Date: 2014-06-28
From: random campsite

To: Fitzgerald Falls
Miles today: 18.7

June 28Bear Juice ended up going to dinner with a friend last night, then came back at 10pm, got all his stuff and took off for DC for the weekend. Funny how quickly plans change out here.I was up and out about 6:45, Skittles was just getting up. Since we are both in the mode of only doing 20 mile days we were not in any hurry. I saw no NOBOs till I caught Bacon Dog 14 miles in. He and I went to a hot dog stand at a road crossing, then to an ice cream place and jus hung out for a while. We then went back to the hot dog stand and saw Shakes, Twist and Dragin. I took off for the final 4.5 to a waterfall where Skittles and I agreed to meet. I was surprised he did not go to the ice cream place, but turns out he got confused as to which road it was on. When I got to the falls he was already all set up.It is a very small stream, but good water. Most of the water was really bad today. I did not drink near enough, so tomorrow I will carry the extra weight so I don't have to worry about it. When I arrived I was not very hungry after eating 2 hot dogs, a large ice cream and a milk shake. I did eat more, but not one of my hot dinners. It is now 7:30 and we are the only ones tenting here. Again we are in our tents early to get away from the mosquitos. It is still a bit warm, but hopefully will cool down tonight.The shelters coming up are oddly spaced. The weather is forecast to be good so we will probably go 20 and set up camp again tomorrow. There is a park 15 miles in where we can go swimming, so that is on our schedule. Talking to southbounders there are quite a few thru hikers up ahead. Spruce and Go Far may make it here tonight, but will probably stay at a shelter 2 miles back.For todays gear discussion I will talk about food and water. I am using a Saywer Squeeze to purify my water. As mentioned earlier today was quite a challenge with water. The guide books are good about letting you know where water is, but with the warm weather and lower elevations here the water quality has been poor. Some hikers treat their water with chemicals and some still use a pump, but the overwhelming majority are using Sawyer filters. They make a mini, which I started with, that is an ounce lighter and $10 cheaper. I upgraded a long time ago. I think if you took a survey out here everyone would recomend getting the bigger filter. I would guess almost 90 percent of the hikers are using the Sawyer filter.When I started out I did not have a stove and ate just cold meals. That is not uncommon out here. After a month I bit the weight bullet and bought a stove so I have a much larger variety of foods to choose from. I only cook dinners, never lunch or breakfast. Some people have their coffee every morning and want their oatmeal hot. They stove onl2weighs 3 ounces and the fuel canister weighs about 6. I do carry a 1 liter titanium pot. This is also my mug and bowl. I still struggle shopping for food. Pasta sides and mashed potatoes are good for dinners. I tend to add cheese and sausage as well. I have only had 1 Mountain House meal. They are good, but can be expensive and hard to get along the trail. They are very popular with section hikers. I try and get fruit for my first day out of town. It is too hard to keep it longer. For breakfast I seem to be stuck on Carnation drinks and Pop Tarts. I am very tired of food bars, but they are easy, so I keep buying them. Who knows, maybe I will start cooking at lunch. I am still watching what others eat for new ideas. I am also on a Nutella and tortilla kick. They are both heavy to carry, but I enjoy the taste. Peanuts have long ago lost their appeal, so no more trail mix. I certainly enjoy getting restaurant food when ever possible. Cold drinks are a real treat as well.