I used a stick pic - They are amazing. Just google that name and you will find them - they are a small company but very well worth it!
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Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
~Robert Frost
so I was considering get more of a mid bag like 30f and a good bag liner instead of switching bags out mid way through. what are your thoughts on that?
That's what I'm doing- an overstuffed 30 degree quilt with a silk liner. I'll mail the liner home if I don't need it.Originally Posted by congnar
What are your longer term life plans like? Sounds like you did retail for a while, hiked and then signed up with the AF? Does this mean the long distance hiking phase of your life is on hold for the next 20 years?
I've played around with the idea of going navy or AF but I feel it might be to big of a commitment... I don't like being tied down, but it's tough to make a decent living at any pursuit where you aren't tied down... Doing military for 20 years lets you retire young with great benefits and pension (if you don't have a family to support, anyways, I guess?), but on the other hand if you don't enjoy it you are working away some of the best years of your life. I believe you actually get pretty good vacation compared to most civilian jobs (navy gets like 30 days per year or something), but you can't really take off big chunks all at once.
Sleeping bag question - it is personal preference depending on how you sleep. I had a 20 degree bag and switched it out for a 35 degree bag. If you start off with a 30 i would highly advise a liner system or something to buff it up for the beginning month or two. After that you can likely be safe with sending it forward or home. The goal is to come up with a system where on coldest nights you were everything you possibly have and your just OK. On the cold nights you were everything and your content. and get lighter as its warmer. make sense? You do not want to over pack.
And as for my life plan... I just live to have fun. I make a goal - I go for that goal. If that means a 20 year career in the AF then so be it. If it means going elsewhere - well that is cool to. We will see.
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Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
~Robert Frost
loved the video . . and so did my boys. the rivers in ME look treacherous. We are taking nearly a hundred more days than you, we know what we need to hike our own hike . . .
I've been wondering why people choose to take zip off pants instead of just shorts, as I don't think of them as being much warmer, right? I prefer hiking in shorts typically, so I was thinking of just wearing long underwear under shorts when it is very cold. Is this a good idea or will I miss the light weight pants for some reason?
maybe you can speak a little to clothing. I have all the rest of the gear. I have a pair of mid weight REI base layers, top and bottom. I have 3 pairs of mid weight smart wool socks, mtn hardware cap, a mid weight fleece jacket. Most of the time I plan on using gym (wicking), short sleeve, shorts. I tend to sleep a little cold in the winter. But plan on a April 1 leave date. Maybe earlier if the weather looks good. Im looking for thoughts on jacket, gloves etc. Maybe some logisticals on keeping it clean in town, and quantites.
Also something comfortable for overnighters in town.
Im rolling with an Osprey 50, while space is tight, im sure i can get the weight and sizes down.
Life doesn't end joining the military...it begins. I retire next month after serving 20 years all being in the Marine infantry, there's enough miles on the here feet to have walked around the globe once (at least) if I could go back and do the last 20 years over again I'd sign the line tomorrow. I've managed to keep and gain some major hobbies, one of which almost got me on the 2012 Olympic team now I'm shooting for 2016. It's not a great living but it's a very comfortable one. 30 days a year vacation goes for all branches of military and I took 40 days in one go a couple of times. If you have the days in the books 99.9% of the time you can take what you want. It's been a good life now on to the next chapter...at least for me will be a thru hike of the AT and then the Olympics. Happy trails all...
Trailname POPEYE
Retired United States Marine, finished thru hike Sept 13, 2013 with Warrior Hike warriorhike.com
Clothing - Sure I would love to discuss that.
Run down on what I carried:
x2 pairs of midweight socks
x1 lightweight sweat wicking short sleeve
x1 puffy down patagonia
x1 pair of zip off pants
x1 pair of sport boxers
x1 rain coat (replaced by Sea to summit poncho half way through)
Socks - The biggest question... most people now wear trail runners which typically dry very quickly. If you are hiking and had wet feet for whatever reason - what is the purpose of putting on dry socks with wet shoes? There is not. You can let your shoes dry over night along with your socks. If my feet were wet.. then they were wet, no big deal - it will happen a lot on the trail. The 2nd pair came in handy though. If your shoes dried overnight and your socks did not, if you melt your socks over a fire while trying to dry them (me? Nooooo never.... yea i did that), and the best use - Emergency MITTENS. As for how often I wore a pair - depends on how dirty they got, but anytime i went to a gas station i would use hand soap and wash a pair and put on the others. I would then hike with the wet pair on the outside of my pack so they were now clean and dry... cool stuff.
Short sleeve shirt - plenty. If i got cold while hiking i hiked faster or put on the rain coat (unzipped). As we know raincoats do not breath well - hense hold in heat. The puffy was for camp only.
Zip off pants - I rarely every used the legs.. Personally if i did it again.. I would get soccer jersey shorts. They are VERY light and dry extremely quickly. No such thing as style on the trail anyways.
If my legs got cold there was a issue as they usually stay really warm while hiking. At camp i am in my sleeping bag. I did zip on the pants though a dozen or so times - so overall i was happy with my choice and it worked well for me.
The biggest thing is having clothes that will dry VERY quickly. Do not carry multiple shirts or any of the junk - save the weight you may think you need it, but you will quickly realize it and send it home. Socks - replace them as they wear out.. usually every 300-400 miles or so for me per pair.
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Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
~Robert Frost
Thanks for the info... I am looking at leaving a little earlier than you did (Maybe Mid March) and I am looking at this as a gear list...
I don't have weights yet and I haven't purchased some of the items yet so please let me know what you think.
My thought process is I can hike in the micro weight when cold and keep the midweight as camp clothes... I'm not sure these are both necessary and maybe one of the layers is over kill. I'm also kinda curious about using aqua mira alone as water treatment, it seems like you might get a lot of debris in your water but is that just apart of trail life?
hahaa i used aqua mira very rarely. Find a spring or a very nice flowing stream and you will never have debris. Get smart about how and where you fill. If needed use a bandana to filter. I never had to. Most of the time i just drank straight from the source - this is my opinion ONLY. Many hikers will tell you the same that spring water they never treat. My friend treated every drop and got ghardia... IMO water purification is a giant scam (obviously needed in many places still) but it is way over dramatized. People like instilling fear upon others so they spend money.I will look at your list tonight when back from PT.
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Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
~Robert Frost
alright your clothing is way to much. The dry ducks are heavy and do not breathe well when hiking - they are great for just walking around but not hiking like you will be doing. Personally I am a huge proponent of the Sea the summit poncho. The pants do not do anything really as they do not keep your shoes dry - so why bother? You will almost always be wearing shorts in the rain so again rain pants do not protect much. To me that is prob around 12-16oz of wasted space and weight. As for your LW and MW layers... your choice. the puffy will be what you wear at camp - why the MW also? i carried that pair of light boxers at camp - they were better than soccer shorts as they kept things covered in all situations - just looked kinda funny sporting sports boxers. You will find that the time you spend in camp out of your sleeping bag is minimal, and if you are going to hang out by the fire get closer and your legs will be warm.
In other words - i personally would be willing to sacrifice the rare comfort that it may provide to save the weight and space in my pack.
As for both pairs - your choice. You saw what I carried - I get cold easily - I have had minor frostbite from mountaineering a few times so i get cold easily. The only day that was ruff for me was april 23rd. And that was fine when hiking, just cold at night.
The rest of your gear seems pretty great, may be worth getting a $15 digital kitchen scale - really nice to look at your list and see it all. Also write out why you need each piece of gear... anything that overlaps each other is most likely not needed.
And a nalgene bottle?! really?
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Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
~Robert Frost
I meant to list compression shorts/bower briefs as well. Thanks for the tip about the second layer, I will ditch the second one. Also ditch the rain suit and just take a fold up sierra designs one I have. My thinking on the nalgene was that I could put hot water in it before bed in order to warm up...Maybe I would be warmer if I just went ahead and got in the sleeping bag! I'm wondering if my fleece synchilla will be warm enough or if I need to get something like a down sweater....
hot water will not help a thing before bed... the sleeping bag will only hold in whats there to beginwith... jumping jacks - push ups - something to get the body heat going, then jjump in and goodnight
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Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
~Robert Frost
Okay cool, I'll save weight there!
I have to disagree, a bottle of hot water in the foot of your sleeping bag works wonders in cold weather. Is it worth the weight for a thru hike? maybe not, but when hiking in winter its a god send.
The sleeping bag will hold the heat of that water bottle in there too. I agree with going in the bag warm, but you never have done to much cold weather camping. A hot water bottle helps a lot if you get to lower limits of your bag. Stuff inside a sock & it helps dry it out too.
Mtn Mike... I have climbed to 22,851ft to the summit of acocagua - winter camped on the ridge of the presidentials in -50f with VERY high winds. Lets not forget Gannet peak, Grand Teton... I have done my share of winter camping. Are there situations in where it is helpful? Sure, however there those places you will be carrying nalgenes with you typically already and already are on a very different style hike. Comparing two very different types of hiking. As for a AT thru hike it is not needed IMO.
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Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
~Robert Frost
1.) My legs stay relatively warm like yours, so I'm thinking zip off pants might be a good idea, just in case. Would you recommend this?
2.) As far as finding a good quick drying shirt, what materials should it be made out of, polyester?
3.) I haven't even the slightest idea how to do a bear hang
4.) http://www.rei.com/product/844651/rei-crestrail-70-pack is the pack I have right now, do you think this is a reasonable pack?
If I think of more questions I'll sure shoot them your way!
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