[at-l] To Buy Now or Wait

[spiriteagle99@xxxxxxxxxxx (Jim and/or Ginny Owen)]

Not exactly to your question - but a comment based on something OB said: not
everyone replaces their gear mid-trail.  That may make for a more
comfortable hike, but not all of us have the resources at home willing and
able to ship replacement gear, or the money to mail-order new gear when the
old stuff proves less than optimal.  Some of us buy gear and live with what
we have from Springer to Katahdin.

Truth is, having the 'perfect gear' just isn't that important.  Yes, it may
make your hike more comfortable, but if your primary aim were comfort, you'd
stay home.  It isn't the gear that will get you to Katahdin, it is your
desire to keep hiking, despite whatever discomforts you encounter.

I am a prime example - on my first long hike, I knew no long distance
hikers, didn't even know any real backpackers, so I bought my gear based on
what I read in old campcraft books I skimmed at the used book store.  I
bought the biggest pack I could find (because I was going to be gone so
long) and a lot of my gear at the army surplus store.  I carried 7-14 days
of food at a time, because I didn't want to hitchhike to towns off trail.  I
had two pairs of jeans (because that's what you hike in in the desert) plus
a full rainsuit and full leather Italian mountaineering boots (because
that's what 'real' hikers wore back then
;-0 My pack weight was usually between 40-50 lbs -- about 1/3+ of my body
weight.  Was I comfortable, no.  Did I hike the whole trail - yes.  I lived
with sore muscles and chaffing because I wanted to keep hiking more than I
wanted to go home.  The only gear I changed was my jeans - I kept one pair
and sent one home and picked up some shorts for everyday hiking.  I used a
20 degree bag and was comfortable with it all the way.  In the Smokies I was
cold a few nights, but that didn't last more than a few days.  Occasionally
I was too warm but then a storm would come through, cool things off and I'd
be fine again.

On my second thruhike, I used much of the same gear, though with a somewhat
smaller (but still too heavy) pack and mid-weight boots.  Again, I had
problems with chaffing and blisters, but I survived.  It really didn't
matter all that much.

Bottom line, if you buy your gear now, assuming you buy decent quality,
you'll do fine.  It may not be the latest and greatest, but if you want it
to, you can make it work.  On the other hand, since you have a year, you
might buy those things that are least likely to change (i.e. stove or
sleeping bag) now, then the tent this summer and the pack next fall, when
you are fairly sure what you'll be bringing -- to spread out the cost and
get used to using your gear on weekend hikes over the next 12 months.  In
either case, remember it's not the gear that get you there -- it's what's
between your ears.

Anyhow, that's my opinion, since you asked.  Of course, I was raised in a
large family where the motto was "make do or do without" -- YMMV

Ginny


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