Date: 2014-08-06
From: Newton, MA via Pinkham Notch

To: Newton, MA via Pinkham Notch
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

After having done next to nothing yesterday, I woke up this morning feeling exhausted. That's when I began to realize that, paradoxically, the same hike that was slowing grinding me down and wearing me out, was also energizing me each day; I'd never felt quite so tired while on the trail. Fortunately, taking my dog on a two-mile walk around the local reservoir, where in previous years I'd spent many hours imagining myself on the AT, revitalized me. I had lunch with a group of former workmates, some of whom were under the impression that I'd been feeding myself by killing and eating squirrels and rabbits for the last four more months. I had to break it to them that my diet actually consists largely of junk food: Snickers bars, Fritos, gummy worms, etc.In the afternoon I visited the local REI for a few items. The 55-degree synthetic sleeping bag I bought in Hot Springs, NC served me well for three months but now has a four-foot rip parallel to the zipper and has lost much of its insulation, which was meager to begin with. I had a few cold nights with it recently in Vermont and New Hampshire, and I expect more to come as I get into Maine and the end of summer approaches. So I upgraded to a 45-degree down bag that weights about the same and stuffs into the same compression sack. I also bought a new pair of Darn Tough socks, as I had to sacrifice one from my old pair by cutting off the foot and using it to cover the bandage on my shin during the hike out Monday. This seems like a good segue into a bit of gear talk.First, I should point out I'm seriously old-school when it comes to equipment and gadgets. I got pulled, kicking and screaming, into the smart phone world a week before I flew to Atlanta, and then only because I knew I needed something to write this journal while on the trail. Early on, I asked a few really dumb questions like, "why does the camera sometimes want to take a picture of me instead of what I'm pointing it at?" I was too embarrassed to ask in the journal why occasionally all the phone's sounds would mute; it took me a week to discover the little switch on its side next to the volume-control buttons. With that disclaimer in mind, I thought I'd discuss what I consider to be several of my most important pieces of equipment.For the majority of thru-hikers, the feet are the most abused body part, which isn't surprising given the fact that on a typical day you spend 8-12 hours walking on trails that get increasingly more rocky as you travel north. I'm now on my sixth, and hopefully last, pair of footwear, and it took me until Damascus, VA, almost 500 miles in, to find shoes that were sufficiently rugged and comfortable. I started out with North Face low-top Gore-Tex hiking shoes, which were plenty rugged but, despite having broken them in for months on two-hour walks with my dog, gave me blisters once I hit the trail. I eventually settled on Brooks Cascadias, which I find to be incredibly comfortable and rugged enough to go 600-700 miles per pair. I picked up my third pair in Lincoln, NH, and I have full confidence they'll get me to Katahdin. Despite this, the soles of my feet have been numb for over 1000 miles, and I suspect it'll take months for them to fully recover once I get off the trail for good. Many thru-hikers I've talked to have experienced this same numbness. Solomon hiking shoes appear to be the most popular footwear on the AT, with Cascadias a close second.When I bought my 65-liter Osprey Atmos at REI last December, I walked around with it in the store for no more than 50 yards before deciding to go with it, relying on faith and the brand's popularity. One REI employee told me the Osprey wouldn't stand up to the rigors of the AT and tried to steer me toward a much heavier, more rugged pack. I'm glad I went with the Osprey, which, despite its light weight, has shown a bit of wear but overall has held up just fine. It's lacking in outside pockets for making snacks more accessible, but the way it carries weight, which for me ranges from about 30-40 pounds depending upon whether I've resupplied recently, is exceptional.Since a good night's sleep is critical in being able to recharge for the next day, I paid around $150 for a long Exped air mattress, and I'm glad I did. It's extremely comfortable and light, and I've found that I sleep exceptionally well both in my tent and in shelters. When Anders hiked with me in the Shenandoah and I lent him my Exped for two nights when he had Noro, I was very uncomfortable in the shelter using his foam pad. I'm also happy I bought a fleece-lined stuff sack in Hot Springs, which I put my fleece jacket in and use as a pillow each night.One piece of equipment I don't use are hiking poles. I estimate 90% of thru-hikers do use poles, also referred to along the AT as sticks, but being old-school, I like keeping my hands free. I tried poles once a few decades back on a winter-hiking trip, didn't like them, stashed them in the woods a mile up the trail, and picked them up three days later. I've never looked back.