Date: 2015-04-10
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Miles today: 0.0

I just got back from a 3 day 33 mile shakedown hike (April 7-9) from Watagua Lake (highway US 321) to Elk Park, NC (highway 19E). The purpose of the trip was both for conditioning but also to try out some different gear combinations and try to make a final decisions on what to bring. Tuesday April 7 - Mile marker 427.1 to mile marker 416.8 (10.3 miles, 5 hrs). The day was extremely rainy especially going over Pond Mountain. Lots of nearby lightning and thunder close to the summit of Pond Mountain. Nearby Johnson City recorded 1.5 inches of rain today although I don't think that the area of the trail where I was received quite that much rain. But it was a wet day nonetheless. I started out testing my new trekking umbrella. It worked well for a while until the rain became extremely heavy and the wind picked up. It was very tedious making sure that it was not snagged on trees and rhododendrons and also dancing around oncoming hikers when passing. I alternated between holding the umbrella and a hands-free setup on my pack's shoulder strap. Once the wind picked up I stowed my umbrella and switched to my Luke's Ultralight eVent jacket. Overall I was very pleased with the performance of this jacket. It kept me dry and there was not much sweat build up on the inside. The armpit zips worked great. The standout piece of gear was the rain skirt or rather the rain kilt. It really kept my lower body dry with great ventilation. The only downside is that when wearing long pants you need to roll up your pants high enough so that the bottoms don't get wet. It might have been better to have hiked in shorts. I camped past the Coon Den Falls side trail. I found a nice spot a bit off the trail and free from any overhead trees. Luckily I was able to setup my hammock and tarp during a lull in the rain. I still have not worked out a good system for gear storage with the hammock what gear goes in the hammock with me, what gear gets attached to the hammock suspension, or what gear gets stowed on the ground under the hammock. It was frustrating to not being able to find something when I needed it. Anyways, it rained on and off through the night and I did stay dray as did most of my gear. But it was a light rain and no wind. I don't know how I would have fared with a heavier rain or strong winds. Wednesday April 8 - Mile marker 416.8 to mile marker 402.6 (14.2 miles, 7.25 hrs). The day dawned brighter and the morning clouds burned off. It was cloud free most of the morning but then clouds built up and it the skies looked threatening a good part of the day. Luckily there was no rain and eventually the clouds burned off by early evening. This section was uneventful and stopped for a 30 minute lunch break and a short snooze at a stealth camping site that kATchup camped at last July when we did this section. There was plenty of water and the trail was very muddy and boggy in many places. It was very hard to keep shoes and socks dry during the day despite the fact that it was even raining. I camped close to the Mountaineer Shelter. Quite a few NOBO (NOrthBOunder) thru hikers going through and talked with one about my hammock setup. It was extremely quiet despite being close to the shelter. A few NOBOs came in by headlamp at about 10pm and woke me up but I quickly feel back asleep. I was awoken several times later during the nights by a screech owl not too far from the my camp site. I had worked out a better system for gear storage and organization and enjoyed sitting under my tarp fixing and eating supper. However, I really did miss my tent and the ease of having all my gear easily at hand. I do like the privacy of the tent and ease of change clothes, etc. Thursday April 9 - Mile marker 402.6 to mile marker 393.8 (8.8 miles, 3 hrs 50 minutes). It was a beautiful clear morning. On the trail at 7:45am and nice quick non-eventful section back to car parked at Mountain Harbour. However I always find parts of this section creepy around the Buck Mountain road crossing and cemetery given the past issues with the landowners. Lots more NOBOs today probably coming out of the Mountain Harbour hostel. Overall thoughts about gear: - I'm leaving the umbrella at home. While it's useful for some situations, I don't feel that it will be used enough to justify taking it. This will save me 8 ounces. - I've decided that I'm going back to my Zpacks Duplex tent. While the hammock does have some advantages, I find that I sleep better in a tent and I like having the room for gear arrangement, have room to stretch, have privacy when changing, and be able to sit up and eat in bad weather. This will save me approximately 1.5 pounds. - I did not carry camp shoes. I found that I really need to take my shoes off to let my feet dry after being wet all day. It would of been better to have some lightweight camp shoes to be able to do camp shores without have to wear my wet shoes. This will probably add 12 ounces of so back to my pack weight. - I did not take a stove and brought foods that did not need cooking. I found that I missed the ritual of cooking an evening meal. I will be adding back in my stove as it gives me something to do in camp and also gives me a greater variety of potential foods for the evening meal. My pot and stove will add back 8 ounces. - I really liked the rain kilt. When raining it really kept my hips and thighs dry and had great ventilation. On the two days that it was not raining it was a great thing to sit on to keep my butt from getting wet on damp ground or log. My pack base weight was 16.5 pounds (without food or water) and 21 pounds with food (but no water). I took what I thought was 3 days of food and it was a little too much food. Give the above gear changes, my pack's base weight will be about 16 pounds. It's not as light as some but definitely lighter than most thru hikers especially those starting out. I just love my Hyperlite Mountain Gear Windrider 3400 pack. It is THE most comfortable pack I've worn. On the last day with most of my food gone and my pack weight under 20 pounds, I didn't even know it was on my back !! Physically I felt pretty good. I still have problems sometimes going uphill (doesn't everyone?). I find that sometimes I can motor up hills but then at times I don't seem to have much endurance in my thighs there is just no energy there. I found that when I struggle that if I make sure that I use proper trekking pole technique that I can improve my pace and reduce fatigue. I also think that I need to eat more frequently in order to avoid the bonking that I get in my legs sometimes. I had no problem on any of the flats or downhill section. I was not too sore in the mornings. I credit that to stretching when first getting to camp, stretching before bed, and first thing in the morning. All in all, it seems like I'm ready to go. There have been some schedule issues with starting my hike and I will be starting April 19 rather than April 20. Talk to you then