Date: 2010-09-06
To: HOME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Home now and all is well except for missing the trail very very much. Thought I would talk about some of the gear I used along the way and what worked and what I would change for my next adventure.TENT:MSR Hubba. Absolutely loved my tent! Wish I had used it more was the only thing I would change. It was so quick and easy to set up and if I did ot like my location I could just pick it up and move to a more desirable location. It was on the heavy side when comparing to other options but I liked the set up and the side entry. Now....had it been a really rainy season I may have had a different experience. My next tent will be a tartp tent...probably the Rainbow. SLEEPING SYSTEM: Z-Rest. Loved it! I found it comfortable and warm to sleep on...plus I did not slip off it like I do on my thermarest. I had the orange one to begin with and had cut two waffles off to save on space and weight. Midway through I replaced it with the pretty yellow one but did not trim it down. It folded up nicely and fit great inside my pack. Never could deal with blowing up a pad everynight and never had to worry about getting a whole or having it deflate in the middle of the night. It was just simple and easy.Sleeping Bag. Started with the Marmot Helium 15 degree bag. Super warm and cozy. Never got cold! The bag would get damp on occaison but it never got wet. In damascus I bought the Western Mountaineer Caribou 35 degree bag and used that for the remainder of my hike. Never got cold with this one either. I stored my sleeping bags in the stuff sacks they came with....I have a waterproof stuff sack but thought it was overkill.Bag Liner. Used the Sea to Summit Reactor. I think it give about 10 to 15 degrees of extra warmth. Used it every night and on the hot nights I would just sleep in the liner. It also kept my from getting smelly and dirty.Pillow. I used a Thermarest Pillow for my entire hike and will always have it with me on future back packing trips. It was on the heavy and bulky side but it would squish down nicely. I thought about using a stuff sack filled with my clothes but there were times when I would have on all my clothes....not a fan of sleeping on slippery stuff sacks. Thought about using a reversable one but same issue of what if I used all my clothes. Thinking about getting the Big Agnes clear blow up pillow....but what if it gets a whole in it!!WATER:Started off with my Katadyn water filter but sent it home at Neels Gap. Used the Polar Pure but got rid of it because I could not stand the taste of the iodine. It was easy and convienent but I was always afraid of breaking the glass bottle it came in. Switched to Aqua Mira and used it for the duration of my trip. Wicked easy. At night I would fill up my bottles and platypus and treat my water overnight. By doing this I would not have to use as much solution therefore making it last longer.CLOTHING: Had way too much but I did like having options. Started off with a long and short sleeve shirt, long underware top, fleece pants, fleece pullover, shorts, long pants, wool sweater, rain pants, rain jacket, hat and mittons. In Damascus I sent home the long sleeve shirt, wool sweater, heavy hat, fleece pants and long pants. In return I had a lightweight beanie and my montbell jacket sent back to me. When I got to the whites I sent home my lightweight rain jacket and the montbell jacket and in return I had my heavier rain jacket, wool sweater and fleece pants sent back to me. If I was to leave on another thru hike I would start off with long underwear tops and bottoms, shorts, short sleeve shirt, fleece pullover, wool sweater, hat, mittons, rain pants and rain jacket. Again....I was very fortunate with the weather during my thru and had very little rain and not too much cold weather. ODDS & ENDS:I ended up carrying what I call a lot of do-dads some which were essential but most just added extra weight to my pack. Essentials were tiger balm, golf ball to massage my feet with, toothbrush, hairbrush, toe nail clippers, tweezers, toothpaste, pack towel, guide book, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, hair twisties, advil, immodium, some bandaides, headlamp and extra batteries. Non-essentials I carried included extra insoles, dr bonners soap, dice, books, sunscreen, bug spray, lip balm, moisturizer, ipod and crosswords...I did not mind carrying my non-essentials and did send some of it home off and on. PHONE & CAMERA:I used a sony cyber shot camera. I carried two batteries for it along with one charger. The camera batteries hardly ever had to be charged. My BlackBerry was totally awesome on the trail! I carried the charger for it as well and never had probelms finding a place to plug in and never did my battery go completely dead on me. To save on the battery I rarely opened the internet browser which drains the battery very quickly. My journal entries were typed up in the memo feature and I would than e-mail the memo back home to my sisters. My sisters would than log onto trail journals and upload my entries and post my photos. This worked so well!!FOOD:Breakfast was always a bagel. I did do oatmeal for about a week or so but much perferred the bagels. Thomas Cinnamon and Raisin I found to be very yummy. Always had tuna packets perferably the ones packed in sunflower oil or olive oil. Peanut butter never got old and I would mix it with honey or m&m's. Dinners were always a mountain house meal or two and I never got tired of eating them either. Granola bars, mini nutter butters, fig newtons, nuts, gorp, cheese, pretzels and crackers were also favorites and of course VIA! In all honesty I could eat the same thing every day and never get tired of it. COOK SET:Antigravity Gear alcohol stove worked perfect, small pot, collapsable cup, MSR plastic spork that folds in half, wind screen, two lighters and rope for bear bagging. Overall my pack weighed in around 35 pounds or slightly higher after a resupply. The weight never bothered me but I my feet always reacted negatively after a resupply.   I guess that is everything....if I forgot anything or if anyone has any questions please let me know. Jibitz