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Howdy, y'all! I am Jon Prain--and I am a pastor. (Hence the name, prain4u). I am also the director of a small drug and alcohol treatment center. I live in Illinois--but am a northern Wisconsin...

We can analyze inflation rates, CPI rates, hiker completion rates, number of days spent in town rates...etc. However, there really is no denying that food prices (for both "store bought" and...

Reason for the high numbers? Bad economy for several years. High unemployment rates (and the ability to get unemployment benefits for a year or more). College grads who can't get good jobs or any...

I would recommend starting later--like the first or second week in April. Less need for as much heavy/warm gear. Higher completion rate. Less time spent hunkering down waiting out storms. Cold...

I would guess that far more people have STARTED a thru hike with heavy camera gear than have FINISHED a thru hike with heavy camera gear. That, in itself, should speak volumes.

That being said,...

Welcome!!!!!

I spent 13 years with the military. As far as quality goes, the military gear is often "O.K. or even "good". It gets the job done and you can certainly use it for hiking. ...

Few things in life are as emotionally "easy" as a long distance hike. To oversimplify things----Wake up. Break camp. Walk. Take care of bodily functions. Set up camp. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. If...

The bulk of the increase in the cost of a thru hike today (compared to the 1990s) is probably found in the significant increase in cost of basic things--like food, fuel, postage and transportation....

If only it were that simple. If only it were a simple matter of weakness or strength--but for many people it is not that simple. To tell the true addict or true alcohol that willpower alone can...

oops...I did bad math. There were an average of 21.5 episodes of severe tachycardia reported each year--not 26.

In a previous post, I mentioned that we need to be aware of such risks, but we should also keep the likelihood of such events occurring in their proper perspective. If I am reading the official...

Thanks for the information. It is appreciated and good to know. HOWEVER, that being said, I would hope that people would not OVERREACT and be afraid of Benedryl, ibuprofen and some of the other...

Pop a couple of Benadryl a half hour before bedtime to help make you very sleepy. Put in earplugs to reduce outside sounds (or put in ear buds connected to a small radio. mp3 player etc. ...

Hiking consecutive bigger mile days is certainly not a new thing--and plenty of folks hike bigger days than the OP. However, such hiking often comes a little later in someone's hike--after they have...

Glad you enjoyed yourself. Glad it was a good safe time and that you were able to log some pretty good mileage. My hat is off to you. If I was in your area, I would buy you the beverage of your...

One June 2nd the official "cease fire" and "non-hostility" treaties between the bears and humans take effect. The UN helped to negotiate these agreements. The top UN negotiator is expected to be...

I have found the 50 degree fleece bags to be pretty darn chilly much below 60 degrees. I find them to be more of a VERY heavy sleeping bag liner than a real sleeping bag.

Best as I can calculate--the closest point is roughly 685 miles from my home (give or take 5 miles).

I am all for getting by as inexpensively as possible.

However, that being said, you OFTEN get what you pay for. An inexpensive 40 degree bag might really be closer to being a 50 or 60 degree...

I agree with all of the comments made thus far. I don't know if liners are "worth their weight" in terms of insulation value. Also, they are just one more dang thing to tangled up in as you sleep....

Herzlichen Glückwunsch!

I can do--and have done--some SUPER ultralight hiking. I am one of those silly folks who can do much of that wilderness survivalist stuff that you see on those silly TV shows. My lightest "hike"...

Personally, when responding to other people's posts and questions, I see no need to "affirm" other people, or to be politically correct, or to worry if my responses might hurt their feelings (or...

I respectfully disagree with Marta, BostonBlue, and Feral Bill :)

Having to have the hike completed by (essentially) mid-August puts too much pressure on the hiker---more than most somewhat...

Clarifying my earlier post... I do carry two Gatorade bottles while hiking. However, that does not mean that I always hike with both of them full. It depends upon availability of water on any...