Will work on that starting tomorrow.

What the trail taught me:

I read many books. I searched many blogs. I had some experience of my own. I tried to be prepared. I did okay for the most part. However, the trail taught me a few things that no advisor could. It wasn't that I did not receive this advice. It is just that I thought I knew what was best for me. After all, there was so many differing opinions from so many experienced hikers. There is a reason that store is not right on the trailhead in Georgia. People don't listen until they have lugged that spare widget 300 miles. The trail forced me to listen and do things a bit different. I have listed some lessons in my gear post. Some bear repeating. I repeat my disclaimer: These are things I learned for me. You may have learned different things that work for you. I am not saying my way is better.

The 1st thing the trail taught me was to carry less. This may seem obvious. It is not. No one thinks that they are purposely doing anything wrong. They find what they are comfortable with and then justify it. I was no different. What I left behind in Monson is not the point. The fact that I left items behind is the point. Not once on the trail did I long for an item I did not bring. I often wished I had a lighter item. But I never missed an item I did not bring. I proclaimed myself to be a gram weenie. I was a gram failure. I will do better next time. It feels so good to carry a light pack. It can ruin a walk if your pack is too heavy.

I walked with a partner. The Inchworm story taught me the value of this. She was checking in daily via phone. She was being resupplied often. She was often around many people. After all you are never really alone on the trail. I have heard it all. None of these facts helped her. I lost my partner a for couple of hours. We were to meet at a lean-to. He was ahead of me, but I arrived at the lean-to ahead of him. I immediately went into rescue mode. I informed my wife of locations and situation and told her I would get back to her. I told her not to panic or inform others yet. I am not going to recount the entire story. We found each other. The point is someone was on the ground who knew the itinerary. I am not saying Inchworm would be safe today if she had a partner. I am not casting blame. She had a better plan than most. I am saying I see value in hiking with a partner.

I learned that if you hike with a partner you have to compromise. My brother-in-law and I are very different. We look at the world differently in many respects. We have enough in common that we can hike together. We both are willing to compromise to suit the other guy. If you can't do this and you insist that the other person conform, then you should hike alone. Before the hike I was obsessed with hiking speeds. He hiked faster than I. That is okay. I learned that it is unwise to try to match hiking speeds. It is a better plan to have meeting spots. Turns out our meeting spots were either the tops and bottoms when one was resting or on the ups where I was faster and the downs where he was faster. We saw each other many times during the day, but almost never were hiking within sight of each other.

Continuing with the last point, hiking together means sharing items. This has the plus side of dividing weights of items used together. It also has a downside if there is a disagreement over the shared items. We had a disagreement over a particular item the whole trip. It is not important what that item was. The point is one of us had to compromise. I was the critic and the one who compromised. It is likely he does not even know the extent of this. It is also likely he disagreed on items too that I am unaware of. We emphasized what we agreed on and quietly compromised on the rest.

I learned that I need to be flexible. We were not going to be so flexible that our meeting points would be missed. However, we did not follow our itinerary perfectly either. For the most part, we were ahead of schedule. That was a good thing and was somewhat by design. Our plan was conservative. I do not see the value of squeezing out 5 more miles just to get to a spot. I would rather squeeze out 5 more hours sitting on top of mountains or swimming in lakes. Our conservative plan allowed for this flexibility.

It the spirit of the last point, I learned that viewpoints should not be missed. I can think of only a couple viewpoints I regret not seeing. That is because we went to most of them. There is a reason that detour is there. There is something over there you should see. So many great views are blown by in the name of getting to the next spot where you can collapse. The view from RainBow Lake Dam is great. It is only about 200 yards of the path. Most people don't even know it is there. I hike to see things, not to rack up miles. To each their own. I would rather live 50 years on the ocean than 200 years in a box.

Here is a simple one that escaped me until I paid for not knowing it. It is better to set up your tent on grass than it is to set it up on dirt. At Poplar Ridge I picked a nice flat spot that looked like it had been raked just for me. I told my partner that there was room for him too. He said no thank you and set up under some fir trees in the grass. His tent barely fit. My spot was wide open. I felt guilty until the next morning after a driving rain the night before. My tent was brown with splashed mud. His looked like it had just been washed.

Gaiters with straps that go under the shoe are no good. That strap will wear out. It is likely that the gaiters are overkill as well. If they keep sticks out of your shoes, they have served their purpose. Spandex Dirty Girl Gaiters do great and are lightweight.

Soak you clothes in permethrin. It comes in a spray version too. The soak is a better option. Our clothes were treated in permethrin. We saw zero ticks on our walk. I also had a Exofficio bandana. It was oversized and treated with permethrin from the factory. The black flies did not bother me while they were eating people around me alive. On a related note. I had never hiked with a bandana. I will never hike without one again. It is a very versatile piece of equipment. I was constantly finding new uses for it.

Take the time to build a fire. A fire is a social gathering spot. Where there was no fire, people would spread out. Where there was a fire, people would gather. It seemed to put everyone in a good mood. Most of the jokes and stories that I heard were told around a fire. It because an activity that all could help in. It was the place you got your hiker deodorant. The ashes from the fire could be used to wash up or do dishes. People could cook on the coals and save fuel. Gathering wood was almost always the thing I did after setting up camp.

Bring a camera and use it. Memories fade. Pictures keep those memories alive.

Bring plenty of vitamin I.

Bring an electrolyte. Nuun was the best option I could find. Marathon runners use it. It is easily packed. It is more dense than other options. There is less trash to deal with.

Take care if your feet. I saw a woman in Monson that had feet that made me want to cry. She looked like she was done for months. She said she was not and that she would walk on bloody stumps if she had to. People, take care of your feet. Get good stockings (Darn Tough). Get shoes that fit you well (half size too big for hiking). Buy green Superfeet. Inspect your feet daily. Clip nails as needed. Use Glide Liquid Powder. If you feel a hot spot, stop right there and fix it even if you are just 10 minutes from your destination. Take care if your feet.

Have fun. If you are not having fun, find something that is fun and do it instead. Life is too short to not enjoy it.

Wow! Did Rasty type that last post? I see a lot of typos in it. Will fix at home. To hard via phone.

Just for you LS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULjxheaFpB4

Featured article report update:

I have not forgotten this. "Life is something that happens while you are busy making other plans". I copied and pasted all the days into a word file today. I will start editing it tonight. Hopefully will have it up soon.

I just sent all the information to the great blue yonder. He should be posting it as a article soon. Not too soon, mind you. After all, it is more of a book than an article.

Thank you Rasty. You are the man. I am going to have to start referring to you as a big blue nicey.

Be fair HB. :whistle:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxtW98VSegk

rocksNsocks wrote:

hikerboy wrote:

think lad think

Bing!

...we need a light bulb emotiocon.

thanks HB, and I truley do love the snarky pithyness. Not everyone can pull that off. gif.004

a mind is a terrible thing to waste when your young...remember that kids.

Not everyone takes it as well as you. Oh the joys people miss because they can't laugh at self. I agree with the mind comment and position myself better daily for mind wasting.

rocksNsocks wrote:

BirdBrain wrote:

rocksNsocks wrote:

hikerboy wrote:

think lad think

Bing!

...we need a light bulb emotiocon.

thanks HB, and I truley do love the snarky pithyness. Not everyone can pull that off. gif.004

a mind is a terrible thing to waste when your young...remember that kids.

Not everyone takes it as well as you. Oh the joys people miss because they can't laugh at self.

you think that's funny read my last post...where the hell is it?

http://appalachiantrailcafe.net/k2-categories/trip-reports/item/19-a-birdbrain-maine-at-adventure.html