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Quote from IMScotty: “I am still in the market for a tent, or maybe two. I'll probably look for bargains after Christmas. I hammock when alone, but I still need a tent for when I am with the wife. The kids seemed to have absconded with all my good tents when they moved out Right now all I have left is my 30+ year old Coleman Circus tent. I think it is an eight-person tent. It was great for car camping when we were a family of five with a dog. It is getting a bit unwieldly for two of us (and mold…

Frustrating that this crap still happens. Hope people band together and stay safe. Why does Ramdino call the non-AT world "The Matrix" ? See 11m30s - and on from there.

Yep, TJ had that app working well and it was a comfort to have as backup. We had the turn-by-turn trail description but seldom referred to it. There are a few signs along the way, naming features, so you could use those as indicators of your progress. As I recall, there was only one time where the trail wasn't clearly apparent - it was just a lower-lying area around a blowdown that had become slightly overgrown. Most of the trail is well-worn, and it's pretty well-marked too, by CT standards any…

Balance found with 2 glasses ... balance lost with 4!

Quote from Traffic Jam: “I should have saved the $ for a new tent but after two glasses of wine, my fingers started clicking buttons. ” That sounds like a good technique for overcoming "paralysis by analysis" in purchasing decisions!

Quote from max.patch: “ I enjoyed getting the stink eye from a few people when they called me ahead of the other 20 or so people waiting (I had an appointment). ” During the first vaccination events, I got severe scowls and complaints from elderly folks lined up for it because they thought I was cutting the line. I had been instructed to go to a certain window at the pharmacy counter to put my name on a wait list for extra/unused doses at the end of the day. I was denounced enough by those old f…

Details of a couple intrepid adventurers who did the whole thing (or, the parts that were completed): gethiking.net/ I also know of one other person who did the whole thing, though I was told that some stealth camping was required in order to overcome certain logistical challenges. The Cumberland Trail definitely has its maintenance challenges in places, and management of it should be much less opaque, but there are a lot of good sections that are worth checking out. It's a work in progress.

Quote from Traffic Jam: “My toes stopped hurting today, hopefully I’ll be able to sleep tonight. Gonna lose a few toenails as usual. My son is the shipping director for a Fleet Feet store. He mapped my feet and has convinced me that I need 1/2 size smaller shoe in a wide width. It makes sense as (currently) my problem is my smaller foot moves around in the shoe and my toes get mashed against the end of the shoe when descending, injuring them and causing a lot of pain. My bunion didn’t hurt at al…

Quote from IMScotty: “I thought this was interesting. The group that was most 'Vaccine Hesitant' (by education level) was Ph.D's. appalachiantrailcafe.net/index.php/Attachment/13995/ ” I wouldn't put any stock into that study, despite the CMU association. If it's the one I'm thinking of, it was funded by Facebook, not peer-reviewed, and it was from an online, self-reported survey. Researchers: "Additionally, we assume the survey was completed in good faith. " I wouldn't hang my hat on such a stu…

Seems to me the artist has a poor understanding of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, but a keen understanding of human gullibility.

If the tree itself fell on him, rather than a limb, it's possible he had suspended his hammock too tightly - you need sag (about 30 degrees from the tree to the bottom of your hammock) to avoid major lateral shear forces. Derek Hansen has a "hammock calculator" on his website you could use to calculate the forces, based on distance between trees, desired hammock height (bottom middle, as if sitting laterally), hammock hang height, and so on. theultimatehang.com/hammock-hang-calculator/ **** In o…

3 best resources I've found for hammocking are: - hammockforums.net - Sean Emery's YT videos (aka Shug) - Derek Hansen's The Ultimate Hang (book, website) For rain flys, I have a 3m x 3m DD hammocks tarp. It's their baseline model, not the UL SuperLight. I decided I'd upgrade if I really got into it. Haven't had a need yet, but hope to someday. Diamond orientation of rain fly is easiest & quickest, but least protective in blowing rain. Unfortunately, I found I didn't have the patience for dialin…

For those interested, the latest Backpackinglight podcast (#38) is on fly fishing with Tenkara.

Quote from Traffic Jam: “Does anyone here make sketches of what they see while hiking? ” You might enjoy checking out Evan Schaeffer's sketches instagram.com/evan.schaeffer/

The Cumberland Trail celebrates 50 years on April 30 with a 9-hour event at "Head of Sequatchie Management Unit of the CT in Cumberland County, 9 miles south from Cumberland Mountain State Park." Info was sent out to TN Trails chapter heads and then on to members. I suspect it's open to all interested ... you could also get more info from the CT office in Caryville, 423-566-2229.

Quote from jimmyjam: “Well I struggled thru finishing this tarp and I will never work with this material again. It is just too slippery, way more slippery than silnylon. ” This is silpoly that you are describing? Interesting - though I don't plan any DIY with silpoly, I have considered it for my next trekking-pole-supported backpacking tent.

Quote from LIhikers: “Speaking of books, my wife had gotten the book 2000 Miles Together (I think that was the title) the story of the Crawford family hike of the AT. It's an OK read, but mentions a couple of cafe members by name, internet name. ” Did they quote stuff from Whiteblaze or just mention some posters by forum name? If they quoted, it appears to me they'd have to have gotten permission, according to the terms of the WB copyright notice.

Quote from Traffic Jam: “This is the gazebo...only the roof is visible. ” OMG, I think I was hiking there just this past July. Past flooding was evident - you could see ripple patterns of silt well up the banks of the river and even creeping up on signage. When the water is down, though, it's a great place for getting out on the big rocks. (Sorry, first one uploaded sideways ... ) appalachiantrailcafe.net/index.php/Attachment/13649/appalachiantrailcafe.net/index.php/Attachment/13650/appalachiant…

Quote from IMScotty: “I just took a look, and they still make plenty of Kelty External Frame packs. I got rid of mine years ago, but I think what I had was a Tioga. Here is the model now... appalachiantrailcafe.net/index.php/Attachment/13611/ ” I briefly had a Tioga, before sending it back and getting a Trekker in its place. I sent it back because it seemed to me that a significant part of the capacity difference was that that Tioga bag extended lower than the Trekker, to the point that a Ridger…

Quote from IMScotty: “Just want to give another shout out to 'Darn Tough'. Sent in two pairs of worn out socks to take them up on their guarantee. Nothing wrong with the socks. These were well trail-worn and abused socks that finally wore in the heal. I truly never had another sock hold up as well as these did. Just got their credit for the worn socks through an email. Ordered two replacements online. Zero total cost to me with free shipping. Like OMO I feel a bit guilty taking the up on this. H…