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Saturday I began my 2015 hiking season where I left off last year, Duncannon PA.  I started the day at 1:30 near the train station in town. After screwing around finding food and leaving Gander Mt to head to Bass pro, to buy the same food I would have bought anyway. What a great waste of time. I hadn’t hiked this section previously and began a bit later than I had hoped (Lesson #1 just buy the damn food!). It was a bit rainy out when I left the train station to head towards the trail and up the mountain, luckily I had my Marmott Storm Watch rain jacket, newly resprayed with silicone spray (Lesson #2 always respray on warm days, prior to hiking day).

Thankfully it still managed to keep me pretty dry. I made it to Hawk Rock after a quick uphill climb to find the allegedly great overlook filled with a foggy abyss.  It actually made me a little uneasy not being able to see the rocky bottom of the valley from the overlook.

I really need to do a better job of making myself take a rest every 2 hours to get the weight off my feet and shoulders. I’m notorious for hiking until I can’t hike then taking a short break just to catch my breathe before going on.  I’m paying the price for that now on Monday (Lesson #3 take breaks, period).  I made it to the Darlington Shelter around 6:30 fully expecting to end up hiking in the dark (Lesson #4 keep your headlamp handy in your hip belt pocket).  I made the 11 mile hike on about 5 hours (Lessons #5 & #6 hiking in the fog is super badass awesome! & Never connect your hydration hose down near your hip unless you want soggy pants).

I spent the extremely windy night at the Darlington Shelter with another hiker heading north on a 70 mile trip. The wind was howling all night leading to an extreme loss of sleep (Lesson #7 ear plugs, who forgets those?!).  

I had previously arranged for a Sunday afternoon pick up in Boiling Springs around 3-4.  Luckily before my battery died due to the cold weather eating up my battery I managed to send a text about approximate time to meet (Lesson #8 always turn your phone off at night and have a charger with you).  All in all the trips was great.  The wind was crazy at times like crossing this field near the 81 bridge. I made it to Boiling Spring an hour before my expected pick up time with no way to contact them so I got to hang out with some awesome ducks in the wind and cold!   

There is nothing like looking back to the mountain you slept on the night before and seeing it miles away!

Although I’m pretty sore from 26 miles total for the weekend, it was a great way to start the hiking season for the year!

    

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My Eno Sub7 hammock arrived over the weekend to much excitement!  I also received my Arrowhead Equip whoopie slings and Marlin Spike tree straps.  I immediately removed the Eno caribeeners and put the Whoopie slings in.  Although it was only a 1 gram difference(I AM NOT a gram guy, it just worked that way) between the two, I gained the extra length of the whoopie slings. So it definitely helped keep the weight down as far as overall suspension. I ordered the Marlin Spike tree straps and a ridgeline as well. I’m pretty impressed with the quality, weight and price, I’m sure the durabity will be just as impressive!

On the not so bright side I discovered that the hammock is only 105″ long compared to my Grand Trunk UL which is 112″ so hopefully that’s not as big of a deal as some expert on the Internet(ref: sarcasm) said it would be. I’m 5’9″ 150 lbs and spent two of the best summers of my life sleeping in the back of a 4 door Saturn sedan. I’m sure I will be fine. I’m still struggling to decide what sort of sleep system to go with.

I own a Big Agnes Copper Spur 2UL tent currently. I got a pretty good deal on in at REI. It weighs in at 50 oz and has a TON of room. I’ve used it only once time though on a 2 night AT solo hike I did last spring. I liked how much space I had for myself, and my gear in the tent or even vestibule. I’m just not sure how I feel about carrying 50 oz vs 27 with this hammock set up including tarp.

You can see the comparison of my old sleeping bag(teal stuff sac) vs my quilt, sleeping pad, hammock and suspension below.

 

 

What are your thoughts on my two set ups?  What works for you and what hasn’t?

 

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One thing I have been constantly reminded of throughout my life is that “patience is a virtue” typically followed by “we do not possess.”  This statement rings true with myself especially in regards to this journey of 5 million steps.  The anticipation has been killing me through this epic winter cold in PA. Waiting on spring is an understatement.

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I have given the down quilt some use over the past few days, although strictly indoors.  It is definitely more than I hope to ever need in regards to warmth.  I typically end up half in and half out of from under it.  I think it will definitely do the trick this coming spring.  I also started looking into hammock set ups.  With my current tent (BA Copper Spur 2 UL) coming in at 50 oz without a footprint, I’m second guessing its usefulness on a thru hike.  I am entertaining testing out a hammock this spring and summer.  I preordered the ENO Sub7 from REI, and also a suspension set up from Arrowhead Equipment. One of my concerns with hammock camping is rain and keeping dry at night.  I don’t like the idea of being stuck huddling under a small tarp to cook eat and relax. I also wonder if I should keep my Thermarest xLite for use in shelters or switch to a UQ for the hammock.  Spring cannot come soon enough!

-Pickle090 091

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Lauren and I embarked on a journey to make a down quilt.  While researching a new sleeping bag I went down the rabbit hole from synthetic to down, bag to quilt, quilt to holy crap those are expensive!  So we spoke about it and she agreed to help me by basically doing all the hard work, the sewing.  I did some research and ended up with a shipment of 850 down and nylon for about $180.  I decided to go with 2.5″ baffles to make an estimated 20* quilt.  It took 10 hours over the course of a few days.  We probably wasted 3 ours the first day just laying it out, a few times before actually cutting the first half of the shell.  It turned out great!  She did an awesome job sewing it and dealing with me watching.  I can’t wait to test it out!

-Pickle