Late summer of 2013 I wrote...
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Today, I went to my storage unit and pulled all the camping and
hiking gear and brought it back to the apartment. I open each box and bag and placed each piece
of gear on my made bed for photographic purposed. I had to get a handle on what I had and
didn’t have. As I took the photos, I got
close enough to a batch of items so while viewing the pictures I could identify
each item. When removing the items I put
them in three distinct piles. One was
for the items I absolutely would not take on my hike. The second pile were the items I would place
in my “drop box.” The third pile were
the items I would wear or pack during the trail on “day one” of my hike. Each pile included the “maybe’s” and “not
sure’s.” As D1 approached, I would make
decisions on these items and move them to a different pile or keep them in that
pile.
Over the years I had accumulated of loads of hiking gear and much
of it was new and unused (buying shit you don’t need…a drinking and thinking
problem). I’ve read loads of information
on ultralight packing and it wasn’t difficult to put together a list of what to
wear, carry or drop (or bounce) while on the AT hike. When reading online info and books about planning
and preparing for the AT, I already knew a lot and also learned a lot but
didn’t struggle with the choice and preparation of gear. I guess someone who hasn’t been into the
hiking thing might find this process difficult but that was not my experience. I’m thankful I had collected my gear over the
years. There is no way I could ever
afford to buy it now with my income. I’m
guessing it would cost a couple of grand to get ready for this long hike.
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