Cram harder loose the sleeping bag sack. Maybe adjust your sleeping pad to the bottom. Or top. ? Might be taking up usable space. ? But just losing the sleeping bag cover and shape should net you a good 4-6 inches of usable space.
Cram harder loose the sleeping bag sack. Maybe adjust your sleeping pad to the bottom. Or top. ? Might be taking up usable space. ? But just losing the sleeping bag cover and shape should net you a good 4-6 inches of usable space.
Hiking the AT is “pointless.” What life is not “pointless”? Is it not pointless to work paycheck to paycheck just to conform?.....I want to make my life less ordinary. AWOL
I just realized that there must be some Dog Food in that food bag. I hope you are only bringing the Kibble and not any wet food????
“For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”
John Greenleaf Whittier
The most important thing I see missing is a postal scale. Rule #1, weigh everything and create a spreadsheet? You'd be surprised how things add up.
Why 2 pairs of pants? 2 neck buffs?
You don't need insect repellant.
I didn't see a first aid kit.
I started March 13th and carried 2 pair of socks, 1 long sleeve mid weight Smartwool shirt, 1 wicking briefs, 1 puffy jacket, light gloves. I wore Northface convertible pants, underwear, socks, wicking T, ball cap, trail runners and layers with carried clothes as needed.
Raingear - UL Frogg Toggs. Also used as an outer layer.
You'll be plenty warm while hiking, then you'll be in your sleeping bag.
Food:
Did you reduce packaging? Did you keep meals simple? One pot or freezer bag cooked meal for dinner. For me it was jerky, granola bars, pop tarts, candy bars and other bad things for you. For dinner tuna, chicken, spam in foil packs along with a rice or pasta side.
Are you taking too much? I planned 3 days to Neel's Gap for a resupply.
My rule of thumb is 1/2 pound per day in food weight.
Hope this helps.
"Chainsaw" GA-ME 2011
Yes, seriously. Why do you think you need TWO of everything like that for when you're hiking the trail? You don't. AND weight WILL be an issue, along with all the other issues you do, indeed have. You will not make it far, I'm afraid, with your complete lack of backpacking experience, your attitude, and your kit.
But, I do support your bringing of your pooch, and I understand why. Ignore the dog haters on WB. I'm sure they all love cats.
You NEED:
Clothes on your back
1 pr spare hiking socks
1 pr long johns
Insulation
Raingear
Most AT thru hikers like a second pr long johns to sleep in if first is wet hiking in cold rain. Ill give you that in April.
But thats all clothing needed. Towns have washing machines, you see them every couple days. You will be dirty, you will be smelly. Embrace it.
Last edited by MuddyWaters; 03-26-2017 at 17:38.
Yeah, that sleeping bag is what is taking up all your space. Take it out of the stuff sack and line your pack with a trash compacter bag. Stick it in the bottom of the pack. Only take one pair of pants. Tent is going to have to go on the outside of the pack if you want to leave room for the pup. Make it a habit to keep your rain gear accessible, like at the top of your pack.
I hate to say it. but the dog is the other part of the equation that is causing your pack to be overloaded. You can try a Ribz front pack to keep all your odds and ends in, that way you have room for food and the dog.
NOBO March 2018
Man can only find oneself while alone on the Appalachian Trail. There his mind if free to explore his thoughts, the Universe and eventually find his true self. -Ernest Hemingway
Buy three 13 Liter Sea to Summit Ultra-sil Dry Bags (1.4 oz. each) http://https://www.rei.com/product/7...a-sil-dry-sack
Toss the sleeping bag sack. Stuff the sleeping bag in the dry sack, close top loosely, press down to compress, then roll close. This acts a compression bag reducing space (which you need) and keeps the bag dry (which your pack cover won't do).
Use one Dry Sack for clothes and the other for food. Yes you can get 3 days food in one (minus lunch which should be handy, not buried in your pack.
"Chainsaw" GA-ME 2011
This isn't rocket science we're talking about here. A thread earlier this week you hinted how cheap it was to gear up, may this be the issue. Cheap equates to bulky.
If you have items that take up space, ie a synthetic 3 season bag-- switch out to a down bag or quilt.
Anything that can be downsized to fit , make those changes and start again.
If it's the butterflies then push them aside and get going.
Getting lost is a way to find yourself.
Yup, change out one those pants for running shorts or take convertibles and running shorts. Strap the BA firmly shelter to the outside of the pack. CCF Zrest takes up much bulk. Have you considered an inflatable? Reduce the volume of the food bag. Way too big for 4 lbs. Accumulate all your drugs and hygiene products. You can reduce that by breaking up into smaller parcels floating some of it ahead.
Get out there. After 3 wks it'll warm up. You'll need less bulky and heavier gear. Don't despise your beginnings! You aren't going to get everything perfect. Maybe, never will. After a few wks you'll either learn to manage with the dog's stuff, reduce it, send the dog home, or you'll go home. In those wks you'll get your trail legs. You'll find what's working optimally. You'll change some stuff up which DOES NOT, repeat DOES NOT, necessarily apply to just gear! Think of this as a journey where you're evolving developing. You don't necessarily have to go in trying to have all the answers. THAT IS A MISTAKE!!! What answers you do currently have may change. You're a textbook candidate for having recommended to you, "you should allow yourself room to happily evolve.
All good points DW makes. I like the word "evolve" also to understand successes are often bred out of adaptations due to minor setbacks ,(not a failure if you learn from it).
Start out knowing that a few tweaks will ultimately be made , evolving to use Dogwoods term, you will be better prepared to change on the fly without hesitation.
It's a journey, just let it flow LL and have a ton of fun.
Getting lost is a way to find yourself.
Its going to suck. If it was easy, everyone would do it.
Embrace the suck.
It's just walking.
Please excuse my saying so but that's just nuts. But then again, I have a hard time wrapping my brain around the idea that someone would set out on an AT thru hike without ever having packed a pack, or hauled that pack through the woods for a night or two beforehand.
It happens
Talked to a guy in Caratunk last year who said it was his first backpacking trip. Started at Springer with an 80 pound pack full of camping gear. He learned on the fly and his pack was a comfortable 35 pounds when I met him. He laughed at his inexperience. He didnt know what he didnt know.
OK, so I watched your video and compiled this list of your gear:
Pack:
Osprey 65L
Rain Pack Cover
Clothes:
2 pair Darn Tough Socks
2 pair Boxers
1 Long Sleeve Shirt
1 Short Sleeve Shirt
2 Pairs Hiking Pants
Puffy Jacket
Winter Hat
Smartwool Neck Buff
Lighter Wt Neck Buff
Smartwool Gloves
Sleeping Socks (Toe Socks)
Rain Jacket
Kitchen:
1 Nalgene Bottle
1 Smartwater Bottle (need enough capacity for dog)
Sawyer Filter
MSR Titanium Cooking Set
2 bowls (one for dog)
Spoon & Fork
Micro Rocket, Fuel Canister & Lighter
Sleep System:
Z Sleeping Pad
Fly Creek UL2 Tent
15 Degree Sleeping Bag
Misc:
Sitting Pad
Titanium Trowel
Headlamp
Knife
Rope (for hanging food or walking dog in town)
Dog:
Chewy Toy
Coat
Foot Cream
Glucosamine
Electronics:
iPhone Charger Cable
Power Pack & Charging Cable
Wireless Headphones
Wired Headphones
First Aid/Hygiene:
Ankle Brace (for at night)
Anti-Chafing Cream
Coconut Oil
Something stick – didn’t catch the name of it
Soap
Toothbrush
Extracts for headaches, insect repellent and sleep – Lemon, Peppermint, Lavender, Eucalyptus
Medicines
Lip Balm
Dude, you got this! You just need some tweaking. Many have set off with a lot less organization and “experience” and have successfully thru-hike the trail….yes, less “experience”….the guy we hiked with in 2008 read his parent's old 1970’s Nat Geo magazines for his “experience”….he showed up in the heaviest jeans and cotton gear that one could buy! He figured the heavier the better! He made it to Maine, though his jeans were replaced in the first month. His external frame pack had gear hanging all over it, even still in Maine. We could not even see his body in front of it.
The obvious thing I see is too many items, all loose, in who knows what pocket…and nothing ready for that surprise rain shower that no one expected. Bundle like things together in separate ziplock baggies and always, always put them in the same pocket each day, otherwise you’ll be driven crazy looking for some small little item.
Suggestion:
1. Put all your clothes (not needed during the day) in a trash compactor bag with your sleeping bag inside your main compartment (ditch the sleeping bag stuff sack, so all of this will fill all nooks and crannies in your pack). The rain pack cover is not going to provide anywhere near 100% rain protection for the gear in your pack!
2. Put the tent and the tent poles on the outside. The tent poles should be able to slip into the side loops on the pack’s side. Before you close up the lid to your pack, stick the tent or the sleeping pad there and then latch it. Continue to use the straps on the bottom of your pack for either your sleeping pad or tent.
3. Put all your First Aid/Hygiene items in one ziplock baggie in a side pocket
4. Put all your dog items in another ziplock baggie in a side pocket
5. Put all your electronics in another ziplock baggie. If they aren’t going to be used during the day, consider putting them in your trash compactor bag along with your clothes and sleeping bag for extra water protection.
6. Put your rain jacket and pack cover in the lid pocket. You want them to be quick and easy to get to!
7. Put your day’s worth of food in the pack’s back pocket (where you had the sitting pad in your video) or belt pockets on your pack for easy grabbing (if you have those pockets) or even in the lid pocket of your pack.
8. And of course, you know, put your sawyer filter on your water bottle now…not in your packs’ side pocket and put your lip balm in your pants pocket, not in your First Aid kit, so you have easy, quick access to it.
9. Things to consider leaving behind:
a. One of the eating bowls. You eat out of the pot. The dog eats out of one bowl.
b. Trowel
c. Sitting pad
d. Fork (Just use the spoon)
e. Are all of the First Aid items necessary? Coconut oil, some sort of stick and 4 different extracts?
You can do it!
Watching the video suggests that the OP is
1. Stressed, which is okay
2. Willing to learn, which is what he needs
So, cut back bulky items where you can, repack until everything more or less fits in and on the pack, take good care of the pup, and start out. If you don't get far, learn and try again, if you still want to. And be thankful for your supportive wife.
"It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss
One eating bowl: No problem
Trowel: I would rather carry the .5 ounces or so.
Sitting pad: I always read that it is sorely missed, but I don't care to keep it.
Fork: I totally want to leave the spoon, but wife complained.
Cocoanut oil is for adding to food for extra calories. I don't have to take it though.
NOBO March 2018
Man can only find oneself while alone on the Appalachian Trail. There his mind if free to explore his thoughts, the Universe and eventually find his true self. -Ernest Hemingway
Put the cocunut oil in the food bag. Its food, right?