Date: 2009-10-05
To: Final Sound Off part 1
Miles today: 0.0

Wow, it's October already. Before I know it, it'll be TWO months since the big day on Katahdin. Yikes!I've obviously been a slacker when it comes to trail journaling my experiences post-trail. However, my lack of posting epitomizes my recent attitudes. Just kinda bumming around without much direction.Anyway, before I get all into that I'm going to do a quick gear critique rundown. Wags has already done one, and as our gear was about 90% the same you can check her critique out if you want more details.Mountain Hardware Power Stretch Gloves: Great! Loved them. Lightweight/not too expensive. Kept my hands warm, but didn't need them for very long.REI Ultralight Rain Jacket: Did it's job for a while. After it got stinky, I washed it in the washing machine and it lost some of its repellence. Lightweight. I was happy with it. Kept it with me the whole time.Sierra Designs Hurricane Rain Pants: Loved them. Repelled water great and were a good insulating layer when it wasn't raining. Sent them home after I passed Mt. Rogers.OR Veriglas Gaiters: I was happy with their performance. I got them sent to me with my summer gear (after I sent my rainpants home). My feet seemed to stay a little dryer than folks who had short gaiters when it was raining. However, I realized that gaiters aren't really my thing so I sent them home.Etowah Gas Stove: I decided I wanted to use an alcohol stove for a couple reasons - 1. lightweight 2. cheap 3. you know exactly how much fuel you have left 4. alcohol is the easiest type of fuel to find, in my opinion. Unfortunately, my stove only made it to Connecticut before it rusted apart. Etowah Outfitter's offered to help me out, but I figured it was easier to get the canister type stove I had at home sent to me rather than going through customer service stuff. I used the canister stove from Connecticut to Maine, but I would have preferred to keep using my alcohol stove.REI Ti Ware non stick titanium .9 L pot: Wags and I had identical pots. I love mine. Lightweight, durable, nice insulated handle so you don't burn yourself when you take it off the stove, and a great size. A little expensive (about $55), but worth it.Amigo pro gravity filter: Lasted 4 days before the bag got a hole in it. Switched over to Katadyn Pro water pump. I chose pumping because: 1. Chemicals more expensive over the course of the trip (I paid $80 for the filter, but still have it at the end of the trip with aqua mira is about $12 a pop) 2. Preferred to be chemical free. I think pumping is kind of looked down apon by some hikers, but whateve. It's my time, biceps, packweight and water. I made it to Katahdin with my Katadyn water pump so obviously it worked for me. Sorry, I'm a little defensive about my water system....Princetontec Headlamp: Great! Batteries lasted about 3 weeks to a month, lightweight, comfortable, small. Didn't have a single problem with it.Granite Gear Vapor Trail: Ah, the backpack. My one major gear replacement during the trail. I psyched myself into thinking I could be semi-ulta light, but alas I am not. I can't deny it. In doing so, I wore a pack that wasn't right for me for over half the trail. I switched over to the Osprey Aura 65 and loved it. When it came down to it, I'd rather carry an extra 5 to 10 lbs compared to UL'ers (ultra lighters) than be freezing cold in the winter, stinky in my one shirt during the summer, and bored at night for lack of book or other entertainment. Put that in your pipe and smoke it (some UL'ers are kinda pompous about their gear, others are just really into UL gear and that's cool).Thermarest prolite 3/4 length: There are two kinds of sleeping pads - foam ones and inflatables. I picked inflatable because of comfort. Wags had a foam pad and could throw it on the ground wherever to serve as a seat (and often shared her seat with me!). You can find small 12 in X 12 in "seats" made from the same stuff they make foam sleeping pads out of, or you can cut one yourself. I'm also use to sitting in the dirt, so no biggie there. I was definitely a little more comfortable at night on my inflatable. Silk Liner for sleeping bag: I bought it to add a few degrees to my sleeping bag which was a 20 degree bag. I planned on using it during the summer when it got hot, but we were lucky and didn't have a hot summer. In other words, I probably could have done without my liner.Marmot 20 Degree sleeping bag: I don't know what model I have (it's several years old). I used one sleeping bag for the entire trip. A little unorthodox, but it worked great for me. Granted, I was kinda chilly in the winter but I survived a snow storm just fine. Some people use a 10 to 15 degree bag in the winter and a 35 degree bag in the summer. 20 degrees kept me warm on some of our unseasonably cold nights during summer. I just want folks to know that you don't HAVE to have 2 different bags to thru-hike.MSR Hubba tent: I really liked my tent. I definitely had to go through a learning curve, but I finally got a hang of the best way to stake it, etc. A 2010 thru-hiker asked me how to keep it dry when you set it up in a rain storm. The answer is you don't. Set it up as quickly as possible, and then dry out the inside with a bandana or whatever. The model Wags and I both have are a little funky - there are black triangles where the poles are suppose to meet the fabric to create the vestibules. The poles didn't line up all that great with the black triangles on either of our tents. I did the best I could, and kept really dry most nights.Tyvek groundcloth: I would 110% say don't bother buying the MSR Hubba footprint. It's heavier and more expensive than tyvek. It's also NOT waterproof (see Wags' video). The tyvek is great. Make sure to wash it in a top-loading wash machine to soften it up, but DON'T put it in the dryer (it'll shrink to the size of a washcloth). If you cut it to size, make sure to cut it a little bigger than the footprint of your tent - the tyvek will crinkle in it's stuff sack so won't lay flat on the ground, and if you ever wash it (you definitely should...ask Loon about it haha), it may shrink a little if you use warm or hot water.Patagonia Fleece - wonderful! In this case spending the extra money to get brandname (compared to REI gear) was definitely worth it. Lightweight, comfortable and SUPER WARM - surprisingly so when you feel how fluffy the material is.Avoid Patagonia bras - they're TINYI support Patagonia underware (thanks to Wags).Capiline's are yucky. I'd avoid. They smell kinda bad. You're probably better off with cheap WalMart ones.REI socks suck. Go with Smartwool or Darn Tuff or some other brandname - it's worth it.Keen Targhee mid - WONDERFUL! I wore boots the whole time for ankle support. They're not much taller than trailshoes. It's personal preference though. I would highly recommend these shoes.Canon Powershot SD1100 IS: Wonderful! Lightweight but great quality. I had a problem with my camera during my hike and they fixed it for free and had it back to me within SIX days! Just make sure you keep your receipt. I highly recommend this camera!Platypus water "bottles" - great. Lightweight (compared to Nalgene's) and compressable when not full.Camelback - I used a 50 ounce camelback the whole trip. If the summer would have been warmer, that might not have cut it. I was happy with it with the exception of it not coming with a lock-valve (Wags bought me one though).Icebreaker: the way to go is wool wear! They're kinda expensive but if you can afford to wait a while you can usually find good deals. Wool keeps you warmer and less stinky! DON'T FALL FOR THE "ODOR-FIGHTING" FABRICS!! They don't work.Ok, wow, I guess I did have opinions on my gear. I'll have to do my final entry some other time. Can you tell I'm avoiding all aspects that will bring closure to this amazing journey??