UGH.

Just 34 more days.

A View

FINALLY an official gear list!

Backpack: REI Venus womens internal frame pack 4500 in maroon
Tent: MSR Hubba single person tent (not pictured)
Sleeping Bag: Mountain Hardware Lamina 15 degree synthetic fill
Sleeping Pad: Big Agnes Aircore inflatable
Stove: MSR Superfly with fuel canister
Trekking poles

Kitchen:
Aluminum 1L cooking pot with lid
bic lighter
spork (yet to purchase)
3L of water reservoirs wrapped with extra duct tape
Aqua Mira water treatment (not pictured)
Shamwow! (not pictured)

Toiletry kit:
Toothbrush with travel toothpaste
toilet paper
trowel (not yet purchased)
Wet wipes
Arm and hammer foot powder
foldable brush with mirror

Navigation Kit:
AWOL's AT guide
extra batteries
headlamp
pen
pocket knife

First Aid Kit:
A ton of Advil
duct tape
disinfectant wipes
bandaids
multivitamins
sunscreen packets
emergency lighter
extra hair thingies

Luxuries Kit:
Digital Camera
Cell phone
chargers
Wallet with ID and cash

Clothing:
Rain pants and rain jacket with waterproof gloves
2 pairs heavy wool socks
sports bra
waterproof socks (yet to purchase)
Spandex longsleeve top
spandex longsleeve bottoms
Merrel hiking boots
gaiters
fleece top (yet to purchase)
Digital watch with alarm

Camp clothing:
1 pair heavy wool socks
wool thermal bottoms
wool thermal top
Insulated down jacket
fleece sleeping hat
turtle fur neck gaiter
dollar flip flops

Summer clothing: (not in pack)
polyester t-shirt
polyester shorts
acrylic ankle socks

FOOD:
3 day supply of food plus snacks
Breakfast choices: Maple brown sugar oatmeal, berry poptarts, and instant hazelnut coffee
Snack choices: trail mix, peppered beef jerky, and dried fruit.
Entrees: Ramen(beef, creamy chicken, picante chicken, oriental, and shrimp) Lipton dinners(creamy spinach alfredo, broccoli cheese pasta, chicken cheese pasta) instant mashed potatoes, tuna, and salmon.
Seasoning: travel sized SRIRACHA!

get stoked!

If you're wondering why underwear isn't listed, it's because I'm going commando. not trying to gross anybody out, I just won't need it.

Pack Updates

I went shopping today and got a whole bunch of little stuff, including my first 8 days worth of food. Ramen, beef jerky, Lipton dinners, packets of tuna and salmon, oatmeal, poptarts, mashed potatoes, trail mix, dried apricots, and hazelnut instant coffee (Which is actually incredibly good.) I got a travel sized shampoo bottle to fill with Sriracha, which will be wonderful. I've packed some multivitamins to make sure I'm not missing anything important on the nutrient frontier.

I aired out my sleeping bag, which I shamefully kept compressed in my pack for the past week.. Butters loves my sleeping bag..



I'm so close to having everything completely ready! I just need a good pair of gortex socks and a rain cover for my pack. I've planned out much of my bounce box. A bounce box is a box which I fill with extra stuff that I may need periodically; extra batteries, tylenol and multivitamins, an extra pair of socks are currently set aside for that box. Then I put it in a flat rate shipping box and send it to a trail town ahead of me. When I reach that location, I can either open the box and use the stuff, or I can bounce the box forward to a new location free of charge.

My first mail drop is destined for Neels Gap, about 30 miles in. That was I only have to start out with about 3-4 days worth of food instead of a weeks worth, which I'm sure will be awesome.
My second mail drop will be to the Blueberry Patch, a Hostel where I'll stay on a recommendation from the thruhiker Swift. I have no idea what to expect other than a good time.

Right now I'm incorporating all of my new stuff into my pack, so this room looks like a tornado came through, but with any luck I'll have everything completely organized by the end of the evening.

Being this close to my start date makes work almost unbearable. I cannot wait to be gone! At least I'm trying to get as much overtime as possible. The more money I have saved up, the longer I can hike.

Also, it feels SO GOOD to not be in school right now.

49 Days!

That's right, 49 days until take-off.
Just got my Aqua Mira water treatment in the mail. Tastes great!
Not much to say at the moment other than I'm extremely excited. I'm homeless at the moment, depending on some good friends for their couches while I continue to work in Blacksburg and save money. I'm currently at home in Franklin County visiting mom and dad, who have generously donated a 4GB memory card to my new digital camera, which was a christmas present from Dan. Now just looking for a waterproof case to keep it in while I'm hiking.

More updates on my preparations soon!

Shakedowns!

I've been working on getting out there and testing the winter gear. Tuesday I attempted a night hike in Catawba, but the mission was aborted due to Dan's sickly-ness... Though we did stop at John's Spring Shelter and cook some ramen on my camp stove (With chunks of beef jerky in it. Yum.) Thursday morning I got up early and headed out to Angel's Rest in Pearisburg, which is just a quick 5 mile hike. It was a steep climb all the way up, but the view of the new river was incredible.



I met a 2X thruhiker, "swift" and we had some trail chat. SO cool! Always nice to meet a thruhiker. He's starting attempt number 3 in late February, so I may run into him along the way. He had some great advice.

I'm considering making reservations at the Hiker Hostel, which would provide a place to stay the night before my first day, breakfast in the morning, and a ride to the southern terminus for a reasonable price. The only real reason I'm holding off is because I may get eager and jump the gun on my start date.. March 7th feels so far away.

New boots! I bought them at Gander Mtn. and I've been breaking them in over my last couple hikes..



I wanted to get a size bigger than my actual foot to leave room for thick socks, so I went with a mens shoe, but I'm pretty happy with it so far. That Gore-tex should come in handy for a rainy spring.