Just wrote this when someone asked what the AT is like, thought Id share. The AT is a very diverse trail. Youve got a little bit of everything. Depending on the state youre in, sometimes its rough and steep, sometimes its flat and easy, sometimes varied, sometimes monotonous, sometimes lonely, sometimes crowded, sometimes wet and cold, sometimes dry and hot, sometimes its rural and sometimes remote, sometimes its downright dangerous and sometimes its boring. Sounds like this makes it interesting, BUT it also means that its a lot harder to organize, and thats the most difficult part of the AT. Ive been out of food, dehydrated, injured, insomniac, cold, had heat rash, trench feet, Lymes disease and norovirus, Ive been stranded in a town for weeks and Ive been forced to rush ahead for weeks. Add to all this the normal complications of hiking and youre in for a steep learning curve. By the end of the AT youll probably still feel like you dont know what youre doing. How much you enjoy the experience depends largely on how well youre equipped. For the first half of the AT equipment was all we ever talked about. Bad equipment can really spoil the experience, and for me, it spoiled much of the first and third quarter. Four things you need to remember when picking your gear: weight (!), durability, bugs, and rain. My advise on gear: 1) Shoes: should be waterproof BUT also not water-absorbent, because waterproof boots take forever to dry and get wet anyway when it rains enough. 100% leather combat boots are the only boots I know that are both. 2) Backpack: if youre going ultralight, make sure its durable, like ULA. But you might want to have something waterproof like Hyperlite Mountain Gear, because when it rains on the AT it pours. Raincovers dont help. Even if theres a hole in the bottom they pool so much water that theyll just make it wetter in the end. Some people use garbage bags inside their backpack. 3) Raingear: rubberized plastic for when its cold. Dont bother about rain gear when its not cold, because nothings both breathable and waterproof (unless you can afford Arcteryx) and much of the time itll be hot and wet. 4) Clothing: down and wool for warmth, polyester for when its hot (no cotton!). If you want to buy merino wool so you dont stink (and you really never stink), buy First Lite for underwear and Darn Tough for socks, since those are the only durable brands. Merino smells after a few days but doesnt ever stink. 5) Bugs: When summer comes, dont put away your rain gear. Keep it for bug season, or else get a whole-body bugnet or skip NJ to MA. If you use DEET, start using it before you start getting bitten, or itll hurt more than the bugs. 5) Shelter: The Eureka! tents were known on the trail to be the only tents in which no one ever had condensation. In any other tent youll be humid. Tarps are nice because you have no condensation unless its really cold, but youll need a tarptent if you want to survive the bugs without trauma. Except for eVent bags, all bivybags, even goretex ones, will cause a lot of condensation.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 09:40:28 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015