Gearing up for the Appalachian Trail

Yesterday's REI date resulted in much backpacking gear!

Between our REI shopping spree for wedding gifts and yesterday's REI date for thru-hike gear, we will be getting quite the hefty dividend this year!  I'm betting we will spend it along the course of the thru-hike too!

First, we had the good fortune of unintentionally planning our REI date on Virginia's Back to School Tax-Free Weekend!  We renamed it Back to Nature Tax Free Weekend and took full advantage of it!  What a perfect weekend to not have a wedding on my schedule!

Jeff's stack of boot possibilities

I am sure the gear heads who follow us are dying to know what we got, so I won't delay! 

Clothing & Footwear:

Ironjen:

• 2x REI Sahara Convertible pants
• Columbia Omnishade shirt
• Exofficio Gill shirt
• 2x Injinji running socks (for liners)
• 3x REI wool hiking crew socks (2 pair for alternating while hiking and one for camp)
• 2x Patagonia hipster undies
• ISIS Acqua rain shell
• REI Windbreak Jacket
• ISIS Down Jacket (Already owned and LOVE)
• Asolo FSN 95 GTX Boot (Already own and LOVE)

Ironjen's clothes

Muskrat:

• 2x REI Sahara Convertible pants
• REI Sahara Shirt
• Royal Robbins Island Cool Mesh shirt
• 3x REI wool hiking crew socks
• Silk liners to be purchased, because Muskrat HATED the Inijis!
• 2x REI silk boxers
• Mountain Hardwear Plasmic rain shell
• REI Windbreak Fleece (already owned)
• Asolo Reston WP Boots

Muskrat's clothes

Gear:

This was the tough stuff!  We had to make some calls about what existing gear we were going to upgrade and what new gear we needed to get.  Tents have gotten A LOT lighter in the last 10 years, but our Sierra Designs Gamma is in such perfect condition that we decided to at least take it on the test hike before making the call to replace it, though there are some very tempting options out there that are HALF the weight!

Our other big question was sleeping bags.  We went into this gear purchase wanting to either get a double bag or get two single bags that can zip together in spite of the fact that we own perfectly awesome sleeping bags that are just as light as most bags on the market.  After a long discussion of the pros (snuggling!) and cons (can't be split up if needed in a shelter or hostel) of the Big Agnes double bags (which look so so so awesome), we decided to go with two zipper compatible REI bags, which weren't in stock.  Good thing too, because once we got home, we discovered that the liners we bought to help keep our bags clean and to add warmth would pretty much negate any cuddling inside of a double or zipped together sleep system.  So, I will be sleeping in my Moonstone 3D Minima and Muskrat will be sleeping in his Sierra Designs Wild Bill with our new liners!

Here's everything else we got:

More gear

And even more gear

Sleeping:

• Cocoon Hyperlight AirCore Pillow
• Cocoon Silk Mummy Liner (adds 9 degrees to the temp. rating on our bags)
• Moonstone 3D Minima 22 (Already owned)
• Sierra Designs Wild Bill 35 (Already owned)
• Sierra Designs Gamma 2 (Already owned)
• 2x Big Agnes Air Core SL sleeping pad (Have to order - REI out of stock)
• Big Agnes Sleeping Pad Coupler Strap (Have to order)

Cooking & Eating, & Drinking:

• MSR Windpro II (Already owned)
• MSR Alpine 2 (Already owned)
• MSR Insulated Mugs (Have to order - REI out of stock)
• 2x REI Folding Utensil Set
• 2x Camelbak 2L Bladders (Already owned)
• 2x 32oz Nalgene Bottles (Already owned)
• 1 Sawyer squeeze water filter

Packs & Packing:

• Muskrat: Osprey Atmos 50
• Ironjen: Granite Gear Nimbus Access FZ 3800 (Already owned)
• 4x 10L REI Lightweight Dry Sack (2 for food and 2 for clothes)

Hiking:

• 2x Black Diamond Trekking poles
• 2x Black Diamond Spot Headlamps (Already owned)
• Sawyer Permethrin (to apply to gear)
• Coleman Botanicals Insect Repellant (We will try natural before going chemical for direct skin applications)

Feeling Ready:

Muskrat and our haul from REI

We had the help of our friend, CW, on the pre planning for the big gear purchase, and we had the help of a great trail-hardened sales associate, Eric during our shopping experience!

Once we get the out of stock gear ordered tonight, we will be ready to rock and roll on our test hike in a few weeks!  I'm really excited to get out there and try everything out for 70 miles, especially in light of the very difficult 6 weeks we had with Muskrat getting sick and having surgery, and having to miss our honeymoon at RAGBRAI.  This trip will at least start to make up of that!

In other news, Zach "The Good Badger" Davis has invited me to blog for Appalachian Trials!  Check out my first post!

©2014 Jennifer Magnuson, All Rights Reserved, Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Backpacking Gear Inventory

Back in 2004, after a very sad and painful, but ultimately good, parting with my first husband, and after I had been diagnosed with dermatomyositis, an "incurable" autoimmune disease that causes a severe skin rash and debilitating muscle weakness, I decided that I was going to rebuild my life on the outskirts of DC's chaos.  I bought a sweet log home on the side of High Knob in Warren County, Virginia.  If you're an Appalachian Trail geek, you know that the trail crosses High Knob, and when I discovered AT access within a short walk from my front door, I decided it was time to get some new backpacking gear.

Old house in Warren County

House steps from the AT

     

Yes, I was sick, weak, and covered in a rash.  Yes, I was on high doses of prednisone and low doses of a chemo drug methotrexate, and suffering from all of the wonderful side effects, but there was something about the diagnoses that made me crazy mad to LIVE!  Everything that the doctors said I couldn't or shouldn't do was exactly what I decided to do.  So, I drove down the mountain into the town of Front Royal (the northern terminus of Shenandoah National Park's Skyline Drive), and found Weasel Creek Outfitters.

I met with Brandon, who owned the Great Weasel with his wife Wendy.  They would both become good friends of mine, but alas, would eventually sell Weasel Creek and move away from "Fr-oyal," as the locals called it.

I told Brandon of my desire to eventually thru-hike, and of my easy trail access.  I told him I needed to get all of the stuff.  Now.  I spent the rest of the afternoon trekking around the shopping center with various packs full of weight, assessing a multitude of sleeping bag and tent options, even heading out to the grassy area behind the shop to set up some tents.

I left with a Granite Gear Nimbus Access FZ3800 pack, a Moonstone Minimus 22 degree bag, and a Sierra Designs Gamma 2 person tent (not because there were two people, but because there were two black labs and me).  These items have served me very well over the last 10 years, and I'm one of those people who takes meticulous care of my stuff, so when our friend, CW, came by last night to help us inventory gear for our upcoming test hike, most of it looked almost new.

Dexter

Sam

Morning in Shenandoah National Park

2010 Backpacking Trip

2010 Backpacking Trip

Muskrat made a spreadsheet (because he rocks at spreadsheets!), and CW and I buried the room in all manner of backpacking and car camping gear.  I had planned to take photos, but there was just no space, and frankly, the mess we made was embarrassing!  I read off makes and models, CW looked up weight data, and Jeff tallied and sorted everything on the computer.

I thought we were pretty well equipped, especially since all of my old stuff is in such great condition.  As it turns out, it's all pretty heavy compared to what they make now.  My pack is 4 pounds, 9 ounces!  Our tent is 5 pounds, 10 ounces!  I know we will be sharing the weight of some gear, but we are both thinking that we may need to upgrade some stuff.

Car camping in the Backpacking tent after a bike ride on Skyline Drive 2012

That said, we do have some newer gear. . .

Muskrat picked up a nice new Osprey Atmos 50 pack a month or so ago when we went on an REI shopping spree with all of the gift cards that people had given us for our wedding in April.  (We have the best friends EVER!)

We both need new sleeping pads, because Muskrat ripped his on a rock, and it just seems like a bad idea to start the trail with a duct taped piece of gear, and I have a super minimalist one, because what's a few nights of discomfort, right?  Not something I want to endure for six-months!  Besides, they make AMAZING stuff now!  CW brought over his Big Agnes Air Core SL for us to try, and MAN that thing is probably more comfortable than our actual bed!  He also let us demo his Cocoon Hyperlite AirCore pillow, which is a mere 2.4 ounces and smaller than a yogurt container!

Muskrat has a really nice two year old Sierra Designs Wild Bill 35 degree bag, but we are thinking that he will want something with a little more warmth for the colder parts of the trail.  The other sleeping bag factor is that we both bought our sleeping bags when we were single people, and now we are getting ready to spend six-months living outside as newlyweds.  In fact, our first wedding anniversary will be about a month after we start the trail.  I think we might want to find some bags that zip together.  It just wouldn't seem right to spend six months sleeping in separate cocoons!  We are looking at getting the Big Agnes Coupler straps for our sleeping pads, and are researching some double wide sleeping bags!  I am particularly intrigued by the Big Agnes Cabin Creek 15.  At 6 pounds 5 ounces, it's a little weighty, but it may work, since we are sharing the load between our two packs.

For a sweet resting space, we are bringing our Eno Doublenest hammock too.  I don't know if we will use it to sleep in at any point, but it sets up quickly and makes a nice spot to take breaks!

One other consideration we are still grappling with is food storage.  I have always backpacked with a bear canister, since I had a bad food bag experience at Girl Scout camp.  I like the was of closing up the lid and stashing that bad boy in the woods until morning.  It's also a nice seat for eating.  We will see if we decide to go back to bagging or if we bring my trusty Bear Vault BV500.

SO MANY DECISIONS TO MAKE!!

After all the gear was stashed in the storage space again, I began to feel a little under prepared (I know, we have 7.5 months before we start!) and overwhelmed.  Muskrat, who is so very good at keeping me grounded, maintained his composure and said exactly what I needed to hear. . . "REI date this weekend?"

Stay tuned!

©2014 Jennifer Magnuson, All Rights Reserved, Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Test Hike in the Making

This is arguably the most gorgeous summer weather I have ever seen in my 37 years in the DC area.  If you're not familiar with DC summers, they normally consist of temperatures in the mid-90s with humidity to match.  Dew points are regularly in the mid-70s, making the whole place a swampy, disgusting, mosquito-breeding, sweat-fest.  You can maybe tell that I am not so fond of summer here, and that is true.

Maybe I was conditioned by a childhood where summer vacation meant escaping to the mountains of western North Carolina to see my grandfather.  That was always the sweetest reprieve from DC's suffocating mugginess.  It's not surprising that when the worst of DC summer hits, I feel a desperate pull to escape to higher elevations, where the early mornings and evenings require a fleece and jeans, and the days are made for a hike, bike, or run in breezy comfortable air that allows sweat to actually cool the body, rather than trying to drown it!

Right now, I'm sitting in my garden.  I'm wearing a jacket.  It's 12:30pm, and it's 67 degrees with a nice cool breeze!  Unheard of on July 29.  Though I would have thought that this would make me less likely to want to flee to the mountains, apparently, I am just hard wired to want to be in the mountains no matter what the weather is doing.

So, we have been working on planning a test-hike for sometime next month! (Hopefully the weather will stay awesome, but even if it doesn't, mountains are always awesome!)

We want to keep things logistically simple, and we don't want to preview any more of the actual Appalachian Trail than we already have.  (Our second date was an out and back day hike into West Virginia on the AT!)  So, we have picked a sweet 70ish mile circuit hike in the southern district of Shenandoah National Park!  From our research, we will encounter some tiny pieces of the AT, and we will be rewarded with panoramic views, waterfalls, and even some swimming holes!

We are planning to do cover a modest 10-12 miles per day and really enjoy our time in the woods.  The distance and time out with our gear should give us a pretty good idea of adjustments we need to make in pack weight.  We also hope to make a fair assessment of our current trail clothes and footwear, our stove, tent, sleeping bags and pads, and our food storage.

We will post a full inventory of what we take before we go, and we will post a review on how each piece rated when we return.

Now, I think I may need to go for a run and warm up!

©2014 Jennifer Magnuson, All Rights Reserved, Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.