Date: 2016-03-03
To: The one-month count down begins.
Miles today: 0.0

A month from now I will be doing the last of the lock-down as I get ready for my fight to Atlanta on April 4th. I am lucky that Kelly has agreed to fly out there with me and get me to the trail. Plus this way she will be sure I really am hiking and not on some boondoggle!! After a brief consideration of a major piece of gear this week, I am back to going with my Gregory Z65. I reconsidered it for another pack that would be lighter, but after serious pontifications decided that I should stick with what I have been training with for over a year. The familiarity will make up for the few extra ounces and besides, I like the pack. I have no doubt I am not the only AT hiker that has ever had last minute reconsiderations. Hell, I am sure there has been last minute changes a week before start dates.At one month and counting, the following is my list of gear. If anyone has any thoughts, words of wisdom, stern warnings, ¢I shit you not¢ advice, or if you just feel like sending me into panic mode, feel free to comment.   The reality is, I feel pretty confident, so I am fairly mellow about my pack and gear at this moment. I have broken my kit into six sub sections: backpack, sleeping, cooking, clothes, personal and electronics.Backpack ¢ Total weight 3.9lbs1.        Gregory Z65 and rain cover ¢ so it¢s not an Osprey. Sleeping System ¢ Total weight 6.7lbs1.        REI Igneo Long 20 degree bag ¢ proven to keep my bones warm already once in mid-20 temps.2.        Sea to Summit inflatable pillow 3.        Tarp Tent Double Rainbow and stuff sack ¢ sets up in a minute. 4.        Z Seat ¢ At 2.5 ounces I figured my dry ass will appreciate it.5.        Tent Pole for tarp tent6.        Tent Stakes (6 plus bag)7.        Sea to Summit insulated large Comfort Light with bag ¢ maybe a little heavy at 1.6lbs, but its comfty.8.        Sea to Summit roll top dry bag for sleeping bag and pillowCooking System ¢ 1.2lbs1.        Toak¢s Titanium Cup - with plastic top and hot lips2.        Sea to Summit Spork3.        Snow Peak 700L Titanium Pot and lid4.        Snow Peak LiteMax burner (how cool is this thing?)5.        Fuel ¢ nests into pot6.        Snow Peak mesh bag and small BIC lighter7.        Sawyer Mini Squeeze8.        Dirty water Platypus 1L9.        Clean water Platypus 1LClothing ¢ 6.9lbs1.        Patagonia Nano Puff Hoodie2.        Columbia Fleece Pullover3.        Light Balaclava4.        Beanie hat5.        Light ski gloves6.        Long john top ¢ merino pool mid-weight7.        Long john bottom ¢ cap ¢ mid-weight (I felt the merino wool bottoms were too heavy?)8.        Silk top - Patagonia9.        Silk bottom ¢ Patagonia10.        Marmot Precip ¢ Jacket11.        Marmot Precip ¢ Pants12.        REI Sahara long sleeved shirt13.        Black Under Armor running shorts14.        Two pairs Darn Tough sox (total of three pairs (one pair worn))15.        One pair silk liner sox (total of two pairs (one pair worn))16.        Under Armor compression underwear (total of two pairs (one pair worn))17.        Sea to Summit roll top dry bagPersonal ¢ 2.2lbs1.        AWOLS guide (spiral bound 12)2.        Sham-Wow towel3.        Emergency space blanket4.        Small mirror for contacts - tiny5.        Saline for contacts6.        Cleaner for contacts7.        Camp flip-flops8.        Bear (mice) rope and bag9.        Soap ¢ small vile10.        Small roll of duct tape11.        First aid (moleskin, Neosporin, tape, Aquaspore)12.        Ibuphrophen - I am sure I will be able to spell this by the end of this13.        Hand cleaner ¢ about an ounce.14.        Fire starter ¢ tiny little bit ¢just in case¢15.        Glasses ¢ reading and prescription16.        Toothbrush17.        Toothpaste18.        Floss19.        Gold BondElectronics - .8 lbs1.        Flip 10 charger2.        IPod with LOTS of music3.        Chargers and stuffAll of this weighs in at a hefty 21.7lbs. My goal was 20.0lbs and at this moment I do not see it. I would like to ditch the rain pants totally, but they will come in handy early on more so as an extra layer. They won¢t last the entire trip, I promise you. Carrying silk top and bottoms may be a little redundant also, but if I am soaking wet they will be nice to sleep in. These will also be sent home as soon as I feel confident about the weather.Other points:¢¢        Carrying bottles of saline, cleaner and a silly mirror sucks, but I am wearing contacts. I have dealt with this pain in the ass 100s of times hunting and I can navigate around the less than sterile conditions. My glasses are strictly back-up and I am also carrying an old pair of spare contact lenses. I have reduced the saline and cleaner bottles and they are light.¢¢        I am carrying one ounce of Gold Bond and a tiny tube of Aquaspore. Let¢s see how long that lasts.¢¢        Don¢t try to talk me out of the Toak¢s Titanium cup, it¢s a luxury. I am not walking from Georgia to Maine without a cup of coffee every morning. The quality of the swill is irrelevant, it¢s the cup you drink it out of that counts. Plus this little caffeine delivery device weighs in at 2.3 ounces including an almond can plastic lid (that turns the cup into the holder for my coffee which then fits into the mesh bag along with my Snow Peak pot). If it actually nested would have really been cool, but ya can¢t ask for it all.¢¢        If it was not for the concern for mice I would ditch the rope or maybe retain a few feet to serve as a clothes line. This fear of bear thing is over rated and carrying a bunch of rope to hand food seems like overkill. At the end of the day I bet the rope gets scuttled before its all said and done.¢¢        I am carrying a lot of weight in electronics. I do not count my IPhone as that is carried in my pocket. This may be a little bit like cheating, not sure? I am carrying an IPhone and an IPod. Crazy? Read on¢¦ I wanted to carry a very light Nano and use if for music only, but I could not pack all of my tunes on 16g (Nanos do not go any higher than 16g). I am packing jamband tunes and those never ending Phish jams take up a lot of memory so I had to concede into carrying my older IPod with a lot more memory that unfortunately weighs a few more ounces. However, carrying both devices enables me NOT to use my IPhone for music and enables me to get by with a Flip 10 phone charger as opposed to the heavier Flip 20. Let¢s see how this works.Not listed in the 21.7 totals are those items that I anticipate wearing at any given point in time, which includes a short sleeved REI Sahara shirt, Kuehl convertible pants, another pair of Darn Toughs and liners, underwear. I also excluded poles and a few items carried in my pocket like chapstick and a very small Buck Hartsook knife.I have been following some hiker¢s journals that have already started. Although it¢s warm from where I sit at the moment, it sounds like winter is in full force in the Georgia Mountains. With only a month left to go, there is no doubt some of that winter will be hanging on when I arrive. This could be especially ¢shocking¢ to the system since it appears as if this Texas winter is DONE (high today was 85!). I was really kind of surprised to see my total packed clothes weighing in at 6.9lbs, but again, some of that extra weight is to hedge against the cold. Final thoughts, and I saw this on someone else¢s journal and agreed totally, to those planning a 2017 hike, the last few months leading up to your start date happens in high gear. Planning how to put your life on hold and tweaking your gear makes January turn into March fast. Don¢t wait until last minute to have your shit in order.   I am looking forward to this. Thanks for checking out my journal.