Date: 2011-07-20
To: Ideas and gear used on 2010 AT thru hike
Miles today: 0.0

Toilet-Privy        With only a few exceptions all shelters along the A.T. have a privy outhouse and these privy¢s are in most cases, maintained by trail clubs. I would say that 95% on my 2010 thru hike were well maintained and as ¢clean¢ as they could be.   They are composting toilets that need bacteria supplied by nature via duff. Here are the steps I employed¢¦.         Pull the center cardboard tube from a new roll of toilet paper, and then pull the sheets from the center. This helps to keep the roll from unraveling, and maker it easier to flatten the roll. Once in the privy I would like to do a quick wipe of the wooden seat, and then after you are done add a few handfuls of duff. To explain duff, it is the more decomposed lower layer of leaf you¢ll find on the ground. This is where the majority of decomposing good bacteria is. Don¢t throw handfuls of dry leaf into the hole because that just adds to the bulk that will need to be removed, or in most cases require digging a new privy prematurely. If you need to only pee then do it out in the woods, because pee doesn¢t help in the bacterial breakdown. Do your part by filling up the duff container if it is low. You may find a rake to help remove the top younger leafs exposing the duff. It wasn¢t always easy to find just one roll for sale at stores but you can find them. Keep your toilet paper in a zip lock bag along with a small bottle of alcohol based hand cleaner.        When you are camping under the stars or under your shelter away from a privy, you¢ll need to dig a cat hole. Let me tell you, it is not easy to dig a hole in the ground through roots, in the rain, with a stick, when you really need to go. If you are organized enough, one thought is to get your hole in the ground dug when you are setting up camp in the afternoon, then it would be ready.   I always liked to find camps away from other past campsites, if possible, partly because I didn¢t want to disturb another hiker¢s cat hole. That would be quite gross. Some hikers did carry those plastic shovels and that¢s ok, hike your own hike, but you could save the space and weight by a little pre planning and get your hole dug early. Always remember to dig your hole way off the trail, and away from any water source.         While on my hike I tried to stay really well hydrated. I drank a lot of liquid at night to be ready for the next days hike. So I peed a lot. Guys have it easy in this respect, so right here I¢m speaking to men. I¢m 52 years old and also speaking to the slightly more senior group who need to get up at night to pee, sometimes more than once. I found that using a light weight hot water bottle worked great as a pee bottle because it¢s collapsible and water tight. Just make sure you rinse it out every day.        Hiking poles        A first thought I didn¢t think I would like or need to hike with poles. I gave them a try after talking with other thru hikers. I really don¢t know how many times my poles saved me from a faceplant tripping over some root or rock. The poles that I chose were Black Diamond flick lock with cork handles. At first I had them set too short, and would push down on the straps. When I was wearing gloves the straps began to wear out and fray. My Aunt in Maryland did a good job of sewing them back together. As far as the length it¢s a personal choice. You want to have a good swing. If they are too long you¢ll have to lift them over rocks etc. You¢ll need to experiment with what works for your body size.   If they have two expanding sections as mine do, expand the larger diameter stronger section to its maximum length first then fine tune the length using the weaker thinner tubing. If you are not mindful you may break or bend a pole by getting them wedged between two rocks or logs etc. It seems like crossing over bridges provide great opportunity to break a pole. Be mindful.         I liked the cork handles because they just felt comfortable and had some character. Some hikers said the handles would get sticky but I didn¢t think so. The straps would become full of salt from sweat, so I just rinsed them in streams every once in a while.¢¦..Somewhere around PA. I wore out and broke a tip on the carbide end. I wasn¢t sure if it could be repaired. The other pole tip was very worn as well. One phone call to Black Diamond via their 1 800 number, I told them I was on an AT. thru hike, and needed repair. They were very good and mailed me two new replacement sections at cost. If I recall $15 for both. I really liked using the rubber tips on dry rock. A thru hiker hikes a lot on rock faces mainly in the north. If the rock is dry you can get better grip with the rubber tips. The problem is they come off too easily wedged in some crack and then you can¢t find them. To spray paint the tips yellow could solve that problem. As far as carbide tips or rubber tips eroding the trail, you will notice a lot of holes punched into the trail, and scratches on rock caused by carbide tips. This I am sure is hard on the trail. The rubber tips are more damaging to soft soil if you push down hard. It depends on how much rearward pressure you use. I should request a 100,000,000. Gov. grant to study the problem.There are several styles of poles that I noticed. First the lower cost solid carbon fiber very light but easy to break poles. One hiker I know bought the carbon fiber tubing and made his own. They were very light but would shatter easily. Then there are the twist lock expanding type many hikers love them, and most outfitters have replacement plastic parts. I know I¢m biased but I think the slightly heaver, visible to the eye, flick lock on Black Diamond poles are the only ones I would trust. Perhaps if your pack weight were only 12 pounds you may not even consider poles,Another benefit to me and my 51 year old body is that my poles keep my arms moving and blood circulating out to my fingers. With out poles my fingers become a bit swollen. After the first few weeks with poles, being without then felt almost unnatural. It¢s hard to imagine leaving them next to a tree and walking off. When I was training for my hike in Bellingham I practiced my hitchhiking skills after a particular long hike. I climbed out of the car and left my poles in the back seat. After the driver said ¢Don¢t you want these¢ Now I always fold up my poles and hold them in my lap. Two last benefits of poles are having something close at hand should a bear walk through camp, and I often used them as a tarp support.