Date: 2012-02-04
To: A Good Day
Miles today: 0.0

A GOOD DAY ¢ NOT JUST GEAR TALK        Today has been a good day. Not for any one big reason but for an accumulation of many things happening recently. I am looking back a bit and I think I have gotten through the non-trail demons that seem to be out there that cause hikers to change their minds about hiking the AT. The demons can also be called being hit in the head with life¢s realities. In reading the various journals, you can tell when the non-hiking demons hit. I have been pretty solid about starting my hike and was actually a bit surprised that the demons didn¢t raise their ugly head as yet. That was until about a week ago when during a practice hike I realized how much money, in addition to other things, that I can make if I did not hike this year. I fell just short of deciding not to hike but the temptation was certainly there. I was surprised that I was able to beat the demons down in only one day. Since that point, I feel that I have crossed the point of no return and will be hiking with the class of 2012. I am totally psyched about it. My mindset is now game-on, or in this case, hike-on.My practice hikes are mostly in the Morton Arboretum located in Lisle, Illinois. In the past, I have been able to walk for miles with relatively little contact with others. I tend to like this because the people you tend to cross paths with are surprisingly very unfriendly and even rude. I have never understood how you can cross paths with so many people and when you send off a greeting, they simply ignore you. I don¢t even look like the homeless psycho killer yet with my beard and backpack wandering the forest. They don¢t offer a grunt, a look, a stare or anything. The warm weather has certainly caused the walking population to explode exponentially from maybe 4 people in nine miles to about 40-50, or so. Such was not the case with today¢s walk. Today, I came across a couple walking the paths. Since I do my nine miles by completing several attached loops, I crossed paths with them a few times. The third time, one of them asked me a question regarding how far I was hiking. This broke into a nice conversation with the couple about hiking and the AT. It was a very enjoyable, warm and a supportive conversation. It helped renew my faith that you can come across a stranger and have a cordial conversation. To this couple, I express a big thank you, whoever they were.Also, I was pleased with my current drop in body weight. As much as I enjoyed my nightcaps, I have stopped drinking completely. This is simply to avoid the empty calories that booze has. In addition, I have made moderate changes in my diet. My real effort won¢t be made until the beginning of March when I will make my final push to reach my starting weight. I dropped eight pounds in January. I need eight more this month and then five more in March. I want to come off Springer with a 15 mile day and hit my first 20+ day the first week. I want to hit Neel¢s Gap on day two.Still another positive trail vibe came from reading Flutewalker¢s February 3rd journal entry. This really struck a cord with me since one of my biggest issues I have had was with a rain jacket. I have a Marmot jacket and refer to it as the ¢death trap¢ after a situation I had with it during my 2010 hike that caused a extremely serious hypothermia situation. I like my gear and consider it light weight. I have been aware of tarps being constructed of the material called cuben fiber. After looking more into the gear being manufactured with the Cuben Fiber there seems to be a major shift taking place with items such as packs, bags and clothing. This is like going from the flip phone to a iphone 4s. They both work fine but there is clearly a new generation of gear being manufactured for the light weight hiking enthusiasts. Of course, items made of this material are not inexpensive and has not been hard core tested by the masses. But for me, it certainly fits perfectly into my hiking style. This is a good example of the old dog being able to learn a new trick. This is what I meant in my last journal when I talked about how you just need to be open about changes and learn from others. Thank you to Flutewalker for her entry. I think I am about to begin a new direction on gear choices.ZPack seems to be forging ahead with this technology. Their tent style is very similar to the six moons lunar solo tent that I currently use and weighs in at about half the weight. Again, same utility, less weight is the goal. I also have been looking for a summer bag but with my bag at one pound it is hard to beat. Even the bag liners can weigh in at 10 ounces and offer very little in the way of comfort. ZPacks 40 degree bag at 8 ounces would certainly appear to meet what I have been looking for in a summer bag. Add the fact that it is made of my favorite fill, 900 down, it will be hard for me not to partake in such gluttony of pure light weight pleasure. Time will tell. Even though my gear is showing signs of wear after the two AT hikes, without any real alternative product, I was planning to bring them all once again. Perhaps it is time to rethink this. Of course I did a quick shopping cart and quickly ran an estimate of over $1,000.00. I make it a point of not looking at the cost of hiking light but even I have to take a deep breath and pause with these prices. The price of light weight gear is much like buying lingerie, the less there is the more it costs.So when your wants are perceived as your needs, your pack weight will be higher then it needs to be. When your needs become your only wants, you have achieved the right pack weight. The goal is to reduce pack and gear weight through education and self confidence without impacting comfort or safety.