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I met with Bob on Monday evening. This was our second official meeting
about his thru-hike.
He has finished the thru-hiking papers and is now reading Walking the
Appalachian Trail by Larry Luxenberg. I am now looking for the next
reading assignment. I want a good 'overview' book. The 2 oz backpacker is
a little lean, and I didn't care very much for The Backpacker's Handbook
2nd edition by Chris Townsend. My first choice would be Fletcher's
Complete Walker III, but it is very out of date gear wise. On the other
hand, it is full of easy to read information, and having just finished
re-reading it, I think it might be acceptable.
He brought the frameless pack that I had lent him, and an ALICE pack
that someone else had given him. The ALICE pack had 48 pounds of steel
hand weights in it. He is evidently ahead of me on this aspect of his
training, and has been training with this pack and this weight for awhile,
unknown to me. The ALICE frame, it was immediately obvious to me, was far
too small for his body. (It's a SMALL, and Bob is 6'4" or
something...) I asked him how it was working for him. He said, "It
rides a little low." He wasn't using the hip belt, just slinging the
pack by the shoulder straps and marching along. No problems.
Obviously, a tougher man than I...
I asked him not to do that anymore, and showed him how to stuff the
pack I had lent him with the weights and pillows. If he's already training
with 48+ pounds, I'm not going to discourage that. I showed him how to
adjust the pack and use the hip belt. He commented that it was much more
comfortable. Even this pack, which is larger than the ALICE, is still
small for him. It does fit, but at almost the maximum adjustments.
He is very anxious to be on the trail, 'practicing'. I told him that we
can't practice until we have enough gear. The next meeting will probably
involve shopping. I'm not too worried about clothes yet, but we need to
get a sleeping bag, shelter, stove, cook set, and sundry items. Our first
overnights will probably be in early May.
I'm working on the equiptment list, and I'm reasonably satisfied. I'll
post it when I get that far.
After much soul searching (and reading), I have recommended the
Hennessy Safari hammock to him. He is anti-bivy because he would feel too
confined. I am anti-tent to a degree and have switched to hammock/tarp use
for my own hiking. His biggest fear is being cold in the hammock.
That's all for now. More to follow.
Shane
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