Live - Appalachian Trail Thru Hike ... GA to MA

[Anvilheadtexas]

Special K update... I spoke to her mom via text today. Unfortunately special K got off the trail October 6 somewhere is in the White Mountains ( I incorrectly said she was further along in my earlier post today). I am bummed for her! Her foot was hurting too bad for her to continue her hike. Or no fractures or breaks just damaged muscle.

Her mom told me she was wearing 93 pounds when she got off the trail and her pack was 30 pounds that's one tough 14-year-old kid!!!!

She's going to finish next summer .

[Chad_E]

Wow! Thanks for the update on Special K. Tough kid indeed.

[Anvilheadtexas]

I just had a thought regarding Cajun Blake's post and canoeing the Missisippi. It's a little less of a monster adventure but... Like the Appalachian Trail many years ago I put the Devils River on my bucket list. This was back when supposedly ranchers would shoot over your head warning you to stay off their land. As I understand it canoeing the Devils River is a little less life-threatening these days, but a heck of a trip nonetheless.

Canoeing the Devils River just bumped up a notch on my bucket list now that I scratched off the Appalachian Trail. I know there was a thread on here years ago about the river would love to see that thread again and start thinking about it.... Anyone?

[Chad_E]

I've been down the Devils twice in the last 5 years. Love that trip! Lookup my name and Devils and you'll find a bunch of information. Please feel free to ask all kinds of questions. I can send maps, google earth pins, etc. if you'd like.

[Devin]

I love this idea:

Devils River by Shane

Devils River by Simek

[MLank]

Do I sense a Devil's River group trip coming up?

Also, I'm enjoying the continuation of your updates post trip. I enjoy reading your perspective about the hike and how things went down.

[jlp04c]

I just had a thought regarding Cajun Blake's post and canoeing the Missisippi. It's a little less of a monster adventure but... Like the Appalachian Trail many years ago I put the Devils River on my bucket list. This was back when supposedly ranchers would shoot over your head warning you to stay off their land. As I understand it canoeing the Devils River is a little less life-threatening these days, but a heck of a trip nonetheless.

Canoeing the Devils River just bumped up a notch on my bucket list now that I scratched off the Appalachian Trail. I know there was a thread on here years ago about the river would love to see that thread again and start thinking about it.... Anyone?

I've done the devils a few times.. Great trip. Not as physically demanding as some make it out to be, but its really fun no less!

[Anvilheadtexas]

Do I sense a Devil's River group trip coming up?

Also, I'm enjoying the continuation of your updates post trip. I enjoy reading your perspective about the hike and how things went down.

A group trip would be cool. Funny... 25 years ago the trip seemed so much more forbidding?

I love sharing my perspective... It helps when I am asked questions. What else can I tell you about?

[perow]

I would be in for a group trip on the devil

[Chad_E]

Being a husband and father of two young girls I have a hard time imagining being away from them for such an extended period of time (most of the time ). How did you and the wife handle this aspect? Daily phone calls, continuous texts, etc? I know she made at least a couple of trips out.

[Anvilheadtexas]

Being a husband and father of two young girls I have a hard time imagining being away from them for such an extended period of time (most of the time ). How did you and the wife handle this aspect? Daily phone calls, continuous texts, etc? I know she made at least a couple of trips out.

We have been married 25 years... It was the best six months of that stint! Lol. Serious Chad that is an excellent question. First off my wife Kelly and I do not have any children I would think that at our age if we did have children an Appalachian Trail hike might not be possible. That being said I have to give thanks in credit to Kelly who is a wonderful and understanding wife she kept the proverbial "candle in the window" back here in Houston and never once bombarded me with texts or phone calls suggesting she was ready for me to be done. I know those types of conversations drove people right off the trail.

And the reality is it was for just under six months .... That seems like a much longer period of time than it really is. She came up and we spent a great July 4 weekend at Harpers Ferry and in Gettysburg and then she came up to Maine when I finished. The July 4 visit divided the separation period in half.

Kelly kicks ash and takes names. She travels a lot for her career and I guess that had us prepped for the separation time. We did communicate through text and phone calls but it was hardly every day...keeping in mind there were times when reception (or lack there of) just wouldn't allow that .... Or at least that's what I told her!

Sure I walked for miles and climb the mountains but at the end of the day there's not a chance that I could have done it without the support of Kelly!!!



Kelly and I in Harper's Ferry July 3rd. I know she was thinking...man this guy smells!!

[Chad_E]

Sounds like you guys were well prepared. I'm certain the travel she does for her career was a big factor in that. Every year three of my buddies and I go on a fishing trip (typically 4 days or so). Usually, but the time I get back my wife is ready to give our kids up for adoption (ages 5 and 3). They can be a handful for one parent.

So speaking of my fishing trips, some of our trips are packing everything we need into our kayaks and hitting the water for 4 days. Believe me when I say that our packing habits have changed a bunch over time. I would likely be considered the minimalist of our little group. Part of the reason is I also weight the most (6'4" ~240) so adding too much to my kayak causes me to draft lower than everyone else. Especially when my buddy Matt probably weighs a buck-50 soaking wet... Having to get out of the yak all the time to drag is a pain.

Soooooo....I've said all of that to lead into your next assignment. Can you put together a pictorial, with description, of your equipment? I know we may have beaten this horse to death, but now that you've finished your journey, what worked, what did others have that you wished you had or are there better options out there? For a short trip would you use the same equipment or would you scale up?

...for the record, you said bring on the questions...

[Russ81]

A group trip would be cool. Funny... 25 years ago the trip seemed so much more forbidding?



I love sharing my perspective... It helps when I am asked questions. What else can I tell you about?

I'd be down, when's the best time to float the Devil's???


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[be12hunt]

We have been married 25 years... It was the best six months of that stint! Lol. Serious Chad that is an excellent question. First off my wife Kelly and I do not have any children I would think that at our age if we did have children an Appalachian Trail hike might not be possible. That being said I have to give thanks in credit to Kelly who is a wonderful and understanding wife she kept the proverbial "candle in the window" back here in Houston and never once bombarded me with texts or phone calls suggesting she was ready for me to be done. I know those types of conversations drove people right off the trail.

And the reality is it was for just under six months .... That seems like a much longer period of time than it really is. She came up and we spent a great July 4 weekend at Harpers Ferry and in Gettysburg and then she came up to Maine when I finished. The July 4 visit divided the separation period in half.

Kelly kicks ash and takes names. She travels a lot for her career and I guess that had us prepped for the separation time. We did communicate through text and phone calls but it was hardly every day...keeping in mind there were times when reception (or lack there of) just wouldn't allow that .... Or at least that's what I told her!

Sure I walked for miles and climb the mountains but at the end of the day there's not a chance that I could have done it without the support of Kelly!!!

[ATTACH]819867[/ATTACH]

Kelly and I in Harper's Ferry July 3rd. I know she was thinking...man this guy smells!!

Man that's awesome.
Support from your wife is really important when you're making a commitment like this. I'm really considering trying an ironman and the first person I talked to about it was my wife.

[Anvilheadtexas]

Sounds like you guys were well prepared. I'm certain the travel she does for her career was a big factor in that. Every year three of my buddies and I go on a fishing trip (typically 4 days or so). Usually, but the time I get back my wife is ready to give our kids up for adoption (ages 5 and 3). They can be a handful for one parent.

So speaking of my fishing trips, some of our trips are packing everything we need into our kayaks and hitting the water for 4 days. Believe me when I say that our packing habits have changed a bunch over time. I would likely be considered the minimalist of our little group. Part of the reason is I also weight the most (6'4" ~240) so adding too much to my kayak causes me to draft lower than everyone else. Especially when my buddy Matt probably weighs a buck-50 soaking wet... Having to get out of the yak all the time to drag is a pain.

Soooooo....I've said all of that to lead into your next assignment. Can you put together a pictorial, with description, of your equipment? I know we may have beaten this horse to death, but now that you've finished your journey, what worked, what did others have that you wished you had or are there better options out there? For a short trip would you use the same equipment or would you scale up?

...for the record, you said bring on the questions...

No prob. I needed to do this list. I think I listed most of what I wore and carried. Remember, this is at end of hike when it was getting cooler (hard to believe I was in 30 temps now that I am back in Texas)! My summer list had less clothing. I did have some redundancy and I did get my fly rod back for 100 mile wider was. Also, I carried The Dude robe but that doesn't count. Finally, I wore Vasque Breeze hiking boots and Dirty Girl Gaiters ( which replaced my original Outdoor Research gaiters that blew apart after many miles).

Osprey Exos 58L backpack - this replaced my Gregory Z65 that become unreliable in Harper's Ferry. Straps ripped.
Sea to Summit inflatable air mattress - this lasted entire trip without issue. I had a large, it was BIG. I would maybe go slightly smaller to cut down weight.
Rei Igneo Long 20 degree mummy bag - I carried this the entire trip and used it as a "quilt" in summer.
Sawyer squeeze - I started with the mini-squeeze, but bought a regular squeeze when I started filtering a lot of water in VA.
2 one liter platypus bags - used as fetch bags for water
Sea to Summit spork
Emergency space blanket - carried entire way and never used it, but did use someone's to wrap around a hypothermic hiker. I never used mine, but I would not hike without it.
Buck Smidgen knife - this is a single bladed neck knife that I hung off my pack strap. It was redundant as I wore a necklace with a CRKT Mk5 neck knife on it. The blade was small on both knives... All you need. I could have done it with one.
Toaks titanium cup - my luxury item for coffee in the am. It nested inside my cook pot.
Hot lips - for cup so I did not burn my lips.
Snow peak ultralight stove - this thing weighed about 2 ounces and performed well.
Snow peak cook pot - 700 ml. This worked well. It was just big enough and my entire cook system nested inside if this pot.
Small bic lighter
3 sox (one left clean for camp)
Long sleeve REI performance shirt
Short sleeved performance shirt
Cotton "town" shirt
Two pair of UA shirts
Marmot Precip rain jacket - heavy this was sent home in summer and returned in NH
Lightheart rain skirt - nuff said
Lightheart rain "jacket" - this ultra light rain jacket I used in summer. Very light. When I got the Precip back I just held onto this as an extra layer of whatever.
Pack cover - rain cover
Bear rope - waste of weight
Silks - top and bottom
Poly long johns
Merino Wool top - Smartwool WARM!
Patagonia Puff Hoodie - my "warm" jacket. I carried this all summer and it was my pillow.
Bandanas - I carried several and caught grief for it. One was used to wrap my spork in and when I ate it was a little table cloth. One I wore on my head every day and another I hung off my pack to wipe swear.
Smart water bottles - for drinking water
Anker battery back (held about 4 recharges)
iPhone
iPod
Cords for recharging
Trekking poles
Camp flip flops... These things were cheap and survived the hike (I did not wear them every night).
Stuff sacks for all
Toilet items
Fuel canister

If you have any questions on any thing listed.. Just ask.



My cook system as it looked.