Pre Hike 7 Gear, Gear, and More Gear

Days left of work: 6
Days left in CO: 15
Days until my niece's graduation: 21
Days until I'm in VA: 24
Days until I'm on the AT!: 26

As my schedule changes, I'm updating my timeline. So, yes there are inconsistencies for those of you mathematically inclined. What have I learned so far on this journey of mine? Let me see...Logistics are a bitch. My gear list is ever changing. People with AT experience are very helpful. Logistics are a bitch. I'm not great at meal planning and am hoping Piper (my amazing home base support peep) will be able to adjust my resupply boxes as I learn what and how much I eat. The idea is to try NOT to waste any of these chef influenced meals I have prepared. I can easily supplement missing meals on the trail. I barely...barely can squeeze my IPA filled body into my hiking clothes...and I've spent about $1.5 million on them, soooo, squeeze I shall until I'm burning off a pound a day.

OK, so I guess I need to talk about my gear list. The ever evolving list of my life for the next three months. How can one really know what they'll need until they've done it? I guess we'll find out. My longest backpacking trip to date is four days. F-O-U-R! That's right readers, this pro is goin' a hikin'. And I have to admit, I was ready for a shower and a beer after my four days of backcountry wandering around Rocky Mountain National Park. To be true, I'm always ready for a shower and a beer, so I can't really use that as a gauge. Anyway, back to gear. I've attempted to imbed my gear list here: You may have to click on it to see it.  I'm not quite sure.  You know...I'm new to this whole blogging thing.

 

As you can see, I haven't quite filled it all in yet. That's mostly because I'm overwhelmed by the details of everything. What bag I'll carry my "clean" clothes in. Which pot I'm taking. How many little baggies I'll need to put things in...etc. This list has been changing since last March. That's 13 months of evolution. Geesh, when I see that in writing it makes me kind of upset with myself for not having it finalized yet! Ahhh, I'll transform that into motivation! The power of positive thinking! ok, enough about all that. Back to my life list. I've whittled down, parsed, culled, cut, poked, prodded and deleted my way down to what I believe will be a 14 pound base weight. Base weight is your pack weight minus food and water. It's a coveted number that all thru-hikers battle with...the lower the better!

My tent is not free standing. That means I can't pitch it without stakes. That also means I must bring screw hooks to pitch my tent in areas where it's mandatory to pitch tents on these wooden platforms. Hopefully that all works out. Because I have no alternatives in those areas.

Let's talk about my tent. I LOVE my tent. It's a Lightheart Gear Duo. It's 2lbs 4 oz and tons of space. All my gear fits in my tent. Something important to me as I'm a damn scared-y cat. Yes, my brain logically knows I have only a thin sliver of material between me and whatever bad thing I've created in my noggin that is outside my tent. My irrational brain believes if I can't see them, maybe they can't see me. That the sliver of nylon has some sort of force field protector around me and whatever being is out there to get me will be electrocuted if he touches my tent. I'm totally sane. Really I am. More to come on gear! For now, Happy Trails!

 "There is nothing so American as our national parks.... The fundamental idea behind the parks...is that the country belongs to the people, that it is in process of making for the enrichment of the lives of all of us."

~ President Franklin D. Roosevelt: