Thanks Lori for the excellent information. For the record I will not be going solo. I will be with a handful of pretty experienced people.
As far as staying hydrated goes... I will be in northern MN, If you look at a map of the boundary waters or the superior hiking trail, you would see keeping hydrated is not a difficult thing. Land of 10,000 lakes!
I dont think I will have a hard time staying comfortable. Maybe my pack will be a bit heavy the first couple times out.. but I will slowly improve it. Especially with all the great advice on this forum. This is why I got everything at REI because no matter how worn out it is I can return it if I am not satisfied.
Also.. I wont be just getting all this new gear and hitting the trail. I will be going camping several times with everything first. I already have a couple weekend trips planned, and ofcourse the first thing I will do is spend a couple nights in the backyard. How can you sleep in a bed when you get a brand new tent in the mail?!?!

Steadman - thanks for your concerns on the cookset. I actually ended up getting the GSI MicroDualist. I thought about it and the pot on the bugaboo is so big it would be such a waste of fuel to have to boil water in it. I might pick up an MSR Skillet down the road if I feel the need.




thanks again for the advice people! I will continue to check out these various brands and websites, and keep an open mind about maybe exchanging some gear.