Date: 2008-06-23
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Miles today: 0.0

Equipment: Researching the issue of pack weight two arguments stood out and it seemed there was no meeting in the middle. Most people I talked to along with several books, said pack weight for such an adventure would be 40-50lbs. Weighing in at 145lbs that¢s nearly one third my size¢¦on my back! For over 2000 miles! On the other side of the argument are the ¢gram weenies¢ as called in the hiking world. Gram-Weenies cut tags off all equipment, drill or shave unnecessary material on gear and rather use leaves as opposed to the extra grams toilet paper will put on their backs. So I¢ve opted for the gram-weenie side and leave all unnecessary or luxury gear at home. Not all I guess, I¢ll sneak some comforts in and don¢t tell the gram-weenies but I¢m going to bring toilet paper as well.I started my equipment journey in the barn where my father emptied an over flowing cabinet of his camping gear. Two backpacks, 5 stoves, mess kits, first aid kits, all kinds of compression and stuff sacks and I realized my father was a 40-50lb kind of camper.Backpack: I loaded up a pack with all kinds of gear and decided to go for a hike. I was trying out a 9.5lb bag from Sweden with all types of fancy bells and whistles, useless straps and a built in cappuccino machine. The first steep climb the buckle on the waist belt broke while trying to synch it on my lack of hips. I tied it together the best I could and hiked on with a useless hip belt and all the weight on my shoulders¢¦a backpacking no no. I decided I should stop by the REI in West Hartford and have a chat with some experts. I talked to Pete for two or there hours while my dad ran out to feed the parking meter. Pete had hiked the AT himself a few years ago and the first thing he said was that you want your three essentials (pack, tent, sleeping bag) under ten pounds. Good bye to pack number 1 onto pack number two. It was a 2lb external pack which was probably the pack to have 10 years ago but now only a cub scout would wear this thing. After a 5 mile hike it was back to REI to try on packs. I tried several packs with fully adjustable features but still managed not to fit me quite right. I even tried women¢s packs which were better but still not fitting 2200 miles right. I had already kept Dan from his lunch break for about and hour so I tried on one last pack. We tried a 5lb 9oz Gregory pack with lots of pockets that I could put gadgets in which excited me. It had a bulkier hip belt which felt great on my boney hips and was rated gear of the year by Backpackers magazine. I took it home and Dan went to lunch. I cut off the long hip straps a bit and took out an internal stuff sack so my pack weight is 5lbs 8ozs. Tent:I needed a one person and REI¢s quarter dome was rated gear of the year by backpackers magazine. They had it in the window and we brought it out and set it on the floor. I climbed in and looked at my home for the next 5 months. It weighed 3.4lbs but by throwing out the guylines and tighteners, 2 stakes, pole repair tube, pole and stake bags and compression stuff sack it weighted 2.9lbs. Sleeping bag:I have a 0 degree down wigwam bag which I¢ve had since middle school. It¢s a tank, always warm and a compression sack scrunches it down to a small ball. But it weighed 4.2 lbs and I am getting a late start so it should be warm enough for a summer bag. I packed a wigwam 2.6lb summer bag. Just in case I packed a 1.5 pound 60+ bag to put inside the summer bag incase it got really cold. This could always be mailed back if I found I did not need it.If you were keeping track we are at 13 lbs, gram weenies would be ashamed with anything over 5 pounds for these 3 items. Their tents also tend not to have bottoms.Stove:5 stoves I had at my use. 5 stoves thrown out for a soda can stove. All my fathers stoves were about the size of a grapefruit or had small pieces that needed to be assembled and then lost by me. My dad did have a lightweight alcohol stove but it had a heavy metal stand. Back to REI! I looked at several neat stoves that ranged in price from $70-$160 and weights of between 12 and 20 ounces. Further research I learned of alcohol stoves you can make yourself out of soda cans. Everyone had their own kind of stove and there were no limits for variation. In this search I came across a man named Tinny from Maine who has a devoted U-tube following for his camping videos. He makes all kinds of camping equipment in his basement and he makes a soda can stove for $7 dollars. It weighs14grams, requires one ounce of fuel to run for 20 minutes (a boil in around 10m). I found my stove. Add a 5 ounce titanium pot and a spoon with a sawed of handle and we¢ve got a mess kit.Food:I purchased a bunch of #10 cans of dried food from a crazy guy down the street. He prepared for the world ending in 2000 which didn¢t happen so I got a great deal. I went back a week later to try and buy more cans and he refused to sell me any while mumbling something about Obama being a terrorist and Bush declaring martial law. Anyways, I accompanied with a food saver I¢ve been packaging all kinds of meals for mail drops. Mail drops mean I will be mailing parcels of food to towns I will run into along the way. Weapon:Everyone I¢ve talked to says ¢make sure you bring a gun, no its not that heavy¢ After hiking the first mile I¢d like to see them not be tempted to throw that gun off a cliff. Weapons are not necessary on the trail, there have only been 9 trail murders since 1974. If a bear decides its going to attack you its over and no crocodile Dundee knife will save you. Still a weapon can bring comfort but all of the above are quite heavy and weight is key. Talking with a friends dad who is into martial arts we concluded an Eskrima stick would be the best thing to bring. 30¢ long, hard, fast and light! It will take out any rabid animal or crazy knife wielding mountain man.