Friday, January 30, 2015

If extended forecasts are to be believed,...


...AccuWeather says our Day 1 (February 7) temperatures will be a bit below the historical average high/low and we'll see some snow flurries.

Temps the next few days are supposed to be a bit above the averages.  Throw in a little rain and we'll see a little bit of everything in our first week.

(via Bass Pro Shops)

Saturday, January 17, 2015

3 Weeks


(via Guthook Hikes)

Planning to start trail three weeks from today.  Taking care of last-minute items and anxious to get started.

Saturday, January 10, 2015

< 1 Month!


(via Paula's Long Walk)

Weather permitting, the plan is to start the thru-hike on February 7th.

Jackets should arrive in a few days.  Also waiting on some carabiners and a tent footprint.

Bobby has hustled and all his clothes/gear are either here or on the way.

With the exception of Fontana Dam (sending a package there), we're going to try resupplying along the way.

It seemed like it'd be more expensive than sending food boxes, but the cost of shipping has gotten pretty steep, so I don't see where food boxes would actually save all that much money.

Also, if our hike doesn't match up with post office hours, we could spend a lot of time waiting around in towns for packages.

Planning to keep mileage down early on, so as to avoid injury.  Hoping to average around eight (8) or nine (9) miles per day over first couple of weeks.

Since Bobby's the tech guy, I've turned the GoPro over to him and he'll be handling most of the camera work.

He should be be able to get some great shots of bears just as they're attacking or rattlers in mid-strike.  Hoping he'll remember the rule of thirds while I'm yellin' fer help.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Amazon Smile


Order stuff from Amazon?

Do you tell Amazon to donate to your favorite charity via Amazon Smile?

If not, learn how to do it here!

Friday, December 26, 2014

Northern Lights



When conditions are right, catching a glimpse of the Northern Lights becomes a possibility.

Follerin' Aurora_Alerts on Twitter (and checking the above map) is the best way to go.

Example:  If the alert says "In 43 minutes the Aurora Borealis should be at STORM LEVEL (6 Kp)" and you're camping in the White Mountains on a clear night, you should be in business.

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Friday, December 5, 2014

Water Purification


Originally planned to use a filter to purify water on the trail, but leaving in February means there will likely be quite a few cold nights early on.  Filters don't like freezing weather, so I'm not so sure one would survive.

Aqua Mira drops are popular with thru-hikers.  Since the product is rather expensive and not always available along the trail, I'd have to rely on mail drops for a reliable resupply.

I've settled on good old-fashioned chlorine bleach.  It's cheap.  It's available along the trail.  It's easy to store and use.

Downside:  Bleach doesn't kill cryptosporidium.

Friday, November 21, 2014

AT Tats


Plenty of AT tattoos to view online.

Some go with the AT map:

(via Trail Journals)
Variations of the AT symbol are very popular:

(via img arcade)

The boot print tats are some of my favorites:

(via Appalachian Trials)

This is a little too much:

(via Trail Journals)