Appalachian Trail Pre-Hike Nashville, Tn 2/28/17

Byron Van Buren's Appalachian Thru-Hike 2017

Boring Gear Talk 
In five days I'll be walking the Appalachian Trail at Springer Mountain, Georgia and taking my first steps toward Katahdin Mountain, Maine --2185.6 miles of trail with a few miles of off-trail town visits along the way. And for the past seven months, since I decided to take this hike, I've been reading blogs, talking to hikers at REI, and watching You Tube videos of hikers talking about their hike, their gear, their must-do's and must-nots. I took some of their advice and from the folks at REI and now have backpacking clothes, gear, and a general sense of what to expect. But I have done a lot of tweeking along the way.
Shoes for instance. If your feet are the wheels, shoes are the tires. Hiking boots are not in fashion because they are considered heavy and even with water-proof Gore-Tex, rain can slip in and not be able to get out. So light and fast drying trail runners are the most popular hiking shoe.

But I've had trouble fitting the right shoe: I have a size 12 foot wide . Since August I have bought and returned at least Ten pair of trail-runners: Solomon's, Merrells, Altras, Nike, Keen, Hoka. I could open a shoe store. None seemed to fit right or they were waterproof and too hot. Amazon was so concerned with my returns that they wrote me a letter asking if I had a problem.  Finally I ordered a pair of plain Jane Aetrex shoes and they fit all right and worked well on the Percy Warner trail.
But. Last week, I said "screw it, I'll just walk in my shock absorbing, load spreading, anti-fungal stylish Crocs and if they don't work I'll have my wife, Terrie, ship me the Aetrex at a PO on the trail." Now, I have three pair of Crocs ready to be shipped ahead if needed. My takeaway on this: Hike your own hike. Do what you like, like what you do--Life is Good _R

In August, my first purchase was an Osprey Exos 58 Backpack recommended by a few online reviewers. It's lightweight, 3 pounds, it has cushioned air between my back and the pack, and it has many pockets. With my tent and sleeping bag in compression sacks, there is still a few inches to spare. And the cushioned space that I mentioned before, is a good place to keep my trekking umbrella.

My first sleeping bag, a custom made quilt, was raved about in some quarters, It took two months to make in Minnesota. I tried it out on the porch one cool night and felt the cold draft coming through the buttoned sides. I couldn't sleep. So I sent it back, went to REI the next day and bought a light zippered mummy bag, an REI Radiant 19 degree, wide and long (sleep is important to me), for half the price. It weighs a few pounds and compress's easily.

I have a Big Agnes 2 tent that I bought in September from REI that I still have. I haven't slept in it yet and it has been suggested that camping in it would be a wise move. But I figure I have five or six months to get acclimated to it. I did buy a footprint, the sheet that fits under the tent even, though a few "experts" said it was unnecessary on the AT. A guy at REI,  a former Thru-hiker, "Missing Link," showed me how to use the footprint and the fly for a fast set-up without the mesh main tent. So the footprint could come in handy.

With gear, like most things, what works for one person may not for another. Hike your own hike. Popularity is a sometime thing.  I'm glad I tested the waters, even if I did get a little over obsessive and anxious with shoes. Sheesh!!

Here is a list of other things in my new "mobile-home":
Wallet; Storage Bag of iPhone, charger, wires); Sawyer mini water filter; pocket rocket with two cups; headlamp; compass/whistle; trek umbrella; Nemo sleeping mattress; air pillow (bought pillow covers today--luxury ha!); first aid--vitamin I (ibuprofen, Advil), tape, bandaids, Burt's foot cream ; toiletries; toilet paper; zip lock storage bags; Food bag for six days-- Storage Bags of: Fruit and Power Bars/Muesli/Oatmeal/couscous/powdered milk/Granola/mashed potatoes/lentils/cheese?/fruit?/bottle of Zin (kidding).

Clothes (cotton is rotten in rain): layering for warm (?)winter--black polo shirt; black Marmot fleece; Gray Etos wind meshed jacket.  Black meshed Yoga shorts w/my velcroed pockets (my underwear); black ski tights; synthetic pants (my wife's gift (Lou Lou Lemon); Marmot rain pants; 2 Darn Tough socks, 2 Merino wool socks; ski cap; Coleman rain poncho;Crocs.

Total Weight including pack: 28 lbs. Goal is 20-23lb.

Byron Van Buren's Appalachian Thru-Hike 2017
My Dog Murphy 
My buddy, my companion, my fellow trail walker and traveler, Murphy, was put to sleep a couple of days ago. 
He was a 12 year old lab mix and had stopped eating for almost a month. Stomach cancer? Could have been arthritic pills. Who knows. I miss him badly.
Murphy was a puppy when he was picked up sitting by the expressway in Murfreesboro, Tn. Hence, his name Murphy. He was a friendly, gentle, dog and loved to be pet by anyone, anywhere, and never barked, calmly and stoically handling pain and cold baths; he was terrified of thunder and never learned that walking in front of moving cars was dangerous. He could walk for miles through forested hilly parks and as I did, he loved it.
I believed in him. I went to bat for him in Court in fact. My paranoid neighbor insisted that I walk him with a leash and I self-righteously refused, citing the law. In court, I told the judge that he was obedient and gentle and under my control. I showed him a picture of Murphy sitting complacently in the passenger seat of my little Miata sports car. Of course, with the neighbor's sneaky pictures of Murphy peeing in a bush, I lost the hearing, the judge commenting with a grin that he liked my picture of the dog in the car; and then later that week, to my chagrin, I discovered that Murphy actually liked pulling on a leash. Go figure.
Murphy was not that clever but he made up for it in gentle enthusiasm, much like his Master.
Speaking of masters and dogs: When you walk your dog and you come across others, don't tug at him too hard. You are teaching him to be paranoid of others and he will respond protectively in the future. I have seen anxious people yanking their dogs all the time as I passed them, teaching the dog to be anxious. Stop, be calm, tighten the leash perhaps and let the person pass.
Praise your dog when they are gentle and that is good training--unless, of course, you want a defensive anxious guard dog. Then tug away.
I hope my wife finds a nice puppy while I amble along. I am sorry that Murph the Surf died, but I'm glad he died before my hike, on a nice lawn, outside the vet clinic, with me holding him. I like the way the kind vet put him to sleep: a sedative shot; then ten minutes later the phenobarbitol.
And I do hope Terrie finds a cute pup while I'm on the trail.