Date: 2014-04-12
To: Gear
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I've had some requests to post my gear list, so here are the major items.All packed up! I upgraded my "big three" back in early 2009 when we were living in Gainesville, Georgia. After deciding on my backpack and sleeping bag choices, I discovered they were carried by Mountain Crossings just up the road at Neel's Gap. I bought them there so I could avail myself of their expertise. I'll be using the same pack and bag for this trip.Backpack: ULA Circuit. I've used this for all my overnight hiking the past 5 years, even though I don't need all the space for summer trips. I bought the lighter and smaller Ohm a few years ago and it worked great as a large daypack when we hiked with a group around Mont Blanc a couple of year's ago. However, when I tried it with my max AT thru hike load, it was uncomfortable on my hips. (I see the newer Ohm2 has a redesigned hip belt.) Comfort is worth the extra pound!Sleeping bag: Western Mountaineering Summerlite 6'6" (32deg). When I was getting this at Mountain Crossings, I asked Winton if I was making a good choice. He laughed. It's the best! (WM has a few additional high quality competitors today.)With the WM bag I've added a Cocoon silk liner that I bought for our Mont Blanc trip. Some of the refuges (hostels) required a liner to sleep in the bunks. I've also got an Exped pillow. I include a Planter's Peanuts jar in case I have to go in the middle of the night. The peanut jar is a different shape than my water bottles - don't want to confuse them! ;-)Ground pad: REI Flash pad. I've used a variety of pads over the years, and decided to upgrade since there have been a lot of new models developed recently. I was trying to decide between the Neo Air and the Exped at REI when I discovered their Flash. I decided to take the few extra ounces for a quieter and cheaper pad, whose tapered shape makes it easier to fit two of them in my SoLong 6. I don't require much width for my sleeping style, but other folks may prefer a wider pad. I also like the Exped style inflation and deflation valves.Tent: Lightheart Gear SoLong 6. When I was upgrading my backpack and sleeping bag in 2009, I hadn't decided on my tent. The new Hubba NT was a contender, but I didn't want to spend that much moolah. Mountain Crossings had a prototype version that was greatly discounted, so I couldn't pass it up! It has served me well for my 2 to 5 day trips these past years, but my 6'2" body fills it up and I wanted more room (and lighter weight) for a thru hike. I first heard about Judy's SoLong 6 in Stumpknocker's 2013 Florida Trail journal. I've only tried it out in the backyard, but I think I'm gonna really enjoy it!Trekking poles: Pacerpoles. I'd never used poles before 2008. Doing my research, I learned poles would help my older knees, hips and spine plus allow me to do more miles per day. I still wasn't sure until I asked one of the young guys at Mountain Crossings if he used poles... he did. My research led me to PacerPoles and I love 'em! I've never used any other poles, so I can't compare. I had a friend who had stopped hiking due to knee problems try my poles - he's now hiking again!Cooking system: No cook. I'm just not interested in spending the time when I'm backpacking. Car camping is another thing, though. :-) I'll try to talk about specific food when I'm journaling. I'm using zPacks' bear bag gear with a LiteTrail liner for storing my food. I'm trying out something new in taking a little screw top plastic container to rehydrate dried lentils or other beans while hiking. I tried it at home and it works with cold water, but they're pretty bland tasting. I'll play around with it some.Electronics: Samsung Galaxy S4 Active (AT&T), Verizon LG tablet, Canon Elph 330 point-and-shoot(upgraded to Elph 340). I used iPhones the last four years at work and enjoyed them. When I retired from that job last summer and was planning to thru hike, I got the S4 Active because I could carry spare batteries, use a 64Gig data card, and it's water resistant. In retrospect, I might have selected the regular S4 for the better camera in lieu of the water resistance. On the other hand, I've been a lot more comfortable taking the Active with me kayaking!I was originally planning to take my Kindle with me, and not a tablet. Reading trail journals and Whiteblaze, I've heard that Verizon has much better coverage than AT&T on the trail. Since my phone is on a 2 year plan with AT&T, the cheapest way to add Verizon was to get a tablet with a no contract data plan. I can use Skype or Viber to talk with Linda. I was going to stay with just my S4, but Linda said she wanted me to get the additional coverage - I just got the tablet yesterday. As a self-described geek-wannabee, I love my new toys! :-)I decided to get a small and relatively cheap point-and-shoot camera that has slightly better specs than my phone, can be turned on quickly and will save phone battery time. Linda and I enjoy photography and we have a nice big digital SLR, but I'll be taking pictures and video on the trail primarily to reminisce and to share with others on the web, and not to produce a coffee table book. I learned in my last post it's a little tricky transferring the Quicktime (mov) videos of my Canon to my Android device and converting them to mp4 to edit and post, but I finally figured it out. For this task an iPhone, which uses the Quicktime format, would have been much easier. UPDATE 1: I decided the mov to mp4 conversion was too much trouble, and learned the Elph 340 records in mp4. So I moved up to the 340.UPDATE 2: I sent my Verizon tablet home with Linda on day 4. See 4/17 and 4/21 entries.Post Hike Note: See Post Hike 5 (10/14) and Post Hike 8 (10/30) for a more detailed and updated gear review.Methinks this post is long enough!Less than a week to go. I'm excited!!!!