Date: 2010-02-03
From: Neels Gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

¢Some people are making such thorough preparation for rainy days that they aren't enjoying today's sunshine.¢ .                                 - William Feather First of all, thank you for all the encouraging responses in my guestbook (on the left) and the positive emails. They have helped keep my spirits up even when it's been hard.It was a beautiful, sunny, if cold, morning. The forecast for later in the week called for rain, freezing rain, sleet, and snow. My plan was to get one of the famed shakedowns at Mountain Crossings to lighten my pack by eliminating nonessentials or swapping lighter versions in for heavier ones. Then maybe a new pair of boots and then I'd be on my way, striding along in the fine sunshine in a race to beat some of the precipitation to town.The reality didn't meet my ambitions. The Green Beast made a big impression on the good folks at Mountain Crossings. At least, they had the impression it was too big. The shakedown lasted quite a while. I'm sure they can't spend that much time with every hiker that comes through here. They don't have their full stock in yet this early in the season, but the service is fantastic. They have so much knowledge that they're willing to share.After some tough love from Alpine, I purchased a new inflatable sleeping pad. It goes against *my* better judgement, but I'm trusting Alpine on this one. I generally figure that if it can break, I will break it. A broken sleeping pad is basically useless, so I had been using a closed cell 3/4 length RidgeRest pad that I had augmented with Reflectix- basically mylarized bubblepack. It was very lightweight but huge. It was even bigger because I added some extra layers of Reflectix to build up the area under my ribcage. It looked very strange, but when I tested it at home it took the weight off of my shoulder, arm and hip. Since I'm a side-sleeper, this was great. I could feel the Relectix relecting heat back to me when I tested it at home on snow. The main problem I had with it (other than its bulk and looks) was how slippery it was. Between the silnylon and the pad, I was slip sliddin' away all night long.Alpine assured me that I would do better with the insulated Thermarest. It would be much more compact when deflated and be warmer and more comfortable when used. He said if I am careful it shouldn't leak, and that if it does, I can patch it with the handy repair kit. With the smaller pad I would be able to get a smaller pack and save weight there. They said the Beast would be great should I decide to climb Denali, but was way overkill for the AT. That all sounded great to me. I just needed to find one that fit right. I'd already tried to go with a lighter weight pack only to be met with disappointment.I testdrove a Granite Gear Nimbus. All my gear fit, so I took it for a little walk through the breezeway and on up the Trail for a ways. It certainly felt lighter and I was planning to purchase it. Unfortunately, when I took it off my back really hurt. When I carried even more weight than that in the Beast, I would get tired, but my back didn't.hurt. Even though we'd spent a lot of time getting to that point I decided I just couldn't get that pack. It was suggested that the Osprey Ariel might work as a pack for me, but that they only had the 55 in stock at the moment and that I would need something larger to hold the extra winter gear. As it was getting late - yes, we'd spent all day (with interruptions) on the shakedown and pack fittings - we decided to look at the other problem area - my feet and boots. Again, with the preseason stock on hand it didn't look like anything could be done for my rectangular, "high-volume" feet.We decided to call it a day and try again tomorrow when my feet might be less painful and swollen.Kevin, the thruhiker I'd met at Hawk Mountain Shelter, said he could get all of my gear into the Osprey 55. So he agreed to try it tomorrow morning.It was something of a disappointment to miss the beautiful day of fabulous hiking weather, but I had long-since decided that a stop here to get the gear setup right was more important than making miles just now; future miles will come more easily if I have the right equipment. So, I didn't get to enjoy today's sunny weather, but I expect to get to the point where I will be properly equipped to enjoy the hiking in all sorts of weather.