Also - gear may be in the box in the hikers bunk room at Neels gap.
Thanks everyone for the many sources of supply and info.
When i first thought of thru hiking the AT military gear naturally was my first thought as certain items were my go tos whenever i had to be in the sticks for awhile. I knew a lot of the stuff wasn't really viable for the AT in general so it was nice to find out what wouldn't work or be practical. Even some of the outdoor/hunting wear that i've picked up here and there is a no/go. Well, by looking around quite a bit online and checking out local sources i pretty much have it knocked for decent prices. Might not be anyone's idea for a hiking cover model but it'll do.
As for expenditures on the AT, i've been noting from the endless amounts of material i've been studying just how much a lot of people are hitting motels, hostels, etc, etc,. I haven't finished route planning yet but between Springer and Bear Mt. i only plan on going inside 3 times...Bland, VA because of a long leg out of Damascus, Shenandoah NP-Skyland since i used to work there and want to catch up with former coworkers, and up in NJ because i have all kinds of family and friends there. Other than the Devils Backbone i'm really not interested in anything outside the trail. I don't even want to be part of the Trail Days thing if i run into it. Forget sightseeing and all. Having a chance to get cleaned up and all is nice but i remember that in my first time on the streets i once went a month and a half between showers. It was all keep as clean as you can, how you can and it sure wasn't much. Another time i was bathing every night with a bar of soap at a construction site, using water that was leaking from their fire hydrant. What i learned from all this that is AT specific is that as long your feet are fine and you're not chafing, you are good to go.
As it is i have resupply planned through Pearisburg so far and it'll be pretty basic and no frills. For the most part i'm going stoveless. I'm still working out the specifics of switching out gear on the trail and all but that it looks like i'll play that by ear for now.
I've posted this link a few times before: http://blog.gossamergear.com/wp-cont...eap_Henley.pdf
He leaves out a trowel. (A Fiskars garden trowel will work fine. A trekking pole or boot heel won't.)
It's a starting point. Everything on his list will work. Not everything on his list will work well for you, or suit your hiking style, or be comfortable. But it's cheap and light enough that you can start there and think in terms of adding cost and weight to suit your style and your budget.
I always know where I am. I'm right here.
Not likely. Nobody is going to abandon good gear when they can send it home from there. And I wouldn't be surprised if the employees there remove anything good which might end up in the box right away.Originally Posted by Longboysfan
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Good luck with that plan. Let us know how it works out for you. Hope you don't plan an early start. While getting cleaned up is a big reason for staying at a motel or hostel, it's not the only reason to do so.
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I was impressed with the State of Maryland having a free shower on the trail as you enter the state.
They knew how to prepare hikers for the first town.
Ive seen mosquito nets, good gloves, pop tarts, knorr sides (before their sell by date) hiking pole tips, and lots of other things for free in hiker boxes.
I’ve left and taken pop tarts.
It is surprising just what shows up.
Last edited by Ethesis; 11-04-2017 at 20:08.
There are a few places you can score a free shower. Many are "solar" showers. I mostly pass on these unless really desperate. I never seem to find one on a nice warm, sunny day. Usually find them on a cold rainy day.
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I'm starting in March.
And sure there are plenty of reasons to get a room somewhere. Forest fires, heavy snowfall, hurricanes. noreasters, injuries, gear repair and replacement etc. Go through enough vlogs, diaries, articles, and forums however, and you'll find some pretty damn trivial reasons to not be on the trail as much as possible. Everything from playing tourist to getting high. I've worked in five different National Parks, i've already had my fill of scenery and wildlife so the photo ops don't really mean that much to me. Neither does checking out trail towns and "historical" sites (Audie Murphy monument excepted).
The only two spots so far (since i'm still working on resupply points amongst many other things) that i'm really going off the trail without a doubt, as i mentioned above, is into Luray VA, since i know people there who i worked with at Skyland, and NJ since if all is well i can have someone pick me up at High Point or failing that i can make my way over to two different locations catch a train into Hoboken and switch to the HBLR from there.
To paraphrase the song "Thinking bout them miles all of the time (with my mind on the Trail and the Trail on my mind)
I am under no illusions that AT is any kind of cakewalk. I've seen and heard of way too many in the Parks, face stern but lesser challenges in comparison, thinking they are going to diddy bop down some trail like they were back on the block and end up having it really bad.
This here AT is like a MT Everest of suffering IMO. My personal experience with living a truly crap existence is that the more extended periods away from the misery compounds it when you return to that state. Might as well follow Winston Churchill's advice about walking in Hell.
The most common reason I go off the trail is to get dry! Nothing like being wet for a week to make you want a real roof. Unlike Nevada, it doesn't dry out just because the rain stopped.
I'm in NJ now for the time being
In Nevada you get caught out in the rain on winter nights and you stand an excellent chance of hypothermia finishing you off. Personally I once had to walk around all night to keep from freezing after someone stole my gear.
One of the things I frequently ponder is functioning while in continuous misery.
Just how bad the AT can be compared to something like existence in Guadalcanal or movement on the Kokoda trail in New Guinea back in 1942-43? Could it be as sheer misery as the Kall trail in Germany or I Corps in South Vietnam?
I'm not saying this to be an insult or put down. I'm just curious about steady movement up trail in the face of the adverse situations that will occur over an extended period of time.
SADF Recce Commandos had (has?) a selection and training process so strenuous that it wasn't unusual for only 2-3 men to qualify out of 100. British SAS was somewhat similar for example. I could think of dozens of examples but it would be a books worth of posting.
There's the challenge to the mind as well as the body on the AT (money is another story) that really got the hooks in me. Just how far can it go on before the Trail makes you say "That's it, I'm outta here"? And can you drive on despite what is a basically an impossible scenario?
That's what the AT means to me.
"Embrace the Suck" is all fine and dandy but I tend to use more profane words to describe and visualize it as my anticipation is of an everlasting frozen, windswept ,sodden hell in the mountains.
Cheap Wenzel Hiker/Biker Tent (aka Wenzel Starlite) is $28.99 on Amazon and weighs 2 lbs. 9 1/4 oz. right out of the box. It's a single wall pup-tent style tent with 22 sq. ft. and a 36" peak height. No vestibule. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00AA...enzel+starlite
I've modified mine down to 1 lbs. 12 1/4 oz. using Carbon Fiber Arrows as shown in this video: https://youtu.be/r3cBy8tKTfg
I took the time to spray it with silicone water proofer. I use it primarily for bikepacking and have been out in the rain around Katahdin for a couple nights and stayed dry. However, as a single wall tent, it does suffer condensation.
In comparison, my Big Agnes Flycreek UL 1 weighs 2 lbs 3 5/8 oz and is bulkier.
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I don't know how i overlooked this.Cheap Wenzel Hiker/Biker Tent (aka Wenzel Starlite) is $28.99 on Amazon and weighs 2 lbs. 9 1/4 oz. right out of the box. It's a single wall pup-tent style tent with 22 sq. ft. and a 36" peak height. No vestibule. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00AA...enzel+starlite
I've modified mine down to 1 lbs. 12 1/4 oz. using Carbon Fiber Arrows as shown in this video: https://youtu.be/r3cBy8tKTfg
I took the time to spray it with silicone water proofer. I use it primarily for bikepacking and have been out in the rain around Katahdin for a couple nights and stayed dry. However, as a single wall tent, it does suffer condensation.
In comparison, my Big Agnes Flycreek UL 1 weighs 2 lbs 3 5/8 oz and is bulkier.
Sent from my VS990 using Tapatalk
Thanks for the info on this tent. Will check it out some more as i swear i know someone who has this or a very similar tent. I'm pretty sure i can place a fly over the top and secure it no problem.
"Stay away from down for the AT" was when I stopped listening. Sorry about that.
Wenzel tents turn into sweatboxes. They're seriously non-breathable, unless things have changed a lot.
Consider learning the ins-and-outs of using a 7x10 tarp with a Tyvek ground cloth. No judgment, just my 2¢.
good chance I will use a lot of Wal-Mart gear. There are plenty of opportunities to replace or resupply along the way
Walmart appear to be the "official supplier" of the homeless for camping equipment. Go by many homeless encampments and the predominant gear is a Walmart brandalong with harbor freight blue tarps.
Agree. Thank you for sharing my thoughts. Nothing is free. It is a misconception to think that anything on the trail is cheap. In matter of fact, it is quite contrary. Convenience charges much higher food prices. If you break something, need new shoes, or damage clothing; the cost to buy it on trail is much higher. Plan ahead or stay home. Yes, people are generous and kind to hikers, but don't take it for granted. Remember that all the businesses along the trail are looking at you as a primary source of income. They make money off of hikers. Nothing is really free. Nothing. $10,000 to $12,000 is a lot of money for 4- 6 months. Some people don't even earn that kind of salary working full time for three to six months. Nothing wrong with hiking local if you really just have an itch to hike.
Mee too. I like to be dry. If the trail ever had a rain drought it would be my best hiking year. LOL
The year I was sectioning the AT in VA, I was doing it with friend with two cars. We would spot a car then drive south and hike north back to the car then leap frog down the trail. We never took a zero in 5 weeks but did take a nero on car spot days. It was quite noticeable that in many of the trail towns, the old town center might have a dollar general or equivalent and small stores that catered to hikers on foot. Usually just down the road on the outskirts of town would be walmart or other large grocery store with much better pricing and selection but it might be an extra 5 or 6 miles. We carried staples in the car but resupplied from those larger stores. No doubt in many cases the small businesses in town were just going down the road, buying it at retail and marking it up (or hitting Sam Club if it was nearby. I dont fault the businesses, they have different bottom lines but hiker pay for the convenience.
I know the local outfitter in out trail town always had issues that he was on the hook for defective gear that was bought elsewhere but returned to him as he was convenient. It sometimes took him months if at all to get reimbursed by the companies. He eventually shut down as he couldnt be competitive with online and spur fo the moment sales were not enough to pay the rent (plus he wanted to go and play himself instead of running the business).
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