Date: 2008-01-02
To: 2 months, 21 days
Miles today: 0.0

I am pleased to report the addition of some new gear for my hike! My parents gave me a Tarptent Rainbow and a digital camera for Christmas. I also received gift cards to REI from my brother and a friend, so I am carefully planning what to spend these on. Christmas Day my Dad and I set up the Rainbow in the basement. It took us awhile to figure out exactly how it was supposed be set up, but once you get the hang of it, setting the tent up is pretty quick and easy! The one downside to the tent is that you can't put it in a compression sack because there is one small pole at the top of the tent that you don't take out of the tent. Other than that, I LOVE IT!!! It has SO much more room than other single person tents I looked at and it weighs a measly 2 pounds even. I seam sealed it, which I've never done before, but it wasn't too difficult. The fumes made me a bit dizzy, but its well worth it! My new camera is equally as fabulous. The Olympus Stylus 790 is a camera that you can supposed drop 5 feet, freeze, dump sand and dirt on, as well as take it swimming! For me, this is good news. One camera (not digital) I took white water rafting drowned... I had it in TWO ziplock bags tucked safely within a big drybag. The drybag failed, got everything wet, and the ziplocks successfully kept the water locked tight in the bag. Another camera (digital) spent a lovely night in a snowbank, but it miraculously survived unscathed. The point is, I'm tough on my stuff and hopefully this camera is Sarah-proof! I've spent my day today purchasing some of the final items I need for my hike. I bought a REI synthetic jacket which weighs 12 ounces. The sleeves zipoff into a 9oz vest. Minnesota has been frigid the last week with wind chills down to -20 degrees and the temps are hovering around 0 degrees. I'm wearing the REI jacket under a thin leather jacket and it is keeping me super warm. The leather jacket alone I usually only wear in early fall and late spring. The REI coat makes a big difference. I will send the sleeves home as the temps warm up on the AT. I also bought a summer sleeping bag. It is the Western Mountaineering Summerlite. This bag has a full zipper, plenty of room inside, and is only 19 ounces! I am pretty excited about the bag. I had to order it, so no instant gratification on this gear purchase!The final thing is that I'm narrowing down my backpack and shoe choices. I'm really hoping I can use the Osprey Talon 44 not only because it is light, but it is just SO cute! (just kidding! I SELL backpacks and I get that all the time) The pack is well-constructed, has a sleepingbag zipper, lots of pockets, and can actually carry 35lbs better than any other lightweight pack I've tried, although its much better at 30 lbs. Despite its labeled capacity of 44 liters, I believe its capacity is closer to 50. I think Osprey understates the capacity of some of their packs. Enough about gear! I went to a party and ran into a James, a guy who I went to college with. He too will be hiking the Appalachian Trail this year. I think it is pretty darn cool that there will be at least 3 people from my small (but awesome!) college on the trail.