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  1. #21
    Solitude without lonliness... rjridgely's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Programbo View Post
    As someone who sold backpacking equipment for 11 years may I add that don`t let the weight of a certain backpack be your deciding factor in your purchase..It is very important how the pack distributes the weight and transfers it to your hips and legs etc..You might carry the exact same load in 2 pack and one of the packs weighs 3 pounds and the other weighs 7 pounds but the weight will feel much lighter in the heavier pack and you will conserve more energy and walk more naturally.....Also make sure you get the correct size and adjust the stays and misc straps correctly..Try and load heavier objects higher up and in towards your body
    I totally agree with you, having about 20 full & part-time years as an outfitting pro, fit, fit, fit & load distribution is the most important. NOT the color or the recient trend nor the lightweights. Personally would not trade my old Lowe Contour IV or my Vaude Terkum. And......I have never ever used a scale to pack what i carry on my back...my brain is the scale and common sense is my forte.
    Because whiskey from a tin cup...just tastes better

  2. #22
    Registered User Egads's Avatar
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    Would you run a marathon without training?

    Of course not.

    Why would anyone consider embarking on a thru hike of the AT without training?

    I've seen it too, a newby dragging 75 lbs up the approach trail.

    Get out & hike before you start your thru. Give yourself a fighting chance to finish. You need experience, fitness, and mental preparation to keep your ass alive and on the trail.

    My 2 cents
    The trail was here before we arrived, and it will still be here when we are gone...enjoy it now, and preserve it for others that come after us

  3. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by Egads View Post
    Would you run a marathon without training?

    Of course not.
    To be fair, a marathon is a race and the point is how fast you can get to the finish line, so the analogy might be questionable. I have heard a thru-hike compared to singing a song, not a race. That's an analogy I like.

    Having said that, I'd certainly advise a few "shake down" hikes before attempting a thru-hike, yes. Practice that song? ~wink~

    RainMan

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    [I]ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: ... Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit....[/I]. Numbers 35

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  4. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by mountain squid View Post
    OK, I just got back from Forest Service Road 42 at the foot of Springer.
    They moved FS 42 to the foot of Springer?!!! ~wink~

    Just had to pull your leg a tad for that one!

    RainMan

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    [I]ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: ... Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit....[/I]. Numbers 35

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  5. #25
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    Excellent observations. In six years hiking the southern sections last years was the first I didn't mail anything home from Neels Gap.

  6. #26
    Registered User Ewker's Avatar
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    I would be careful about sending a mail drop to Neels Gap. Last week a friend and I sectioned hiked from Springer to Dicks Creek Gap. She sent a mail drop to the gear store 8 days before she would get there. She sent it 2nd day Priority Mail. It never showed up. We meet one guy who had sent his winter clothing to Neels gap (still haven't figured that one out) well it never showed up either.
    My friend had to buy food for the rest of the trip from them. Needless to say it is expensive. My friend told the folks there to put her mail drop in the hiker box if it ever showed up.
    I feel for the guy if he had to buy winter clothes there.

    IMO If I was sending a mail drop there I would send it 2 weeks in advance then call a few days before I started just to make sure it made it.
    Conquest: It is not the Mountain we conquer but Ourselves

  7. #27
    Registered User DavidNH's Avatar
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    Default re: starting AT hike

    Hi,

    I would add, include lining Your pack with a waterproof plastic bag. If it is rainy, that is more than worth the weight.. else stuff gets wet.

    One thing has been puzzling me.. exactly why is it that the AT is so crowded at the start? I mean.. I heard of reports of up to 100 people a day starting at Springer. Man... I wish this trail wasnt so advertized!

    David

  8. #28
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    The food at Neels Gap is expensive. I would stop on the way to the start and drop off a food resupply box so I wouldn't have to buy it there.

  9. #29
    Registered User Nightwalker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by digger51 View Post
    The food at Neels Gap is expensive. I would stop on the way to the start and drop off a food resupply box so I wouldn't have to buy it there.
    Look in the hiker box in the hostel. There's always some sort of goodies in there, especially this time of year. Heck, I've even got stuff from the hiker box in December!

  10. #30
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    Default Thru - Hiker Specific Topics / Q & A,s

    Excellent thread. Good job.

  11. #31

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    If people would actually try their gear on a few days backpack trip before leaving, I suspect that less people would show up and those that did would be lighter and not leaving gear along the side of the trail.

    I'm still amazed that people even consider starting a long hike having never backpacked before or going with a lot of untried gear. I know that people have successfully done it, but even more quit.

  12. #32

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    50 lbs? See if these people would have went to google.com and typed in appalachian trail gear or something similar they would have found this site and figured out what to do. I dont understand people who have these massive packs that tower over their heads for east coast hiking. Im staying under 30lbs and its because of this site.

  13. #33
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    Not to start a argument with you about pack weight, but what's intrinsically wrong with a 50 lb pack in and of itself? There are many more variables to take into consideration before "automatically" assuming someone must not know what they're doing if they're carry a 50 lb pack. Is it WRONG to carry a 2lb2oz Prolite 4 large just because there are lighter alternatives? Is it WRONG to carry a 4 1/2 lb tent just because there are lighter alternatives? What if the person is a offensive lineman-size XXXL and all his clothes, sleeping bag, food all weighs more?

    With my pack, 50 lbs is nothing, and I've carried up mountains and done 14 mile days on the AT with 50 lbs without any problems whatsoever. I know where you're coming from, though. Put my pack on a 175 lb guy who's not in great shape and who hasn't backpacked in the mountains for years and you'd be setting him up for failure. BUT, don't merely assume a 50 lb pack is just plain dumb. Sure, I could live without a good 10 lbs of stuff I take, and I could probably shave another 10 lbs by replacing items with lighter ones, but WHY? Just to be lighter for lightness's sake? If 50 lbs caused me any problems whatsoever, I'd fix them. But it doesn't so why spend all the extra money OR merely go without thus sacrificiing MY comfort?

    Bigben
    (and seriously, I'm not trying to pick a fight, merely offering another point of view)

  14. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by bigben View Post
    Not to start a argument with you about pack weight, but what's intrinsically wrong with a 50 lb pack in and of itself?
    Nothing, really. But I'm gonna guess that anyone making that argument has never hiked significant distances on the AT.

    When I was about 30 years younger than I am now, the weight on my back was never much of a concern. But I was rarely out in the woods for more than one or two nights, and I rarely hiked more than eight or ten miles a day.

    When I made my thru-hiking attempt in 1990 (at age 37) I knew that wouldn't cut it, and I felt proud (at the time) in achieving a base weight of 24 lbs.

    In the years since then, and especially over the last year, I've cut the weight even more, to a base of around 15 lbs. I can walk faster, more comfortably, and with less fatigue than ever before.

    The way I see it, if the emphasis is on camping, go ahead and load up your pack -- but don't expect to cover a lot of miles in comfort. OTOH, if the emphasis is on hiking (as it must be, for thru-hikers, or section-hikers on a schedule) then it makes sense to keep pack weight down.

    There's just no arguing with the physics of it. Humans have a finite limit as to energy output, and hauling weight over distances takes energy.

  15. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by bigben View Post
    Not to start a argument with you about pack weight, but what's intrinsically wrong with a 50 lb pack in and of itself? There are many more variables to take into consideration before "automatically" assuming someone must not know what they're doing if they're carry a 50 lb pack. Is it WRONG to carry a 2lb2oz Prolite 4 large just because there are lighter alternatives? Is it WRONG to carry a 4 1/2 lb tent just because there are lighter alternatives? What if the person is a offensive lineman-size XXXL and all his clothes, sleeping bag, food all weighs more?

    With my pack, 50 lbs is nothing, and I've carried up mountains and done 14 mile days on the AT with 50 lbs without any problems whatsoever. I know where you're coming from, though. Put my pack on a 175 lb guy who's not in great shape and who hasn't backpacked in the mountains for years and you'd be setting him up for failure. BUT, don't merely assume a 50 lb pack is just plain dumb. Sure, I could live without a good 10 lbs of stuff I take, and I could probably shave another 10 lbs by replacing items with lighter ones, but WHY? Just to be lighter for lightness's sake? If 50 lbs caused me any problems whatsoever, I'd fix them. But it doesn't so why spend all the extra money OR merely go without thus sacrificiing MY comfort?

    Bigben
    (and seriously, I'm not trying to pick a fight, merely offering another point of view)
    I have seen off-duty firefighters practically run up Mt. Hood's Cooper Spur, literally carrying tables and crowd-feeder-sized cast iron skillets on their backs with less trouble than I would have with nothing but my shoes.

    There are those of you who can choose to pack that cast iron skillet that you just cannot live without, yes, but you animals probably know who you are! You are right, though: there is no reason to forego comfort in an effort to appear modest.

  16. #36
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    I'm a full-time firefighter myself. We do what we do wearing 35 lbs of turnout gear, "fire clothes" that is, wearing a 35 lb air pack on our backs and carrying a good 20 lbs of hand tools, sometimes in addition to dragging a charged hoseline. 50 lbs of pack weight doesn't bother me one bit.

    That being said, I won't be running up Mt hood anytime soon.

  17. #37
    Super Moderator Marta's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bigben View Post
    I'm a full-time firefighter myself. We do what we do wearing 35 lbs of turnout gear, "fire clothes" that is, wearing a 35 lb air pack on our backs and carrying a good 20 lbs of hand tools, sometimes in addition to dragging a charged hoseline. 50 lbs of pack weight doesn't bother me one bit.
    I hiked for a number of weeks with a guy who lays concrete block for a living. He started with a 65-lb. pack. It didn't bother him at all. He could pick it up with one hand. (This probably doesn't impress you, but I sure couldn't do that myself.) Way down the Trail, about 3/4 of the way along, he did his first slack-packing. We hiked two consecutive days in Virginia (we were going SOBO), one with our full packs and one with day packs. In the same amount of time, we did 24 miles with light packs and 20 miles with full packs. The lightbulb went off--carrying less stuff makes every mile easier and faster. No matter how strong you are.

    He's less than half my age, male, and much stronger. When I was carrying a 20-pound pack and he was carrying 65, I hiked quite a bit faster than he did. He sent a bunch of stuff home from Damascus, making our pack weights close to even. He suddenly became faster than I was. I think I need about a 20-pound packweight advantage to make our speeds about even. Like handicappping horses.

    That said, what you carry is absolutely your own choice. I carried at least five pounds of stuff that I could have gotten rid of, but I wanted to have along just because I wanted to. My choice.

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  18. #38
    First Sergeant SGT Rock's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bigben View Post
    I'm a full-time firefighter myself. We do what we do wearing 35 lbs of turnout gear, "fire clothes" that is, wearing a 35 lb air pack on our backs and carrying a good 20 lbs of hand tools, sometimes in addition to dragging a charged hoseline. 50 lbs of pack weight doesn't bother me one bit.

    That being said, I won't be running up Mt hood anytime soon.
    I wore 35 pounds of body armor, carried a few pounds of weapons and ammo, then some more of water, food, maps, radios, etc.

    That said, I still would rather cary less than 30 pounds on the trail. Think of it this way: if you spend your time hiking instead of camping, what do you really need? And if your pack weighs less than that 35 pounds of stuff you normally wear, then you will not notice the pack at all - backpacking will be like day hiking for you.

    Smart hikers are better than strong hikers. But hikers that are smart and strong are the best
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  19. #39
    LT '79; AT '73-'14 in sections; Donating Member Kerosene's Avatar
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    I can easily lug a 40+ pound pack up and down rough trail all day long and crank out 15+ miles in the process. I can even keep up a pretty good pace with that weight. For me, though, after carrying a 25-pound pack all day long my feet and back are much less sore. In addition, the ligaments in my body just aren't as flexible as they once were, so less weight on my back translates to less chance of screwing something up when I step on that rock the wrong way.
    GA←↕→ME: 1973 to 2014

  20. #40

    Thumbs up

    [With my pack, 50 lbs is nothing, and I've carried up mountains and done 14 mile days on the AT with 50 lbs without any problems whatsoever. I know where you're coming from, though. Put my pack on a 175 lb guy who's not in great shape and who hasn't backpacked in the mountains for years and you'd be setting him up for failure. ]

    Hey Bigben, What pack are you carrying? Just curious.I'm a big guy who carries a big pack myself (mystery ranch g-5000 (7lb. pack).

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