Date: 2006-07-31
To: Rocksylvania
Miles today: 0.0

Last weekend I did a two day hike on the AT. I went from PA Route 225 to 501, a total of about 38 miles. I went 20 miles to the Rausch Gap shelter on Saturday, overnighted there and went on to 501 the next day. The hike had two purposes, test out some new equipment I've recently gotten and see if I could do two fairly long days in a row.All in all, it went well. I bought a Granite Gear Vapor Trail pack, and this was my second outing with it. It came highly recommended by several thru-hikers and Backpacker Magazine. I absolutely love it. It's a very light pack, but at the same time has a substantial hip belt to take some of the weight off the shoulders. A nice compromise between ultra-light and comfort. Last week I bought a camelback hydration system to put in the slot included with the Vapor Trail. That worked out very well, also. Last weekend was one of the hottest of the summer, and the camelback helped me to keep hydrated. My Tarptent and Jetboil are working out very well also. After dinner, I stupidly dumped the whole Jetboil, including the burner, into the spring to clean it. I dried it off, and it fired up with no problem. A great piece of equipment.I found the second day's hike to be pretty challenging, especially the part north of I-81. Part of it was that I had hiked 20 miles the day before for only the second time ever. Also, there was a pretty tough uphill of about 1-1/2 miles, followed by several rocky stretches. The toughest for me was the last mile before 501. I was rushing because I was late to meet my wife and was getting pretty tuckered out. I've been using a pair of New Balance 476 trail runners. They have worked fine for my preparation hikes in the southern half of PA, but they don't seem to have enough cushioning for the rocky sections. I'm going to look at some light hiking boots. Some models made by Asolo and Vasque have been suggested to me. Some thru-hikers have said that they use trail runners in the sections without lots of rocks, and light hiking boots for the rockier sections. I may do that. Another thing I need to do is use more petroleum jelly. Some of my, uh, tender spots were worn a bit raw.There weren't many hikers out this weekend. Most of the northbound thru-hikers are north of PA now, and I think the day hikers were scared off by the heat. That's too bad for them, because the Rausch Gap area might have been one of the coolest places in the state. I doubt that it got much above 80 during the day Saturday, and it probably got down near 60 that night. That's at least 10-15 degrees cooler than the temperatures reported in town. It's such a pretty area also, in a valley with the creek just a little ways away and the spring flowing right in front of the shelter.There were just two of us there Saturday night, and we both tented. I met Crescent City, who is from New Orleans. Her hike is part of a project to plant trees in the NO area to replace those lost by Katrina. You can find more information here in the internet: http://www.hikeforkatreena.com I really enjoyed the time I spent with her, and I wish her luck in this worthwhile effort. She had to stop for two weeks in Harpers Ferry because of shin splints. She's recovered now, and confident she can make it to the Big K before the park closes. I hope she makes it.I saw my first rattlesnake on the trail, about 4 miles before Rausch Gap. I might not have noticed it at all except for the loud rattling sound. It was off to the side of the trail about 5 feet away when I noticed it. Crescent City said she had seen 4 that day. She was ahead of me, having started that day at the Peter's Mountain Shelter. She must have scared them away before I got there. That area is reputed to be one of the snakiest on the whole AT.My conclusions from this shakedown weekend are: (1) I can do this, but I'll have to ramp up my conditioning to do repetitive long days, (2) For the most part, the equipment I've chosen will do the job, but I'm going to consider shoes with more cushioning. I hope to get out for another weekend in 2 to 3 weeks.