Date: 2013-01-19
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Gear talk today. In '05 I started using a Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight (2 person) tent as recommended by a former AT hiker that I know. It was a great tent but I did try to stay in shelters most of the time. I liked the social life & liked not setting up or taking down the tent especially in bad weather. It is said that you pick up 10 degrees using a tent. the S-D picked up every bit of that and maybe more and was not drafty at all. Definately a 3-season tent. The Smokies and before were very cold & snowy & we even had a big ice storm. I was very comfortable in that tent. However it had 1 major flaw. Complete with stuff sack & footprint, it weighed over 5 lbs. The new models are supposed to weigh less but pack weight still runs over 4 lbs. In Hot Springs I bought a Hubba (1 person) tent & sent the other home. The Hubba was free standing & there was enough room to squeeze in most of my gear with me. Pack weight with footprint was a little over 4 lbs. It was a very cold, drafty tent. It was definately not good for cold weather. I would be surprised if I picked up 3 degrees in that tent...and breezy was more accurate than drafty. It did keep me dry though. For this AT hike I got a Lightheart tent. Pack weight with footprint (Tyvek) should be under 3 lbs. It is new & I have not used it yet. The AT will be my trial run. I hope it works out. At leat it is light. In '05 I started with a Gregory Forester (a bit over 5 lbs) back pack. It was also recommended by a friend as being comfortable and able to carry a good load. It was quite comfortable and did carry my initial pack weight of 45-47 lbs very well. I had brought everything that people said that I might need. I started sending stuff home at Neals Gap. It had become obvious that I brought some stuff that I would rarely or never use. Some of that went home. Some of it went into hiker boxes. I had too much food and some that I would not eat. Some things that I liked at home, I just hated on trail. I alse ended up eating stuff on trail that I hated at home. In Damascus I bought a Granite Gear Ozone (about 4 lbs) back pack & sent home the Forester. Again the problem was the weight of the pack. Of course I had sent home & had gived away even more useless or semi useless stuff. I did not need the volume or carrying capacity any more. My philosophy had changed from having everything I might need to only carrying those things that I used regularly and my pack weight was down to about 33 lbs. I used the Ozone for the rest of my 960 miles. Since '05, I have spent a week on the AT most years & am up to about 1400 miles. I also have a newer back pack that I have used on most of those weeks. Again it was primarily a weight issue but I also bring less stuff now. I now use a ULA Circuit pack that weighs about 2 lbs. I had gone from carrying everything I might need to only stuff that I used regularly. My first question now before I pack is: "Can I reasonably do without it?" I am not a weight fanatic. I do not cut the handle off my toothbrush. I always carry an extra days worth of food. I probably carry too much water. But I do not want to carry a heavy packweight. More about my gear in a few days.