Today is a milestone. It is my 35th wedding anniversary. But today was also my first trip to my local REI! Okay, full disclosure: my wife had to work today until 8pm and it’s raining; so, it was a good day to explore. We'll share a little celebration when she gets home later tonight.
At REI, I had the goal of looking at day packs – I want to get a new one before our upcoming trip to Spain and Greece. My Eastern Mountain Sports 4WJive day pack is probably 20 years old and has been my steady EDC bag; it’s still as solid as ever, but I really want to get an Osprey pack to start looking at that line’s quality. And I did buy a pack: Osprey Ozone Duplex 65 Travel Pack; this interesting design combines a day pack with a carry-on duffel (see below). I was immediately curious when I came across this pack by chance; I had never seen it online during my virtual explorations. It felt great in the store; we’ll see how it does in a field test traveling to Europe. The day pack will even get a chance to support a hike up a portion of Mount Olympus. I also took the opportunity to look at the Osprey Exos 58; this remains my prospective choice of a pack – I liked the look and feel of this pack. Additionally, I looked at the Osprey Kestrel 38 as a potential day/overnight pack; I liked this one as well and I will likely purchase the Kestrel sooner rather than later for potential short hikes with my son and grandson. I also bought a pair of Columbia Silver Ridge Convertible Pants; these are my choice for the thru-hike prospectus. I tried on REI’s Sahara Convertible Pants; didn’t quite like the fit, especially in the waist. I also tried KUHL Renegade Convertible Pants; nice fit, but the 30” inseam was actually longer and would drag on the ground. So, my online research has been confirmed by in-store fittings; plus, Columbia’s pants are the lowest price point at $60 and even come with a belt. And only weigh 12oz; another plus for these pants. These will also get an initial test on the Spain/Greece trip. Finally, I tried on some shoes: both the Salomon XA Pro 3D Trail-Running Shoes and the Merrell Moab Ventilator 2.0 hiking shoes; a pair of these will also make the Spain/Greece trip. I really liked the fit/feel of the Salomon shoes; but I am not so sure about the look for a European vacation. (I know that “look” really shouldn’t be a criterion and it won’t be when it comes to thru-hike purchases.) The Merrell’s have a great look, but the fit/feel as a bit stiff and chunky. I really doubt these are the shoes for a thru-hike; so, I am wondering if they are even worth a preliminary field test. My online prospectus research actually pointed to the Salomon X Ultra 3 hiking shoes, but my local REI didn’t have these in stock. So, I am still undecided about a shoe purchase for the trip. A final note: I’ve been testing out Darn Tough socks – a couple pairs will make the Europe trip. First up are the CoolMax 1/4 Ultra-light Cushion running sock; I like these, they feel great in my standard running shoe (Asics Gel Nimbus) and felt good trying on shoes at REI. But ultimately, these won’t be my thru-hike socks. My online prospectus suggests CoolMax Hiker Micro Crew Cushion, but these will need a serious hiking field test. In the meantime, I picked up a pair of Merino Wool Hiker 1/4 Cushion socks; it will come down to these and the CoolMax hiker socks. Now, my bride will be home soon; time to make sure the champagne is chilled.
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Lately, I have been feeling more fatigued in the evenings – I attributed it to getting up early and dealing with the emotionally draining aspects of teaching ninth graders in a very challenging high school. Also, I have started waking up in the middle of the night to visit the bathroom almost every night – I have been taking medication for pre-diabetes and started to wonder if the prefix was no longer applicable. My wife is a nurse practitioner and she indicated some concern that there might be something serious going on with my health. So, I visited my doctor this past week. His initial diagnosis: I am getting old – fatigue and peeing more are normal at “my age.” He also indicated that as long as the blood tests come back “clean,” the real issue is being overweight (more than 40 pounds) and diet. Blood tests resulted in good news and bad news. Good news: blood tests are all normal; there is nothing seriously wrong. Bad news: I am old and fat. In a few weeks, I will be 59 years old; and then comes 60. When I turned 30, 40, 50, they were just numbers – I was actually in my best physical shape in those years. Gradually though, the writing was on the wall. In my 50s, my running pace started to slow down and when I retired, I stopped running/training seriously. The weight started accumulating. Last week I saw a photo of myself from the side at our faculty bocce tournament. I was shocked at the fat old man I have become. My mind’s eye still sees myself as that 175 pound fit 30-something soldier in the 10th Mountain Division or the 185 pound 40-year old running his first marathon. The reality: today I am not fit enough to hike even a short section of the Appalachian Trail. The dream: if I am ever going to complete a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, preparation needs to seriously start today. Losing weight and becoming more fit is not one of my reasons in and of itself to hike the Appalachian Trail. Although, proving that I can complete a physical challenge like a thru-hike in my 60s is surely becoming a reason to hike. So, losing weight and becoming more fit needs to be the second step in my journey towards the trail.
Sometimes I wonder if connections find us or we look for connections. There is no question that I am looking for tangible reasons to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail other than it’s been a “dream” since I started backpacking as a teenager. I thought I had settled on solitude. But the more I read trail journals, the more I realize that solitude will be relative on the AT. I think it’s possible, but solitude won’t find me; I will have to find solitude. Some say they hike to the trail to “find themselves.” I don’t think I have ever “lost” myself, but in many I have ways lost connections to others in my life. Today is Mother’s Day. My mother died in 2012 in the same hospital where I was born; I was by her side as she passed quietly in the night. Connections. As I’ve been reading trail journals for this 2019 season, a couple hikers have mentioned lilies-of-the-valley flowers blooming near the trail; these were my mother’s favorite flowers. Right now, I can look out the window right and see lilies-of-the-valley blooming in my backyard. I didn’t plant them; they were a nice surprise the following spring after we bought this house the year after my mother died. Connections. When I started backpacking as a kid, we were not a wealthy family financially; but my mother would scrape together a few dollars to help buy my backpacking gear – frequently as a birthday or Christmas gift. She also frequently drove my friends and I to trailheads for the Black Forest and Loyalsock Trails in Pennsylvania. She encouraged my backpacking activities, even sewing for me from scratch a wind shell, insulated jacket, and stuff sacks in order to save money. Connections. I hope to see those lilies-of-the-valley on the Appalachian Trail and bring the connections full circle. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom.
This past week was Teacher Appreciation Week. A community church near our high school sent over several baskets of goodies to thank teachers; sort of like trail magic! It so happens that these baskets included a variety of Clif Bars. While most teachers were enjoying the candy bars and chips, I was lucky to snag several unwanted Clif Bars. Teacher Appreciation magic turned into an unexpected opportunity to try out potential trail foods. During my marathon days, I consumed several Power Bars as a pre-race breakfast. I was never really a fan of the sticky, semi-tasteless, often hard Power Bars. But they were a decent fuel prior to a race that wouldn’t sit like a brick or glob in your stomach. I am sure I ate a few Clif Bars back in those days too, but they don’t stick out in my memory as much as Power Bars. I am fairly certain I want nothing to do with Power Bars on a future hike, but also recognize that energy bars are a convenient staple to have in one’s food bag. Enter Clif Bars as the first contender. I have seen Clif Bars in local gas station convenience stores and supermarkets; so, I expect they will be seen in AT re-supply points from time to time. So far, I’ve eaten “Peanut Butter Banana with Dark Chocolate” and “Peanut Butter & Honey with Sea Salt.” Texture is as expected (sort of a sticky chewable, semi-solid oatmeal); the taste of these peanut butter flavored bars was just average. As a teacher, I’d give them a B/C+ grade. I still have “Chocolate Chunk with Sea Salt,” “Spiced Pumpkin Pie,” and “White Chocolate Macadamia Nut” left to taste test. At 108 calories/ounce, Clif Bars are a viable addition to the food bag. I envision energy bars as an addition to the first (cooked) breakfast of the day and the centerpiece of a second breakfast along the trail. That means two bars per day. Energy bars also could easily become the sole element of first breakfast on rainy days or when I want to break camp quickly. But comments from hiking forums and trail journals forewarn that the taste/texture of energy bars quickly becomes monotonous on the trail. Having worked through college at a Pizza Hut where we could eat all the pizza we wanted, I can tell you that even our favorite foods quickly become monotonous. So, Clif Bars appear to be an approved option for my eventual thru-hike. Of course, this option still needs trail-tested, but pre-hike “test” Number One (despite being extremely minor) is complete!
I still haven’t managed to get the boat in the water for the season. Weather, work schedule, and a 4-week bout with pneumonia conspired to sap my time and energy. I was able to start the boat’s engine today: all systems check out; so, now I just need the time to take her out for a cruise. Of course, while I was sick, I managed to read a lot of AT Class of 2019 trail journals, mining those for gear ideas and other nuggets of information. I have put up a link to my Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike Gear Prospectus 2019 on the Gear page. It’s all virtual and hypothetical right now, but it is a useful tool for learning about gear options. I also dropped a hint to one of my sons about thru-hiking the AT (appropriately over a couple beers at an Irish pub!). He has been into hiking in the past; so, maybe we can figure out some ways to get in some day hikes together with his soon to be 5-year-old son. Reading trail journals likewise has led me to consider the idea of section hiking the AT, at least until the idea of thru-hiking can venture closer to reality. The AT in Virginia/Maryland/Pennsylvania is only a couple hours’ drive from my home on the Chesapeake Bay; so, at least day hikes or even short section hikes are a real possibility. Another nugget mined from the trail journals is the idea of section hikes on the AT as training/shakedown hikes in preparation for a thru-hike and if done in the same calendar year (like January or February), those sections could then be leap-frogged during that year’s thru-hike (e.g. hiking the roughly 40 miles of AT in Maryland in February and then skipping that section during the thru-hike started in March). Thru-hike purists would likely scoff at that idea as not a legitimate “thru-hike.” But the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) simply defines a “thru-hike” as “a hike of the entire AT in 12 months or less” and strongly advocates for alternative itineraries like flip-flopping. I agree that leap-frogging sections (then completing those sections at a different time during the year) is not a “pure” thru-hike; but in my mind, leap-frogging is just as viable as slack-packing sections. Those couple weeks between a January/February section hike and the rest of the hike starting in March/April are just a lot of zero hiking days strung together. Anyway, just hypothetical ideas and thoughts until real plans and actions get me on the trail.
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Quiet Man
I don't have a bucket list. At 61 years old, I have already had the adventures of a lifetime, especially after a 30-year Army career, five years of teaching high school, and a 37 year marriage still going strong. But I still have this deep desire to complete the Appalachian Trial. Archives
February 2022
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