[at-l] Re: WYOMING SKATEBOARDER

[Tim Hewitt <thewitt@fairchildsemi.com>]

"Charles W. Davidson" <wb4pan@mindspring.com>
> 
>         He filtered with  a handkerchief. I should have said he filled two
> gallon jugs with water. When I choose to use iodine I usually wait 20
> minutes minimum before using the vitamin C or drinking the water, longer
> if the water is very cold.

Down south when I passed him in Grayson Highlands, he was boiling his water. He
would boil it for 10 minutes and then carry all the water he would need for the
day - up to 2 gallons. 

I found him at a shelter site in the late afternoon, inventorying his gear. He
had everything laid out in the shelter, alphabetically. He was comparing the
gear with his inventory list. He asked me if I'd wait before unpacking anything
in my bag so we would not get our gear confused. He went on to repack, load up,
and hike out at dusk, looking for a place to camp. He was carrying just over 2
gallons of boiled water when he left. I did not see him again till he flipped.

When I met him again in Maine - he had flipped - we stayed together in Andover.
He was loading his new pack - the frame broke on his old pack - and was still
boiling his water. He had three fuel bottles with him as one was nearly empty.
He thought he had trimmed his pack weight down to less than 70 pounds. He still
had the full length ax, the 11 inch sheath knife and saw. These were his
essential tools for "doing trail maintenance" along the way. I'm not sure if he
did any, but he certainly wrote in every register along the trail, some
description of what he thought needed to be done...

-Paddler
AT Class of '99
http://www.trailstories.com
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