RE: [at-l] Beginner's 2nd Test Run and Pack Shake Down

["McBride, James" <mcbride_j@lxe.com>]

Delita,

Why so much water? I would never carry more that 2 or 3 quarts in GA where
water is almost always easy enough to find. I usually only carry 1.5 quarts
but might increase that to 2.5 or 3 this time of year.

Jim McBride


> ----------
> From: 	Delita Wright[SMTP:delita@mindspring.com]
> Sent: 	Monday, August 09, 1999 2:40 PM
> To: 	at-l@backcountry.net
> Subject: 	[at-l] Beginner's 2nd Test Run and Pack Shake Down
> 
> After the test run hike I could see 2 main problems.
> 
> 1)  My son wanted me to start at Hogpen Gap (heading to Unicoi) which
> leaves a 4.2 first day and misses the strenuous climb up from Testnatee.
> I, of course, wanted to do that part so I could complete section 13.  (Who
> cares, right?)  My son thought carrying the pack up that first ascent
> would
> take me 2-3 hours and wipe me out for the rest of the trip.  I thought I
> could handle it.
> 
> I solved this one by doing another day hike the day before, carrying my
> pack with just emergency stuff, food and water, then walking back to the
> car on the highway (1/2 mile).
> 
> Best of both worlds: I got to do the 0.9 mile strenuous section, it only
> took me about a couple hours with the walk to the car, and I got to start
> at Hogpen the next day looking forward to completing the entire section.
> (Big deal, huh.)
> 
> 2)  The weight of food and water was looking like I would put my total
> pack
> weight off the chart.  I didn't do a final weight of pack minus food and
> water but my food was around 10 pounds and my 9+ liters of water put the
> pack weight about 51 pounds.  I was afraid to do my first pack carry
> through mountains with so much weight I was miserable and worn out before
> half through.  I went to bed late the night before knowing this was too
> much and I would have to strip some weight before I left.
> 
> Next morning I dumped some things I felt sure I wouldn't need.  My fleece
> shirt, my sierra cup, my book, exchanged a full fuel cannister for a
> half-full, removed 2.5 liters of water.  My son and I both agreed I
> shouldn't attempt this section with less than 7 liters so that's what I
> packed.  I also eliminated my 3rd day snacks and lunch, thinking I would
> not eat all the snacks for days 1 and 2 so I could use left overs from
> those days on my third day.
> 
> The food was a delimma because I know I eat way more than most people.
> And
> I have to keep eating to keep going.  But the more I hike the less of the
> *more* I need (hiking is healing my metabolism) plus I had never done such
> an extended effort but knew that virtually all hikers can't eat as much as
> they think they will at first and I have trouble eating when I am really
> exerting.  And, I had *field-tested* most of my foods but this was the
> first test under extended circumstances while some of them I hadn't tried
> yet.
> 
> I reminded my son that most hiker newbies carry way too much food.  He
> said, "And you don't want to be the first newbie who carried too little."
> So, I stuck with most of the food and still got the total pack weight down
> to 43 pounds, a very manageable weight for me.
> 
> One other thing.  My daughter-in-law donated some fleece material and I
> made up a fleece bag to sleep in.  Basically a retangular folded bag with
> the foot sewn closed across the bottom and about 18 inches up the open
> side.  Not sure what it weighs but it is less than the sleeping bag.
> 
> The most scary part of all this was that I was planning a 3 day hike (not
> much over 48 hours) in the summer with no extra clothes but some long
> silks
> and a windbreaker and plastic poncho, a fleece bag and no water pump
> (using
> iodine).  So If I am over 40 pounds with just this...  Okay, we won't
> think
> about that for now.  Off to Hogpen for my 3-day hike...
> 
> Delita
> 
> 
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> 
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