Dreaming

There is a part of me, a large part of me, that thinks the dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail is still unattainable.

I have 2 dozen boxes of food in the basement. I have my gear packed. I have blogged and written, and re-written the same thoughts from a logical stand point. I have planned and crunched and gotten time off and spoken to friends and family for hours about going for a six month mountain jaunt. But it doesn't yet feel real.

The 50+ days standing between me and the Approach Trail is a gulf wider than I can see. The Trail, though conceived and idly turned within my mind, is over a distant horizon. My mind hums in anticipation, like a child waiting for Christmas, I have not felt the days between myself and something so acutely. It is agony, the anticipation, but it is also sweet. Sweet to want something, sweet to have something in life that makes me so honed in on the future.I will feel this way in the days leading up to marriage, or the days winding down to retirement. I can think of nothing else with such happy anticipation.

And yet apart of me hasn't yet accepted that I am going. A part of me feels that something will happen to prevent me from going. Will I feel this until the moment my foot breaks the plane under the arch at Amicalola? Will it take days after starting the Trail to sink in that I am really really walking the secret paths of the world, where the lonely look for a companionable fire, where the pilgrims all search for something they know not what?

Will I feel this way at the end of the Trail? Will I be as eager to come back? I will be missing Cara fiercely, I will be anticipating life again, hopefully not dreading work. But I feel seeing Katahdin will be bitter sweet, the end of a thing I have wanted to start for so long. Here I am, unable to imagine the beginning of the journey, imagining how I will feel at the end!

Gear in Review - Clothing

The List
Packa
REI shorts
REI Convertible pants
North Face synthetic T shirt
Minus 33 T-shirt
Stoic Base Layer
Synthetic Boxer briefs
3 pairs of wool socks
2 pairs of sock liners
bandana

REI Down vest*

Long Underwear*
Turtle Fur knit hat*
Fingerless Mitten gloves*
Ear/Neck thingie*

Cold weather gear

The Story
I have expounded on the virtues of the Packa before. And I will do so again! This piece of gear will be used daily as a pack cover on the (hopefully occasional) rainy day it will also be my rain gear. In camp it can either be strung up like a tarp or sat on to keep me bum dry. I found the Packa at Trail Days and Cara bought me the gear for Christmas and it looks as if it lives up to the (self generated) hype. Now all I gotta do is actually get the chance to use it! Cedar Tree, the thru hiker that invented and sells the Packa, gives it a warranty of 2000 miles, and from everything I've heard stands behind his product 100%. Not only do I like the idea of supporting a small shop and a former thru hiker, the product itself is is totally a great idea. Every feature a rain coat has it has, every feature a poncho has it has, every feature a pack cover has it has - except it has none of the draw-backs of any of those products!

I will be starting in early April. The day rushes toward me! From all I have heard, people starting in late March into early April can expect cold weather and at least the possibility of snow until they hit Damascus, VA, north of the Smokies. If my schedule holds true I will be passing thru Damascus during the second week of May. I have plans to send home the items followed by an asterisk when I hit town. The climb up Mount Rogers should be easy breezy!

Warm weather Gear

Much clothing will be sent home when it warms up. I will be keeping a long sleeve shirt for the occasional chilly night and to change into while I wash my other clothing. Same with the pants (that can also be shorts). A change of clothes will be nice, and they are light. Also, having relatively clean camp clothing will be important, as well as having something to wear while washing my clothing is important.

I will be playing around with this the next few days to see how it fits into my pack, But this is generally what I take winter camping. I have been warm (or hot while hiking) with this gear into the teens. I may also trade out the sleeping bag once I hit Virginia, but that is covered in another post! I have packed what I want and left what I don't think I'll need. The dry compression sack with the clothes is smaller than a soccer ball and includes the chamois cloth that will serve as my towel. I left out from that the clothing on my back and a couple layers that I will be wearing or putting at the top of the pack for quick retrieval.

I have seen people wear hiking kilts, and some ultra-lighters with only the clothes on their backs. Then my brother says he would wear jeans because that's what he wears every day anyway, so why change it up? Clothing, like most everything else, is a matter of preference. This is one of the reasons I love the Appalachian Trail, there is no right way to do it. If you walk from GA to ME who cares how heavy/light fast/slow fat/happy you are?!

What are your experiences? Do you have a hiking 'uniform' you put on?

Money money money!

It makes the world go round. It takes quite a bit of preparation and expense to hike the Appalachian Trail. When I decided I wanted to hike the Trail I arbitrarily decided that I wanted a certain amount of money as a safety net. I have not reached that goal, which was quite high, though I have a comfortable amount, I think.

Money makes the world go 'round,
Money leads hikers to town.

I have read many many many ad nauseum posts on White Blaze of someone asking how much money one needs to bring on the Trail. This is a very important question. And I can understand querying the masses.... if there weren't many easily searchable threads already pertaining to the very topic! All the threads on WhiteBlaze range from $3000 to $8000 for on-Trail expenses. And each past or future thru-hiker is very adamant and expressive as to why that is their number, mingled with the folks that remind everyone to HYOH (hike you own hike). With all that in mind I set a dollar amount, and additionally I have some rules for myself and some money saving methods I am going to try out.

If Money is the root of all evil,
then Roots in the Trail are Money.

I will reflect heavily on these pre-Trail thoughts after I'm done. I may find all these to be completely ridiculous and lackadaisically simple minded. But it's not from senselessness that I spout these opines. I have thought and re-thought and these are the logically thought-out methods I have concluded, I am hoping logic has clouded my delusions! Of course, rose-colored lenses and the romance of the Trail may have clouded my conclusions instead.

Allowance
I am doing this pre-Trail as well to get into the habit. Go to an ATM on a certain day and withdraw a certain amount, and X amount must last X days. Anything left over is a bonus for next time. If you are short, then either you get that much less next time, or just have some lean moneyless days. While driving back and forth to work it is more difficult to just have a moneyless day when the car demands fuel. On the Trail I will be allowing myself a certain amount every 2 weeks. Much of that time I will be in the woods with no one to exchange for services my hard won monies. In town's I want to limit myself the ability to splurge just for spending sake. It is very easy to swipe the card, but to have the cash in hand and see the pile dwindle makes it more real. I am looking for reality on this trip!


Tried an True Gear
The gear I have I have tried to test and use as much as possible. I also have purchased much of the gear from REI with an REI dividends credit card. REI allows you to return without question gear you can't use or don't like or begins to smell funny. While REI isn't the cheapest place in town, getting 5% back as well as being able to return anything for store credit forever saves money and space in my supply closet at home. Friends and family have been very accommodating and have really hooked me up with things I would not have otherwise thought that I could afford, such as boots, the Packa, SPOT, and good clothing. I would've "suffered" thru with more basic stuff - which would of had a chance of making me uncomfortable at the very least, or injured at the worst.

Pre-made meals
I have made all of the dinners for the entire trip in advance. I have nearly all of my lunches and breakfasts also made and ready to ship. Not only does this allow me to control my caloric intake, but I also have been able to buy in bulk and find deals on good quality highly nutritional meals. Not going into a grocery store in a small town while in the throes of the Hiker Hunger will save me money, and my meal diversity is substantial as well.
I have heard of others, including thru-hikers that are adamantly against mail-drops. Then I have also heard thru's just as loud for drops. So it is obviously a personal choice. Whether it's to spend a full day in town searching for food, re-packaging it into bags and then heading out, or my choice of hopefully grabbing what I need from the Post Office and tossing it in my bag before scooting out of town - it is a preference,  not a necessity one way or the other.

Limit sleeping indoors
I am trying to stay out of towns as much as possible. Much of the adventure is the camaraderie one finds on the Trail and in the Trail towns, I will participate to the fullest extent, but I will be sleeping in my comfortable secluded little tent 13 of 14 days. If there is a hostel on the Trail that has that magic allure I will stay. I have some mail drops scheduled for deposit at Trail hostels, and I will be staying at those places for comfort, recuperation, and of all the stories I've heard of these places. But I don't have plans to stay in hotels often! My drop stops are in towns either on the Trail or in towns that are as close as possible to the Trail. I want the ability to get places without relying on taxis, shuttles, or my thumb!

Self control
The AYCE. Once the hunger sets in, I've heard these joints are hard, neigh impossible, to pass by! My budget will cover eating meals from towns whenever I want, however I want to control my urges, and stick to my prepared meals. This goes back to staying out of town! This goes for beer too. I will definitely want to have a tall cold one from time to time! But even the cheap beers add up quick! Six later and you've spent as much as you had the past week in food.

Very Good News, indeed!
I was asked last week to write a letter of intent to the President of the company for which I work. With a bit of trepidation I wrote several paragraphs outlining why I wanted to take off for 6 months of unpaid leave. Would he understand? Would he go with my supervisors recommendation of allowing me to go? Or would this be alien to him?
I received word today that the Prez has followed my bosses advice (THANK YOU MIKE!) and he is OK with me going.
I am reassured that I will have a job when I get back, that I have not done all this planning to have a final and unassailable road-block within sight of the start date, the Day of Ascension of Springer's Approach Trail. I will not be paid to be gone, obviously, but I have enough in savings to carry me. This does give me a "finish by" date. I gave myself a full 6 months to do the Appalachian Trail, though I have every intention of doing it in a maximum of 5 months. I really needed to add some cushion into the dates so I didn't hear a ticking throughout the trip. If I am injured or there is a family emergency or whatever the case may be, I have a window that is slightly longer than I need it to be. Additionally I will be able to use my accrued leave at the beginning of the trip, about a week and a half, to give me a boost monetarily.

Gear in Review - Backpack

Osprey Exos 58

Specs
Size: 58 liters
Weight: 2 lbs 8 oz

Loaded Osprey Exos 58

The Story
I have had this pack for over a year. I purchased it from REI after trying several on and doing research online. I had every intentions of this being the pack for the Appalachian Trail. I have a Kealty Redwing, which I love, but it is too small of a pack. I would stuff things into it for a weekend trip and almost be short of space. I knew I would not be able to fit all my gear and then add 7 days worth of food on top of everything. The Redwing is very comfortable, very durable pack, however it is heavy as a result.
The Osprey is very light, and still comfortable. The frame design is minimalist, the pads not solid, instead full of holes to allow air flow and reduce weight. The two mesh pockets on the belt are also very beneficial to hold a camera and a few bars for lunch.

I have used this pack on several weekend hikes, with never being in any discomfort. The size is great, and the pocket on the back is large and stretch to toss in a bladder of wine or a shed layer of clothing.

On one of the first times I used the pack I hooked my finger into one of the rope and plastic zipper pulls and tugged on it to get it closed. It immediately broke. So as a word, be gentle with the pulls, and grasp them, don't tug them. Other than that the durability is not questioned. This is the pack for my back while hiking the AT!

The Redwing - a good, but small pack

I have tested out all my gear, plus 8 days of food and 2 liters of water. The pack is comfortable and fits snuggly on my back. The weight is not bad at all. The Packa fits perfectly over the packs, and is easily accessible to convert into poncho too. I have nothing hanging off the pack and I have room to stuff things in the outside pocket too. All in all I am very satisfied with how the pack fits, weight distribution, and room.

Appalachian Trials

Appalachian Trials

I have been following the The Good Badger for quite some time. Interesting story, and a really nice guy!

Well, I gotta show the love to a fellow blogger and a fellow thru-hiker and an entrepreneur too!

He just published a book, "Appalachian Trials" (as if you couldn't tell from the title of this post!!)

Anyway, so far it is available on eBook Kindle, which I have just downloaded. Once the print version is available I will be ordering that as well, and be taking it on the AT, and leaving it in a shelter somewhere. I have begun reading this already, and he had a surprise early on. I don't want to give away too many details, but there is a random turtle picture - and who can't appreciate that?! Also, eloquently written, sharp guy writing this with plenty of humor.

Anyway, I hope to have a chance to read some more this evening after work, and I am looking forward to it!


Sites:
The Good Badger

Amazon Linkie

Update

The print version is now available!

A Food Drop: Exposed!

An eye opening look into the seedy under-belly of Appalachian Trail hiking drop boxes!

Ok, that is a bit of an exaggeration, while it's true I'll be eating seeds, grains, and nut and they will be going into my (under)belly, and this post will force you to open your eyes, to at least glance at it quickly before your short-lived attention span skitters elsewhere. Retracted, not an exaggeration!!

The Box
I am using USPS Priority Mail boxes to ship my food and sundries to myself. Actually my awesome support crew, the woman that I love whom prefers chipmunks to squirrels and is occasionally called 'Songbird', will be doing the drop ships. Priority Mail really works out, she can just pop on line a week ahead of when i need the next box and schedule a pickup at the house. The mail courier grabs it and sends it on it's way. Very easy for her. I have the boxes preassembled for ease, including notebooks, maps, extra plastic bags, as well as food for until the next box is needed. The plan is to swoop into town, get to the post office and dump the food in my pack. If I have no plans of staying in the town, or the bounce box is further along, high tail it directly back into the woods, with maybe a stop to grab some extra grub or a hot meal.

Breakfasts of a Champion
To break each fast when I roll out of my sleeping bag in the cool morning, I will have an Oatmeal Breakfast cookie, a NutraGrain bar or other type of protein bar and nuts or a packet of MRE peanut butter. Additionally I am drying fruits to go along with this array. Finally I will be adding bagels to this as I go thru towns. Nothing is finer than Peanut butter on a bagel! I will heat up a cup of water for my coffee and drink that while I tear down camp and munch on a bagel. The rest of the food I will eat while I hike up the Trail. I have found I get hungry early and often while I hike, and my energy begins to flag if I don't have a constant something to ingest.

First Meal

Second Breakfast, Elevensies, Lunch, and Tea-time
I will have a piece of food for every hour I am hiking. I have consumed almost as much, and occasionally more, on weekend hikes. So I do not feel like I am packing too much. I may require supplements additionally beyond the heaps of food I will be toting.
Each lunch is separated in a sandwich baggie. In the mornings I will put the food for breakfast and lunch in my accessible belt pouch so there isn't stopping for eating. I find it completely OK not to break to eat. Contained in the lunch packet: Clif bar, Honey Stinger or other Protein bar, Lance Crackers, and Nature Valley Oat bar. I will also have jerky, summer sausage, and country ham - those are to add to dinners, but also snack on throughout the day. I will also buy blocks of cheese in town.
I have also tossed Slim Fast mixed with dehydrated milk to equal every-other-day in the drop boxes. I figure drinking a few hundred calorie boost when I'm feeling depleted and sick of water is good.

Not weak lunches rather a week of lunches so I don't get weak!

The Good the Bad the Cooked
Pictured below are some various meals I will be enjoying. A couple rice dishes with dried butter dried vegis and spices, some Knorr noodles with stuff added to make it better, Couscous and chicken with dried vegis, mashed potatoes+, and stuffing. Everything only requires water and heat. The rice dishes will take a bit of fore-thought if I don't want to waste 10 min of fuel. It's possible to reconstitute all of these meals with boiling water, in the bag that they are in currently. Add water and put it in an insulated pouch and wait a bit. Not shown here are some bean meals, lentils, and others that came from Harmony House. I did add Harmony House dried vegetables to nearly every meal. All the rice, couscous, and potato dishes have a huge variety of vegetables, from corn, spinach, peas, carrots, etc. Also I used fake meat from Harmony House to add some flavor to the rice as well. I tried to coordinate the spice with the appropriate meal, like dill to carrots, and chilli powder to faux-ground beef. I think I will have enough variety that hiker boxes from GA to ME aren't littered with little bags of Harmony House and rice!! Or the dreaded incognito bag of white powder!

Gear in Review - Camp Kitchen

The Skinny (which will hopefully keep me from getting skinny!)

Seven days of dinners

MSR Pocket Rocket
I have the MSR Pocket Rocket. A funny name, right? It sounds dirty, which is probably why it makes me giggle. But that's where the laughing stops. This device is light, at 3 ounces. And powerful, able to boil water in a couple minutes. The Pocket Rocket is also tiny, fitting into a small plastic case to protect it.
I have used this stove extensively, in Zion, the Cascades, all over West Virgina, Virgina, Maryland, and New York. I've used it in every season. I have been satisfied with the performance, and the cost of this equipment. There is a long list of why this is a valuable, quality stove which I won't bore you with. It boils water, it simmers with some work (hold the pot or skillet a bit off the cooking platform), the canisters last a good amount of time.

The Good
Weight
Size
Name
Burn time
Price

I have some issues with the MSR Pocket Rocket though. The 3-pronged pot base is decently stable, but I am always aware of how I must be fairly exacting on placing the pot on the Pocket Rocket and with two cups of water watching it sway a little bit.
Also I had the great idea of putting a wind screen like a sleeve around the entire device and canister, as the wind has a huge, huge effect on the efficiency of this equipment. I did some research and found that what I was thinking about doesn't allow heat to escape and could make the canister explode, if I want a wind-screen I will be using my body, a shelter or a sleeping pad. I could probably engineer some tin-foil around just the cooking portion to keep the wind from effecting it too much.

The Not as Good
Stability
Lack of Wind-screen

The bottom line is that I will happily use this stove over the competition from ease of use, fuel type, weight and cost.

Cooking Food
For this next section I will be describing how I get food from course hard dry rice, to moist plump and delicious!
I will be posting soon a dissection of a food drop. To give you a taste I need to describe the types of food that I will be cooking. In the mornings I only have coffee water to heat up, the meals are breakfast cookies and bars, nuts, and dried fruit. Lunch is protein bars and shakes. Dinners will all be cooked, however all of the meals will not require dirtying a single dish. That's right, 6 months with no dishes! I will be using an Insulated Food Cozy. I found the product at Trail Days a couple years ago and I have tried it out every camping trip since. You have a freezer bag with your food in it. You boil water. You pour the water into the ziploc bag, stir, and place the bag inside of the Cozy, fold over the top and put it aside. Now, if you play the Harmonica, it is the time to play that instrument for 7 to 10 minutes. Viola! Your food is now tender enough to eat directly out of the freezer bag. How many dishes do you have to clean? None. Best idea ever.
So what will I do with rice? That method would leave it hard still. For this I will pour 1/2 the water I'm going to use into the bag at lunch time. The other half of the water I will follow the above steps. This method reduces my need for a cook set to a single metal mug that I can use for multiple purposes. Coffee in the morning, dinner in the evening. The entire cook set is a stove, a mug, a spork, and an insulated pouch.


Other Ingestion Related Gear

Steripen Adventurer + funnel pre-filter
 The Story
What's small, light, easy to operate, and leaves no taste. If you said a Smart car, you're wrong. The Steripen is it, I tested it out in the Cascades in Washington. Granted that was water almost directly from glaciers, so it really didn't need to be treated most likely. Still it was easy to use. My only complaint is that is should have a small piece of rope, like a camera has, to put around your wrist. That way when you drop it, it doesn't sink to the bottom of your bottle.
The pre-filter removes particulates like leaf matter, water spiders, very small rocks, and churches (now read the last two in a British accent). Of course neither remove the taste of the water, so if you are getting water from a stagnant pond, it will still taste like frog slime. Then again, I know from personal experience that iodine tablets don't remove that flavor either!
 
Nalgen bottles
The Story
I have a water bladder, but I found that they are not for me. They are a pain to fill up, I have an irrational fear that I will poke a hole in it. And I have never actually gotten it to fit in my pack with my gear in the appropriate pouch, to refill it one must remove everything from the pack. Instead it ends up getting put under the top flap. Half the time the hose gets crinkled and I must take off the pack to get water anyway.  A bottle is multi-use, easy to fill, easy to purify, indestructible, easy to clean after filling with wine, and cheap!

SeatoSummit folding bucket
The Story
A bucket is always useful, when the water source is far away, easier to let crap settle to fill the water bottles, a good way to let water warm up in the sun before taking bath. It is light-weight and has all kind of LNT principles as a reminder.