hello! hello!
I’m sitting here doing some last-minute work on a section hike of the Florida Trail. So many things are going through my mind. Do you have enough food? Do you have enough water? Do you have the right gear? What if they have to poop and are walking in waist-deep water with no dry land? Can’t be eaten alive by mosquitoes How can I effectively pee in my tent at night? A few questions that kept me awake. Not the last question. Gotta love the swamp puppy!
So gear! beautiful gear!
This time I decided to go with the Z-pack Arc Air ROBIC 50L backpack. Since I plan to hike trails in Florida, orange (FT’s Blaze color) was an obvious choice. When I picked up the box they sent me, I honestly thought they forgot to actually send something… the light. Sadly, at first I felt like I made a big mistake getting this backpack.My Osprey has a lot of pockets to put things in and it was a pain to pack. Then it didn’t ride very comfortably on my back. Finally, after watching some videos and talking to customer service, we fine-tuned the pack for a more comfortable ride.
As for the sleeping bag, I decided not to buy anything new and decided to stick with the Sierra Designs Backcountry Bed 600 2 season sleeping bag purchased in 2014. The minimum temperature is 27 degrees and the down is orange with duck dry down! LOL This sleeping bag stayed with me on the PCT, a short overnight in jeep camping/living and kept me from freezing to death while living full time in the van. It may be a trip to we will see
tent! I never decided to get anything new again and have the REI Co-op Quarter Dome 2 3 season tent. It’s my bastion of safety on the trail, and I believe nothing can come near me while I’m inside. It’s 3lbs 5oz heavier to carry than other tents, but I love that it’s freestanding and can be placed basically anywhere. I also like to keep all my belongings in the tent.
Everyone asks what my base weight is, so here we go…
My pack with no water, no food, but everything including electronics, clothes, etc. is 20 lbs.
35 lbs with food and water. That 15 pounds of food and water! is that normal? is that too much? It will carry 700cc of water including 2L of water and electrolytes. I love liquid IV powder. They also help with the horrible taste of Florida water that I need to filter and drink! It looks and tastes piping hot. We have the best trail angels here in Florida and we plan to hike near town, so we have legitimate authority to refuel often. Dollar store to win! Doing this will help you eat less and lose weight. Just being told that makes me nervous! First time on the trail for a long time (4 nights or more). I will be out for about a month for this part.
understood. My pick up is today (01/01/2023) heading south for a kickoff that was very kindly taken by former thru-hikers of the FT and other trails. I’m more afraid of bugs than big animals unless I’m eaten alive by bugs, so I keep sending dates!
So in 2023 I will create a new poop story.
Happy new year!
Let’s go cuddle Swamp Puppy!
~spam
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