Date: 2006-05-28
From: VA 624

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I¢m just going to talk about my gear and stuff here to fill a day¢s journal while I¢m at home. Most of this stuff I think I have covered before, and I¢m going to start with the ¢Gear¢ list in the journalMarmot Precip Jacket ¢ its NOT waterproof, not even close, it¢s warm and it¢s a great jacket for layering over other things in the winter and even now in the evenings, but its absolutely worthless as rain gear. I bought a sil-nylon poncho and added some Velcro to the sides to help keep it closed so it doesn¢t flap in the wind.REI jacket - never did take it with meSmartwool Zip T-shirt - This is my ¢Woolie¢ and by far my favorite piece of clothing. It is so warm & soft, I wear it over and under other shirts and in town I often wear it by itself (mine is black). It doesn¢t hold onto the ¢hiker stench¢ when its washed and is just my most favorite item. I usually sleep in this.NorthFace pants ¢ the only problem I had with these is the zipper in the right front pocket, its right over the hip bone and the pack rests on it and caused some bruising. I fixed that by cutting out the zipper (I didn¢t use the pocket anyway). I do have other complaints about these pants though, they wore a hole in one leg within the first few days, and other areas of the pants looked very worn with ¢pilling¢ very quickly. I do like that the zip on legs have tabs on the zippers that say Right and Left. It makes it easier to put on.Silk Long Johns ¢ I wear the pants for PJ¢s haven¢t worn the top much because I like my woolie better,NothFace vest ¢ was great in the beginning, I sent it home after the SmokiesBalaclava ¢ was great early onSmartwool long john pants - great early on, I slept in them, but sent them home after the Smokies and used the silk pants.Titan Kettle and Snow Peak titanium cup ¢ they were fine, but got rid of them when I switched to the Jet Boil.Alcohol stove ¢ it was fine, but too many parts (stove, pot stand, wind screen, pots (above) and jar of alcohol. Then you had to measure out the amt. of alcohol you needed, and sometimes it was too much or not enough. The jet boil is so efficient, pot, fuel etc is all contained in one very convenient package, and overall weight is probably about the same when you add in all the parts for the alcohol stove.Kathadin Guide Filter ¢ traded it out for a smaller MSR Sweetwater filter when I couldn¢t find a new filter for it. This was larger and heavier, but it sure filtered water faster than the SweetwaterPlatypus 2 lt bags ¢ can¢t complain, I have only had to replace the little clip that attaches the tube to my pack. I carry 2 of these bags, one I just use when in camp in the evenings to get water for dinner and breakfast the next day.Socks ¢ as much as I like smartwool, and I do wear them, they give me a rash! It doesn¢t itch, so I keep wearing them.Crocks ¢ got rid of them in favor of Chaco sandals, my feet would sweat really bad in the crocks and then they get very slippery. Crocks also aren¢t very good for river crossings ¢ they get slippery.Headlamp ¢ I use that at night to read, I don¢t do any night hiking so I don¢t need a really bright light.Pack towel ¢ haven¢t used it yet, so it¢s staying home. I use a bandana to dry things.Trail drop watch ¢ it¢s great, but wish it had an altimeter. BraveFriend has the same watch and the two report different temperatures at the same time. So I don¢t know how accurate the thermometer is.Cards ¢ ditched them at Neels gapCamera ¢ I got a waterproof one (that weighs less too) after I saw many cameras go bad from getting wet.Lekie poles ¢ wouldn¢t leave home without them.Leatherman Squirt ¢ great little tool for my needs (cut my toe nails with the scissors and open food packages with the knife).Granite gear pack ¢ I love it. It¢s very comfortable. I would like more pockets or compartments, but it¢s great the way it is.Sleeping bags ¢ no complaints other than being too hot in the 15* bag.Coolmax liner ¢ was great in the beginning, I sent it home around Erwin.Thermarest Z-Lite ¢ switched out for a Thermarest Womens Pro-lite, better insulation and padding for the hips.Tent - its fine, I don¢t use it all that much. Never had a problem with it leaking.Boots: lets not even go there, I now have another new pair of shoes ¢ trail runners we¢ll see how that goes.I have added an iPod, and now a Solio solar charger for it as well. The Solio also charges my cellphone.   www.solio.com Personal hygiene stuff; I carry a toothbrush and tooth paste, a bunch of ¢wet wipes¢ a small thing of gold bond powder (I powder my feet/toes everyday before putting my boots on, it really helps keep down the rot between the toes) a case for my contact lenses and a 2 oz bottle of saline soln. that I refill as needed. I only take my contacts out when I get into town ¢ oh I have a small bottle of eye drops (re-wetting soln.)I have 2 or 3 bandanas that are used for drying things (like my tent), sweat rag for the face and snot rag for the nose! They can double as wash rags etc.I carry Wingnuts book, a book of suduko puzzles and a book to read.I wear a fanny pack in which I place my camera, my tiny little fm radio/voice recorder, my iPod, and my snacks and lunch for the day.My food has been great. The only stuff I don¢t really like is the store bought hummus mix. All of my own meals are great. Breakfast has become a package of Carnation instant breakfast (chocolate) with one or two packets of oatmeal mixed together, and some powdered milk, add hot water and eat!   I¢m using the Nido whole milk powder rather than non fat dried milk, it tastes better and I can use the extra calories, it also dissolves better in water.Lunch is usually one of my dehydrated salads and one of the hummus mixes (preferable the ones I made) Dinner is often a pasta dish or one of the soups I made, sometimes I will add instant rice to it for extra filling. And a desert ¢ I made carrot pudding, rice pudding and bread pudding, and I have some instant chocolate pudding mixes that I had pre-added powdered milk to so I just add water. The instant puddings are in ziplock bags, so after adding the water, I mush it up in the bag and let it sit while I eat dinner. I eat at least 3 snacks a day ¢ M&M¢s, Snicker bars, and trail mix.So what have I found to be the best thing about being home?? First of course, my husband, but after that the best thing has to be all the pillows on my bed , and getting up in the middle of the night and walking barefoot across carpeting to the bathroom! It¢s so much nicer than having to crawl out of a sleeping bag, find you sandals and headlamp and stumble across an uneven terrain to find a bush!