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[at-l] re: sleeping pads / parachute cord

i grew up hiking with an ensolite pad.  in college i got a thermarest
ultralight full length and used that for 8 years, and started my thruhike
with it.

by damascus, i was so determined to cut down on pack weight, i went into
mt. rogers outfitters and asked for their scale.  i weighed my thermarest,
and a 3/4 ridgerest.  with a savings of about 9-10oz, there was no
question.  i've used a 3/4 ridgerest ever since, except in winter, where i
prefer the thermarest.

it took me a long time to learn to put my jacket and spare clothing under
my heels in the shelters.  those wood floors are much harder than the
earth, and my feet began to notice it after a few hundred miles.  but i was
so stuck in my "shelter routine" that it took another few hundred miles to
figure out what to do.  silly eh?  keep an open mind even when you think
you know all you'll need to know to get to maine.

and for those undecided about ridge- vs. therma- rest, remember the words
of that immortal ray jardine:  IT'S NOT UNCOMFORTABLE, JUST UNFAMILIAR.  i
laughed so hard when i first read this, but in retrospect, it's quite true
(up to a point).

re: cord

i think it was diana (raven) that said she had cotton cord.  this will hold
a lot of water when it rains at night, and who wants to carry around that
extra weight?  even some of the cheaper synthetic cords will hold water.
my preference is for the more expensive cord available in climbing stores.
this stuff is designed to be strong and not to retain water.  someone
already posted about this - you can get it in diams from 4mm to 11mm.  i
like 5 or 6mm - a good compromise between weight and getting your hands
lacerated.



BTW - rachel:  one advantage of having an accurate schedule on your website
is that some relatively fresh baked bread might arrive in your mail drops
courtesy of AT-L!


well, it's almost spring, and they've hidden the "notice of termination of
employment" slips from me again...

mike
ke kaahawe

 .    .    .    .    .    .    .    .    .    .    .
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Michael Henderson		mikeh@royalrobbins.com

There is more to life than increasing it's speed - Ghandi
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