Date: 2014-06-27
From: NJ 23 High Point

To: random campsite
Miles today: 20.8
Weather: broken clouds

June 27Last night was great to be in a hotel. I slept great. We had connecting rooms so it was fun socially. For sleeping Bear Juice and I shared a room and the other 3 guys were in the second room. At 7:30 we got a ride the mile back up the hill to the trail. Digger had joined us but was feeling bad and has been bad for a while. I think he went to the doctor today. I was the first to leave but Skittles and Bear Juice soon caught me. We all agreed to "only" do 20 miles today, so no hurry. BJ had a package at a Post Office a half mile off the trail, so 9 miles in he headed that way. Skittles and I continued together to a river crossing. We had hoped to be able to swim there but it was a muddy river. We did stay there for an hour, knowing if we kept going we may be tempted to go past our mile goal.A bit later we were doing a short climb when Skittles point out a bear less than 100 feet away. The bear certainly saw us but was not too concerned. We stopped at a shelter to kill another 30 minutes. While we were there Bear Juice got past us. We ended up catching him a few miles later. A little before 4 we arrived at a farm stand that sells fruit and ice cream. Twist was there with her dog Oliver. They moved on a few more miles. We stayed at the farm stand till about 5:30 then just hiked a couple tenths to a great off the grid camping spot. It is supposed to get down into the 50s tonight which would be awesome for sleeping. I have had a couple requests to discuss gear, so each of the next few nights I will point out what I am doing.When someone asks me my opinion on preparing for a distance hike I personally feel you need to get advice from someone who shares your philosophy. I personally go light and border on ultralight. My pack base weight is less than 15 pounds before food and water. It works well for me. I have the Gossamer Gear Mariposa plus pack. It is very simple with no zippers to break. I carry my tent on the outside and on the inside a use a heavy duty garbage bag as a liner to keep everything dry. I do not carry a pack cover. It amazes me how almost everyone uses a pack cover. At the bottom of my pack goes my sleeping bag. I then put in my short foam sleeping pad on one side. My clothes bag goes in next. For a food bag I carry a 20 liter Sea to Summit bag. I started with a smaller bag, but upgraded in Damascus. On top I have a misc bag that has all my personal items. Everything goes in one of the four bags. I always pack everything the exact same way. So far I have not left something by accident. This system works very well for me.The Osprey packs are very popular out here. They have more bells and whistles, but for me that is extra weight and more things that can break. I am a huge fan of carrying less weight. There are some comfort things you give up, but carrying 5 or 10 pounds less makes a huge difference. Many hikers are fighting nagging injuries, especially in the 50+ club. I fortunately feel great. The big reasons are my physical preparation before coming out here, hiking to my ability and not trying to keep up with anyone and a huge factor I feel is carrying a relatively light pack.