T-Minus 40 Days and Counting

I brought up my gear boxes from the basement and into the sunroom that has been converted into the Quartermaster's Office as I'm now just forty days from the start of my attempt of the Appalachian Trail.  I have multiple stations set up.

The first station is for my gear.  I have a small scale and my tablet open to LighterPack.com.  I am not assembling a brand new kit.  Much of my gear from the PCT is still in excellent condition.  It pays to take care of you kit.  Nothing escapes the scale, even if I weighted it before.

To protect me on the PCT, my daughter gave me a Pokémon keychain to clip outside of my backpack.  She chose a Manaphy for me.  For those of you who are not Pokémon masters like my daughter, Manaphy is a water-type.  Julia felt that a water-type would be a good match for the first 700 miles of desert.  I would never go thirsty.  As I completed the PCT, this keychain has become a good luck charm.

The good news is that Manaphy has dropped .1 ounces in weight.  When I weighed it back in 2018, it was .6 ounces.  Today it is .5!  With that weight savings, I can afford to take a bandage!  Who am I kidding?  I'm five years older than my last 2,000 mile hike.  I'll use that weight savings to carry more Ibuprofen!

My sawyer squeeze is also getting a checkup.  I bought a brand new one a long time ago.  Although I have not used it before, I find that running clean water through it before you leave means that all the air bubbles will be pushed out.  When I connect it for the first time on trail, it will work right away.  I have a 2.5 liter dirty water bag that has a loop in it for an easy gravity hang.  The 2.5 liter capacity allows me to gather enough water for dinner, cleanup and late night tea.

I'm still considering some gear swaps.  My headlamp is a Zebralight H52W.  It was great on the PCT.  It's only downfall is that it requires a AA battery, which means I'm carrying a spare, which is extra weight.  I cannot remember if I even changed batteries on the PCT.  I avoid night hiking unless I absolutely have to, so I used it sparingly.  I have also considered dropping from a 20,000 mAh power bank to a 10,000 mAh.  That would save me some weight.  Mostly all minor changes.

The next station is for my food.  My first resupply is Neels Gap Mountain Crossing at mile 31.  It is a full service resupply point and it is right on trail.  I just need enough food to get there.  I will be dropped off at Amicalola Falls State Park which is 8.8 miles south of the Southern Terminus, so I'll need an extra days worth of food.  The approach trail is going to be tough from the get go.  It is a 3,000+ foot climb over eight miles.  Should be fun!

It is funny.  When I finally reached the Northern Terminus of the PCT, I was rewarded with an 8 mile hike to Manning Park and civilization.  For the AT, I'm rewarded with bonus miles right from the get-go.

I am hoping that everything runs smoothly, but if my flight is delayed for some reason, I'll have a day's worth of food.  So, if I arrive too late to hike to the start on March 6th, I'll just camp at Amicalola Falls State Park and start the next day.

I also need to ship a box to Fontana Dam, NC at mile 164.  As I understand it, the resupply options there are weak, so I'll pack five days of food, which is more than enough to get to Gatlinburg at mile 208.  So, before I leave, I'll ship a box there.  I will resupply on trail the rest of the way.

My second resupply box isn't needed until Harper's Ferry at mile 1026.  I'll have time to sort that out before I get there.