Date: 2009-11-18
To: Gear and Stuff 
Miles today: 0.0

I ordered a new sleeping bag today. A good night¢s sleep is really important on the trail, so I figure ¢ what the heck ¢ I should treat myself to a new bag. It¢s a Big Agnes ¢Zerkle¢ model, just like my last one, except the zipper is on the left side this time. My old one is probably still good enough, but it¢s been through one through-hike already, and part of a second one, and it¢s been washed enough times that I suspect it is no longer really a 20 degree bag. Plus, I ordered the zipper on the wrong side the first time, so it¢s kind of a ¢quality of life¢ thing. I¢ve been meaning to order it for weeks now, and finally today got around to doing it, so now I feel like I¢ve made the start of my hike just a little bit closer. It¢s really not, but it feels like it, so that¢s good.I¢m also trying to decide which stove to take with me. I¢d like to go as light as I can, which suggests the Pepsi can alcohol stove made by Tin Man (http://www.antigravitygear.com), or the Caldera system (http://www.traildesigns.com), both of which I¢ve used on previous hikes. On the other hand, sometimes it seems to take forever to boil water with those stoves, and then I¢m really envious of the hikers who fire up their Jet Boil stoves and are finished eating before I¢m done cooking. I really like the Calera system, which uses an aluminum cone to capture the heat, which makes it really efficient in terms of alcohol use. It is also the most stable stove and pot combination around, so I never have to worry about my pot tipping over and spilling hot water into my lap. I tried using one of Tin Man¢s stoves in the Calera cone, but it was too hot and scorched the cone. At Trail Days in Damascus, Virginia last May, it was suggested that I could use two slower-burning Caldera stoves under the cone, and that would speed up the boiling time, but I haven¢t had a chance to try that out yet under the right circumstances ¢ like really cold weather. It¢s also not clear to me why that wouldn¢t create as much heat as Tin Man¢s stove by itself. Anyway, if the experiment with two stoves under the cone doesn¢t work, I may well start out with the Jet Boil, and switch to the Caldera system when the weather warms up. On my first hike, I was worried about the availability of alcohol, but that turned out to be easily available in every town (worse case, you hit up the local gas station for some ¢Heet¢, and you¢re good to go). I was more concerned about the canister fuel for the Jet Boil, but my friends who have used it all say that that isn¢t a problem either. So, we¢ll see. I bought a new Pack earlier this year when I hit Damascus last April, so that¢s good to go, and I bought a new Big Agnes SLII tent to replace the one I used on my ¢05 hike, so that¢s good to go as well. I do want to try some new winter clothing, as we get more into the winter season around here. I¢m thinking of a down jacket that packs down really small to replace my fleece jacket, and I¢ll definitely be replacing my base layer with newer fabric. The water kit won¢t change. I drink a ton of water, and I want it to be clean, clear, and good tasting, so I use a filter system ¢ the Katadyn Guide. It¢s bigger than the Hiker model, but pumps so much faster that the 3 extra ounces are worth it to me. I use a bladder and sip tube combination, which I find really convenient when I¢m hiking. On one of my first backpacking trips, my hiking buddy used water bottles in the side pockets of his pack, but they were a bit hard to get to, so he didn¢t drink as much as me and ended up getting dehydrated, which ended that particular hike for him. All things considered, I¢m pretty much ready to go. I¢m ready. I just can¢t go yet. 114 more days. 113 1/2 actually...