Barrier Island Graphics Forums - Ok, who wants to hike some of the AT with me next summer
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WinDog
Official BiG Element
6443
Jun 2003
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Tuesday November 24, 2009 10:43 AM
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Seriously consider getting ankle high leather boots. Vasque has several types, mine are actually Scarpas, probably the only pair of Italian shoes I've ever owned, and they are niiiice.
I had to order mine from a shop in Colorado, but they actually took my credit card info, but then sent me 3 pairs to try on, and I sent the two back I didn't want and they charged my card then.
I've walked through the bottoms of several pairs of the "softer" boots (both Vasques), and they feel nice, I liked them, and yeah, they are lighter, but I've gone back to wearing full leather ones because they give me ankle support that the softer ones really can't. It makes more of a difference when I am carrying a heavier pack load, but even on day hikes they give me lots of advantages. Rolling out an ankle just plain sucks dog balls.
The softer boots almost always have thinner soles, and unless you are hiking on a flat dirt trail, walking all day in thinner soles wound up making my arches sore after 2 days. With the heavier soles, you do clomp around like Frankenstein, but trust me, they are better to have up in dem dar hills, I think.
I keep mine broken in by cutting my grass in them, and I keep them waterproof by simply re-shining them with basic shoe polish/wax when the toes get scuffed. I used to use bear grease on my boots, but the bear grease still has to be re-applied in they get scuffed up, and it's messy as hell.
Other things I would recommend you look into;
Liner socks and outer socks instead of one pair
A good set of gaiters to keep the boots dry
Walking sticks
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Sure. Without coffee, why even bother?
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WinDog
Official BiG Element
6443
Jun 2003
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Tuesday November 24, 2009 12:45 PM
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I spent a couple of months shopping for my boots. If you go to either the Vasque or the Scarpa website, they'll direct you to stores, and they were all willing to send me several pairs to try on.
I used to wear only one pair of "nice" thick wool socks, but when I was in Scotland I learned about wearing "liner" socks and a thinner pair of outer socks. Liner socks are basically cotton-poly socks that allow the outer socks and the boot to "move" without rubbing blisters. They are nothing short of miraculous.
A great thing, though, to keep in the pac k is a pack of "corn pads" from the pharmacy. If the boots do rub at all, you can slap one of those things on instead of carrying a sheet of moleskin.
Another thing I spent a lot of time on was my knife. Well,..........knives, by the time I was finished. I wound up buying about 6, and settled on two. I was used to carrying a heavy steel bladed knife that I could use as a digging tool and all, and there is actually a lot of things I can do with, like, a K-Bar knife out in the woods.
But they can be ungainly, and I would up carrying two folding knives now. One is called a "Light My Fire SL3 Knife", which has a firesteel starter that I use to start campfires, and one is a Victronox Swiss Sarmy One Hand Trekker knife. I was able to leave my K-bar behind, but I also don't have to deal with matches and keeping them dry. The One-Handed trekker you can open with one hand, and those "saws" that they put in folding knives are about as useless as it gets.
Abother "dude gear" thing is hydration packs. I had a Camelback, but if think about it, the pouch really only carries the same amount of water as a standard Sigg bottle, and it weighs 5 times as much, so now, instead of filling my pouch AND carrying two more bottles, I carry 3 bottles and leave the pouch with my K-Bar.
Oh, and one thing you'll want to do is pick a metal canteen you like, and stick with one type. I chose Sigg, but thing is, all the tops for all those kinds are different sizes, even the ones that sorta look the same, so, if you buy, like some Siggs, some Kleen Kanteens, you'll eventually wind up with a drawer full of bottles like the tupperware drawer; dozens of containers, but try to find a fukkin top when you need it. I recommend Sigg, because they seem more durable, but just pick one and stay with it. If you fall on a Sigg, it won't deform the rim where the top screws in, but you dent the top of a Kleen Kanteen, and it'll leak forever, and you gotta simply get rid of it.
The plastic bottles are heavier than the new aluminum ones.
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Sure. Without coffee, why even bother?
Edited: Tuesday November 24, 2009 at 1:47 PM by WinDog
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WinDog
Official BiG Element
6443
Jun 2003
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Tuesday November 24, 2009 1:00 PM
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And get a "fleshlight", as it will come in handy for discretionary jacking off. 
No need to be such a weight weinie on the tent, because the ultra-light ones aren't very durable, but don't get a "party tent so you can stand up". I'd get like the high-end one that is not listed as "for the discerning hiker for whom weight is an absolute sexual obsession".
I actually carry a two person combat tent, which is from Eureka. It's heavier than a small flashlight tentI keep my pack and everything in it with me, even though in "bear country" you are supposed to hang the food in the tree.
Order yourself a box of MRE's, too. Get the civilian ones, not the combat rations, but those things are great. You can eat one during the course of a day and it's fine.
Instead of a poncho, use a hooded wind-proof jacket and a wide brimmed hat for rain and for the pack, use a rain cover. The jacket doubles as a heat layer, and the rain cover makes a great pillow.
Don't buy anything cotton. Use Nike sports underwear, or if you wanna go with some color, there are companies that make poly underoos for hikers with all kinds of patterns.
Hiking pants with zip-off legs to double as shorts.
Instead of a full line of wool watch caps and balaclavas, buy one of those long gaiter type things that you can tie a knot in the top to seal it off. They look like very long stocking caps.
A decent pair of gloves if it's gonna be cold.
And........to beat back "trail breath", be sure to have plenty of Tic Tacs. They keep your mouth from getting dry, which saves you from drinking all your water, you can shake them to get the attention of any wildlife you may walk up on, and it'll make you a hero with the women you meet.
Buy a LED headlamp instead of any flashlights.
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Sure. Without coffee, why even bother?
Edited: Tuesday November 24, 2009 at 1:26 PM by Barrier Island Graphics Moderator
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WinDog
Official BiG Element
6443
Jun 2003
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Tuesday November 24, 2009 1:02 PM
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A good pair of sunglasses.
A lightweight, non cotton baseball type cap, with the underside of the brim a dark color. Patagonia makes them.
A pocket digital camera that can take higher-res photos, like nearly anything Canon. Don't load up on the camera gear.
A ShamWow towel. We have them here at WalMart.
A roll of real toilet paper, squashed flat, in a ziplock baggie, with all the air squished out.
Another really good thing to do, as odd as it sounds, is to take a self-teaching "Survival" course. It's not really about learning how to eat rats..........anyone can do that if they get hungry enough........it's more to teach you how to not panic out in the woods when sh1t happens. Most book stores now sell the older versions of FM22, and it's a good book to read, lots of tricks in it, but I also have the newest edition on CD, which is a MUCH larger book (not a "field" manual anymore), and if you want it, I'll burn you a copy and mail it to you. But one thing you do when you take a Survival course is to make up your won First Aid, Land Navigation and Survival kits, and I made mine using surplus ammo cl,ip pouches with cheap plastic soap dishes in them.
Learning how to use a compass and how to go "off the trail" is kinda cool, but you soon learn that most trails are where they are for a very good reason.
I've actually gotten to where I can comfortably go hiking without a tent or sleeping bag now, but if it looks like rain at all, I won't do it.
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Sure. Without coffee, why even bother?
Edited: Tuesday November 24, 2009 at 1:12 PM by WinDog
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