hikerjohnd
03-14-2005, 17:58
Well I'm back a bit early, but ready for more! I twisted my knee pretty badly coming down Sasafrass Mtn on Saturday and I didn't want to aggrivate the injury to the point I couldn't go on my thru starting April 15th - so I headed home.
I want to say thanks to all you WBers for all the practical advice that made my long weekend a success! I lightened my load substantially and was still comfortable on a couple of very cold and windy nights! I opted to take hiking poles (advce from some WBers and others I spoke with) and decided they paid for themselves on the .9 mile section up to Springer! I almost fell off the side of the mountain! The poles will go the rest of the way!!!
I wish I had brought sunglasses - it was sunny enough and the trees were still bare enough to make sunglasses practical. I also wish I had brought more snack type food instead of meal type food (maybe some extra candy bars instead of 1 mac and cheese meal) as I was not hungry the first night, but wanted more snacks than I had.
I think I will switch back to my external frame pack for my winter gear. I like my Granite Gear Nimbus Ozone, but it was just a bit small for a full winter load - with my external frame pack, I'll have the extra room and not add that much to the overall weight.
For those who know him - I spent a night in a shelter with mobeach. He is doing well - very confident and moving quickly - I'm sure he'll have no trouble. We also spent that night with a couple I dubbed "the cotton twins" - everything they had was cotton - and appeared to be heavy (coleman bags, etc.) They made it to Gooch Gap and hitched to Suches to go home. Too bad though - they were very nice and appeared to have the right attitude!
I can't wait to get back out there with 6 months to do nothing but hike!!!
I want to say thanks to all you WBers for all the practical advice that made my long weekend a success! I lightened my load substantially and was still comfortable on a couple of very cold and windy nights! I opted to take hiking poles (advce from some WBers and others I spoke with) and decided they paid for themselves on the .9 mile section up to Springer! I almost fell off the side of the mountain! The poles will go the rest of the way!!!
I wish I had brought sunglasses - it was sunny enough and the trees were still bare enough to make sunglasses practical. I also wish I had brought more snack type food instead of meal type food (maybe some extra candy bars instead of 1 mac and cheese meal) as I was not hungry the first night, but wanted more snacks than I had.
I think I will switch back to my external frame pack for my winter gear. I like my Granite Gear Nimbus Ozone, but it was just a bit small for a full winter load - with my external frame pack, I'll have the extra room and not add that much to the overall weight.
For those who know him - I spent a night in a shelter with mobeach. He is doing well - very confident and moving quickly - I'm sure he'll have no trouble. We also spent that night with a couple I dubbed "the cotton twins" - everything they had was cotton - and appeared to be heavy (coleman bags, etc.) They made it to Gooch Gap and hitched to Suches to go home. Too bad though - they were very nice and appeared to have the right attitude!
I can't wait to get back out there with 6 months to do nothing but hike!!!