Cold Weather Clothing Testing

One of my bigger concerns is staying warm at the beginning of the hike. Early April in the southern Appalachian Mountains can be quite chilly (at least to my standards- others may disagree). I tend to get cold quicker and easier than most other people.

I got an early opportunity to test some cold weather gear this weekend over in Pine Mountain, GA. It was upper 20s Friday night and low 30s on Saturday. I had my long hiking pants, a light wool t shirt, long underwear, a LS poly shirt, a fleece jacket and a down jacket, and fleece gloves and beanie. My rain gear could also add another layer if necessary. For sleeping I had my REI Igneo 19* bag and a Thermarest XLite.

Friday night in the wool shirt, both jackets, gloves, beanie and the long pants I was very cold when not around the fire. I could only stand that for a few minutes at a time. I slept in just the shirt and my underwear and was a little chilly in the sleeping bag. That is probably about right, since 19* is the lower limit of the bag, not the comfort rating.

Saturday morning was the same clothing, with a fire to keep me warm as needed. That night in camp I wore the long underwear, the LS poly shirt, both jackets, the pants, and the gloves and beanie. I was warm enough down to about 45* or so. After dark it was not enough. I slept in the long underwear this time and was overly warm later in the night.

Sunday morning was warmer, about 45* with a good wind blowing. I had the long underwear top, both jackets, the pants, and gloves and beanie on and was OK for much longer than I expected. The wind was really what was keeping me from being comfortable.

What I learned is that I need heavier long underwear to start with, and better gloves and beanie or a balaclava. The long underwear was too thin. I guess I need some midweight instead of lightweight. The fleece on the gloves and beanie was not warm enough. I may need thicker fleece or just better gloves. A balaclava would keep my entire head and neck warmer so I may go that route.

My fleece is of the JCPenny variety and heavy, so that will be replaced for the sole reason of saving weight. It is actually quite warm on its own when it is not too cold.

The down jacket is also cheap, from Academy costing a whopping $30. Cheap down and thin, so a better down jacket will certainly help some.

The long pants are NOT made for hiking. There is a terrible seam on the leg that would quickly rub your skin raw if you tried to hike in them for long distances. Trying to decide if zip offs are worth it or just go with hiking shorts and wear long underwear as necessary.

Hiking in the poly shirt was fine, as well as the wool shirt. No issues there.

I will be heading up to Franklin, NC and Outdoor 76 on Friday, so I will probably purchase at least a new jacket from them to bolster my clothing for colder weather.

Updates

Lots of things have happened over the past few months in regards to my AT hike. The first and biggest thing was my section hike(s). I had originally planned to hike Amicalola Falls to Fontana Dam starting on Labor Day. I got 2 weeks off from work, sent some mail drops, and bought some new gear that I wanted for my thru hike. What I did not count on was the humidity in Georgia in September. It drained me more than I ever would have guessed.

Amicalola to Woody Gap was ok, but not great. The climb over Blood was what really got me down. I knew that I should be able to fly over that section no problem, but I could barely make it to the top. When I got to Neel Gap I tried to get a shuttle back to my car but no luck. So I stayed the night and decided to try for Dick's Creek Gap. Ended up bailing at Unicoi Gap at noon on Day 5.

I was seriously questioning myself at this point. How could I thru hike if I couldn't make it out of Georgia? Kept thinking it over and decided about the end of September that I couldn't quit and I needed to finish my section hike. So I planned to finish the rest October 17-24.

It was a MUCH better experience with the cooler weather. I was loving it, except for one thing, which I will get to later. I was making great time, just cruising down the trail. Passed Standing Indian Mountain, which was my furthest point so far, and was looking forward to everything ahead. I was using my original schedule from the earlier attempt, and decided that with the easier trail in NC, I would stretch day 4 to 20 miles. HUGE mistake. That day I felt great, but in the morning the first thing I realized was that I had inflamed my IT band on my left leg. Not good. I kept hiking until I got to Winding Stair Gap, 3.8 miles away, and hitchhiked into Franklin, NC. I got a motel room at Haven's Budget Inn and iced up my knee and rested.

I also visited Outdoor 76 again for some adjustments to my insoles that I had gotten there the weekend before. They are absolutely amazing. Shoe fitting is their speciality, especially for thru-hikers. Got new insoles and some good advice (mainly don't do a 20 mile day right off the bat and hurt yourself!) from the owner. They have definitely earned more of my future business.

I finished the rest of my trip hiking lower mileage days, ending up at the Nantahala Outdoor Center on Friday instead of Fontana Dam. Ended up being an awesome trip regardless, and I learned some very valuable lessons about hiking.

Back to that one thing... I found myself constantly wanting to be in town. I wanted food, or Internet, or whatever it was at the moment, and I could get it in town. I had to think about this for a while and I realized that a lot of it was wanting to be around people. I was alone most of my hike simply because of the time of the year and locations. I met a few people, but not a lot. When I was around people, I was fine- content with the here and now. I think that a lot of it will be easier to deal with on a thru hike while I am surrounded by lots of other hikers.

I know I have more work to do on the mental aspect, but 5 months will be sufficient time to get better prepared for it. I know you can never be fully prepared for the mental challenges of thru hiking, but I will do my best.

The new plan is to tell my family on Thanksgiving while we are all together. I will probably wait until January to tell work.

Regardless, I am committed to thru hiking at this point, at least in my mind. The thoughts of others matter little in the long run. I will do this for me, for the reasons in my lists. I cannot wait.

Trail Names

Thru Hikers generally take "trail names" to use while hiking. They can range from completely absurd to really cool - for example: Midnight Sparkle and Salad Days are two that fall into both categories. Most people get their trail names while on the trail, others make up one for themselves to avoid getting a bad trail name.

I have never been given a trail name that was meaningful or that stuck. A day hiker tried to give me a trail name one time. I was standing with a thru hiker (the aforementioned Midnight Sparkle) and the day hiker asked what our names were. When he learned that I didn't have one, he decided that I would be "Moonpie" since that was what I was eating for lunch at the time. Really? Next!

The only other nickname that I have been given is "CP". Half the employees at one of my clients call me that. I am their computer support so they call me Computer Paul, which devolved to CP very quickly. I don't mind the nickname, but it isn't great either.

Unless someone comes up with something between now and April I guess that I am going to start without a trail name and hope that I get a good one.

The first person knows...

So I had to tell someone about my plans. One big reason was to keep me from possibly changing my mind. If someone knew, I would have to live up to my promise. So I told the one person who would most appreciate my trip. She was super excited for me and promised to send me candy care packages. I will hold her to that :-)

Gear

Gear is obviously a very important aspect of a thru hike. I have been building up my backpacking gear for years now. I like buying the latest and greatest as long as I know it is a quality product. Lightweight gear is the goal, but you have to balance weight with needs. Being dry, warm, comfortable, etc are all very important, so the absolute lightest item may not be the right choice if you end up being miserable because of it.

Right now, my pack weight goal is to be under 12 lbs without food and water. This is extremely doable but it does get expensive and you have to leave out some comfort items like a chair. 

I broke down and bought a bunch of stuff from ZPacks. I have ordered from them in the past and liked what I got, so I bought a new ArcBlast 52L pack, a Hexamid Solplex tent, and various other items. $$$ but I think it will be worth it. The waterproof nature of cuben fiber is my main reason for buying new gear. I love the idea of my tent not sagging when it gets wet.

I still need to acquire several important items, the most critical being a sleeping bag. It must keep me warm in the wildly unpredictable southern Appalachian spring weather. One day it can be in the 70s and sunny and the next 20 and raining. I am a cold sleeper so I know I will need a warm bag, but I am unsure of what to get right now. I plan on going by Mountain Crossings this weekend to see if they have any Western Mountaineering bags in stock that I can look at. My other options are a REI Igneo and a couple of other options from Marmot.

I also need to get a camera and battery pack, plus all the necessary cables, and keep it as light as possible. More research to do...

The Decision

I remember the first time I stepped foot on the Appalachian Trail. It was May 2004 on a family trip to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, TN. We drove up and stopped at Newfound Gap in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Everyone was looking at the view or the giant plaque and doing all the touristy things. I was more interested in the narrow dirt path that ran into the trees and disappeared. I was instantly hooked- I wanted to know where that trail went. I wanted to follow it right then and there. So I walked a hundred yards or so up the trail, turned around and came back. I was 13 years old at the time and I knew that I wanted to hike that entire trail one day.

On the AT at Newfound Gap looking north. May 2004.

Two months later I got my first true taste of backpacking on the AT. We hiked Springer to Neel Gap in 5 days with my scout troop. It was amazing. I remember my grand plans to thru hike after high school in 2008, all my research and reading. I bought the ATC's Workbook for Planning Thru Hikes and started filling it out.

Needless to say, that didn't happen. Life got in the way, along with a scholarship for college, and my plans disappeared. After college, I told myself, I would go. I didn't plan for that, just assumed that it would happen. Instead, I got an amazing job in my career field 2 months before graduating college, and out the window went my thru hike dream again.

Earlier this year the idea snapped into my head again. Why not next year? I feel like I have reached my peak at my current job and I am financially able to take 6 months off of work. I feel like I have a good chance of getting a leave of absence so I have a job to come back to, and if not, I can survive. So, why not?

I toyed with the idea for 3 months and I finally decided to go for it. I am going to hike the Appalachian Trail!

Thus the planning began. When? Next year obviously. Only way I want to go is northbound. That means a March-April start. I don't like super cold weather, so wait until April. Looking at the calendar, I picked April 7th as my start date to give me Easter with my family.

So the decision has been made and preparations have started. I am going to wait until the middle of September to make my announcement to family and friends. I have planned a section hike starting Labor Day weekend from Springer to Fontana Dam  to make sure I am ready to go. I have had issues with my feet and knees the past couple of years, so I want to make sure that I am physically ready to go before announcing it.

This is it. My dream is beginning to become reality. Here's to 2015!