Passing the torch

Hi all!

It's been a while since I last updated here, so I thought I would post an update and also start adding some info for people who are thinking about doing their own hike. Things are good in sunny Rochester. I start working with Americorps this Friday. I still don't know my placement yet, but I should find out next Friday. Exciting times! I also just started my anatomy class at FLCC last night. I decided to enroll because I am considering other options in the healthcare field other than med school, and most of them require anatomy, which I didn't take at Cornell. The classroom setting is very different from Cornell (feels more like high school than college) but I am looking forward to it. Rachel is doing well in med school. She has her first final tomorrow. Everyone send positive thoughts her way. So that is pretty much the news. Things are finally settling down and the house is looking good. I'm looking forward into getting into a weekly rhythm. I tend to do better when I have some structure to my time.

I have received a couple of emails from future thru-hikers who are seeking advice. I thought I would post this one because it may answer some questions for others. If you read this and it sparks more questions, please email me at harveysgwilliams@gmail.com and I will answer your follow-up questions here. Thanks again for all your support. Happy trails.

1. How often did you tent and was the Kelty tent good?

I tented only about 10% of the time I was on the trail. With my early departure date (Early means before March 1), I never ran into a crowd at the shelter (until I met the big group of SOBO's in Maine). So I would say if you are planning on starting early, then you don't really need to carry a tent (a lot of the guys I was walking with didn't carry one for most of the journey).
As far as which tent to carry, I was quite happy with my Kelty Teton 2 tent in the beginning. I elected to carry a two person tent as I was hiking with my dog Harley and didn't want to make him sleep outside in the rain while I was nice and warm in a constricting one person tent. Because of that, I was carrying a little extra weight. In Pennsylvania, one of my friends decided to send his tent home, for the reasons described above, so I borrowed his from him and sent mine home because of the weight savings. His was a Tarptent Squall 2. That is an AMAZING tent! I absolutely love it and would recommend it to everyone on the trail. It is so light that you can afford to carry a 2-person tent just for yourself (and then your gear can stay dry too!). It only weighs 34 ounces which is ridiculously light. It is a single wall design tent that does require set up with your trekking poles. It also has a bathtub floor that can be adjusted so that it sits correctly on whatever terrain you are on. So long story short, if you are looking to get a new tent for the trail, I would recommend a Tarptent. There are some really nice one-person tents that I saw on the trail (including the MSR Hubba and the REI Quarter Dome 1) but I think that the tarptent is all you really need (and that is the goal of going lightweight). They also have a couple one person models if you want to shave a couple more ounces. Here is a link to the website: www.tarptent.com

2. Were you comfortable with your winter layering? I was thinking baselayer, midlayer and was deciding between marmot fleece afterburner or the mountain hardwear compressor (similar to your montbell) as an outer layer. Any suggestions on the differences between fleece and the mh compressor?

I was very comfortable with my layering scheme. I derived it from Winton Porter at Mountain Crossings in Neels Gap (Check out the November 2008 issue of Backpacker Magazine. There is an article about him on page 58 and a breakdown of what you should carry for the AT on page 63. This was a really good resource for me as I was figuring out gear, and especially clothing). I started from Springer with two light polypro shirts (I never used a medium polypro), one light polypro bottom, one pair of zip off hiking pants, two pairs of socks (liners and outers), one long sleeve button up hiking shirt, one rain jacket, one pair of rain pants, one montbell synthetic jacket, sun hat, warm hat and gloves, and a ski mask. Immediately, I would eliminate the ski mask, the zip off pants (in favor of normal shorts), the rain pants, the sun hat, and one of the polypro shirts. Eventually I learned to walk without liner socks, and when the weather warmed up, I eliminated the hat and gloves. I also know some people that got rid of their rain jackets (when it rains, you get wet no matter what), but I chose to keep mine. If you are looking for a lighter rain jacket, a lot of hikings like Frogg Toggs or Dry Ducks though they tend to rip. The benefit is that they are much cheaper and lighter than traditional rain jackets. The only thing I would advise adding to that list is a pair of "sleep socks" that live at the bottom of your sleeping bag and never see the light of day. You should at all times ensure that you are carrying one dry set of clothes (for me it was my polypro layers. This is ESSENTIAL to your survival. This means that when its raining out, you get out of your sleeping bag, and change into your wet clothes from the day before. It feels terrible, but you have to make sure you have a dry set of clothes to change into at the end of the day. Plus that cold feeling is more motivation to get hiking. You will warm up eventually when you get moving.
As far as fleece versus a synthetic or down jacket, the fleece loses every time. Not only is the fleece heavier than the down or synthetic jacket, it is also really bulky and does not pack well. If I had to recommend only one piece of gear to a new thru-hiker it would be my Montbell jacket. It doesn't matter if you choose down or synthetic, they are both rediculously warm, lightweight, and compressible. I was able to sleep through sub zero temperatures in a 15 degree sleeping bag because of that jacket. Most of my friends couldn't fall asleep that night because they were shivering!


3. Were you comfortable with your departure date? Do you think there is a more ideal date?

I was very happy with my departure date. I was able to sty ahead of the crowd the entire way and had a very positive experience on the trail. The only thing you have to worry about with and early departure is snow, and more than likely you are going to have to take a zero day somewhere because of the snow. That being said, I managed to sail through with only 3 inches of snow at most, but people ahead of me and behind me were walking through feet of it. Its all just luck of the draw.
There is usually a big group that leaves on March 1 and a huge group that leave on April 1. If you want to walk with the crowd, not have a spot in the shelters, and not have time and space to yourself, then leave later. For me, Feb 21 was the ideal date. You are going to meet people no matter when you leave (I made a handful of great friends that are friends for life). So bottom line is, if you can deal with the cold weather, leave early and enjoy the solitude.


4. Did you wear boots or shoes? Pro and cons of each and suggestions for avoiding blisters and overall feet comfort?

I started out with Merrell Chameleon Wrap low top Gore-tex boots. Let me tell you that low top and Gore-tex don't mix well. They were tremendous boots and got me all the way to Port Clinton PA in two pairs, but if you want Gore-tex (which I do not recommend) then get a taller boot. The reason I do not recommend Gore-tex is because your feet are going to get wet, no matter what. In fact, your feet are going to get soaked. There will be weeks that you will only have dry feet when you are in your sleeping bag (the reason you should always carry one dry set of everything!). Although I was lucky and did not have problems with blisters, I saw many people that got blisters because they were wearing Gore-tex. Blisters come from moisture and heat derived from friction. With Gore-tex boots, when you get wet, they stay wet longer, therefore trapping moisture against your skin and increasing the chance of blisters. With normal tennis shoes that "ventilate" well, the mesh dries out faster than Gore-tex and therefore decreases the chance of blisters.
In Pennsylvania, I switched to Montrail Streak shoes and never looked back. These shoes wee amazing. A lot of the people I was hiking with used Montrail shoes and most people really liked them. Solomon is also getting big in the hiking sneaker market. The main thing is to try the shoes on at a store and pick the one that is most comfortable for you. Try every single shoe on the rack until you find that perfect fit. You'll know when you find it. When you do, you will be in shoe heaven and blisters will be a faint memory.

5. Not including gear, how much did you spend on trail hostels, food, luxuries, etc...

Haven't had time to add it all up yet, but I would estimate 3,000 to 4,000. They say that the average thruhike costs 3 to 5 thousand. When I add it up, I 'll post it on the blog.


6. General advice for must have books for both prep and then on trail (I know you had the companion).

Definitely either carry the Thru-hikers Companion or the Appalachian Pages. These are by far the two best books on the trail. There are a couple others that plain old stink. I carried the Companion and loved it. The nice thing about the Pages is that it has a built in elevation profile and comes in an unbound copy.
As far as prep, the only book I would recommend reading is AWOL on the Appalachian Trail. Very good account of his thru-hike and really helps you understand what you have decided to get yourself into. If you plan on doing mail drops, then the ATC has a planner book that may be helpful. Check out their online store. Having done mail drops the entire way, I would not recommend them unless you have someone at home who is very organized and is sending you really good food (Mom sent me her leftovers that she had dehydrated). You can easily just buy stuff along the way and meet your basic needs, though you will get sick of Ramen and Lipton Sides.
The one thing that I would recommend NOT buying is the map and guidebook set. You really do not need it at all. I bought the whole thing (for $200) and ended up having my mom copy the elevation profile from each. If you decide to use the AT Pages, then you have the elevation profile already and the maps are useless and heavy. Bottom line: don't buy them. Save your money for cheeseburgers in town.

7. Did you find poles to be a must? all the hiking ive done (not much), haven't been with poles?

Yes. Especially if you carry a Tarptent (can't set it up without poles). I do know two guys that went the whole way without poles. I don't know how they did it. Not only do they take some of the pressure off you legs, they allowed me to catch myself so many times when I would have face-planted. If you get your base weight light enough (sub 10 lbs) then maybe you won't need them, but I would still recommend them anyways.

8. Did you go with one bag for the entire trip or did you switch to a summer bag? What temp. rating did you use?

I started with a Marmot Sawtooth Long 15 degree down bag. It was great and I carried it all the way to New York. At that point I switched to a Lafuma Warm'n Light 600 g 40 degree down bag. That was warm enough to get me through the Whites and all the way to Katahdin (and was relatively cheap at about $100). I was happy with my two bags and would definitely recommend this system. Also make sure you go with down, synthetic bags are just too bulky.