Date: 2022-05-01
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

KJ, Shoelace and I bought breakfast at a nearby gas station/convenience store. They actually had a decent assortment of foods. I bought oj, yogurt, and a blueberry muffin. We took our food and ate in the lobby of our motel. (The Red Roof Inn in Marion didn't serve breakfast.) The Mt Roger's shuttle picked us up at 8:30, dropped KJ off at the laundromat, and took me and Shoelace back to Shoelace's truck in Damascus. From there we drove back to Marion to get KJ. We ate lunch at Macado's in Marion. The memorabilia consisting of actors and musicians was very interesting. It was formerly the town post office and our waitress Bonnie was quite knowledgeable about local history. She informed us that Marion was where Mountain Dew came from. After lunch we dropped off KJ at the General Francis Hotel in Marion. His plan is to stay there today, then shuttle back to the trailhead at the Mt. Rogers Rec visitor center. Shoelace then drove me to the Quality Inn near the Roanoke airport and headed on to Happy Warrior's house further north to eat dinner and retrieve the trailer that he picked up in Key West, Florida. He's headed back to his snow covered home in Maine. Tomorrow I fly home.Thoughts on some of my gear this trek:  10 deg Enlightened eqt quilt: not really tested in freezing temperatures but even on warm nights it was very easy to adjust so that I was neither too hot nor too cold. It was very easy to turn from side to side. I did not need to use the straps as it didn't get too cold. I think the coldest it got was perhaps 40 degrees. I am definitely using this in my future hikes.Nemo tensor mattress: very warm and comfortable. Very easy to deflate quickly and pack. I didn't like the inflation method as it took me a while to use the bag to inflate the mattress. I don't like to blow into it and prefer to use ambient air. I don't like the moisture in my breath to get into my mattress. It's a few oz heavier than my thermarest neoair but it's much more comfortable when lying on my side and it's much more quiet.Tarptent Aeon Li: very satisfied with ease of set up, weight (19 oz) and headroom and footroom.ZPACKS 8x10 dcf tarp. Getting easier to set up. Definitely worth the 8 oz if you expect rain.ULA rainskirt: boy this rocks. It's very light and kept my lower body dry (except my feet and ankles). Any rain runoff from my umbrella or pack ran down my skirt.Old pocket rocket stove: I went with this as opposed to an alcohol stove because the stove, fuel canister, lighter all fit into my Evernew pot. Not as efficient as a jetboil or MSR wind burner or reactor stoves but I didn't care since one 4 oz canister was more than adequate for my entire trip. 6MD Umbrella: totally worth the 7 or so oz.Shoes: I started with my Keen boots (they had about 900 miles on them) but the right shoe gave out after hiking about 40 miles into this trip. I had a pair of New Balance trail runners waiting for me in Damascus (in my resupply package in Shoelace's truck). This pair had only about 50 miles on them and worked very well. They were much lighter than my boots. They were purchased for $60 in Maine in 2016 when another old pair of hiking boots failed after 50 miles in the Hundred Mile Wilderness. Hilltop dcf food bag: it's waterproof  light, and packs nicely. Never used this b4 but love this bag with the printed honeybees. Dynaglide cordage to hang foodbag: I bought this from Dutchware gear.This is the first time I hung my food. I wasn't willing to carry the 2 lb bear canister. The cord is strong and slippery. Love this. I learned the PCT method using a carabiner. Will use this method again in future unless bear canisters are required.