Date: 2009-07-06
From: Palisades Interstate Parkway

To: Stow, Ohio
Miles today: 0.0

Made it back to Akron, Ohio safely. Interesting 16-hour Greyhound Bus ride....Newburgh, NY to New York City, bus change. NYC to Harrisburg, PA. Harrisburg to Pittsburgh, PA, bus change. Pittsburgh, PA to Akron, OH. Only my 3rd bus tour in my life....all have been interesting. The New York Bus Terminal was wild.....like 9 floors tall ..... literally hundreds of busses!I thought the picture here was appropriate. It seems like ages ago when I stood on Springer Mountain, hating life after day one; the Approach Trail. I still remember how bad that hike kicked my butt and how I wanted to quit right there and turn around and walk back down the mountain the next day. Glad I didn't. Awesome adventure so far and probably the best thing I could have done for my future ..... lost 30 pounds so far ..... started at 215 and now weigh 185 ..... and feel healthier than I have in a long, long time.I was worried about taking this break and leaving the Trail, mostly the people I have been hiking with. But now that I'm home, I know it is for the best. It is great to see family and spend time with them. And my body will benefit from some good rest that I had been denying it with the late surge to make up time. I know it will take a week or two to get my hiker legs back, but I'll take it slow and they will come. I'll truly miss The Group I've been hiking with, but know I will get a chance to meet some other fascinating people.I'll continue to update the journal while I'm on break. I plan on updating the gear reviews in the "Gear" Section, and will most likely have a journal entry all about my "findings" on gear stuff. I'll make sure I explain in the first sentence of the gear journal entry that it will be all about gear so that those that hate gear talk can simply skip that entry! I also apologize for some of the entries while on break that may be "too philosophical" or just have random thoughts, but I want to record stuff I was thinking about while on this break associated with the hike.To answer one question you may have ..... sure, half of me wishes I was still making progress towards Katahdin, but that half is consoled with the knowledge that I'll be back on the Trail in short order.Looking forward to going to Jamboree in the Hills next week, a country music festival, called the Superbowl of Country Music ..... 4 days long. The funny thing about that "vacation" is that I will be camping out!! So I should be very comfortable ..... I'll be sleeping in a tent, using a Port-O-Jon (just like a Privy) ..... and preparing my own food for dinner. I won't have to get my water from a stream, and I will have a shower every day (but it is only a solar shower). I'll even be carrying a backpack every day .... but filled with the day's beverages!This section is dedicated to GEAR. Any kind of proper gear can get you to Katahdin. The wrong gear can stop you short. Yep, you need gear. But there are a million different combinations that can help you have a successful hike.You can see my 2/3 of the way to Katahdin review of my specific gear in the "Gear" section of the journal. Just click on "Gear" to the left side of the web page.In this entry, I will focus more on things to think about while picking your gear. I'll probably make a comment or two about the piece of gear I have.Here is my disclaimer: This is the first extended backpacking trip I have ever been on. So remember that my thoughts are based on equipment used on one trail, the Appalachian Trail. Also, in most cases, I have only used one type/brand of equipment, so I can only convey my thoughts on how mine worked, or what I witnessed on my hike with others using their equipment. Obviously someone who has 20 years of backpacking experience and has used several different pieces of equipment in each category, has better knowledge and experience than I do.What do I have to offer? I am not a backpacker with a set standard (ultra-lighter, mountaineer, etc). I do not have any "brand" loyalty at this point in my young backpacking career. So everything I saw and did was fresh and from an "open mind" perspective. In other words, I was open to any type of equipment going into this hike. I do have a degree in engineering and hope to use that discipline to bring you a solid analysis of equipment based on "facts" and observations.Two pieces of equipment, to me, are the two biggest decisions you will make preparing for a hike, and both will have a major impact on how your hike goes. These are your backpack and your footwear. When I saw people leaving the Trail for gear problems, it was because of their pack or footwear either not fitting correctly, or malfunctioning.Let's start with the Backpack. I like the philosophy I have heard several times from several outfitters....."you wear a backpack, you don't carry it!" Carrying implies a burden. Sure, we would all like to hike without packs. But you have to have gear with you. "Wearing" the right backpack will minimize the burden, tremendously. Go to a backpack dealer who has technicians qualified to fit you correctly with a backpack.I started out with a backpack that a friend gave me that he was not using. And it was an awesome backpack. The outfitter in Neel's Gap even said so. But even the best quality pack is no good if it doesn't fit correctly. Once fitted with a new pack in Neel's Gap, it was obvious that the other pack did not fit me right. Night and Day.What size pack? Don't shoot me here.....who cares? I've seen people making it all the way to New York so far with every size conceivable from 20 Liters to 90 Liters. The key is to have a pack that fits correctly. If it fits you right, you've conquered 90% of the pack issue. By the way, have them teach you how to make pack adjustments. Any good outfitter will do so when you buy the pack.Some examples of how the pack can ruin your hike. My pack, when I started, was the wrong size and I couldn't get the weight to sit on my hips as it should. I was supporting too much weight on my shoulders, and I felt shoulder stress, but just thought that was normal for a beginning backpacker. Then they fitted me properly and I was like "wow, this is the way a pack is supposed to feel?" After a month, I hardly realized I was carrying a pack most days....except for "hiker Mondays" coming out of town with a full load!! A fellow hiker of mine, Lean-To, had to get off the Trail for a week or so until he could get his hip-belt replaced. It was too big for him and he also couldn't get the weight off his shoulders and developed pretty bad shoulder pains. He tried to hike through the pain to the next outfitters but the pain was bad and the hiking was not enjoyable.This is a major piece of gear for the trip of your lifetime, don't skimp here. Get a good pack that fits right! What brand? Who cares? There are many different brands making it up the trail successfully. Fit .... fit .... fit!!!Footwear is also in the top two most important pieces of gear for your trip. After all, your feet are involved every tsep of the way, literally....5 million of them!! After talking to many hikers and watching footwear performance out there, here is what I have surmized. Fit, fit, fit. Get shoes that fit.....the right size! I know it seems rediculous to say that as it seems obvious. But shoe size problems were common with those having foot problems. Most people who had sizing problems had shoes that were too small for them. We hear rumors that your feet swell while on an extended hike, or get bigger. I don't know if that's true or not, but we did see many people move to shoes a size or half-size larger with good results.Steps and I were discussing footwear and he had the notion that getting into the right shoe was based on two levels of "accomplishment". The first level was simply finding a shoe that fits your foot. Then the task, second level, was finding a show that performed well in your environment. I totally bought into this philosophy, because I lived through it! The shoes I started with, the Merrell Ventilators, fit my feet great. I never had a single blister or even a slight rub while wearing them. But my feet were always sore at the end of the day. I got lucky....the outfitter in Daleville was out of the Merrell's so I asked him to put me in his best selling Trail Runner. He put me in the Vasque Velocity. Holy cow!! My hike changed dramatically after that. No more sore feet. I had accomplished (thanks to luck) level 2! I had shoes that fit and that also performed well on the A.T. and gave better support to the sole of my feet.The fit thing, I believe, can be solved easily by getting fit correctly by a knowledgable outfitter. The "second level" is probably harder to find; 'cause you probably won't know until you hike in them for a while. There are people hiking the A.T. in everything from running shoes to heavy boots. Hey, they all work. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. This is definitely a personal choice. I am a fan of the Trail Runner! Love them. Mr Buffalo Man has hiked in boots the entire time and loves them! Bahama Dave hiked in lightweight boots, the Merrell Ventilator and loved them. So I don't think it matters. You can get down the trail in any shoe. The only thing that will stop you, in any case, is a shoe that doesn't fit.I can't even count the number of people that were held back, or had to leave the Trail, because of foot problems. And the number of people just hiking in pain with blisters, skin rubs, etc is mind boggling. Goof fought foot problems all the way to Waynesboro, VA. Jones had to get off the Trail for a few weeks to let her feet heal (wrong size show/blisters). (to be continued)Gear Continued (focus on clothing on this page)......After a good fitting pack and the right footwear, everything else is gravy!! If you're buying a gear item new, pay attention to how big it is and how much it weighs. Everything else being equal, buy the lightest. Everything else being equal again, by the one that takes up the least amount of space. First and foremost though, it has to perform the task it was designed for.I'll start from the ground up, literally!Socks: All kinds out there. If you are going to use liners, make sure they fit well and won't bunch up underneathe your main sock. I love the form fit liner (see my gear page). The hug your feet, so they can't bunch up. I don't know this for a fact because I never hiked without them, but I believe they are a big part of my never having any blisters or rubs.SmartWool was the sock of choice out there, but any good sock will do. I could check the wear on my socks easiest by turning them inside out....easier to see where it was wearing thin. I noticed this most where the top of my shoe met my achilles tendon. Even though the socks wore a bit, the liner kept it from ever rubbing my skin. Replace your socks when you notice the wear.....indicator that there is friction going on between shoe and sock.....replace the sock to make sure the wear/friction "stays" on the sock.Gaiters: A lot of people wear them. I do not. They help keep debris and moisture out of your shoe. There are all types of gaiters out there. There are some that go all the way up to the knee, some that just cover the ankle, and some that form fit to your ankle around the top of the shoe. Underwear liners: A lot of people wear these to help prevent chaffing! I highly recommend them. Your crotch will get really wet on days, it will sweat, it will get really dry on days, it will rub, etc .... liners go a long way to prevent chaffing. Don't underestimate how much these can heighten the enjoyment of the daily hike!Pants/shorts: Whatever works. The convertible pants are very common. Make sure they dry fast .... synthetic material, not cotton.Tops/shirts: Whatever works. Again, make sure they dry fast. No cotton.Long sleeve shirt: Great for hiking on a chilly morning or at camp, or wearing when the bugs are bad. I like to wear it under my anorak during rain (if its cool enough).... keeps the anorack fabric off my arms.Fleece layer: This is a necessity. Need it for cold hiking in the early spring. Great for layering up at a break stop or at camp. Also great for crossing that windy, cold bald. It needs to be light and warm.Any hat will do: Buffs and bandana's are very common. I like a hat with a brim. Thr brim keeps rain off my face and neck. It shades my face and neck from the sun. And it keeps the hood of my rain anorack from coming down over my eyes. It also keeps the hood of the rain anorack off my ears....hear better and no annoying fabric against my ears. I'm definitely in the minority here though.....not many wearing brimmed hats out there.I also carry a cold-weather hat. I wore it at night. I never liked having my head inside my mummy bag, so the hat kept my head warm. I did wear it on several occasions while hiking in cold, windy conditions. And I would wear it around camp in the evening and early mornings.Rain Clothes: Very controversial here. Good luck! The debate you will see here is all about "waterproof" vs "breathability". You'll have to decide for yourself here. You will be out in heavy rains. If you wear breathable rain gear, you will get soaked by the rain, but not be as hot and sweaty. If you wear waterproof rain gear, you may not get wet from the rain, but will be hot and sweaty since the gear doesn't breathe as well. I wear the breathable gear, and just deal with getting wet. The anorack keeps me warm enough, but I am wet from rain water. The big advantage, in my opinion, is that the breathable rain gear is usually lighter and dries faster. This will always be a debate amongst hikers.Camp Clothes: Whatever it takes to have a set of warm, dry clothes at camp. No matter what the elements bring, if you can get out of cold, wet gear and into dry warm clothes, you will be OK and have a good chance of not getting hypothermia (and just being more comfortable) than if you don't. I saw a hiker hanging out at the Mohican Outdoor Center, totally drenched. I made the statement that while he is waiting for whatever, that he should at least change clothes. He informed me that he didn't have any dry clothes to change into!! Insane....and potentially dangerous to your health....especially if there isn't a warm building to hang out in.Parka: This was my layer for really cold conditions. Some hikers had these, some didn't. This was my favorite piece of clothing through Daleville! Perfect for cutting the wet chill, which we had a ton of this year. Most everyone had a sleeping bag to crawl into to get warm. The Parka allowed me to sit up in my bag and do other stuff like journal, eat, play cards, etc. I also liked having it for the dash out of my tent during the night when it was cold! Mine was a heavy, bulky "model". They make lighter (less bulky) ones than the one I carried. I'm still going to carry the same one I have right now in the fall.Gloves: All different kinds of ideas on how to keep hands warm. I carried a pair of windstopper glove shells, and a light pair of liners to wear underneathe. On cool, rainy days, I only needed the shells to keep the water off my hands. I would add the liners on chilly morning hikes. I did end up buying a pair of cold-weather gloves at Fontana Dam and carried them to Damascus, VA. Glad I did. I used them a lot at camp at night and early in the morning. I did wear them hiking once when it snowed heavily on us on the day I went over Max Patch!! So glad I had them. Bottom line: Clothes are clothes. Put together an ensemble that incorporates "layering" so you can "layer up" for colder weather, and "layer down" when it gets warmer, and there will be days when it goes from freezing into the 50s and back down to freezing while you're hiking. Leave the cotton stuff at home. If you're buying new, find the layer that does what you need it to do, taking into consideration how much it weighs and how bulky it is. I bought an expensive Arcteryx fleece layer only to leave it at home because it was too bulky to take with me on the hike. It simply took up too much room.(to be continued)Gear continued....focus on "other" gear:Tents: Pick one! If buying new, think light. Think about what you are going to do with your pack in really bad weather. If you have a two man tent, you can put the pack in the tent with you. This also allows you to unpack and pack the backpack while in the tent. Goof started out the hike in a Bivey Sack. He placed the pack under Mr Buffalo Man's vestibule when it rained .... good thing he was hiking with him! If you decide on a one-man tent thinking you can place the pack in the vestibule, make sure you can still get out of the tent if necessary. If you go with a hammock, get some advice from people who have used them before. They work well, but there are definitely some "tricks of the trade" when using a hammock. You can have some rough nights in a hammock, if you don't know what you're doing. And it's more complicated than just tying it off between two trees. There are lessons that need to be learned about staying warm and dry when hammocking when the weather is bad (wind, rain, cold, etc).Ground cloth: Your choice. I will always carry one. Only a couple of ounces and it helps protect my "home."Hiking Poles: Wow! I will go down as always recommending these. I LOVE them! They have saved my butt so many times. And they are good for moving the brush that overwhelms the trail at times. They really take a lot of the load when going downhill, and take that stress off my knees. They really help me "push" up the hills .... and I have become a hill climbing crazy man! I also recommend the "clamp" type of adjustable poles vs the "turn-to-tighten" type. I saw several hikers in our group alone have problems with not being able to tighten their poles, eventually working it out. I have placed my entire weight (+pack) on my poles hundreds of times (literally) with no slippage (pole-vaulting over ponds, letting myself down on big steps, etc). Sorry, for being so one-sided on this issue, but I can't even begin to describe how helpful these things have been on my hike. Can you make it to Maine without them....absolutely!Sleeping pad: Necessity for staying in shelter especially. Pick one!Stove: Tough choice here....too many options! Pick one. I've seen every make and model out there on the trail making it to Maine. When purchasing your cooking items, keep the chore of having to clean them in mind. Wrongway, AT '08, switched from his JetBoil to a Pocket Rocket and different pot because he couldn't easily clean the JetBoil pot....his hands were too big to get down in there. JetBoil and Pocket Rockets are very common on the Trail, along with 25 other different stoves and pots. Bottom line: You just need to be able to heat stuff up. I haven't finished my hike yet, but I think too many are making too much out of fuel availability. It's there. And if you run out, there will be a hiker to help you. That's what I have witnessed. Also, keep this in mind as you see people talking about stove weight. The people making their own alcohol stoves, which I think are neat, always leave out the weight of the fuel they have to carry when talking about weight. Most of the hikers I see using these types of stove carry a 12-20 oz bottle of alcohol fuel with them (how much does this weigh). So I really don't think an alcohol stove and it's fuel bottle really is less weight than a Pocket Rocket and a cannister, and may weigh more. I like the argument that the alcohol stove is just more fun to make and use, if you need to convince me that the alcohol stove is the way to go!! Headlamp: Take into consideration burn-time on a set of batteries. A bright non-LED light will burn through batteries quickly. It may be brighter but only last a couple of hours which is useless out there on the A.T. Most hikers I see use an LED light set-up with adjustable brightness....and they last a long, long time on one set of batteries.OK. Quick notes on other equipment:Hydration: Make it convenient to stay hydrated. If you have to take your pack off to get to some water, make a change!Water purification: It all works, pick one! Definitely a personal preference. If you are going to go with a filter, just beware that there are gravity filters out there that don't require pumping. Ian and Kendra, and Sunnuke use these and love them. Pack Cover: Essential! Any that keep your pack dry will do. My $10 cover from REI lasted half the hike. Then the lamination started to peel off. I did invest in a Osprey cover after that, but it was unnecessary. Another $10 REi cover would have finished the hike with me!Sleeping bag: Good luck here. Too many choices out there. No advice here. Pick a temperature you want to defend against and start shopping. The synthetics are being produced now that compress as well as the down does, so don't rule it out. I read a bunch of arguments about down and how worthless it is when wet. I kept mine in a dry sack, and it never had the chance to get wet, and we have had a wet season. Don't let this argument steer you from down. The price may though!! A lot of hikers start with a winter bag and switch to a summer bag at some point.Camp Towel: The guys at Neel's Gap had me send this home. I ended up getting it back almost immediately. I love it for wiping off my rain fly in wet weather. The bandana simply pushes the water around. The camp towel soaks it up, you wring it out, and continue. I have used this thing for so many things.....best 2.2 oz I am carrying!! The day I had to set up in the rain....camp towel to the rescue....getting the water off my tent floor!!Camera: Good luck here also. You won't believe how many freakin different models there are out there. Here are some things to consider if purchasing a new one: weatherproof?; shockproof?; type of storage cards?; type of battery and charger; easy to use?. The battery charger for my camera battery was so small that I actually have carried it with me the entire trip and just charge my own batteries when I get to a town.....and the battery lasts forever anyhow.OK....enough rambling on gear. There is more info about my specific gear in the "Gear" section of my journal.It has been a great break visiting with friends and family. Every summer I attend a country music festival called Jamboree In The Hills. It is a 4-day event, Thursday thru Sunday with 26 country music acts. It is a great time.Well I just got back....awesome time. I cleaned all the Jamboree camping gear and got it back in storage. Tomorrow I will organize all my Appapalchian Trail Gear and put my mail drops together for the next 2 months.Thursday I get on a Greyhound Bus headed for New York, arriving on Friday. I will be back on the Appalachian Trail on Saturday morning. I totally enjoyed the break and think it did my body good. I am ready to get back on the Trail and complete this adventure. Onward North to Katahdin.I plan on taking it relatively easy for the first 10 days "waiting" to get my trail legs back. It will be interesting meeting a whole new set of hikers out there. My mind is wondering how it will go blending in with hikers I have never met, this late in the hike! And I'm hoping to meet a few who I have lost touch with, who either got off the Trail for a long period, or who were just behind me a bit when I left the Trail.