Date: 2016-06-13
From: Woods Hole Hostel

To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

My 36 hours at Woods Hole Hostel have been fabulous. Neville and Michael are wonderful hosts, the staff is quite attentive, and last night's home-cooked dinner was fantastic. We had quite a crew of thru-hikers join me for the first of my two nights here, and the post-dinner campfire was a welcome way to end the evening. Taking full advantage of my zero, I enjoyed a massage this morning, repaired a small tear in my tent's bug netting, planned out my mileage for the week, made a few phone calls, packed up my food resupply that awaited me here, and generally took it easy. I look forward to another relaxing evening tonight. While I was in Damascus two weeks ago, I relied heavily on the staff at Mt. Rogers Outfitters. Jeff, Jason, Cheyenne and Matt, in turn, advised me on the itinerary for the three-day hike that Fritz, Brian and I took, shuttled us around, and sold me a summer weight sleeping bag. They were knowledgable, friendly, took great interest in my thru-hike, and acted as Damascus ambassadors. So, when I asked Jeff to look at my pack to see if he could recommend some adjustments to improve its fit, he jumped right in. He tugged on this and pulled on that to loosen it in some places and tighten it in others. He also made a key observation: I had the wrong-sized pack. He confirmed what I had felt all along: a large-sized pack, no matter its specifications, simply didn't make sense for 5' 9" hiker weighing 160 pounds, soon to be 155. I really didn't want to hear it, since I had invested in a new pack, the Granite Gear Lutsen 45, no more than four weeks earlier in Nantahala, and the Lutsen wasn't that bad. It was a definite improvement over the pack I started with, and, after a week or two of use, I scored it a "stand-up triple." Now, in hindsight, that may have been more aspirational than accurate. I wanted to believe it was that good, even if I had my doubts.Anyway, after Jeff was done with his adjustments, he offered his professional opinion. In short, no matter how I adjusted and wore the Lutsen, he could make me more comfortable in a new, properly-sized one. Hesitantly, I asked which pack he would recommend. He was quick to come back: the ULE Circuit, a pack that I have seen on the AT quite often. He was completely convinced that if I bought the Circuit in a medium, I would be happy. As a first step, I transferred all my gear to the recommended Circuit to see how it would carry it all. I noticed a few advantages right away, chief among them the much larger pockets on the hip belt that would hold my phone, snacks, reading glasses and other personal items, obviating the need for that phone pouch that gave me so much trouble back in Fontana Dam. As I tried on the now fully-loaded Circuit, it felt better, rode higher (a good thing), and received a thumbs up from both Jeff and Jason. Now it was decision time. Would a third pack really make a difference? Was that potential difference worth the price?In the end, I knew that my current pack, the Lutsen, was simply "okay", and, with 1,900 miles left, "okay" was not going to cut it. I crossed my fingers and bought the ULE Circuit. That was all two weeks ago, as I have waited to divulge my latest purchase until I had some performance data to go with it. Cutting to the chase, I am so happy that I followed Jeff's advice. I am now certain that I have the pack with which I will finish the AT. Tomorrow morning, I am back on the trail. I have four weeks of hiking left in Virginia before arriving in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. It's time to get after it.