My wife and I have been quite busy for the past few weeks which is why I have not posted anything recently. We both are working more hours now which is great for saving money for the Trail. We have also been slowly accumulating some more gear.
We both bought shoes to hike in that are expensive and light. There are so many options available out there. We just went with what the experts at outdoorgearlab.com recommended. I am not worried about my feet. I usually don't have any problems with my feet. I wear my shoes out, refusing to purchase a new pair until the shoes get so many holes they start looking more like sandals. I have walked around barefoot a lot, especially in my college days. I went everywhere shoeless, even to a job interview. That was probably a mistake. I didn't get that job. Anyway, my feet are tough. Whenever I go on long treks with the Marines, I end them blister-free while many others are licking their sore, blister-covered feet. Once a friend donned my shoes to make a quick run across the street to get something he needed, and when he returned a few minutes later his heels were worn through, red and hurting. I wore those shoes all the time and never had a problem. After reading about how much thruhikers have problems with their feet and about how no one makes it in one pair of shoes (some burning through several pairs before the end), I want to try making it in one pair of shoes. This isn't really a serious challenge and I know there is slim to no chance of making it, but we'll see how it goes. I read about how we should buy shoes half a size bigger since our feet will swell up with all the walking. I am just worried that won't be enough when wearing thicker socks as well.
We also bought a titanium cooking pot that can hold 1.3 L. Titanium is super light and it really was a no brainer to go this route. It is just more expensive. I have tested out building my own alcohol stove which went pretty well. It is super easy, but I am not the most crafty person. I am also not a perfectionist and have a hard time being patient enough to make something as perfect as I could. So I am going to build at least two more, until I can perfect it. I am also going to cook meals in two different sizes of stove to determine which is more efficient. Once I run though this gamut I'll post about the whole experience.
I was going to write a post reviewing the books I've read about long-distance hiking and the Appalachian Trail, but discovered I haven't read that many. So I am currently scouring my library for every book about the Appalachian Trail. I have read eight so far and will read a few more before I write about them.
We have been planning on taking another multi-day hike on an island for quite some time, but logistically we couldn't make it work until now. We will be going in a week and a half, just in time, as the ferry to the island closes for the season right after we finish. We will be going north to Sleeping Bear Dunes and spend one night in a backcountry campsite near the shore before taking the ferry to North Manitou Island, which is completely uninhabited. It is nearly eight miles long and over four miles wide. The shoreline goes 20 miles around. It will probably be quite cold up there so it will be good to test out our gear in those kinds of conditions similar to the first couple of months of our Appalachian Trail journey.
At long last we decided to buy ponchos instead of the combination of rain jackets and a rain cover for the packs. This decision is the one I am most hesitant about so far, but we will just have to test them out. I read forum after forum of hikers arguing about whether ponchos or rain jackets are better. Both have very obvious pros and cons. The main thing to keep in mind is that when we are on the Trail we will get wet a lot. Nothing can stop that. The ponchos are about keeping us warm enough not to get hypothermia when it is both rainy and cold. Hopefully, it will rain on the island so we can see how well they work. If we stick with the ponchos we will also probably add some rain pants. We didn't buy cheap ponchos at Walmart, but stronger ponchos designed for backpacking.
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