Date: 2005-11-15
To: Florida
Miles today: 0.0

OK, this will be my last entry for this hike. This is my typical summertime gear list. I would change some things for cold weather backpacking...mostly just adding layers of clothing, a pullover hat, gloves and silnylon gloves covers, a thicker sleeping pad and lip balm.Oh yeah, that photo of me and the rattlesnake....well, the rattlesnake was stuffed. :-))) I'm not a total idiot. Ha!!!The List;Leki trekking poles (also used to hold my tent up at night, but I couldn't keep walking as much as I do without them. I'm sold on Leki brand too)Nomad 2-4-2 single wall tent. (My favorite piece of gear in the summer although I don't believe they are available any more unless you find someone that's selling one. If anyone has one for sale that hasn't been used much, I'd be interested in buying it. I've got over 700 nights in mine and it's still in good shape. I've never used a footprint either)ULA P-1 backpack (Very well built liteweight pack)Western Mountaineering 10 down sleeping bag (Probably switching back to a liteweight synthetic bag for cold, damp east coast hiking and a synthetic quilt for the summer)Z-Rest sleeping pad (Extremely customized...cut to fit my torso and a small piece to double up under my hips)Dri-Duck raingear (Extremely liteweight and durable enough for about one thru hike...not bad for under $40.00 for the top and bottom. I use it almost exclusively for cold wind unless there is a cold rain. A summer rain is a free shower)Marmot windshirt (Just in case I hit a few cold days...very cozy and I've carried mine over 10,000 miles)Cat food can alcohol stove (My favorite stove, although it's basicly the only stove I've used. I got the design off Flyin' Brian's website and have carried this same cat food stove over 10,000 miles)12 ounce plastic coke bottle (for denatured alcohol...liteweight and durable)Two lighters (I always carried two lighters until last year when I figured I could get by with one. The one I was carrying stopped working and I had to go without my morning coffee, so now I carry two lighters again)Evernew titanium .9 litre cookpot (Nice and liteweight and is plenty large enough for anything I want to cook...nice handle too)Lexan Spoon (Cut to fit inside my cookpot when I'm not using it)Plastic Dunkin Donut's coffee mug (A very important piece of gear. It holds about 16 oz...I even left the plastic handle on it because it's so nice to hold it by that handle every morning while I'm drinking my Starbucks coffee)Mugmate coffee filter (Cut to store inside my coffee mug when I'm not using it)Pocketmail (Keeps my mother happy as long as I update my journal often)Pentax Optio S4I digital camera (A fantastic little liteweight digital camera that has about 4 megapixels)Altoids tin (My digital camera fits inside the tin)Radio Shack am/fm radio (A luxury that I decided to carry. I only listen to it at night just before I go to sleep)Sony digital voice recorder (Hey, I'm over 50 years old and I'm keeping an online journal...how else can I remember what happens each day)Smiley face stickers (Very important for signing trail registers)Red ink pen (Also very important for signing trail registers)Small knife (For spreading peanut butter and cutting calouses off my feet)Small hair brush with handle cut off (For making sure my part is in the right spot)1/2 small compact mirror (I started carrying this after I had something in my eye and I couldn't get it out...also good to check your teeth after eating that spinach pizza in town)Petzl headlamp (I just got a new one about a month before my hike was over. My old one had a wide headband and three litebulbs. My new one has a retractable string headband and 4 lights with 3 different settings for brightness...I love my new one)Folding reading glasses (Hey, I'm over 50. I got these at Wal-Mart and they fold up very small in their own little case. I think I've carried this same pair without breaking them for over 5,000 miles)Small Visene type bottle filled with Clorox (Every once in a while, I have to settle for water out of a pond, so I put 3 drops of clorox in each litre of drinking water. I only had to do that twice on the last hike. I don't bother if I'm boiling the water for coffee)Etowah pack cover (Nice and liteweight, but my backpack still gets soaked in rain)Tuff Sack trash bags (I gave up on silnylon stuff sacks...these new trash bags work better and last a long time. The stuff in my backpack stays dry even though the backpack gets wet)One litre plastic bottle (I buy wide mouth Aquafina water and keep the bottle. One litre Pepsi products use the same bottle)Two litre platypus with screw on cap(I fill this up at night so I have enough water for me at night and my coffee in the morning. I almost never sleep near a water source)Clear plastic wallet (I buy these at an outfitter and one lasts for a whole thru hike. I got tired of having wet money when I went into town)Drivers license (Needed to pick up my bounce box at the PO and to stay at the Jailhouse Hostel in Palmerton, Pa.)Credit card (Just ask Goosebump...these things work great)Health insurance cardCash (Some places don't accept a credit card)Trail maps (I didn't use to carry these on the A.T, but I've decided I like to see what's coming up. I use them mostly for the profile, but it's nice to have if you need to know where you can get off the trail if you need to. I also use them to see if there might be some flat areas coming up to stealth tent at)Wingfoot's guide book (I've always used Wingfoot's book because he gave running mileages from either end of the trail. I understand the ATC Companion has been revised for '06 and should be very hiker friendly, so I'm planning on using that next year. I only carry the pages to get me to my bounce box...about 300 to 400 miles usually. I throw away the pages as I'm done with them)Things I wear each day;Mountain Hardwear silkweight short sleeve shirtLiteweight ballcap (I wear it backwards in the forest so I can see better, but turn the bill to the front when I'm not in the trees. I wear it right when it's raining to keep the rain off my nose too)Royal Robins hiking shorts (Very well built...I bought a new pair for this hike and they are still like new)Ultimax super liteweight 1/4 high socks (I like the thinnest sock I can find and these Wigwam socks last for about 500 miles each pair. I only carry one pair, but keep extra socks in my bounce box. I don't throw away both socks either if just one has a bunch of holes in it...I'll just use another sock...hey, they are about 3 bucks apiece, so I get as much as I can out of them)Asics Gel Trekker trail runners (Asics make very good, long lasting liteweight shoes. I got 1400 miles out of my first pair on this hike and have 800 miles on my current pair which I plan on using for the last 500 miles of the Florida Trail that I'm getting ready to walk)Superfeet insoles (I throw away the insoles that come with my shoes and put new superfeet in each pair I get. I'm a big believer in those)Watch (Some Hikers don't carry a watch...I do and usually have to tell them what time it is)