[at-l] Questions for Former Thru Hikers

[janl2 at mindspring.com (Jan Leitschuh)]

>1- Did you use zip up jacket(s) or would zip-neck pullover have worked as well?

Yes and yes.

>2- What was your most treasured piece of equipment during your hike and why?

My very lovely Western Mountaineering down bag.
My god, was it cozy!
I feared no evil in it. I knew I would survive the coldest night.


>3- Fleece or fill for a jacket or pullover/zip neck?

I sent the heavy zip-up fleece jacket home at Neel's Gap, and used your basic, black standard-issue REI expedition-weight pullover, plus a rain coat. 
For some reason, I also carried a Moonstone jacket pullover. It was cozy, but unnecessary.
I had the fear of freezing, see...

>4- How did you treat water?  Iodine, Aqua Mira, Filter (what brand)?  Would you 
>change for another Thru Hike?

 I'm with Hotdog - Aqua Mira. Will always use it, it was great!
If the water came directly out of a rock, I drank that.
...sweet memories...

>5- Did you take a vest as well as a jacket/pull-over?

I did, but I sent vest home at Neel's Gap.
Like everyone, I overpacked. I'm glad I did.
I needed to learn it for myself.
It's probably best to take a little more if you're not sure, with a plan to send it home after the first 30 miles if it proves useless.
The Trail itself helps make so many of these decisions.

>6- Did you use two sleeping bags?  

Yes.

>One for spring and fall and one for summer?
  
Yes, the Most Highly Esteemed and Greatly Beloved WM Versalite, now rated at 10 degrees.
 And the WM Ultralite - about a pound. 
Fabulous, lifetime bags.


>If so, when did you send back your spring/fall bag 

Catawba (going NOBO)

>and when did you get it  mailed back to you?  

I sent it on ahead to Hanover, NH in the mail, along with my knee brace, gloves, and some other cold-weather things. 
But once I was there, I was tougher, temp-wise. 

I never unpacked the warmer bag, just took out the knee braces, gloves, hat, etc. Then kept bouncing it ahead Priority (for free)  thinking I'd have it if I needed it.
So I  kept my 45-degree bag all the way to Maine. A few nights I had everything on, but by then, it was like - so what? I knew how to manage cold temps at that point.
A silk liner is a BIG plus in keeping your bag clean as well as a hot-summer "bag" to keep skeeters at bay.

>Also, was it down or fill?  What did each bag weigh?

WM Ultralite -  - 2 pounds?
WM VersaLite - 1 pound


>7- What is the least expensive item that you'd never be without (doesn't have to
>be most treasured) on a Thru Hike?

I'm with Hotdog - good TP
And a WHOLE ROLL, baby!
Yeah!
ABUNdance!

>8- What is the most expensive item of its type (not necessarily the $400 
>sleeping bag but perhaps the $800 sleeping bag; not the $100 wrist watch but 
>perhaps the $300 wrist watch; not the $250 tent but perhaps the $650 tent) that 
>you carried on your Thru Hike?

Definitely the WM wam bag - Versalite.
Did I explain  what a great bag it was? ;-)
An investment for a lifetime outdoors. I don't know why I hesitated.


>9- What items were usually in your Bounce Box?  

Vitamins. Spare reading glasses. Chunks of guidebook.
 Seems like a whole lot of other stuff I don't recall.

>How often did you Bounce 

whenever.

>and how
>often did you send items home as 'no longer needed for an enjoyable hike?'

Whenever.
The Trail answers many of these questions.


>10- How many Zero Days did you have on your Thru Hike?  Would you have more or 
>less the next time?

MORE, of course! 
In '03, I felt some time pressure due to a wedding in August I needed to take a week off to attend. After that, I slowed down considerably.
You'll know by New York about when you'll finish, within a week's window or so.

>11- Did you blue blaze to the 'vista sights' along the Trail or did you just 
>'hike straight to Katahdin'?

I rarely missed an overlook or a waterfall.
A sidetrail with a vista is a good excuse for a snack!
I got off for a week in MA to go to bro's wedding in Wisconsin.
I also got off to go into NYC, with a guided tour by Curtis. Wild time!



>12- Did you ever waver in your decision to Thru Hike while hiking?  

No, never. Truly, not once.
There WAS a time when I thought I might not be physically strong enough, though.
I had a pretty hard physical crash in catawba, VA.
That's about when the hot, humid weather first hits you, Virginia.
Also, the calorie deficit is  starting to kick in.


>what 
>did you do that kept you focused on Katahdin?  

You know, it's funny because I know a little bit about goal setting, but I never had Katahdin as a goal. I wasn't thruhiking "to reach Katahdin," although I certainly wanted that.
I was hiking because I was in transition internally, and intensely drawn to the experience of traveling this footpath.

I did set my sights on the next campsight, or the next resupply. That is the stuff of days.

If I thought about walking to Maine, I could see where I would have let it lick me - it's ALOT of walking time! It's really rather immense. I had a friend who walked to NY, then got off. I always wondered about that. Then I got to New York and my respect for her perserverance to that point grew dramatically. It takes alot of desire just to get to New York!

>If not, do you have an 
>explanation as to why you never wavered?

I just never had a day when I was ready to go home.
There is a very liberating aspect to a long distance hike that makes for trail-leaving reluctance.

>13- Describe hiking through the Presidentials -- what is the terrain, elevation 
>gain, etc like and what are the Huts like?

The Whites were my favorite part. They were tough too! Plan to slow your daily miles considerably. The day into Carter Notch Hut was especially tough. It's a different sort of hiking - step up and lift, as oppose to walking.

The huts could be irritating, but I knew in advance they would be and I just didn't focus on that. I was determined to let as little negativity intrude on my head as possible, and I think I largely succeeded. 

The sunset on the mountain behind Lake of The Clouds remains one of my most special memories. Gorgeous! 
And then the next day, Mt. Washington! 
Be sure to moon the cog!

If that hasn't convinced you, click here, then click on the bottom to see a Panoramic view of Mt. Madison:
http://www.outdoors.org/lodging/huts/huts-madison.cfm

Yeah.


>14- Describe Mahoosuc Notch and Mahoosuc Arm in terms that won't scare the 
>beegeebees out of those of us just planning to Thru Hike in the next couple of 
>years, but give us an honest evaluation of the conditions we'll be hiking in 
>when we get there.

Terrific fun. 
Go through with a buddy and make a decision to laugh.
The Arm was a little dicey, I thought, but it was wet and slick by then.
Wildcat was alot tougher climb for me.
So was katahdin, but at that point, what were the options - like, I wasn't going to summit? Ha!



>15- What were your thoughts as you topped Katahdin (if you can share them)?  
>What did you think as you touched the sign and realized your Thru Hike was over?

"Holy crap! I just walked the ENTIRE APPALACHIAN TRAIL!"

I think right up to the end there was a part of me that doubted I was up to the physical task.

>16- Describe one way in which your Thru Hike changed you from the person you 
>were pre-hike.

I didn't get what I expected to find. But I gained other stuff:
-Less likely to let others define me.
- Psycholgically unemployable. I find it hard to let others dictate my time. There's only so such of it allotted in any one life.
- I have unlikely lifetime friends, with strange, inexplicable bonds
- Chronically sore joints. Was it worth it? Oh yeah! What's the point of a body if you don't use it up?