Date: 2016-07-06
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Big Cypress in the Back Pack as of June 27, 20161. Back pack - from ULA Circuit to Osprey Atmos 65 (reason - ULA held up, but was uncomfortable with the weight of our food. As Big carried all our food for 7 days)2. Sleeping Pad - REI AirRail 1.5 to Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite Mattress (reason - lighter weight & the valve on AirRail was sticking and wouldn't stay closed when rolled)3. Ursack Bear Bags to a SeaSummit Dry Sack for Food (reason - Ursak too heavy and not waterproof) although we did have something chew a hole in the SeaSummit in June, that wouldn't have happened with Ursak.4. Osprey Pack Cover5. Sea to Summit Aeros Ultralight Pillow 6. Footwear - Oboz Saw Tooth to Vasquez to Solomon Quest 4D II (reason - wore out Oboz, did cause blisters. Happiest with Solomon's)7. Petzel E+lite Headlamps (not advised for night hiking, but we didn't hike in dark, so the brightness was great for packing in the morning predawn)8. Silk sleeping bag liner held up for most part. Some holes, but didn't affect function.9. Columbia pants - both pair held up, with some minor trail mending.10. IceBreaker camo short sleeve kept/sent long sleeve home when warmer weather hit/replaced with Ultra lightweight wool IceBreaker Tshirt.11. Added Gut Hook cell phone App. Fiber had it & we liked it so much that when Fiber went solo we wanted to have it. Absolutely loved this!! Used in conjunction with AWOL guide. Phone service not needed, as it uses GPS. 12.  Goal Zero Flip 30 portable charger (cell phone charger to charge on trail) (didn't always fully charge itself, so heavy it wouldn't stay plugged in to recharge itself when in town) RETURN for Refund13. Socks - Wright Socks (Adventure style) 1 pair and 1 pair Darn Tuff socks14. Big Agnes tent held up well. We did have to buy a new bag for the main tent, as the one that came with it ripped beyond repair. Pole & stake bags still ok.15. Orthotics - sent Happy Feet home. Keeping Aetrex LYNCO SPORT L405 and replacing for piece of mind after 3 months/halfway.16. Kept light weight down jacket entire trip17. Wool liner gloves wore out and replaced with Seal Skinz Glove and kept for entire trip. Happy with them!!18. Sent baseball cap home - replaced with summer weight fishing cap with detachable neck cover. 19. Sent home REI Alpine Lakes Rain Pant and replaced with Marmot Rain pants (reason - didn't need the lined pants during summer)20. Kept entire hike - Sea to Summit Nano Tarp Poncho21. Long under wear pants, Sent home after Shenandoah's. Slept in second pair of Columbia pants.22. Sent home wool boxer briefs, early on. Going commando was much better for chafing.23. Used Gold Bond for chafing and anti stink. Used Body Glide for chafing also. 24. Stopped using Triple Antibiotic ointment and Doctors said Regular Bacitracin better for wound care.25. Small tube of Sunscreen 26. Small pen size spray of 100% Deet for mosquitoes. Needed to use starting in June.27. Never used the Mosquito Head Net, sent it home about half way of journey.28. Minus 33 Kodiak Midweight Hoody, loved it and used daily until warmer weather. Sent home sometime in May.29. Never used the  Potable Aqua Water - sent home early on.30. Sawyer Mini - froze in cold weather, replaced later on and used with dirty bag & hose for gravity filtration hanging it from a tree branch. 31. Used granules of pool shock for water treatment majority of the time. Waiting 30 minutes before drinking.32. Hillsound Crampons worked great! - sent home after Smokie Mtn. - Replaced with lighter Yak Trax for Shenandoah's - used them once on Roan Mountain and they worked great!33. Spoons, Cook Pot & Cups worked great! 34. Reflectix cozy bag needed replaced about once a month as it would start to smell from dripping food. Cozy for cups worked great entire time, no replacement needed.35. Reflectix for under sleeping system, worked great and used to wrap Platypus 3 liter bag to keep water cold in warm weather.36. ADDED Platypus 3 L bag with sipping hose early on, easier for drinking on the go. 37. Trash compactor bags worked great for keeping gear dry as dry sack.38. Vargo Alcohol stove system w/Denatured fuel to Snow Peak LiteMax w/canister fuel (reason - took to long to heat water for 2 people, especially in cold temps) Canister fuel easy to get and lighter weight. Did lose a screw & email company and they sent replacement screws for free. Usable while missing, just tricky as to not spill pot of water.39. Columbia BugaBoot worked great. Kept feet warm & dry. Sent home after Smokie Mtns.40. Leki Trekking Poles. Worked great. Replaced tips 2 x's during trip. NOT covered under warranty. $20 for pair of tips. Stayed at height desired without slipping.41. Black Crystal Gaiters - never used them / sent home after Smokie Mtn.42. Headlamps / Mini Flashlights never used the headlamp listed in our Gear List & Mini Flashlights stopped working / junk43. Emergency Blankets - KEPT and used one as vapor barrier in super cold temps Under our sleep system44.  Esbit Solid Fuel Cubes - used in a pinch for heating water for meals and for starting a camp fire45. Leuko P Tape - never used it / Loved using KT Tape instead, available at Wal-Mart & CVS 46. Hygiene & Sanitary items listed on Gear List - used all items and added small pair of scissors.47. Hammock Gear Down Quilt - used even in warmer temps. We ended up hand sewing Velcro to both his & hers and making One Sleeping Bag for Cold temperatures!! Worked Great!!48. REI Crestrail Rain Jacket - for warmth & wind breaker Added on March 1st. Heavy winter jackets put in hiker box when we got rain jacket. Used the winter jacket a lot, but heavy and cheap from Sam's Club. Not worth spending the money to send home. Plus, Big Cypress's started to come apart in places. Did the job when needed though.