Date: 2010-02-13
To: Fayeteville, GA
Miles today: 0.0

Long Distance Hiking Lessons LearnedHike your own hike. The most frequently heard cliche in the hiking world. It's not often that you will have the freedom to make as many decisions about what you are going to do each day as you will when on the trail. Take advantage of the situation and enjoy it. Maybe some of that independent decision making will carry over when you get back home. Of course, if you are the kind of person who needs somebody to help you decide which cable TV channel to watch or whether to order a pizza from Dominos or Papa Johns, you can probably find another hiker to boss you around.Take advice with a grain of salt. Even mine. I write about what works for me, it may not work for you. Be especially careful the first week or so. You'll see a lot of crazy stuff being carried or done by hikers with little or no experience, a sizable percentage of whom will be gone within the first 100 miles. When you consider all the sources of information available nowadays, it's amazing what you see and hear between Springer and Neels Gap. People will be reading the instructions for how to set up their tent or light their stove. So if you don't have much experience, how can you tell who does?. After several hundred miles you probably won't have any trouble telling thruhikers from weekenders but here's a few things to look out for in the mean time. Watch them come into camp, which will probably be late in the day because they are already fit enough to hike all day. They will not immediately drop their pack until they see if they want to sleep in the shelter or set up their tent. Their pack will look small to you and will not have a bunch of stuff flopping around on the outside. Unless they see someone they already know, they probably won't say much, and for sure they won't talk about how rough the trail is in GA because they know it's going to get a lot worse. When they set up for the evening, whether in the shelter or a tent, they will be quick and efficient because they've done it dozens of times before. When I see hikers doing unusual things I seldom offer advice. I have found that it's usually not well received. Even when they ask I usually ask them "How much experience do you have?" If they get defensive it's a sign that they probably don't want to hear what I've got to say, so I don't say it. Otherwise, if I think someone is really receptive I'll be happy to tell them everything I know, And most of the other long distance hikers I know are the same way. Here's a good conversation starter that I use a lot cause I like to learn about new gear, "What brand of ______ is that? How's it working for you?" If you do get a lot of advice, just remember lesson number one.Use enough bag. Hunters are familiar with the book by Robert Ruark about big-game hunting in Africa called "Use Enough Gun". Same principle as far as I'm concerned, only applied to sleeping bags. I like to know that at the end of a long,cold, rainy (or snowy) day I'm going to sleep warm all night long. And the nights are long in March. I'll start with a 0 degree bag. It works for me. I won't need it every night, but if March is anything like Jan and Feb have been down here I'll need it a lot. Some people prefer to just pack extra layers. I don't need extra layers when hiking or sitting around camp so I would rather spend the money to go from a 20 to a 0 degree bag. And besides, more sleeping bag is lighter and packs down smaller than more clothes. What ever you decide, remember the first lesson.No zero days in the woods. Some people will take a day off at a shelter to rest up. If you're short of money I guess that's all right but I much prefer to go into town where I can clean up and get real food. Where ever you decide to take a day off remember the first lesson. Calories per Dollar. When in town I look for the cheapest food with the most calories I can get. That usually means fast food. Did you know Hardies has a 2/3 lb Monster Thickburger with 1320 calories. This beats Burger Kings triple Whopper which only has 1160 calories. Then there's Honey Buns that you can get at most convenience stores. About 600 calories for about a dollar. Pizza is also good because you can usually get it delivered to where ever you're staying. I usually get it with pepperoni and ground beef for the protein. No need wasting money on vegetables. Another good reason to go hiking, you can eat anything you want and not gain weight. Life is tough without a car. Going 2 or 3 miles at home is nothing. You just jump in the car and in a few minutes you're there. But when you get to a road crossing and the nearest town is 2 or 3 miles away, it's a big deal. If you can't get a ride you're in for a long walk. And if the town you get to is spread out, you've got another problem. Every ounce counts. I thought I was fairly light when I started in 2006. But when I look back I still had a lot of stuff that I didn't really need. And some of the stuff that I did need was heavier than it should have been. I remember walking around an EMS store in VT looking at gear, while my friend was buying new boots, and thinking if I spend about $400 I can drop about 4 lbs. I didn't then but I have since then. Ounces saved adds up to pounds saved. I've got a kitchen scale that goes down to hundreths of an ounce so I can choose between even the lightest things. I never weighed my pack in 2006 but when I compare what I carried then with what I carry now I know I'm down at least 5 lbs. Yes titanium, silnylon, and 800/900 fill down does cost a lot of money. But if you take your time and watch for sales you can gradually accumulate a lot of good stuff. Weight also includes body weight. You'll lose weight as you hike but the lighter you are when you start, the easier it will be. The most critical piece of gear: shoes. For me, the hardest thing to get right. If your shoes fit right you can carry a 50lb pack. If your shoes are tearing your feet up you'll have trouble carrying a 5lb pack. You can get through a couple of days with bad shoes but it's hard to do 2000 miles. Is anything more individual than shoe fit? The way to make sure they really fit is to get them out on the trail. Then if they don't, you've got to deal with trying to return them. And when I find a model that fits , and I wear them out and have to buy another pair, it seems that the company changes the fit. When I got ready to hike in 2008 I broke in a pair of the Garmonts that I had such good luck with in 2006. After a couple of days of hiking it was obvious something wasn't right. I was using the same socks as before but the shoe fit was loose. When I got to Franklin I bought thicker socks and had no more trouble. Same with the Montrail Hardrocks. Not a single blister on the Long Trail, but with the latest model I've had to get thicker socks. Luckily I have 4 pair of the old models in the basement.