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Growthegnar
11-18-2014, 11:54
Planning to thru-hike the AT in 2015?

Want to connect with fellow hikers before hitting the trail?

GreenLife Adventure Sports in Richmond, VA will be hosting a thru-hiker prep series every Tuesday night from 6-730, starting on November 25 and ending on February 10. Manager, Matt Hayden (AT '12), will be leading the series. Each Tuesday night Matt will cover a gear related topic and a 200 mile section of the AT. Attendees will also receive a 15% discount the night of the each class on any purchase made at GreenLife. This is a great opportunity to connect with fellow hikers in the Richmond area.

Where: GreenLife Adventure Sports 9691 W. Broad Street Glen Allen, VA 23060
When: Every Tuesday night starting November 25 @6PM

Please contact the shop with any questions (804) 716-8145

Pajj
11-20-2014, 14:55
Ill be there if I don't make a trip up to roanoke this week, sounds helpful

SawnieRobertson
11-20-2014, 17:26
Sounds great. You can count on my being there. We are thru's after we begin as long as we don't leave the trail, right? I would also like to hear about places to walk during those very months. Thank you for putting this together.

jimmyjam
11-20-2014, 20:49
It's a nice store, i stopped in there the other day and talked to Matt for a little bit. Nice guy, I hope the store does well.

ZenRabbit
11-21-2014, 11:12
+1 for this store. Great gear and knowledgeable store that have real world experiences and are ready to get involved in your success of your adventures. I was in the other day and talked to Matt about getting a Western Mountaineeering Sequoia with an overfill ordered.

They stock a bunch of good brands and they have a cool store dog, what more could you ask for? :)

Sent by Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 using Tapatalk4

YesRushGen
11-22-2014, 12:01
I'll +1 the store and Matt himself. I interacted with him quite a bit in March and April of this year, when he was still at the Norfolk store. He was very knowledgeable and helpful in making some of my gear selections. I wish I lived closer to Richmond, I'd definitely attend his prep classes.

2015 Lady Thru-Hiker
11-22-2014, 19:31
Looking at traveling in from the Waynesboro area that afternoon to go.

SawnieRobertson
11-22-2014, 23:35
I too dropped by the store, which is about one mile from the studio that I have taken for the winter. Ditto to all above. Some excellent products are there, especially the collar/leash that my daughter's Standard Poodle will like for Christmas.It will be good to be with other 2015 wannabes. My service dog will be with me, and her name is Fleur.

2015 Lady Thru-Hiker
11-26-2014, 00:21
Planning to thru-hike the AT in 2015?

Want to connect with fellow hikers before hitting the trail?

GreenLife Adventure Sports in Richmond, VA will be hosting a thru-hiker prep series every Tuesday night from 6-730, starting on November 25 and ending on February 10. Manager, Matt Hayden (AT '12), will be leading the series. Each Tuesday night Matt will cover a gear related topic and a 200 mile section of the AT. Attendees will also receive a 15% discount the night of the each class on any purchase made at GreenLife. This is a great opportunity to connect with fellow hikers in the Richmond area.

Where: GreenLife Adventure Sports 9691 W. Broad Street Glen Allen, VA 23060
When: Every Tuesday night starting November 25 @6PM

Please contact the shop with any questions (804) 716-8145

Nice session tonight. Worth the drive. Learned a lot from Matt. Look forward to next week. Very nice meeting everyone.

SawnieRobertson
11-26-2014, 12:01
It could have been a real drag like having to listen to someone drone on and on about some heavy, expensive product he thinks ought to make you more comfortable on the trail. There was none of that stuff, just a very intelligent pouring out of this thruhiker's ('12) pool of knowledge about numerous products and then a humorous
chat about walking from Springer to Newfound Gap. The gear topic was stoves. I think that next Tuesday will be about filters and the next 200 miles. I enjoyed meeting all participants, a small, cozy few around the imaginary fire.
And imagine getting to meet Hiker Lady,who began the 2015 thread.

SawnieRobertson
11-26-2014, 12:26
It could have been a real drag like having to listen to someone drone on and on about some heavy, expensive product he thinks ought to make you more comfortable on the trail. There was none of that stuff, just a very intelligent pouring out of this thruhiker's ('12) pool of knowledge about numerous products and then a humorous
chat about walking from Springer to Newfound Gap. The gear topic was stoves. I think that next Tuesday will be about filters and the next 200 miles. I enjoyed meeting all participants, a small, cozy few around the imaginary fire.
And imagine getting to meet Hiker Lady,who began the 2015 thread.

2015 Lady Thru-Hiker
12-02-2014, 08:49
It was indeed a very nice session Sawnie! And I so much enjoyed meeting you. Will you be at tonight's session?

If anyone close to the Richmond area has the opportunity you should try to attend. Matt is very laid back, the session very informative. I never felt like he was trying to sell me anything. Just sharing what he knows about different styles of products (last week was stoves and cookware, this week water purification like Sawnie said) and different brands. The time spend covering the first 200 miles. It was very relaxed and a lot of laughs were had. Session starts at 6 and ends around 730. Bring your AWOL if you have one or something to take notes and be prepared to pet a very friendly dog :)

2015 Lady Thru-Hiker
12-02-2014, 21:09
Another great prep session with Matt at GreenLife here in Richmond. We discussed water purification tonight - a couple of different types of methods - filters and drops. It was a very nice group and more than double the size of the group from last week - YAY!! Spent the 2nd half of the evening covering the high points of the next 200 miles. Couple if things not in the AWOL I made sure to write down. Gives me that much more to look forward to :) the thing I appreciate about this opportunity is that it is giving me more confidence in decisions I've already made and giving me more confidence to make decisions about things I haven't yet. Thanks Matt!!

jimmyjam
12-03-2014, 13:56
I really wanted to attend last night but I was too sick with this head & chest cold that's going around, but I plan on being there next week.

2015 Lady Thru-Hiker
12-03-2014, 14:55
So sorry you are sick jimmyjam. Would have been nice to see you. Just got over a case of strep and bronchitis myself. Lots of vitamin C and garlic to help clear up the lungs. Will have to drive from up HR to make it next week but it's good stuff for a fairly new newbie so I think it is worth it.

dangerdave
12-03-2014, 20:39
It's tough being a prospective thru-hiker here in Ohio. Too far away to take advantage of any such meetings.

Stupid Ohio...:(

2015 Lady Thru-Hiker
12-03-2014, 22:45
It's tough being a prospective thru-hiker here in Ohio. Too far away to take advantage of any such meetings.

Stupid Ohio...:(

That does suck danger. I would be happy to record for you and post it here if you'd like. I know it won't be the same as being there but I am sure you'll get something from it.

Shutter
12-08-2014, 22:37
A.T. class of 2011 and PCT class of 2014 here.

Not to hijack the thread or anything but I'd like to join in and offer up another local connection.
If anyone in the Richmond area has questions or wants someone to PM or e-mail with direct questions I'd be happy to help anyone out. Perhaps a Richmond Past and Present Thru-hiker happy hour.

Turbo Zero
12-09-2014, 16:16
Hey it's Matt,

Tonight's class is going to be about packs. I will be covering lots of things including... choosing the right size pack for you, properly fitting your pack, how to load your pack and lots of other little tips and tricks. After going over packs I will be covering miles 400-600 which will cover Watauga Lake, Damascus, Mt Rogers and finish up just past Bland VA.

We just completed a 90ft long to scale elevation profile of the AT in our shop running across the top 2 feet of the left side wall. If you are planning a thru-hike for 2015 we would love to get your picture and post it on the wall with updates of where you are. That way your family can come in and see where you are from time to time in correlation to the length of the trail.

Hope to see everyone out tonight for another fun class!

2015 Lady Thru-Hiker
12-09-2014, 19:28
Hate to miss it but ended up staying in Hampton roads for the evening to help out with the daughter with sick grand kids. I'm sure I'll miss a lot of good information but grandma duty calls! I am sure it is a great class.