Adventures on the Appalachian Trail Part 1: Getting it All Together

The decision was made nearly six months ago. A friend and I were going to hike the Appalachian Trail. Not the whole thing, mind, we only had a week of vacation, but definitely a week's worth of it. We set about looking at various maps and gathering all the requisite information, and decided on Massachusetts for several reasons. First, since we are not in the best of shapes, and not disciplined enough to train, the "3-6" difficulty rating caught our eye. We definitely wanted a challenge, but a challenge we could overcome. Also, for similar reasons, it was a boon that the AT passes through 3 cities during its 90-mile Massachusetts stretch. If things go bad, a cheeseburger is only a day away. Finally was the length itself. About 90 miles of the AT moves through the western side of Massachusetts. At a rough estimate of 15 miles a day (not counting time for cheeseburgers), it's possible that we could cover the whole thing, concluding in the north with the formidable climb up Mount Greylock. We anticipate a wonderful sense of accomplishment after the whole thing. We set the dates for the middle of June.

With those basic decisions made, we went about getting it all together. For those of you who have ever been backpacking before, you know that when you start to plan a trip, everyone around you immediately becomes a more experienced backpacker than you are. "You plan to hike 90 miles with an external frame?!?." "You don't want water filters; you want water purifiers." "Oh, you're wearing those boots? Hm." Amidst all the advice, my friend and I began gathering our equipment. Here's a brief rundown (and my personal unqualified opinion) on the three basic pieces of backpacking equipment.

The Pack

Perhaps the second most essential piece of equipment for the trip. Obviously, unless you day-hiking, you're going to need a pack of formidable size. Unless you're thru-hiking the AT, you're not going to need a pack big enough to hold a pony, despite what the guy at the store might tell you. For hikes of any length and breadth, internal frames are definitely the way to go. Mine fits so well, I hardly feel the weight, which should rest more on your hips and waist than shoulders and back. My friend only had an external frame, but fortunately in backpacking there is a long tradition of beg/borrow/steal, and he was able to procure an internal frame for the trip.

The Boots

THE most important piece of equipment on the trail. When I bought my pair of boots four years ago at Galyans (may it rest in peace), I faced the all encompassing boot dilemma: To Gortex, or not to Gortex? I approached the Galyans store guy with my dilemma - do I buy the more expensive Gortex boots or not. Here, boys and girls, is why Galyans was superior in all things camping, and its tragic conversion to Dicks anything but. His advice to me and mine to you is this: If you plan to hike in the snow, through rivers, and/or constantly in the mud, then Gortex is the way to go. If not, get this $7 tube of Nikwax, wax your boots once a month, and you're set.

The most important thing to remember with boots is to always buy them plenty of time in advance. Four years is a little much, but you want to give yourself several weeks to wear the new boots and get you feet accustomed to them. Blisters and sores from stiff boots will put an untimely end to any backpacking trip.

The Tent

This is where it's time to decide how light you plan to pack. For us, I have a two-three person (read 1-1/2 people) tent that I plan to use. It's light and compact enough that I don't expect it to be a real weight issue. However, the more hardcore packer would take only a tarp or tentfly - who really needs the floor of a tent anyway? There are also these wonderful things called bivies, which are glorified sleeping bags in tent form - very light and all one person needs.

Look for more adventures in Appalachian Trail preparation in the weeks to come.