hiking goes. Individually Eddie is a photographer based in NYC, he has strong political and social opinions, an odd sense of humor and he does Mixed Martial Arts. I am Marcela, a recent graduate from Mount Holyoke College, an immigrant from Ecuador, a recently sworn in U.S citizen, and an artist (if you squint a little).
We wanted to make this a blog about advise, except that neither i nor Eddie seem to be in any position to hand out such advise. However we can document the things we've learned as we learn them. For instance we had to change our route two days before departure because the way we wanted to go would have led us no where. This sudden change in plans was brought about through a visit to Paragon Sports where a lovely girl named Bee with a sprained wrist, found us a better route on a magazine and proceeded to rip off the page and give it to us. The moral of the story being: ask. just ask.
We also wanted this to be a place where we can show you the things we see and the things we do. Maybe throw in some social commentary about our youth, about life, about how pretty things could be.