Date: 2006-08-13
To: Prep #41-Shake Shake Shakedown!!
Miles today: 0.0

Yes, today I went out and did my first short shakedown hike. I wore my pack, all of my gear (even put 8lbs of canned foods into my food stuff sack). I went 5.1 miles, and the terrain of the trail that I use is very similar to parts of the AT from what I hear. Several steep ups and downs, roots, loose rocks, sand, uneven, etc. So...what did I think?It about KMA (kicked my ass), but I loved every minute of it!!!! It felt sooooooooooo good to get out there w/my pack and sweat, feel my heart pumping, and it felt really good to know that this was close to what it would be like on the AT--minus a few mountains of course--a minor detail. What did I learn about my gear so far?1. My sleeping pad that is strapped to the outside and "flops" up and down every single time I took a step about got on my last nerve. I stopped about 1 mile into it, found a small rope that is supposed to be used for something w/my tent (I have no idea what though!) and tied that sucker down so it would stay quiet. MUCHO BETTERO I say. Now, if I fall, sing, pass gas, or talk to a fellow hiker, I'll be able to actually HEAR myself instead of that sleeping mat going thump...thump....thump2. My pack...well...I'm still going to experiment w/how I distribute the weight in it, and how my straps are tightened. It sits great on my hips/lumbar area like it should, but the chest strap and shoulder straps I'll have to work on. Either I was cinching the chest strap so much that I gave myself a uni-boob (not a pretty site), or I loosened it enough to allow my chest to expand so that I could breathe, but then the shoulder straps would rub (in a bad way) that area right where your arm meets your arm pit...you know, that place people like to grab with their thumb and finger and then pinch? So I'll keep working on this, but a shakedown hike is exactly for this purpose, to get to know how good/bad your gear works for you.3. Socks--I'm changing from the polypro ones on my gear list to these awesome double-layered wigwam socks. The polypro material was just course enough to make my feet a bit irritated, but these wigwams are awesome and they kept my sweaty smelly feet dry. I took a shoes/sock-off break around mile 4 and layed my socks over the bench I was sitting on. They dried out w/in the 20-30 min. I was there taking a break. They didn't seem to get a smelly as the polypro socks either.4. People, even on Michigan trails, are awesome. I met this great couple who now know what I'm doing next year. They told me they have tried to instill in their kids that life is not about the accumulation of material items. I about died, because I felt like I was talking to someone I'd known for a while. I've always believed that both consumerism and materialism are a deadly plague that have infiltrated the lives of most people in the country.   I gave them the link to TJ and they said they wanted to follow along w/my journey. WAY COOL!!!! These people were really awesome (and PLEASE don't be offended that I've forgotten your names...I have zero short term memory!) It gave me quite the energy boost and it was really fun to tell a complete stranger what I was going to attemp next year.5. I'm so tired right now, I could fall asleep standing up. Hiking really is exhausting and NOW I understand why Hiker's Midnight is around 7-8 p.m. I am going to sleep very very good tonight! Good night everyone!!!