Date: 2007-04-17
From: Newport, TN

To: Newport, TN
Miles today: 0.0

Ok, it is safe to say we are both feeling the full effects of the previous days! LOL Besides walking across the parking lot to eat lunch @ Shoney's, neither ofus have moved an inch off our beds. Actually, I don't know if either of us canwithout a motorized vehicle like a Hover-Round. LOLI can't say enough about giving your body time to heal, especially if you arenot used to this life and especially in the beginning. I am finding the firstday back out after resting is the hardest, because it is like you are having toloosen everything up again.More info about my gear so far:Polypro Glove Liners-Since getting into colder weather, I have found these things to be invaluable. They actually really help with warmth, and it has surprised me. If I know I amhiking in nasty wet weather, I tend to use my "Toasty" gloves while hiking, andsave my liners for dry camp use. I recommend having a two-piece system, so thatyou can put something dry on your hands in camp. I didn't think I'd use myliners in this manner, but it has worked very well. If just a cool day (with nomoisture) I'll wear them hiking till I warm up, and then my hands get hot, so Itake them off.HighGear Watch\Compass\Temp-I was not going to hike with any type of watch at first, but have found it to bea valuable tool in predicting your speed, which can be important on days likeour crazy day coming out of the Smoky's. So far, this little piece has beenperfect for my needs. Only thing you have to be careful of is if you wear itclose to your body, the temp sensor will read a bit too high because it picks upthe heat radiating from your body. I just unclip it and wave it around in theambient air for a minute (or hang it from my hammock suspension line) and itshows an accurate temp pretty quickly. I saw this exact one for sale at theoutfitters in the N.O.C. Buff Headwrap-I love this thing. It keeps hair out of my face while hiking, but in coldweather, I have been using it as a neck gaitor, and although not as insulativeas a fleece neck gaitor like what Persistent uses, it has worked well with myother layers. On really cold days, I wear my knit cap and then pull my Buff upover my ears and mouth, sort of like a balaclava. It is very versatile and easyto adjust when temps change throughout the day. It also dries very fast andfeels great to dip under a cold waterfall and wear on hot days. I think theymake thermal buffs now as well. Wooden Matches-I would keep them in my cookpot along with my kitchen gear. On a very wet daywhere it was difficult to wipe out my cooking pot totally dry (my bandana wasalready saturated) I put the matches in there, and by morning the striking headswere mush. I just use a bic lighter now, with my butane still as a backup.Nalgene 32 oz Canteens-Obviously I love these things, but am worried I'll need a larger capacity insummer when it gets hot. Sometimes water sources are up to 9 miles apart (sofar), and for heavy drinkers (like me) I can suck thru two 32 oz canteens in 5miles if the terrain is difficult. The only other thing I am watching is eversince I started putting boiling or very hot water in them, one of the canteensappears to be getting almost brittle in a few spots, or the outer layer ofplastic is cracking like it is going to peel off. I have put hot water in itsince, and squeezed it to see if it was going to leak, and so far so good. Idon't fully trust it inside of my down bag now, so I fill it 3\4 full and put itinside a gallon sized freezer bag, for extra protection. Other than that minor thing, I am totally happy with them.Nalgene Canteen Drinking Tube-You may remember I lost the bite valve tip on my tube, so I bought a camelbacktube and retrofitted it to my canteen. I like the camelback bitevalve systemmuch better than the Nalgene design. May seem minor, but it is easier to suckthe water from the camelback bite valve. My Nalgene bite valve had also starteddripping because the sleeve (which is what I lost) wasn't fitting tightlyanymore but that won't happen with the camelback design because it is a one-partsystem. Persistent has the Nalgene drinking tube and has had zero problems, so Imay have just gotten a gimpy tube. I am still a huge fan of hydration tubesthough, and in freezing temps, all you do is route it under your jacket and noworries. I also wash everything out in towns with hot soapy water, and have nofear of things growing in the tube. Not sure what happens if you don't wash itthough.Swiss Army Knife\Safety Whistle-Some people say they never use knives, but I use mine almost daily. It is atiny knife (follow the link from my gear list to see specs), but I wouldn't hikewithout some sort of cutting blade. The regular screwdriver tip serves as afingernail cleaner, so I don't have to carry clippers. I just use the tinyscissors to trim my fingernails. The tiny tweezers actually work pretty welltoo. I have very nicely manicured eyebrows now (just kidding, I'm probablyapproaching unibrow territory by now! LOL) During a lunch break way back inGeorgia on Wolf Laurel Top Mt., Scribe, Persistent, and I all blew our safetywhistles to see how they compared. Besides being hilarious and fun to do, Ifound my knife's whistle to be adequate. It isn't as loud as Persistent's fancycoach's whistle, but mine is high pitched enough to be heard. JRB Miro-carabiners-These are on my pack cover and I bought a few extras for hanging gear in myhammock. I love them but the hinge gate on a few of them has had a small piecebend so the gate will not spring back and will move outward as well as inward. They are still a favorite piece of gear for me with multiple uses, so I willdefinitely buy more. They are extremely inexpensive as well and all of theothers I have are holding up to the rigors of a thru-hike. I can't figure outhow the small metal piece got bent on those few, but I sill use them for hangingthings that I don't need secured (such as hanging my shoes from my hammocksuspension line to dry overnite. The "Jack's" at JRB are really great people todo business with by the way, and can often be found making comments on theHammockers Forum that I frequent. Nothing like being able to talk directly tothe owners of the gear company!Ok, enough gearhead talk for now. If anything changes, I'll be sure to reportit. Also, if there is anything specific someone wants to know that I can helpwith, let me know. I know all too well what it was like planning andresearching for gear and often had a hard time finding specific answers. I amall about educating. 1 more day of rest tomorrow.~Certain