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kayak karl
12-19-2007, 21:55
Many of you hiked the trail in 2007 and as the year closes to an end there MUST be some words of wisdom you can give to the class of 2008, many of you read, but don't post, now is the time to tell all:). tell us of your accomplishment. tell us the one thing YOU would do different. what would YOU do the same. things like support from home, gear, food, mail and mental or health issues.
Good or Bad, its the trip of a life time.Inquiring Minds Want to Know!

Happy Holidays:banana
KAYAK

rafe
12-19-2007, 22:02
This year's lesson? Hiking's better with a light pack, light shoes, pub stops 0.3 miles off the trail, a cell phone, and a lovin' wife back home. :sun

doggiebag
12-19-2007, 22:19
Not overnighting at a hostel for more than 2 nights in a row - unless injured. I had a tendency of carrying less water than I normally should - though I was never in any physical danger of dehydration, I was always preoccupied with making the next water source (sometimes). A better selection of novels to read along the trail as opposed to just grabbing whatever someone leaves at the shelters ... though they were interesting enough. A wood burning stove would have been better IMHO once I reached NH ... there was so much birch trees and it would have been a good way to lighten up the load. I should have used more mail drops.

walkthewoods
12-19-2007, 22:28
I realized that my pack list tends to get longer and heavier the more I over-think it.
If you use a hydration bladder like a camelbak a good way to get it nice and dry before putting in its off-duty storage place is to remove the drinking tube, separate the mouth piece from the tube, and rinse all three parts with hot watter. then hang them up to dry, but first open the bladder at the top where you fill it, and shove an empty toilet paper roll in there. This keeps the bladder open so air can circulate and the water can evaporate completely out before you store it.

Oh and slipping on ice on the top of Springer and getting nice, big, purple and blue and black bruises all over your left shoulder, elbow, hip, and knee moments before beginning your hike back to Amicalola is definately not recommended.

Tinker
12-19-2007, 22:47
I'd think more about what I was seeing, hearing, smelling, etc, etc, and be more thankful for being able to do it. I'd think more about the folks who made the AT possible, and, again, give thanks. I'd be more concerned about what other people think and feel, and less concerned about what I think and feel. I'd be more kind to those who see things differently.
Man, this feels like a 12 step program!!!!:p

(I feel better already!)

kayak karl
12-19-2007, 22:56
I
Man, this feels like a 12 step program!!!!:p
(I feel better already!)
it was ALOT more steps then 12:)

Tinker
12-19-2007, 23:02
it was ALOT more steps then 12:)

So true, though I didn't get out as much as I wanted to (do we ever?????).

Next year, he says..............;)

kayak karl
12-20-2007, 00:09
So true, though I didn't get out as much as I wanted to (do we ever?????).

Next year, he says..............;)
already ended my lease. i either hiking or homeless. ? in there a difference:-?

ScottP
12-20-2007, 00:12
already ended my lease. i either hiking or homeless. ? in there a difference:-?


After spending some time off the trail with lyme, getting back on the trail was the strongest 'coming home' feeling I've ever had--even compared to going 'home' after finishing up my hike.

Pedaling Fool
12-20-2007, 00:23
1. A tent ground-cloth is a waste of money and not worth the time spent packing/unpacking.
2. Take a "water-tank" type container, i.e. such as one provided by the Platypus or other company. They are great a camp when the water source is a hike in it's own right, from the shelter/campsite.

Blissful
12-20-2007, 21:05
This year's lesson? Hiking's better with a light pack, light shoes, pub stops 0.3 miles off the trail, a cell phone, and a lovin' wife back home. :sun

I agree with all except the pub - a warm motel room in the rain and a good place to get a hot dinner suffices for me. :)

Go light. Don't run up the Approach Trail. :) Use the friendly staff at Neels Gap to help you sort out your stuff. Wear trail runners, they really do work (I was an ardent hiking boot fan with the weak ankle syndrome and was converted from Harper's Ferry on). Don't compare your hiking style to what others are doing. So what if others are going 20 plus miles three weeks into the hike and you're still doing 14? Hike your own hike. Take time to enjoy it. It's not a race. Take it one day at a time. Maine is a long ways off so don't think about the end. And any goals or expectations you set when you begin the hike, throw it out the window. Too many unknowns out there to plan anything. Snow hits. Your tent pole breaks. Your knee hurts or your blisters are huge. You meet awesome people you want to hang out with. Be adaptable and adjust to the ever changing situation. Every day something unexpected happens on the AT.

Blissful
12-20-2007, 21:12
Oh and slipping on ice on the top of Springer and getting nice, big, purple and blue and black bruises all over your left shoulder, elbow, hip, and knee moments before beginning your hike back to Amicalola is definately not recommended.

This is true. You will fall down. Wish we could practice falling. I know some don't advocate it but hiking poles helped me fall much less and prevented untold amount of ankle twists. But I did my share of falls, and so did Paul Bunyan. And had a whopper of a bruise on my right lower arm, also bruised hand, pulled right quad from falls.

Know first aid. And make sure you have an ace wrap.

Pedaling Fool
12-20-2007, 21:19
This is true. You will fall down. Wish we could practice falling. I know some don't advocate it but hiking poles helped me fall much less and prevented untold amount of ankle twists. But I did my share of falls, and so did Paul Bunyan. And had a whopper of a bruise on my right lower arm, also bruised hand, pulled right quad from falls.

Know first aid. And make sure you have an ace wrap.
My hiking poles saved me on more than one occasion. However, there was this one time in Vermont I was coming down a steep descent, with rocks everywhere around me; I slipped and fell with all my weight coming down on my left knee. Some how I missed all them rocks and landed in the only soft patch of that green moss stuff, which was not much bigger than the circumference of my knee.
Now that’s Trail Magic!

cheeks
12-20-2007, 21:19
Do what you like, it don't matter..

rafe
12-20-2007, 21:20
This is true. You will fall down. Wish we could practice falling. I know some don't advocate it ...

Who cares if "some don't advocate it?" It's your safety at stake. You do what you need to do. Nobody else has any say in the matter.