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Re: [at-l] GSMNP Proposed Itenerary redux



On Fri, 16 Jun 2000 09:04:19 -0400 Denise Hluhan <DHLUHAN@mbakercorp.com> wrote:
>What first aid supplies do people carry?  I have a fairly extensive first aid kit, but after talking with some people that have thru-hiked it, they carried almost nothing.  To me this seems like an important precautionary thing and worth carrying in the event that something would happen.  Am I off base here?

IMHO, yes. I'm not sure if anyone will agree with me but, after around 35 years of backpacking I realized that medical emergencies come in two types....those you can pretty much ignore and those that require medevac. Band-aids will take care of the first and nothing you can carry will take care of the later. I carry any prescription drugs I need, a small selection of Band-aids and that's pretty much it.


>And I have this question.  I dehydrate VERY easily - and I've always had a tendency to carry a lot of water - too much I'm sure.  We usually carry 2 ½ gallons for the two of us.  Having listened to everyone here, that seems really excessive, but if I would run out of water and dehydrate, I get REALLY sick. So what would be a good safe amount of water without being excessive?

I carry as high as 2 liters.... more if necessary How much is necessary?... enough to get you to the next water source. It is really a matter of balancing how often you want to treat water against how much weight you want to carry.

I carry absolutely the minimum I can.. to hike and camp in the style I prefer. You are the only valid arbiter of how much that is for you.
Jerry

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