Breakoff After 4 Days

Everything was different then I thought.

My achilles tendon issue came up again. After 3 and a half day I had to abort my hike. I don't know what was the reason again, but it seems like my backpack was to heavy again. Next time I try not to have 44 lbs but under 35. I already have a plan how I can succeed ...

I didn't also expect the weather to be that rainy and the trail to be that lonely but either didn't cause a big problem. A wet sleeping bag could be dried in a few hours ;-)
Like everytime I had too much food for the first days. A little too much clothes (maybe even for the wrong application), big backpack, leaky pack bag and some useless gear added more weight than neccessary.

Maybe I just have to learn it on the hard way ;-) But now I'm sure, I know what was wrong and what I have to improve.

I'm definitly coming back on this trail! Now I know what I have to expect, also I know the right time to meet many people.

More impressions and pictures are coming the next days!

Yours,

Jasper

3...2...1...Start

In a few moments I'm going to departure towards Amicola Falls State Park in Georgia. There I'll spend the night and then start my hike tomorrow morning.

My backpack has a baseweight about 14 kilograms. With food for 5 days it's close to 20. :-0

During my trip I'm trying to post some short notes here.

Wish me luck,

Jasper

Nice Quote

Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great.
You can be that great generation.

Nelson Mandela

Today is the last day of my internship here in South Carolina.
Almost everything is ready. I got my water filter, the hydration system and the 1st-Aid Kit yesterday.
Only my tent is missing. But I got a tracking number yesterday night and it will be deliverd on Friday. So I hopefully have it at the right time.
I put all my food together and am going to ship it tomorrow. Everything should work out fine.
I worked out a new schedule for my hike. Probably post it here tonight!

Have a nice day,

Jasper

Trip Schedule

This is now my first sketch for the hike!

Week 1:

Day 1 (14.9 mi): Springer Mountain ---> Gooch Mountain Shelter
Day 2 (16.7 mi): Gooch Mountain Shelter ---> Bull Gap Tentsite
Day 3 (16.7 mi): Bull Gap Tentsite ---> Blue Mountain Shelter
Day 4 (14.8 mi): Blue Mountain Shelter ---> Deep Gap Shelter
Day 5 (15.1 mi): Deep Gap Shelter ---> Muskrat Creek Shelter
Day 6 (18.4 mi): Muskrat Creek Shelter ---> Bear Pen Trail
Day 7 Break

Week 2:

Day 8 (18.1 mi): Bear Pen Trail ---> Bartram Trail
Day 9 (18.4 mi): Bartram Trail ---> A. Rufus Morgan Shelter
Day 10 (16.8 mi): A. Rufus Morgan Shelter ---> Brown Fork Gap Shelter
Day 11 (18.6 mi): Brown Fork Gap Shelter ---> Birch Spring Tentsite
Day 12 (17.1 mi): Birch Spring Tentsite ---> Derrick Knob Shelter
Day 13 (9.7 mi): Birch Spring Tentsite ---> mi 195.3 Clingmans Dome
Day 14 Break
Day 15 Break
Day 8-13 need to be planed better to get a more equal mileage.

Week 3:

Day 16 (11.3 mi): 195.3 ---> Icewater Spring Shelter
Day 17 (12.8 mi): Icewater Spring Shelter ---> Tri-Corner Knob Shelter
Day 18 (14.8 mi): Tri-Corner Knob Shelter ---> Davenport Gap Shelter
Day 19 (10 mi): Davenport Gap Shelter ---> Croundhog Creek Shelter
Day 20 (13 mi): Croundhog Creek Shelter ---> Walnut Mountain Shelter
Day 21 (13 mi): Walnut Mountain Shelter ---> Hot Springs NC
If I like I'm going to extend the last week a bit, because the mileage is not very high.

This is my plan. I have to see, how good it work out with supply and rest days. Maybe I'm going to change a littlebit and look for a more equal distance every day.

So far,

Jasper

It's Coming Closer

Yesterday I noticed, that I have to less food. I got about 500 gr. with 2000 kcal per day. That is way to less. So I have to come up with a plan to get more Calories.
Perfect would be around 3000-3500. Probably going shopping tonight and see what I can get.

My 1st-aid pack, the hydration system and the water filter is also ordered and should be here mid-next week. Then I have my gear complete.

When everything is working out I get also some brandnew badges from the "Forum"! Then I'm going to make some advertising while hiking. :-)




This was a short update, take care,

Jasper

Food For 21 Days

This is all the food for the AT Hike.

Don't think I went crazy here! I'm not going to carry all that stuff on my back. I'll send at least two parcels to stations on the trail, so I can hike with a quite light pack. There is a little more food then for 21 days but my former experience tells my, that I need much more food after 10 days of a trip then at the beginning.

The backrow of the picture is mostly breakfast stuff. Dry milk, cream wheat, oatmeal and muesli.
As a lunch snack there are the "asia noodles" and the granola and oatmeal bars.
The white bags in the middle are dinner with noodles and rice.
Left are mashed potatos with gravy and at the right are spaghetti with tomato sauce.

So I have a bit of variety, because I'm not going to eat 3 weeks the same stuff.

All in all I paid 75 $, quite a good price for 3 weeks of food.

Next week I'm going to pack the supplies in daily rations and sent two or three parcels to hostels. I hope everything is working out fine!

Good night,

Jasper

Gear List

This is my preliminary gear list:

Number Gear Manufacturer Name Weight

General

1 Backpack Lowe Alpine Alpamayo 70+20
1 Rain Bag Bach
1 Tent Salewa Island II
1 Insulation Pad TAR
1 Sleeping Bag Haglöfs Goga 12 X
1 Blanket Lufthansa ;-)
1 Multi-Tool Leatherman Wave
1 Pocket Knife
1 1st Aid Kit Light & Dry LD2
1 Lighter
1 Matches

Cooking

1 Stove MSR Dragonfly
1 Fuel Bottle MSR Fuel Bottle 1l
1 Pot Set MSR Alpine
1 Cup
1 Silverware MEC
1 Tea Towel
1 Sponge
2 Soap MSR
1 Oil
1 Spices
1 Salt
1 Travel Diary Moleskin Squared Notebook L
1 Guide Dan Bruce Thru-Hikers Handbook

Hydration

1 Water Bag MSR Dromedar 4l
1 Hydration Platypus Big Zip II 2l
1 Water Treatment MSR Mini Works EX

Hygenic

1 Tooth Brush
1 Toothpaste
1 Towel MSR Packtowel
1 Shaver Gilette Mach 3 Blue
1 Shaving Foam

Electronics

1 Cellphone Sony Ericcson T68i
1 Cell Charger Sony Ericcson CST-13
1 Camera Kodak Easy Share DX7630
1 Battery Charger Kodak K5000
1 Converter Plug Travelwise

Clothing

1 Rainwear MEC
1 Trousers Tchibo
1 Trousers MEC
1 T-Shirt Four Season
1 T-Shirt Jack Wolfskin
1 T-Shirt Star Fit Dry-Star
4 Stockings Tchibo Trekking Stockings
4 Slip Four Season
1 Fleece Jacket MEC 200 Fleece
1 Underwear Tchibo
1 Hiking Boots Meindl Borneo
1 Sandals Source

There are some items which will probably fall out of the list due to weight.

Please help me in optimizing my gear list. I know, some of the items are not perfect for this trip but I already have them and I don't want to by a lot of new things.

Take care,

Jasper

The Start Is In Sight

First of all a big sorry for not writing so long. I was a little busy the last weeks and had many things to do. I was a little bit surprised when I looked on my calendar and noticed that there are only a little more then 2 weeks left until I plan to start my hike. I was so busy the last weeks that I didn't really pay attention.

My plans are to walk towards north and make it to Hot Springs, NC in about 20 days. That is 270.5 miles from Springer Mountain in Georgia. This shouldn't be a problem if everything is working out fine. If I notice during my trip that I'm walking to slow or to fast I can reduce or extend the distance very easily.

I plan to refill my supplies three to four times during my hike so I don't have to carry too much weight with me. There are some nice places on the way where you can take a shower, eat some real food and get supplies.

The next days I'm going to order a hydration set, a water treatment system and a 1st aid kit. I'm not 100% sure yet what I want to have but I have to make a decision soon.

I haven't decided yet what kind of food I'm going to take with me. Probably I'm just taking standard stuff. But if my backpack is going to get to heavy I have to change to freeze-dried expedition food. But this is going to be pretty expensive.

Read more here soon,

Jasper