Date: 2013-03-06
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light snow

I couldn¢t wait an entire week to post again, so I¢m back early!By this time, a mere 330 hours from now, I will be on top of Springer and starting my hike! I only have 5 shifts (60 hours) of work left and nearly every other day is crammed with lunches, dinners and activities with friends and family. I looked outside the window today and saw a world covered in white! While it¢s a great view from inside my house, living outside in that kind of weather is a different story. Mother nature- please get the snow out of your system before March 20th! Thanks!I realized there hasn¢t been a post about my gear selections yet, so here it is ? My pack weight plus first three days of food (not including water or fuel) comes in at 20 lbs. Not too shabby!I¢m using the Osprey Kestrel 48 as my pack. This pack has been to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, seen hundreds of miles of the AT already, and been on lots of other trails. I¢ve tried 5+ other packs and always go back to this one. It¢s a wee bit heavy, but has tons of features and is totally worth the extra weight. It¢s probably my second favorite piece of gear.My sleeping system is the Golite Adrenaline 3 season plus the Exped Synmat UL 7. The sleeping bag is my favorite item by far. The loft on this thing is insane. I¢ve used it down to 23 degrees (it¢s rated as 20) and not been chilly at all. I¢m a pretty cold sleeper, so that really surprised me. I pair the sleeping bag with a silk liner, mainly to keep the sleeping bag from getting gross and smelly. The sleeping pad is pretty amazing too. It puffs up to 2.8 inches and provides a warm, comfy sleep. I¢ve slept on a bed of rocks before and not felt any jabbing in my side. I have the schnozzle (so fun to say!) pump bag to inflate it and I also use this as my pack liner.The Tarptent double rainbow is my tent of choice. This is the only piece of gear that is untested and that worries me. I¢ve seam sealed it myself and only set it up once to date. It comes in at a very respectable weight for its size and seems plenty spacious for one person (ok, probably even 2). We¢ll see about this one!My clothing choices have been finalized. From the bottom up: Injinji merino socks, Montrail Masochist trail runners, compression capri tights, nio amphi pants, Patagonia hipster active briefs, Patagonia sports bra, EMS techwick shirt, Patagonia Capaline 3 long sleeve, REI fleece, Stoic luft down sweater, Dri Ducks UL rain jacket, Buff (original), and Dakine glove liners. Extra socks (x2), sports bra, and briefs plus a running skort for warmer days. I plan on chopping up my Dri Ducks rain pants and making a knee-length rain skirt¢¦ I can¢t sew though, so we¢ll see!Personal items include a 4 oz 1st aide kit (mostly meds and pink bandages for any sissy that gets hurt , a brush, sponge, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, needle, contact solution, case, spare contacts, glasses with soft case, tons of duck tape, hand sanitizer, dried baby wipes, and TP. I also carry a portable sink to rinse off with. I love duck tape, I get insane blisters unless I wrap my feet in the stuff. It looks like I have a second pair of shoes!To start, I¢ll use the Katadyn Hiker pro water filter, I have a sawyer inline filter too but don¢t really like it. Add a pot, kitty can stove, light my fire, assorted food, a Gatorade bottle, fuel/fuel bottle, guidebook, sandals as camp shoes, Mammot headlamp, extra AA battery and camera battery/charger, cell charger, cell (it¢ll be off, don¢t call me, I¢ll call you!), camera, stick pic, and well, there¢s your 20 lbs in a massive list.One last thing,If anyone wants to send a mail drop but you are not on my FB page to see dates and locations, feel free to send it to the address below and it will be forwarded to me at the next mail drop site. I like jerky and energy gels¢¦ just sayin Jessica CultonC/o Barbara Culton4230 Druck Valley Rd.York, PA 17406Exhausted reading this yet? My fingers are starting to hurt, too much typing!