Date: 2014-08-03
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Time for the tangible backpacking lessons learned, information which may or may not be useful to future AT hikers. These are my impressions.        Reminding myself why I wanted to hike got me through the few rough times I had on the trail. I love backpacking and came out here because I enjoy it. If I was hating it, I knew that I was doing something wrong, or I had Lyme disease. I met folks who were willing to subject themselves to a lot more suffering in order to complete the journey. I embraced the elements, but tried exceptionally hard not to hurt any more than necessary! By listening to my body and eliminating problems, not masking the pain with Vitamin I (Ibuprofen) I was able to detect the symptoms of Lyme disease within a couple days and get immediate treatment. Some hikers walk with Lyme disease for several weeks before seeking treatment because they think it is more of the usual hiker aches and pains. I can¢t imagine hiking with so much discomfort! Also, I gave my body a slow day or nap whenever it needed one, and avoided stress injury.        I¢m glad I got treatment early for Lyme, but looking back, I should have taken some of the precautions to avoid ticks. If you read a list of things to do to avoid ticks, I did not do ANY of those things regularly, so I had it coming! Other than that, I did not have sore knees, feet, or shoulders, nor did I sleep cold, common complaints of many hikers.         Now for the gear. I tend to go for inexpensive gear and use it long past what others would call its functional life, but here is what worked for me.        Shelter- the tarp worked even better on the AT than on the PCT, especially with the 3 sided configuration shown in my gear list. Trees are everywhere, and the forest duff holds stakes well. I did sleep in quite a few shelters, and was grateful to get out of the rain, but during several downpours, my trusty old silnylon 8x10 kept me dry (except for a few drops from the seam leak- I finally seam sealed it yesterday!) The bug bivy once again was all I used to keep off the mosquitos. A few times I would have appreciated a more spacious bug free zone, but a tent was not worth the weight for me. Several hikers had no netting or tent what so ever and got by with DEET alone!        Sleeping- Love the 28°F quilt! I kept it for the summer, despite many other hikers switching out to a summer bag or fleece blanket. I was very happy to have it the nights I slept on mountaintops or open rocky ledges.        Pack- Osprey Exos 58 was a champ once again! The hipbelt and shoulder straps are tearing, but it got me through 5300 miles! I sent it to Osprey after the trail to get it repaired under their All Mighty Guarantee and they sent me a new pack (Exos 48) for free! The new design fixed every little detail that was less than ideal on the original, and it is lighter! For waterproofing, the 2 trash compactor bags- liner and cover- worked just fine, no waterproof stuff sacks required! The 2 original bags would have gone the whole way if I hadn¢t lost the cover. My front pack was a wonderful addition to the system, though the zipper began to fail and the ties that attached it to the backpack are fraying. Easy access while walking to snacks, camera, and headlamp made it convenient to hike as long as I wanted without stopping and still stay fueled.         Cooking- the alcohol stove system was light and simple for the first part of the trek where fuel by the ounce is readily available at all the hostels and outfitters. As soon as it got harder to find I sent home the stove and switched to cold food (PB, tortillas, trail mix, dried fruit, chocolate, bars, granola, and, while taking Lyme disease meds, as much fresh food as I could carry since I couldn¢t stomach dry food! Fresh fruit, salad greens, baguettes, hummus, and Tofurky deli slices filled my food bag through CT, MA, and into VT, where I started carrying maple syrup!        Rain gear- Sadly, the custom jacket did not repel rain any better than the other rain coats I¢ve tried! It did slow heat loss during cold rains, but cold water got through. I treated myself to an umbrella when I got sick in CT, and only used that the rest of the way! What a difference! When there is not much wind, just a straight downpour, which was exactly the kind of rain I saw, I was covered and could see where I was walking! I shared my moveable dry space on several occasions. SO much more comfortable to walk in when the temperature is not that cold! (Note: I used just the umbrella on the Scout 50 miler on the PCT and got quite cold during the rainstorm we encountered.)        Water purification- I wish I had higher praise for the Sawyer mini, but it is not worth the $10 and 1 oz you save compared to the regular Sawyer Squeeze. After 3 months, I was backflushing every day and it still took 4-5 times as long to filter a liter than the regular Squeeze did. My friend Moxie also started out with the mini, but later told me he switched to the Squeeze before the end and it changed his life- ¢I no longer dreaded getting water.¢ I started using my back up, Aqua Mira, with much more regularity near the end.        Footwear- around mile 1000, I realized my Brooks Cascadia 8 shoes were holding up quite nicely. Then I realized I was still using the same one pair of Darn Tough socks that I had started in and they had no holes!! Socks don¢t last this long! Well, both shoes and socks made all the way to Katahdin, albeit not without some wear and tear. Only a couple people I know of finished in the same pair of shoes they started in, and lots of folks used Brooks Cascadias, so walking style and tolerance for holes probably contributed to my shoes¢ success. The Cascadia 9 is the current model, but since the 8¢s worked so well for me, I got 2 more pair for half price at REI (one for the CDT!). I have only heard good things about Darn Toughs, and will be purchasing more of those, the one non-vegan thing I buy. BTW, the cascadia shoe line was designed in part by vegan ultrarunner Scott Jurek! On the Brooks Running web site, it specifically states that the Cascadia is NOT suitable for thru hiking the PCT or AT, probably because so many hikers tried to return them. Well, they worked for me, and I won¢t be returning them- I still use them!        All in all, my gear system worked well for me. Then again, I finished the trail along side friends who had dealt with foot problems the whole way, cowboy camped on a windy, chilly mountaintop with Bootburner who had only a silk liner, space blanket, and a cotton sheet he found in a shelter, and got passed by hikers wearing boots and carrying heavier packs than mine. Do what works (or doesn¢t!) for you. Have fun get out there!