Looking for advice.........

[jamescorey]

I am re-entering the hiking scene after a 10 year hiatus, with plans for a SOBO thru hike in 2005. I reside in central Georgia, and I am looking for good ideas as to what equipment I will need (obvious equipment aside), and some considerations that I should make. I am also looking for some good training hikes in the area, so if you know of some feel free. At present, the only items that I have obtained are my pack (Kelty Red Cloud 4500), bag and pad (Kelty Tundra Synthetic +15, Thermarest Ridge Rest Closed Cell), shelter (Eureka Solitaire), and stove (Hike N' Light Alcohol Stove, although I am eshamed to say that I have no idea as to how it works). Feel free to give any advice and, I am looking forward to hearing from you.

JamesCorey

[Jumpstart]

James,

The best way to gather advice is to do exactly what you're doing...go through all the threads of this forum and you will get more advice than you ever wanted about gear, training, diet, food, maildroppping, planning, and everything in between. Once you have a feel for the endeavor, you can post more specific questions in each forum and people can make reccommendations based on that. Good luck!

[jamescorey]

James,

The best way to gather advice is to do exactly what you're doing...go through all the threads of this forum and you will get more advice than you ever wanted about gear, training, diet, food, maildroppping, planning, and everything in between. Once you have a feel for the endeavor, you can post more specific questions in each forum and people can make reccommendations based on that. Good luck!

I appreciate the insight.

[jojo0425]

shelter (Eureka Solitaire),
JamesCorey

I also own the Eureka Solitaire. It is a nice bivy tent, but I must say, even though I'm only 5'3", it is a little cramped, which doesn't matter if all you have to do in it is sleep. However, I've had to hang out in it for 3-4 nights in a row b/c of rain. I couldn't sit up in it at all. If you don't like cramped spaces or like to sit up in your tent you might consider one with a little more headroom. There are some one person backpacking tents that offer more headroom.

Good luck!

[Cehoffpauir]

Something I've been doing is reading people's gear lists, then researching each particular product to determine whether it suits me or not. Along the way I've learned.

[jamescorey]

I also own the Eureka Solitaire. It is a nice bivy tent, but I must say, even though I'm only 5'3", it is a little cramped, which doesn't matter if all you have to do in it is sleep. However, I've had to hang out in it for 3-4 nights in a row b/c of rain. I couldn't sit up in it at all. If you don't like cramped spaces or like to sit up in your tent you might consider one with a little more headroom. There are some one person backpacking tents that offer more headroom.

Good luck!

I am going to try my Solitaire this weekend on a weekend trip in North Georgia (Panther Creek Falls) I am not much taller at 5'5", but I don't do well in tight spaces for long amounts of time.

[stranger]

Bivy tents are great to "sleep" in...but that's about it. I used a Jack Wolfskin Soloist for about 5-6 years and I loved it until it starting raining 3 hours before bedtime, but that didn't happen more than a few times. It was about 30 inches in height, so this even made it hard for reading. A great all around tent though.

This lack of space led me into the tarp world, which eliminates the space issue but raises many others (bugs, ground water, many pegs/guys). And of course if you get a traditional tent that you can sit up in, it's probably more weight than you want to carry. It's a pain in the ass.

[Happy]

For a shelter I would recommend a Nomad tent from Wanderlust(could be 7 month wait) or a Henry Shires tarptent. For bags, if it fit's your budget(expensive) the Western Mountaineering Ultralite is perfect.

[Doctari]

The red cloud is a nice pack, a little heavy & a few too many straps for ME but I do like the pack.
The tundra +15 & a ridge rest, good choice also. IMHO: you cant go wrong with anything from Kelty.
Not fam. with the solitare.
Have seen the hike n lite, looks solid. Take it & instructions out to your yard & Practice practice practice practice practice practice practice. I suggest that with almost any new piece of gear.

As to the rest of your gear: Try to stay as light as you can (see the UL forum), you don't need a stainless steel cook pot for example. Many ultra light hikers use the grease pot from Wal Mart. Borrow or rent gear to try out as much as you can, then buy what works for you. as with all advice here, what works for me may not work for you; I hike in a kilt which aint for everyone, etc.

Check out your local parks for "practice hikes" if they don't allow camping, hike the trails, go home & set up camp in the back yard As you are in Cent GA, you are only a short (3 hr by mapquest, I looked) drive from Springer (compare to me, its a 7.5 hour drive) hike there, don't actually have to do any AT hiking, there is the aproach trail, and the BMT & quite a few others.

And the most important advice I can give: HAVE FUN!

[jamescorey]

Thanks for all of the advice Doc. I finally realized how easy to use the stove is (painfully easy, I might add), and am starting to get a renewed grasp on the hiking world. My only complaints thus far have to do with the costs of merchandise. If anyone has any bargain based ideas feel free to add them in, because I am starting to spend way more money than I anticipated.

[SGT Rock]

There are lots of good ways to go cheap. The trick is to know what will and won't work for you. I guess it would help us to reccomend stuff if we know what you have and what you are looking for.

[MilesA]

James, there is so much information out there it can get overwhelming sometimes. So many different opinions which might suit one person but not another.

Please remember, people spend a lot of time taking about the gear -- but hiking is not really about the gear. It's about the experience of being outside and enjoying Nature. Your gear is just your tools. Lots of different gear, realistically, will do the job. You don't have to have the best, the latest, the greatest or the most expensive as long as it suits you. And there are inexpensive alternatives for most things.

I'd like to suggest you'll save time by studying a couple of the more outstanding books that are out there. You'll learn the core information to update your skills in a systematic way, instead of the chaotic, haphazard way of the Internet.

For instance:
The Backpacker's Handbook, 2nd Edition, by Chris Townsend (comprehensive coverage)
Beyond Backpacking, by Ray Jardine (lots of interesting ideas, can be a bit extreme, though, read with several grains-of-salt)

Lastly, I would say, don't be afraid to experiment. Take some short trips. Once you have the basics covered, find out what works for you, what doesn't through trial-and-error. Have fun with it.

[azchipka]

Thanks for all of the advice Doc. I finally realized how easy to use the stove is (painfully easy, I might add), and am starting to get a renewed grasp on the hiking world. My only complaints thus far have to do with the costs of merchandise. If anyone has any bargain based ideas feel free to add them in, because I am starting to spend way more money than I anticipated.

As much as it may be hard to do (trusting wise) you can hit ebay. Just make sure you know what your looking for and stick to it. Alot of independant retail stores offload alot of stock on ebay when its not selling. If you keep an eye out you can find alot of good gear for a very low price.

[jigsaw]

try campmor or sierra trading post they have good deals on gear.