[at-l] Thru Hike Questions

[bluetrail at aol.com]

Joe, I'd second what Ken (I think it was Ken) said about a mattress pad.? Sleeping on bare ground (or with just a sleeping bag) will suck the heat right out of you when it's cold.? And if you start the first of March, it WILL be cold at some point.? When it's cold, it's not a luxury, it's a way to decrease your chance of hypothermia.

I did trail support for a hiker (started mid-April) in 2007.? He did not take a stove.? It's a pretty hard core way to go, and it really limits what you can eat.? I shipped his packages, and I can say that I'd have been throwing up?if I tried to eat?his poor, repetitive diet.? I shipped a LOT of candy, nuts, granola bars, pepperoni and summer sausage, bagels, peanut butter and nutella, homemade brownies and bars, and dried fruit.? He finished the trail in 4.5 months; it was his fourth AT thru.? He did try to eat hot food every time he hit town.? 

If you want to talk to him (he lives just east of Orlando), write me back for his e-mail and phone.? 

If the weekends and breaks work out right, in some years, it is possible to experience cold on the FT.? I did a tiny backpack trip in mid-January 2002 where the lows were in the low 20's in the Ocala NF.? I also saw it go to 17 one New Year's in the Ocala.

Joan
bluetrail at aol.com

-----Original Message-----
From: J. Aziz <aziz.joe at gmail.com>
To: at-l at backcountry.net
Sent: Sun, 19 Oct 2008 9:41 pm
Subject: [at-l] Thru Hike Questions



Hey Everyone,
I'm just gonna start this e-mail off by mentioning right away that I'm new to the list and not really familiar with the proper protocol, so please bear with me if I break 'code' or whatever the case may be. ?I basically just need some answers to some important questions, and, having read through several of the e-mails of this list already, I think that this is a good place to start searching for meaningful answers.




I'll start by giving a quick summary of my situation:

I'm a 22-year-old college student about to graduate in January with hopes to thru-hike the AT, northbound, in the beginning of March. ?I've done some small day hikes in the past through the Adirondack region of New York and in the regions around Big Sky, Montana, but never anything as adventurous and large-scale as this.




To make a long story short, I want the trip to be a 'back to basics', 'return to nature' sort of deal, so I want to bring as little as possible with me along the way. ?I don't want to bring along any added weight, any luxury items, or anything that might prove to be burdensome on the overall experience itself. ?For example, I'm considering not bringing a stove or a sleeping pad. ?However, I don't want to completely deprive myself either, so I don't want to take it overboard. ?I'm basically looking for a balance where I have all the bear essentials along with me: not too much of anything, and not too little as well.




Now, never having done anything like this before, this e-mail is being written from just about square one; all that I've done to prepare for this trip so far is read "A Walk in the Woods" and an AT Thru Hiker's Guidebook - clearly nothing that would allow anyone to jump onto any trail, let alone a 2,700 mile one. ?So, I'm writing to this list to ask if there's any advice that anyone could give me as far as getting started goes. ?Are there any books or maps that you would recommend? ?Equipment advice would be sweet too: small backpacks, shoes, jackets, raingear, snowgear if I leave on Mar. 1st?, how many pairs of clothes to bring, what kinds of clothes to bring, what kind of water storage and purification to use, any tools that I would need, food storage, stuff sacks, sleeping bags, tents, and any other items that can't be left behind. ?I would be truly grateful for any guidance and information that anyone could provide for me. ?Thanks a lot.




-Joe

azizjn at eckerd.edu




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