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Re: yet another request
if you wouldn't mind checking out my list you can email me off the list (to
>avoid clutter)...
>thank you in advance. the advice from experienced thru-hikers is so
>valuable...the rest of us really appreciate it.
>alisa
>pooombah@aol.com
>
>and since everyone else has cool quotes, i'll add mine.....
>
> The marvelous richness of human experience
> would lose something of rewarding joy if there
> were no limitations to overcome. The hilltop
> hour would not be half so wonderful if there
> were no dark valleys to traverse.
> --from Hellen Keller's 'My Religion'
Alisa -
Smart!! And I like your quote.
Yes, both Ginny and I will look at your list if you want us to. We won't tell
you what to take or not, but we will tell you what we did and you can take
it from there. One thing to keep in mind is that everyone has a different
tolerance for pain and discomfort, so you have to make your own decisions
about what level of comfort you need on the Trail.
Anyway, Ginny's email address is gfrost@amsdc.mhs.compuserve.com
I just talked to her a little while ago and she said OK. It's probably better
if we look at it separately - that way you'll get a better set of inputs.
Incidentally, Ginny has thruhiked the AT twice (88/92). If you have
specific questions for a female thruhiker, I'm sure she'd be happy to
help you. (She already said she would!).
I'm not sure you were on the list when I posted this a month or so ago,
so I'm including the list of what was in my pack when we got to Katahdin
Stream campground. If you find it useful - cool. If not, nobody's
lost anything. One caveat - this was MY pack. You'll carry what you
want/need and it may not be the same.
Walk softly,
Jim Owen
>Funny - I got curious this weekend, too. Loaded my pack as closely as
>possible with what's on my list - it was 32# (without food and water). As
>Ginny said - we have to cut that by at least 5# for the CDT.
>I'm gonna add some comments to this thing - they'll be the ones in
>brackets {{...}}. And a few more comments that I'll put at the end. Anyway
>- for what it's worth - here it is :
>_____________________________________________________
Pack contents at Katahdin Stream Campground - 23 Sept 1992
>Pack/frame (Camp Trails Orion)
>Attachments - large bandanna, mini-carabiner & 1 pint bottle, 12 oz
>thermal cup,
>ziploc bag with short-term maps, Thru-hikers Handbook pages {{I didn't
>carry the whole book - just pages for the section I was hiking}}}
>Rear pocket (Day pack) - First Aid kit (ziploc), blister kit, toilet paper
>(ziploc), balaclava, polypro glove liners, coated nylon rain jacket {{used
>a Goretex parka in the south}} , wallet (ziploc), Lexan spoon,
>wool/poly hat, *REI Jungle Juice insect repellent {{carried this all the
>way - it wasn't necessary for us except for NJ thru Mass}} , *gaiters {{I
>only used these a couple times - some people used them every day}},
>Kool-aid (ziploc)
>Left lower pocket - Pack cover
>Left upper pocket - 1 quart Nalgene bottle, 1 gal ziploc bag (garbage)
>Right lower pocket - 40 foot parachute cord, 3 gallon water bag,
>REI mini-headlite
>Right upper pocket - MSR water filter, personal washcloth (1 pt ziploc),
>toothbrush and tooth powder (ziploc)
>Top - Eureka Cirrus 2 tent, HD poly ground cloth , Thermarest pad & stuff
>sack {{used a Ridgerest in the South - changed at Harpers Ferry}},
>2 - 36" straps
>Bottom - Sleeping bag, stuff sack, plastic garbage bag, 2 - 36" straps
>Inside - food bags, fuel bottle, wind screen, fleece jacket {{carried and
>used this all the way}}
>- Large trash bag, wind pants, paperback book - 1 qt ziploc, Data Book,
>ball point pen, maps, maildrop schedule, writing paper
>- small trash bag, 3 pr Thorlo Trekker socks , 1 handkerchief,
>wool shirt, 1 pr nylon shorts, 1 pr thermal
>bottoms, 1 lt wt thermal long sleeve top, 1 mid-wt. thermal long sleeve top
>- 1 gal HD ziploc, *2 oz bottle liquid soap, candle {{rarely carried
>one}}, pot scrubber (ziploc), MSR stove (1 qt HD ziploc), butane lighter,
>1.5 qt pot {{no lid}}
>- 2 x 3 ziploc, stove repair tools, spare stove jet, *needle and thread,
>repair tape {{2-3 ft}}, nail clippers, small stone
>from Springer {{tradition - leave on Katahdin}}, clevis pin & ring, 2
>Efferdent tablets {{for cleaning the water filter}}
>- 2 x 3 ziploc, 2 exposed film
>- Spare ziplocs - 1 gal, 1 qt, 1 pt.
>- 2 cans beer, 1 sm bottle champagne, 2 small pies, 2 Coke {{CELEBRATION
>TIME !!!}}
>Food bag - 1 Liptons dinner, 1/4# dressing, 3 candy bars, 1/2
># cookies, 1/4 # sugar, 4 instant oatmeal, allspice, 1 instant soup, 6 tea
>bags, 1 hot chocolate, 1 Koolaid, dried milk, 2 rolls, small can Spam
>Wallet contents - Drivers license, VISA {{mine doubles as an ATM card}},
>medical card, ATC membership card {{paid for itself in the Whites}},
>money, Phone book{{very small}}
>Blister kit - scissors, moleskin, Second skin First Aid kit - 2 moleskin,
>3 Bandaids, *triple antibiotic {{single use foil pack - never used it}},
>4" Ace, 2" Ace, 12 allergy tablets, 30 Tylenol, 6 Pepto Bismol tablets
>Belt pouch - camera, 2 film, 2 oz SPF 15 sun screen, 2 oz skin
>moisturizer, glasses, can opener, toothpick, ball point pen, iodine
>tablets, 4 hard candy, lighter, small knife, ziploc
>Hiking clothes - Vasque Sundowner boots, nylon shorts, polypro
>short-sleeved shirt, handkerchief, socks
>_________________________________________________________________
>This list I is what I had at Katahdin. I wasn't so smart when I started.
OK - a couple other comments on things I did right/wrong -
>When I left Springer I was carrying matches (which I couldn't get to
>light), postcards (should have picked them up at each post office), a
>candle (never used it), extra flashlight batteries ( I think the original
>batteries lasted all
>the way - didn't use the flashlite much), protein powder ( good idea - but
>it's heavy - and no calories), dried fruit (good idea, but it's heavy and
>eventually gave me the runs), firestarter (never started a fire until the
>Smokies - and didn't need it then), a big First Aid kit (over a pound -
>too big), firecrackers
>(to scare the bears - never saw a bear until New Hampshire), a pair of
>cotton pants (went in the send-ahead box and became my town clothes) and
>the insect repellent (carried it all the way - used it once in NJ).
>One of my maildrops (Fontana Dam) had a yellow rubber duck. I did carry
>that sucker through the Smokies. Still have it, too. That's another story.
>
>Oh, yeah - the send-ahead box. I used it to move some things up the Trail
>without having to carry them or buy new ones every time I needed them.
>Things like packing tape, labels, marker, ball point pen, knife sharpener,
>repair kits, soap, food dye (for testing the water filter), cuticle
>scissors, sunblock, vitamins, a razor (never used it), moisturizer, town
>clothes, extra food and TP, etc. I just sent the box from one post office
>to the next. It worked nicely.
>The moisturizer - it was useful for sunburn, skin abrasions, dry skin, and
>most importantly for chafing. Chafing can become a real problem in the
>mid-Atlantic states where it's hot and humid and you're putting in big
>miles. Best moisturizer I've found is made by Amway - their Aftersun
>moisturizer. It saved us a couple times and I gave some of it to other
>people. Stings when I first put it on, then numbs the area. For me it
>pretty much heals the skin overnight. I should note that I'm fair and
>sunburn easily. I also learned about sunburned ears - painful. (This is
>mostly a southern cold/high altitude problem)
>Vitamins - I had them but didn't use them consistently - dumb. When I got
>off the Trail I had a large economy size Vitamin A deficiency. Night
>driving was downright dangerous. Most of us ended up with Vitamin E
>deficiencies as well. But we seem to have recovered. Not something to
>worry about, but preventable for those who know and care enough to try.
>I used a lot of ziploc bags - they're a lot lighter, cheaper and more
>replaceable and versatile than stuff sacks.
>I carried more/heavier clothes in the south, too. Took a while for my
>metabolism to fire up. Now I wish I could slow it down sometimes. I didn't
>need as many clothes in New England - my body acclimatized and I was
>comfortable with less.
>Anyway - as I've observed before, I'm not always brilliant. But I do
>survive and learn.