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Re: Curious about contacts



> Hi, I'm a mewbie and I was wondering if anyone wears contacts and hauls
> all that solution stuff around on a long hike or even the thru hike. I have
> pretty thick glasses that are kinda cumbersome. Is the convenience  worth
> the weight? Any advice?


I wore contacts on my thru-hike. With advice taken from my eye doctor I 
went with the extended wear lenses that can be worn for a week before 
they need to be taken out over night and cleaned. Each pair is good for 
three months and therefore slightly less expensive than the kind you 
throw out after a week. I've worn contacts now for about 15 years and 
wasn't about to go back to the hassle of glasses while out on the trail. I 
did take glasses with me but actually sent them home after two weeks 
and never wanted or needed them. I used the three-in-one cleaning and 
storage solution and carried it with me in a small 1oz. nalgene bottle with 
a dropper spout. An ounce of that stuff went a fair distance and I often 
found a bottle to resupply with in hiker boxes along the way. (Hiker 
boxes are found at hostels, B&Bs, hotels, etc. and are full of "extras" left 
by other hikers. Usually stuff bought for town use like shampoo, body 
lotion, razors, etc. but also usually many food items and then stuff like 
snow seal, candles, paperback books...... You could run across just about 
anything in a hiker box really.)  I also carried lens rewetting drops and 
used them every morning.

Being a female hiking solo I didn't want to wake up in the middle of the 
night frightened by a noise and then be unable to see until I fumbled 
around to find my glasses. And of course hiking in the rain with glasses 
can be a real drag as well. I can't recall one time when my contacts gave 
me any grief during my thru-hike. The weight was minimal. Barely enough 
to even speak of. But then again, I am by no means a minimalist.

By for now,

Tracy


"And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to 
climb."
               --Kahlil Gibran