Date: 2008-03-07
To: Local Preparation for Now...
Miles today: 0.0

Yet another preparation day begins. Here's another verse of my Appalachian Trail Song to prove it!VERSE FOUR:This gear costs more than I would have thought;        Especially this Titanium Pot¢¦On credit card t¢will have to be        But, ¢What the heck,¢ the walkin¢s free¢¦REFRAIN:A North-Bound hike is painless        It brings on many changesAnd I can take what comes for six more monthsYes, I freely admit it -- I tend to be a gear-head. Over the years I've done my best to maintain, within my means, gear that's suitable [if not cutting-edge and the current color scheme and materials] for the task at hand.I'm under constant pressure from my wife to 'get rid of something...' There's a pile of duffle bags with old Army gear. Beside those are boxes and shelves with Search and Rescue (SAR) gear. And, of course, also taking up far too much room is my 'backpacking' gear... The lines between categories tend to blur in my mind, as one might expect.For those who don't know it, EBay is a good place to trade-up your gear [to sell what you have and to buy more]. Especially with the trend toward the smallest and lightest backpacking gear possible -- an obsession really, EBay offers a customer base of Boy Scouts; car-campers; and others who don't yet understand how heavy 16 ounces might be in the grand scheme of things.Places such as, "Play it Again Sports," might also work for you, but I've never found their stock particularly useful for my needs at the time nor their buying practices for used outdoor gear particularly to my advantage. However, in the Fredericksburg Area we used to have one outfitter (focused more on his canoe rental and tours than the needs of backpackers), but he closed down about two years ago. We're now left with either the big outdoor chain stores [Dick's and Gander Mountain], two REI stores near Washington DC, and long trips to outfitters in Front Royal and Waynesboro, Virginia...I also admit that when I enter the world of the Outfitter, my senses are overcome as the shelves of beautiful and colorful NEW GEAR loom over and around me... I find that I even have to leave the store every so often to clear my head and to re-focus on the little piece I originally entered to buy. My wife, if with me on these shopping trips, also does a good job of keeping me on the task at hand...Against this I must also place the knowledge that, "I don't really need another one of those -- I can choose between one of the three of those I currently own...[my wife whispering gently over my shoulder]" I also understand that there's a tender balance between physical limitations; actual requirements for gear based on expected trail weather and length of the outing; and possible support available along my journey -- with an ever-present eye upon one's current Risk Assessment Matrix...In case you're unaware if this, 'Going Lighter on the Trail' is not a new trend. In fact, an example of this may be found from the Civil War, where Infantry Soldiers [Privates, mostly, and from both armies] would be issued complete kits (admittedly, sometimes of lesser quality or quantity on the Southern side, especially later in the War), and as soon as they started to march out of camp, they began to get into what was called (by the soldiers themselves) "Light Marching Order."When they marched out of camp in warm, sunny weather, the first things to be pitched into the woods by the roadside were heavy overcoats, extra blankets, and even some of their ammunition. Their inexperienced officers either didn't notice or lacked control of the situation -- 'regulars' generally understood what it meant to try to stay warm on night picket duty without an overcoat...In some units, the trend to abandon, to trade away, to gamble away, or even to sell one's kit was so extreme, that the typical Infantry Private carried a few personal possessions in his blanket which was slung over his shoulder, his rifle, and his cartridge box. This, of course meant that wherever the Army went, anything the local civilians prized/wanted to keep for themselves, had to be hidden or removed from the area because soldiers moved "...in upon the land like a swarm of locusts..." *I wonder how many folks in Appalachian Trail Towns take a similar view of Thru-Hikers?*One of the delights of an assignment to the Pentagon, for me at least, was the ability to use the Pentagon's Library at lunchtime. Did you know there exists on their shelves (an entire section in the Library), ¢The War of the Rebellion, a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies,¢ United States War Department, Records and Pension Office, War Records Office, published 1884 that the post-War Adjutant General and his staff could collect and catalog? I used to delight to read such early War letters as that from the Governor of the State of Maine to the War Department, asking what they would like him to do with, "...the hundreds of obsolete flintlock muskets and flints you sent to us..." *lol*Many references also mention the claims of local civilians -- time and again it would seem -- that their hogs, blankets, stores, and many other items of value were confiscated by Armies on the move. The first things to go as the soldiers arrived were the split rail fences, which they dismantled and burned in their camps for firewood... To be fair, the locals probably no longer needed fences anyway because if their animals weren't hidden in the next county, they were soon eaten by the ravenous hoard...If you believe this 'lightening of the load' doesn't happen quickly on the Appalachian Trail, just ask any member of the local Trail Club how much gear they find abandoned. Ask also the local operators of Hostels how much is either placed in local Hiker Boxes or shipped or mailed away (especially from Neels Gap).So my friend -- try to restrain yourself as you gear-up for this journey of yours. Perhaps you'll be more successful than I...Appalachian Trail Corollaries to Murphy¢s Law (continued)- Your body believes that even blue-blazed mileage should count.- Blisters occur most often when one is ¢out¢ of Moleskin [MoleFoam, etc.].- Your emergency duct tape sticks most readily to things it shouldn¢t.- Of all the other likely sources of Carbon Dioxide out there, the biting insects find you.- It¢s never, ¢¢¦all down hill from here¢¦¢ [i.e. Bear¢s Den Hostel to Harpers Ferry]....and you thought this was going to be easy...