Orion's Trail Journal

The AT is often talked about as being an intense roller coaster of many ups and downs. In general, the ups become more frequent and are the things you remember, while the downs become drowned out.

So far, my time on the trail has been at a constant high. Everything is new and fresh, and the minor imperfections don’t seem to matter. It’s much like the honey moon phase of any relationship. However, for some people disaster can strike early.

Last night a college girl on spring break was boiling some water to put in a Nalgene bottle to keep warm. If you don’t want to hear about burns, then skip to the next paragraph. She was sitting at the picnic bench next to the shelter and made a hand motion that knocked her pot of boiling water off her stove. The water poured on her lap, and her thighs were instantly covered in the worst burns I’ve ever seen. It was really, really bad. Like melt the skin off bad.

Thankfully, the shelter was close to Hightower  gap which has a dirt road going through. Someone went with cell service and called for help. About 4 hours later a group of six volunteer firefighters I believe arrived with a gurney and some medical supplies. It was actually quite reassuring seeing how accessible the area is. Definitely not like the sierras. 

All in all it was a really shitty experience that still makes me cringe. Tonight, I think everyone cooked on the ground…

Except me. I didn’t even cook. After I had lunch at the shelter, a trail Angel showed up letting us all know about some trail magic  that was happening at the next gap. Beer and hot dogs, 1.5 miles down the trail. Having already set up camp, I didn’t want to pack up, but I decide a round trip of 3 miles was worth it. And it was. A big thanks to them, I wish I wrote down their names.

Tomorrow I’ll either be camping at lance creek or just go all the way to Neel Gap, my first resupply. It all depends on how I feel then. 

-Orion 

 

So here I am, sitting next to my tent on a rock, at Springer Mountain shelter. It’s my second night, but the first officially on the AT. There are a lot less people than I had originally imagined, but it’s still early in the day. I’m just glad I have a nice campsite.

Yesterday was spent traveling. I woke up at 2:30 to catch my plane, and ended up in the Max Eperson shelter next to the Amicalola visitors center. I got a ride from Ron Brown, he has a shuttle service that covers the southern end of the AT. If you’re in need of a ride near the beginning, I recommend him. Here I am next to the archway that leads to the AT approach trail.

It was a long night. Remember when you were a kid, and you couldn’t sleep at all Christmas Eve because of how excited you were?  Well it was a lot like that. I kept waking up thinking it was dawn only to look at my watch and see that it was just 3 or 4.

Eventually, morning came and I started my coffee and oatmeal. I signed in at the register and peaked at some of the other hikers on the trail. Several people started on New Year’s Day, I wonder where they are now.

The hike up the falls was nice. I honestly don’t think the approach trail was as bad as everyone said. If it were 8000 ft higher, it would be different. I’m glad that’s the backpacking I’m used to.

After the initial climb, it was just a lot of P.U.D.s (pointless ups and downs). This continued until the climb up to springer mountain, the southern terminus of the AT.

Here’s the view from the top. Here I am next to the sign.

Right now I’m going to read some of The Night Kingdoms (an awesome book by my brother) and then make some dinner. I think it’s going to be an early night for me.

-Orion, now on the AT

Some people have asked me what kind of things I will be taking with me on my thru-hike, so I thought I’d make this to show you all.

First I’ll start with my clothing.

On the top I have my base layers, both merino wool, two pairs of synthetic underwear, camp socks, two pairs of hiking socks, gloves, and a beanie. Both of my merino base layers will be what I sleep in, and I will also use them to keep warm on the colder days. Next on the left is my outerwear. I’ll have both a down jacket and a lightweight fleece, as well as a rain jacket and rain pants. I may send one of the thermal layers back once it gets hotter, but I’m expecting lots of cold weather in March. There is also a lightweight long sleeve shirt that I find very nice to keep the sun and ticks off me. Then, to the right there are my two synthetic shirts, my hat, some synthetic hiking pants, and some lightweight shorts.

Next is my sleep system.

 

Because it is so wet on the AT, I will be using a dry down sleeping bag. Hopefully I won’t have to put its hydrophobic properties to the test, but it is a last resort. This bag is rated down to 20 degrees and my thermarest has an R value of 5.7 (the measure of thermal resistance) I think I will be plenty warm with this. I opted for the Neoair Xtherm rather than my foam pad just to get the extra comfort and warmth, and it wasn’t too many more ounces. There’s also an inflatable pillow. I’ve never used one before, but I wanted to be as comfortable as possible and it’s pretty small.

And this is what my home will be for the next 6 months!

I know it’s not very impressive, but it’s a nice light tent. I’m not at the point where I can go with just a tarp, there’s just something about having a piece of mesh between me in the bugs, even if it is a tad more heavy. That being said, this is a very lightweight tent. It’s a Tarptent Notch, and weighs in at just 27 ounces. Most of the weight is saved due to the fact that it doesn’t have any poles. I use trekking poles to pitch it. Here it is setup:

Probably the most common question people have is how I’m going to get all of my food. Unlike the PCT or CDT, the AT doesn’t require prepared food drops. I’ll be stoping at different stores along the way that are either in towns that the AT goes through or ones that I can hitchhike to nearby. Here’s where my food goes: 

I’ve opted to hang my food the whole time. This both saves weight and precious space in my pack, but that’s where the advantages end. It’s not resistant to any animal that would really want to get in it, so that’s why I have rope and carabiner, to hang it up.

Next is my kitchen

There are people who don’t even bring a stove on the AT, but that just wasn’t an option for me. I’m the type of person who needs at least one warm meal per day. I’ll be using the MSR Microrocket, a canister stove. My pot is the perfect size for one person, and I’ve got my coffee mug, also very important. Other than that, I’ll have a small sponge, some camp suds, some lighters, and my trusty spoon. It might be surprising, but all of this minus the fuel canister fits inside the pot!

Next up, water purification.

I’ll be using the Sawyer Squeeze for most of my filtering. The purification tablets on the left are handy if I need to purify lots of water and don’t need it soon, like at camp. The syringe is for backlashing the filter, and on the right is my reservoir for water sources. I’ll be drinking out of Smartwater bottles, a thru hiker staple apparently. They’re just lighter than a Nalgene bottle, also they have the same thread as the Sawyer Squeeze.

Here’s some of the other things I’m bringing:

There’s my knife, an emergency blanket, my sunnies, a journal and pencil, a compass, my wallet, and last but by far not least, my guidebook. Without that thing I’d be dead in the water. In case something does happen, I do have a PDF copy on my phone. One thing I forgot to include in this photo was my pack cover, it should get some good use.

In case you’re interested, here’s my toiletries:

I have lots of blister treatments, hopefully I’ll never have to use them. Other than the obvious things there’s a tick remover key, ear plugs, a camp towel, sunscreen and bug repellent, and my drugs. I’ll be bringing ibuprofen, Benadryl, and 10 Doxycycline (take two after a tick bight to avoid a case of Lyme Disease). I wouldn’t normally bring Doxycycline, but after looking at a map of Lyme Disease prevalence in the US (which overlaps the AT), I thought it would be a good idea to ask my doctor, he was onboard.

Here’s all of the electronics I’ll bring:

Here you have my phone, a nook, charging cables, a 5200 mAh battery, all my cables, a headlamp, and some headphones. I don’t plan on listening to any music on the trail, but it can be a good mood booster when rain is pouring down your tent. Don’t ask about the sim card, it’s a long story. My phone is going to serve as a camera as well as my way to blog, so sorry if the quality diminishes once I start.

And finally, the whole ensemble:

Everything fits sparing hardly any room inside a Üla Circuit. This is a great backpack and I’m really happy with it so far, it should be a comfy ride. For shoes I’m using Brooks Cascadia 11’s, trail runners. These won’t make it close to finishing the whole trail, but will get me a good ways there. Also, I don’t think I ever mentioned it, but those crocs are my camp shoes. And lastly, my trekking poles. They are Komperdells and have lasted me a while so far, overall a good pair.

So that’s just about it then. If you have any other kinds of questions feel free to leave a reply.

-Orion

Hi, and thanks for checking out my first ever blog!

This is where I hope to give weekly updates on my progress of the Appalachian Trail. If you’d like to know more about me or the trail, there are two pages on the right hand side of my site.

I’m not the best writer, but I hope I can give honest insight on my day to day progress. I hear that being genuine works best for these types of things, so that’s what I’ll be aiming for.

My flight leaves March 6th, so you can all start expecting trail content after then.

Talk to you on the trail!

-Calum (Orion)