I purchased my airline ticket to Atlanta yesterday. I also arranged my shuttle from Atlanta to Amicalola Falls State Park. I'll arrive at the park around noon on Friday, March 9th. At this point, there are over twenty others who are beginning the trail that day. Literally hundreds will be ahead of us; some starting in early February.
I've been purchasing a lot of gear to prepare for my hike. Up to this point, I've been largely an old-school hiker carrying over forty pounds on my back. It can be a real joy-robber to carry that kind of weight in rugged terrain. Since summer, I've done tons of research on light-weight backpacking. I've spent well north of $600 buying specialized clothing and gear.
Today, I spread everything out on two tables in our living area and began the weighing process. Here is my pack list (and weights) at present:
- Osprey 58 liter backpack (41.2 oz.)
- Marmot eos 1 person tent (50.4 oz.)*
- North Face Down Sleeping bag (33.3 oz.)
- Klymit Static V2 Air Mattress (20.3 oz.)
- DIZAUL Solar Charger (4.8 oz.)**
- North Face wind/rain coat (11.5 oz.)
- Rain pants (8.6 oz.)
- Silk glove liners (1.7 oz.)
- Water-proof mittens (1.3 oz.)
- Gaiters (4.6 oz.)
- Trekker trekking poles (24 oz.)
- Down Jacket (11.9 oz.)
- Merrell Gore-Tex boots (36.6 oz.)***
- Katadyn water filter system (14.2 oz.)
- First Aid bag (currently 11.5 oz.)
- Hygiene bag (5.3 oz)
- Pillow (9 oz.)
- Flashlight (3.1 oz.)
- LED lamp (.7 oz.)
- Aluminum cook system: 2 pots, lid, cup, scratcher, ladle (13.4 oz.)
- Canteen (11.6 oz.) [may replace with cheap water bottles]
- Cosys (2) (2.2 oz.)
- 2 alcohol pop-can stoves (.4 oz.)****
- Headlamp (3.8 oz.)
- Pack rain cover/bag (6.3 oz.)
- Mosquito net (.6 oz.)
- Matches/lighter/bag (1.6 oz.)
- Dr. Bonner's biodegradeable soap (2.8 oz.)
- Coleman biowipes (7.7 oz.)
- OFF can (6.7 oz.)
- Rope (3.4 oz.)
- Reading glasses (.7 oz.)
- Sunglasses (1.1 oz.)
- Field repair kit (1.8 oz.)
- Multi-tool (6.4 oz.)
- Bear repellent (11.9 oz.)*****
- AT Guide (8.8 oz.) [I will divide this into sections before leaving]
- Net bag (1.1 oz.)
- AT balaclava (1.2 oz.)******
- Stocking cap (2.9 oz.)
- Hankey (1.2 oz.)
- Black long-sleeve undershirt (7.2 oz.)
- Blue long-sleeve undershirt (8.4 oz.)
- Gray long-sleeve undershirt (5.5 oz.)
- Fleece pullover (10.5 oz.)
- Polyester long johns (6.1 oz.)
- Gray short-sleeve undershirt (6.2 oz.)
- Black short-sleeve undershirt (6.7 oz.)
- Blue zip-off pants (12 oz.)
- Tan zip-off pants (11.9 oz.)
- Belt (7 oz.)
- Briefs - 3 pair (6.2 oz.)
- Linen sock liners - 2 pair (1.6 oz.)
- Merino wool socks - 3 pair (7.1 oz.)
- Coleman water treatment bottles (2.3 oz.)
I'm sure a few items may be added. I weighed the pack today and was thrilled to have it be slightly less than 21 pounds! That means with food and water, I should be under 30 pounds - which was my goal. [Keep in mind I'll be wearing some of the items above, therefore they will not be part of my pack weight.]
My shuttle driver supplies me with 8 oz. of fuel for my stoves, so that should see me through my first week. The first eight miles I hike will not count as AT miles. The access trail from Amicalola Falls to Springer Mountain is a traditional way to start the hike, but the AT mile-count begins at Springer Mountain.
For the next week or so, I'll be working on meal prep. My system is referred to as 'Freezer Bag Cooking' (FBC). Dehydrated meals are prepared ahead of time in Zip-Lock Freezer bags. The only cooking I will do is heating water to a boil then adding it to the freezer bag and slipping the bag into a cozy for 5+ minutes. Then I simply eat the food out of the bag with a spork and carry the empty bag out as garbage.
I'll eat a lot of oatmeal and granola mixes for breakfast with dried fruit added along with other specialties for variety. Most of my lunches will be PB&J in flour tortillas along with gorp. I'll occasionally leave the trail for resupply, laundry, and to eat real food! :-) Thru-hikers burn an average of around 6,000 calories/day! They are able to consume massive amounts of food with no weight gain!
This will be my home during the hike.
Debbie liked my sleeping pad - a lot! My bag is good to 20 degrees! :-)
If you're a new reader, I'm recruiting people to pledge per-mile amounts for however much of the trail I am able to complete to benefit International Child Care Ministries Special Projects! A pledge of $.01/mile would mean a maximum gift of $22. A pledge of $.05/mile would mean a maximum gift of $109 (and so on). No money is given until I come home and then it will be given directly to ICCM. Right now, just let me know how much you'd like to pledge:
Text: (724) 944-3881
Email: halinasia@psmail.net
Facebook: Private message me.
Thanks! Let's do something great for the kids!
* Very expensive tent bought by Travis back in 2011
** Gift from Tracie and Jon
*** Gift from my brother-in-law, Tom Whippo, back in 2011
**** Made for me by my hiking buddy, Derrick Moran
**** Made for me by my hiking buddy, Derrick Moran
***** Gift from Tracie and Jon
****** Gift from my awesome son-in-law, Jon
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