The Weighty Matter of Packing

If you’ve spent any time around backpacking forums, you know that one of the most common subjects and sources of ongoing debate is the Gear List. The Gear List is the thing that defines what kind of a hiker everyone is. Your list may be longer, with heavier items, which defines you as being a very different person from guy who has a minimalist, ultra-light loadout.

Well, here’s my preliminary Gear List for our Pinhoti hike, complete with weights. This may change somewhat (which means I get to post about it again later!), but this is my starting point. Weight is in ounces.

Packing List
A. Shelter and pack – 194oz, or 12lbs 2oz.
   1. Pack – JanSport Big Bear – 64
   2. Hammock – ENO Singlenest – 22
   3. Straps – ENO – 10.3
   4. Tarp – ENO DryFly – 22.7
   5. Stakes – basic aluminum – 4
   6. Sleeping bag – The NorthFace Cat’s Meow 15° – 48
   7. Underquilt – DIY PLUQ – 23
B. Waste Management – 39oz, or 2lbs 7oz.
   1. Trash bags – 3
   2. Toilet paper – 33
   3. Shovel – 3
C. Kitchen Equipment – 39.1oz, or 2lbs 7.1oz.
   1. Plate – 4.2
   2. Cup – 2.3
   3. Knife/fork/spoon – 1.4
   4. Stove – 6.5
   5. Pot – 7.7
   6. Fuel – 13
   7. Wind screen – 2
   8. Lighter – 2
D. Clothing – 48.7oz, or 3lbs – not including over coat, which will likely stay home
   1. Hat – 8
   2. Knit cap – 5
   3. Shirt – not available
   4. Undershirt – not available
   5. Socks (2 pr.) – 1.4
   6. Undies (2 pr.) – 1.5
   7. Shoes – not available
   8. Fleece – 15
   9. Bandanna – .9
   10. Poncho – 9.8
   11. Base layer – not available
   12. Heavy overcoat – M65 Field Coat with liner – 80
   13. Duty gloves – 2.3
   14. Winter gloves – convertible knit mittens/fingerless gloves – 4.8
E. Personal items – 47.1oz, or 2lbs 15.1oz.
   1. Towel – 1
   2. IFAK – homemade, in Altoid tin – 3.4
   3. EFAK (IFAK + extras) – 7
   4. Flashlight – 5
   5. Batteries – 1
   6. Hand sanitizer – 2.7
   7. Map and compass – 5.1
   8. Phone charger – 11.1
   9. Ear phones – 1
   10. Canteens – 6
   11. Paracord – 3.8

Total weight, not counting food: 367.9oz, or 22lbs 15.9oz.

Once I figure in food and water, I’m looking at around 30lbs. Plus, I haven’t even begun to figure in dog stuff, such as leash, cable, bowl, and especially food. I’m going to have to experiment with the poncho. I really like it better than a jacket and pants for most things, but it may not work over my huge pack. I know I could lose some weight with new, lighter equipment – especially the backpack, the sleeping bag, and going from hammock to tarp and mat. However, I (1) don’t have the money for anything new right now, and (2) I really don’t want to sleep on the ground unless I just have to. I’m looking at a lighter stove system, and I’ll be experimenting with a homemade alcohol stove – but I like my little cannister stove, which has really worked for me. Sometimes a little more weight for a bit of ease is justifiable.

Well, I think that will do for now... More to come later.

Beginning Again...

I've had this blog just sitting around for quite a long time, but I've never really done anything with it.  I created it originally to talk about our need for wilderness -- whether physical, spiritual, or emotional -- but I never really got on the blogging bandwagon.  I think I thought I just don't have anything interesting to say.  However, I've decided that, boring or not, readers or not, I am going to start posting to this blog again.  And what's more, it's going to be my trail journal and general outdoors diary.

I was told when I started this blog that Talamh Fiáin is Gaelic for "the wild land".  I guess it doesn't really matter if I'm mistaken, as long as it's not something nasty.  Still, the idea of "the wild land" is exactly what I'm wanting to explore.  Literally, in this case, though get ready for some figurative and allegorical and metaphorical explorations as well.

Now that the first bit is out of the way, let's get into the reason I decided to resurrect this old blog.

My brother Thomas and I have been hiking, canoeing, and hunting for the past eight years or so.  Maybe longer, actually.  One of our first backpacking trips was with our dad in the Sipsey Wilderness, a one-night loop hike that covered about fifteen miles or so.  It felt like a hundred, but it was so much fun.  One spring we went on a canoe trip down the Flint River in Madison County, Alabama.  We sunk the canoe on the first day and had to call for help, but it was also way more fun than I could ever have imagined.  Since then we've been on several more trips into the Sipsey Wilderness, we've started hunting, and generally spending as much time outside as the weather and our responsibilities will allow.  We live about two hours apart, so we can't get out as much as we might like, but when we do we always have fun.

Ever since I was a wee little kid, I've always wanted to go on a long canoe trip.  My grandparents live in north Jefferson County, just north of Birmingham.  Turkey Creek runs through their back yard.  It flows into the Locust Fork of the Warrior River, which joins with the Mulberry Fork and the Sipsey Fork to form the Black Warrior river.  For a long time when I was a bit older but still a kid, we lived in Tuscaloosa, which is on the banks of that Black Warrior river.  So of course I wanted to put in a canoe at my grandparents' house and float to Tuscaloosa -- or even beyond.

Once I got into backpacking as a young adult, I discovered long trails.  In particular, I discovered the Pinhoti Trail.  This trail runs from Flagg Mountain in Wetumpka to the Benton MacKaye Trail about 70 trail miles north of Springer Mountain, Georgia -- the start of the famous Appalachian Trail.  Since I discovered the Pinhoti, I've had a dream of walking the entire length of the Alabama portion, from Wetumpka to Cave Springs, Georgia.

That's what we're gearing up for now, actually.  Roughly 150 miles of hills, rocks, and steep climbs.  We're going to try to do the whole distance in one go, over two weeks in February (or maybe May, if February doesn't work out for some reason).  I'm planning for my 17 pounds of terrier energy, a dog-shaped fuzzball named Maizy, to accompany us.

Pleeeeeze throw the ball??

Before we can just set out, however, both the dog and I have to get ready.  She's young, and her vet recommended lots of walking between now and then.  I'm not quite so young, and my doctor recommended lots of walking between now and then.  So I guess we have to do lots of walking between now and then.  We're going to do the daily leash thing, of course, but the best way to build hiking muscles is to go hiking.  So you'll see trip reports from our various excursions into the Sipsey Wilderness and other places over the fall and winter as we prepare.

As for the canoe trip, I hope to be able to do that before too long.  The problem is that I sold my canoe for no good reason, other than the fact that it was old, underused, and not really in good shape.  It also wasn't exactly what I wanted in a canoe, being too tipsy for my taste.  I would really rather have a 15-foot sea kayak, but those are kind of expensive.  Maybe in the next year or two, though.

In the next installment, I'll start going over gear, resupply, and trip plans.  Until then, pray for a break in the oppressive heat!