Post Mortem: First Backpacker Trip for Beginners on the Appalachian Trail
This weekend, I scheduled a MeetUp for new backpackers. It was also the first time I have been backpacking in about 25 years. Though I car camp from April til October, I've not had the chance to go backpacking since I began my career.
8 people signed up for the trip. 1 person attended: Kevin. Raised in India, he and his wife have never camped, and he never saw even a "live" tent until he set up his own on Saturday. He was amazing, though, and really took to it. It was hard to tell if he enjoyed the experience, though, because his pack was really heavy and hurting his hips. This is due, I think, to all the extra stuff he bought at REI that he didn't really need. Since everything was new, it had all the packaging with it, as well, which adds weight.
Friday night, I scheduled a beginning backpacking class with REI which they also opened to their customers. Even though their job is to sell stuff, the teacher, John, did an excellent job. Since my last backpacking experience was 25 years ago with Girl Scouts hiking in Pine Grove Furnace, I, too, wanted to know what new stuff was on the market and if anything had changed over the years. For example, we were taught to put bells on our packs to alert bears of our whereabouts. We were also told to have a waterproof whistle. My thru hiking muse, OnStep, and his hiker pal, Maverick, made fun of me for the bear bells and so I cut them off. I did, however, keep the whistle:
We met Saturday at the Culver's Gap lot. Dave dropped me off, and we met Kevin there. We were loaded and ready to go at around noon and began our hike.
The thing I didn't do well was read the map correctly. I didn't realize that the hike STARTED with a huge assent up a rocky mountainous terrain. This was absolutely the wrong route to take with a new hiker and backpacker. It was a solid mile of uphill rocks. In the future, I need to do a better job with mapping a route.
Once we hit the viewpoint, though, the terrain evened out and there were little ups and downs but nothing like that first mile. That said, Kevin's pack was heavy and hurting. My pack did not hurt me at all except for a short period where I think the arm strap must have been twisted. When I took it off at the Fire Tower, it was fine after that, so who knows why it was being persnickety before that.
While I liked the side pockets for my water bottles, I liked very little else about my pack. First of all, 40 liters (the recommended size from REI) was NOT enough room. I couldn't fit everything in because my tent took up almost the entire area. Second, there are too many zipper pulls and it was confusing. I couldn't get to anything without taking my pack off even though there were small pockets on the hip belt.
One of the great things about REI is that you can exchange gear for up to a year. I will take this pack back and swap it for something better.
This is a review of my pack:
Once the hill climb was over, we made it to a gorgeous view of Culver Lake. It was really hot in the sun, though, so I kept walking toward shade, lol. I made sure to get it on the way back. From there, we went to the Fire Tower. I've never been that close to one, and it was pretty cool. I didn't realize we were allowed to climb the stairs on it. I would have liked to do that (without my pack).
Once we hit the Fire Tower, I felt really good, but I could tell Kevin was struggling. I had wanted to hike up to Sunrise Mountain Pavilion then back track to Gren Anderson Shelter, but decided to just go to the shelter. We would be early, but we could set up camp and learn how to use all the gadgets and gizmos required to live in the woods. We also had choice camping spots which SEEMED choice until nineteen 11-14 year olds came to camp right next to us! But, that's ok, we had a few hours of quiet before they arrived, lol.
Our first task was to get water from the spring that was down a steep hill. I love filtering water. Dorky, I know, but I like streams and rivers and love to be near them, so, yeah, totally into filtering water. Kevin and a few other overnight campers had elaborate filtering systems, but I did some research on them and found the Sawyer method to be cheaper, lighter, and just as good as the fancy systems. I use the Sawyer Mini system with a Smart Water bottle. It only works with Smart Water (not dumb water, lol). I think it is sooooo simple and lightweight. Here is my review of it:
If you have stayed with me this far, thank you :-) . It was a great night, and I am ready to head back out...like right this very minute.
8 people signed up for the trip. 1 person attended: Kevin. Raised in India, he and his wife have never camped, and he never saw even a "live" tent until he set up his own on Saturday. He was amazing, though, and really took to it. It was hard to tell if he enjoyed the experience, though, because his pack was really heavy and hurting his hips. This is due, I think, to all the extra stuff he bought at REI that he didn't really need. Since everything was new, it had all the packaging with it, as well, which adds weight.
Friday night, I scheduled a beginning backpacking class with REI which they also opened to their customers. Even though their job is to sell stuff, the teacher, John, did an excellent job. Since my last backpacking experience was 25 years ago with Girl Scouts hiking in Pine Grove Furnace, I, too, wanted to know what new stuff was on the market and if anything had changed over the years. For example, we were taught to put bells on our packs to alert bears of our whereabouts. We were also told to have a waterproof whistle. My thru hiking muse, OnStep, and his hiker pal, Maverick, made fun of me for the bear bells and so I cut them off. I did, however, keep the whistle:
We met Saturday at the Culver's Gap lot. Dave dropped me off, and we met Kevin there. We were loaded and ready to go at around noon and began our hike.
The thing I didn't do well was read the map correctly. I didn't realize that the hike STARTED with a huge assent up a rocky mountainous terrain. This was absolutely the wrong route to take with a new hiker and backpacker. It was a solid mile of uphill rocks. In the future, I need to do a better job with mapping a route.
Once we hit the viewpoint, though, the terrain evened out and there were little ups and downs but nothing like that first mile. That said, Kevin's pack was heavy and hurting. My pack did not hurt me at all except for a short period where I think the arm strap must have been twisted. When I took it off at the Fire Tower, it was fine after that, so who knows why it was being persnickety before that.
While I liked the side pockets for my water bottles, I liked very little else about my pack. First of all, 40 liters (the recommended size from REI) was NOT enough room. I couldn't fit everything in because my tent took up almost the entire area. Second, there are too many zipper pulls and it was confusing. I couldn't get to anything without taking my pack off even though there were small pockets on the hip belt.
One of the great things about REI is that you can exchange gear for up to a year. I will take this pack back and swap it for something better.
This is a review of my pack:
Once the hill climb was over, we made it to a gorgeous view of Culver Lake. It was really hot in the sun, though, so I kept walking toward shade, lol. I made sure to get it on the way back. From there, we went to the Fire Tower. I've never been that close to one, and it was pretty cool. I didn't realize we were allowed to climb the stairs on it. I would have liked to do that (without my pack).
Once we hit the Fire Tower, I felt really good, but I could tell Kevin was struggling. I had wanted to hike up to Sunrise Mountain Pavilion then back track to Gren Anderson Shelter, but decided to just go to the shelter. We would be early, but we could set up camp and learn how to use all the gadgets and gizmos required to live in the woods. We also had choice camping spots which SEEMED choice until nineteen 11-14 year olds came to camp right next to us! But, that's ok, we had a few hours of quiet before they arrived, lol.
Our first task was to get water from the spring that was down a steep hill. I love filtering water. Dorky, I know, but I like streams and rivers and love to be near them, so, yeah, totally into filtering water. Kevin and a few other overnight campers had elaborate filtering systems, but I did some research on them and found the Sawyer method to be cheaper, lighter, and just as good as the fancy systems. I use the Sawyer Mini system with a Smart Water bottle. It only works with Smart Water (not dumb water, lol). I think it is sooooo simple and lightweight. Here is my review of it:
Once we got water, we set up our tents. Kevin had never set up his tent before. In fact, he had never seen a real tent "in the wild" before. But, while it seemed slightly difficult, he got it up. His rain tarp was a pain. I think he had the REI 2 person tent. It weighed about 5 pounds. My tent also weighed in at 5 pounds. However, it was AWESOME. It is the Kelty Monarch 2. It literally sets up in 5 minutes. If it had been raining, I would have been able to do it in 7.
Once the tent was up, I put in the pad and sleeping bag. I LOVE my new sleeping bag, the REI Helio down bag. It packs small and light. I ended up sleeping on top of it because I was hot. Also, I never used a sleeping pad before but got the Therma light short one, and LOVED it. How did I go all these years without a pad?
After we set up camp, we decided to make dinner since it was 5 O'Clock. I didn't bring a stove because it wouldn't fit in the pack, and I figured I would be eating a hot meal in 24 hours. This was a mistake. I like a cup of tea in the evening (my English relatives would be so proud), and I missed having it. I used Kevin's Mini Mo, and I liked it very much. I am going to do some research on stoves and find a lightweight one. His seems to have too much with it, and I do have a cook pot/cup/spork thing already. Also, I brought waaaay too much food and didn't choose well. I honestly do not remember what we ate when I backpacked with the girl scouts, but I do remember that we were able to build fires in PA at the time, so I am sure whatever it was didn't require a stove. I will definitely make better choices next time.
I brought along a few different choices for clothing, and now can make better choices. If you really want to see my underpants, bras, and socks, watch this video, lol:
The major thing I forgot was a battery pack for my iPhone. It started to die at 5 PM yesterday. I totally need to read up on Bigfoot's Techie suggestions. So, in all, here are my confessions:
Comments
Post a Comment