Date: 2005-01-10
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Finally got around to some training hikes. On Friday I took a training hike with a half-full pack, that went so well that on Saturday I decided to take one with a full pack. Both hikes were on the mason-dixon trail in Southern PA. Information on the mason dixon trail is rather scarce, as is trail maintenance in some spots. To give credit to the folks who maintain the trail, it IS winter and we did have a rather large flood a few months ago. The good thing about hiking the Mason Dixon is that it does have a lot of AT-like terrain (although no high mountains) and i can probably thru-hike it in 2-3 days (the parts that are still in tact).So total pack weight for this trip is around 34 lbs, I was either wearing or had packed all of the following equipment PackMSR Missing Link tent/shelter20 degree sleeping bagFood bag with about 3 days worth of foodTrangia alcohol burning stove with potKatahdin Hiker Water FilterRain Gear Pants and Rain JacketMoonstone Cirrus (insulating) jacketTwo pair (smart)wool socksCanon Digital Rebel w/ 2 lensesColumbia midweight baselayer bottomsMountain Hardwear expedition-weight baselayer shirtSynthtetic Basketball shortsSynthetic ShirtSportkiltChullo (peruvian style) hat2 Liters of Water2 Nalgene 1-liter bottlesKomperdell Trekking PolesCell phonePocket KnifeI'm sure I forgot to list some stuff, but I'll add it later if I remember it. Things I know that I'll have in my pack that didn't make the trip include denatured alcohol for stove (I picked some up the next day), first aid/medical kit, flip flops, and maps/guidbooks. I'm preparing a first aid kit (albeit slowly) to contain: Band Aids, Antibiotic Ointment, Gauze, Duct Tape, Antibacterial wipes, Ibuprofen, Aleve, Pepto-bismol chewables, Athlete's foot cream, dental floss, and a sewing needle. There are some people that advocate bringing more, but I think I'll leave the major surgery to the hospital.Things I learned on the training hike: It takes my body an hour to adjust to carrying a pack. For the first hour I get funky inconsistent pains in various parts of my back that move around or show up intermittantly, but they disappear after having a pack on for a while. Also I started to feel some chafe action coming on after I had broken a sweat and was making decent progress. Fortunately through creative posture and clothing adjustment I was able to avoid the chafe, but I've gotta do something for future purposes. I'm hoping for summer I'll be able to go kilt and no "draws" as the southern boys would say, but for winter I'm thinking of picking up some capilene boxer-briefs, which I hear help. I'm willing to accept my "boys" being a little confined or restrained in exchange for no chafing. I also need to find a better/different way to carry my camera, for this hike I carried the bag in my pack, but I know this is a waste of space and weight. On sunday I got a chance to test out my trangia alcohol burning stove, and man, that thing is awesome. I had considered the antigravity gear soda can stove, but I got the trangia as a gift, so I can't really complain. Anyway, I'm no gourmet, most things I cook involve 3 steps, one of which is "boil water" (even when I'm not on the trail), BUT this stove does a great job and is pretty fuel efficient if you ask me. The one thing I had trouble with was lighting the alcohol without singing the hair off of my knuckles. I think I may carry a popsicle stick/splint and dip that in the alcohol, light that, and use it to light the stove (I wish I had thought of this earlier. I just need to figure out a good way to carry the fuel, I'm thinking a recycled pepsi/aquafina bottle (clearly labeled) should do the trick, but I'm worried about puncturing or leaking. So the time is getting near, I'm training harder and thinking harder, and I'm loving reading the journals of those brave souls who started out in January. Springer Mountain here I come.