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  1. #81

  2. #82
    Registered User Canyonero's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Samson View Post
    It never hurts to ask for something. The worst thing that could happen is someone could say no. I need someone to slice cheese and place it on crackers for me while I go down the trail. Please send me your cheese slicing resume so I can consider the best candidate for the job.
    I don't have a lot of experience slicing cheese, but I have been known to cut the cheese fairly often. Does that translate to what you need? I could always use some extra money!

  3. #83

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    Quote Originally Posted by Samson:1286189
    It never hurts to ask for something. The worst thing that could happen is someone could say no. I need someone to slice cheese and place it on crackers for me while I go down the trail. Please send me your cheese slicing resume so I can consider the best candidate for the job.
    1995 graduate from the Culinary Institute of America. 3.9 gpa. Am I qualified to slice cheese?

  4. #84
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    Quote Originally Posted by Canyonero View Post
    I don't have a lot of experience slicing cheese, but I have been known to cut the cheese fairly often. Does that translate to what you need? I could always use some extra money!
    I was just thinking about how you would package and ship the cheese you cut. Nuts, now I won't be able to sleep tonight!

  5. #85

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    Quote Originally Posted by Odd Man Out:1286247
    Quote Originally Posted by Canyonero View Post
    I don't have a lot of experience slicing cheese, but I have been known to cut the cheese fairly often. Does that translate to what you need? I could always use some extra money!
    I was just thinking about how you would package and ship the cheese you cut. Nuts, now I won't be able to sleep tonight!
    Vacuum sealer!

  6. #86
    Registered User Canyonero's Avatar
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    MrMiner,

    Another thing you could do is just talk to people you know about backpacking and maybe they have some unused/underused gear they can let you borrow. I was talking about my broken hammock with someone in my church group and he offered to let me borrow his 1-man tent until I figured out what I wanted to buy as a replacement. I never expected that but it was a quite a nice surprise!

    Good luck! As a student myself I understand that gear can be expensive but it's been good to see (through this thread) that there are people willing to help you out!

  7. #87

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    Quote Originally Posted by rastraikis View Post
    Vacuum sealer!
    Thats a great idea,I could use my snake bit kit "The Extractor" to vacuum out the air on the cheese bag,thanks Rastraikis,good job! http://www.rei.com/products407144/sawyer-extrac

  8. #88
    Registered User Pixelgator's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by yellowsirocco:1285861
    I am a big time thrift store shopper and have never seen any backpacking kit in any of my local stores. I have never seen any at yard sales either. What you want is the REI scratch/dent/yard sales. That is where the good stuff is at.
    + 1 RE: thrift store. I did get some stuff at a yard sale once.

  9. #89
    Registered User Veetack's Avatar
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    Miner, I was a UT student and I live in Knoxville. I can help you hunt down some pretty good deals on your stuff. Not free, but reasonable.

  10. #90
    Registered User 3030's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MrMiner2 View Post
    Also, I have been checking craigslist, etc. and emailing everyone about the gear they have if it is the ad. Been a while now and haven't had any luck with actual gear suitable for backpacking.
    I don't mean to add even more criticism here, but I am in the same shoes. I am trying to get the gear I need for a SOBO, with a very small budget. It's possible to get high quality gear when you pinch your pennies, I have a change jar that I dump into a Coinstar machine every 4 or 5 months to get my gear. If I can do it, I'm certain that any other college student can as well, just don't be in such a big rush to get great gear, because no one is going to send you the type of gear that I feel you want. If you want to mooch gear, just be prepared for 8lbs packs and everything else you'll ditch after 20 miles.

    Just my .02 obviously, but I have been eating ramen and $1 menu sandwiches for 8 months preparing for a thru in 2013. Be frugal for a few months and THEN come back and ask for freebies. I'm not attempting to be rude or pee on your hike, so take my words with a few grains of salt.

    Check out these two (where I get/got most of my high quality gear really cheap):

    Geartrade.com
    theclymb.com

  11. #91
    Registered User MrMiner2's Avatar
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    Thanks for the advice. That's dedication! Are you pretty healthy? Ramen has zero nutritional value. Haha I couldn't do that.

  12. #92

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    Do a search for the $300 dollar backpacking challenge. PMags and SGT Rock have some good stuff about inexpensive backpacking gear. Poly-tarps, homemade alcohol stoves, K-Mart grease pots, Walmart blue pads, and Gator-aide bottles are all cheap alternatives. I've found Dri-Ducks rain gear to be an excellent cheap/light alternative to expensive gore-tex fabrics. Fleece insulating layers are dirt cheap. Walmart has some great clothing options, but you'll probably find much of what you need in your closet already. Be creative, the most important piece of gear is your mind!

    Use your money to buy a quality sleeping bag! Take pride in you cheap gear. I often think fondly of the dented kitchen pot (san handle) that I used over thousands of miles of bike touring.

    All the best,

    TrailManny
    aka: TrainManny

  13. #93

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    Collect deposit bottles. My son and I have saved over $750 dollars over the last year and a half for his Eagle Scout project. I'll bet most folks are just throwing them away at your school. (they are where I teach!) Folks think I'm cheap, yeah, so what! You could get some great stuff with that amount of money!

    Cheers,

    TrailManny

  14. #94

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    Quote Originally Posted by TrailManny View Post
    Collect deposit bottles. My son and I have saved over $750 dollars over the last year and a half for his Eagle Scout project. I'll bet most folks are just throwing them away at your school. (they are where I teach!) Folks think I'm cheap, yeah, so what! You could get some great stuff with that amount of money!

    Cheers,

    TrailManny
    3030: I am in awe of young guys like you. You will make it to Springer Mt because you are sacrificing so much now. Have you thought to ask your elderly neighbors, friends, buddies about saving their cans or bottles as well? So many people don't want to hassle with turning them in, but would love to support you in this manner. When the time comes, if you faithfully stay active on this site, I'd be willing to help sponsor you. You are going to need cold, hard cash when the time arrives. And more of it than you think! Because with you - I see this as a hand up - NOT a handout. BIG difference in my opinion. I would rethink the ramen. You will be eating enough of it on the trail!!

    And TrailManny: EXCELLENT suggestions!

  15. #95
    Registered User 3030's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by WIAPilot View Post
    3030: I am in awe of young guys like you. You will make it to Springer Mt because you are sacrificing so much now. Have you thought to ask your elderly neighbors, friends, buddies about saving their cans or bottles as well? So many people don't want to hassle with turning them in, but would love to support you in this manner. When the time comes, if you faithfully stay active on this site, I'd be willing to help sponsor you. You are going to need cold, hard cash when the time arrives. And more of it than you think! Because with you - I see this as a hand up - NOT a handout. BIG difference in my opinion. I would rethink the ramen. You will be eating enough of it on the trail!!

    And TrailManny: EXCELLENT suggestions!
    I have been taking aluminum cans and siding to my local metal scrap (I work as maintenance part time and they just throw it out) for a few months now. I don't want to sound like a complete noobie here, but I still don't understand the sponsoring thing.

    I would love to give up ramen, but the price is far too good! I will admit that today I got a large combo meal from Arby's, but that's probably my caloric intake for 2 or 3 days

  16. #96

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    Send me a PM and I'll explain....

  17. #97
    Registered User MrMiner2's Avatar
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    Pilot is just trying to mad me mad 3030. Beat of luck to you though!

  18. #98
    Registered User MrMiner2's Avatar
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    Kidding by the way

  19. #99
    Registered User Old Hiker's Avatar
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    2 more ideas:

    a. Freecycle.org - check out the web site for the explanation
    b. Free ads in the free weekly papers - explain in 50 words or less what you need - maybe one piece of gear at a time instead of the shotgun approach.
    Old Hiker
    AT Hike 2012 - 497 Miles of 2184
    AT Thru Hiker - 29 FEB - 03 OCT 2016 2189.1 miles
    Just because my teeth are showing, does NOT mean I'm smiling.
    Hányszor lennél inkább máshol?

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