Gearing Up

So in the hiking world your base weight comes down to your big 3. Being your pack itself then your shelter and finally your sleeping system. The General rule is that if you can get your big 3 under 9 lbs you are golden .

                          My big 3

Pack: frameless Go Lite jam 70 - 1lb 14 ounces

Sleeping system: Rei flash 29° down/primaloft - 1lb 10 ounces
Therma rest sleeping pad so lite R value 2.8 (this pad also doubles as a frame for my pack ) 14 ounces
I have a pillow but it is a stuff sack that is reversible with a fleece liner so,I'm not including that as part of my sleeping system. I will more than likely add a sleeping bag liner to my system for the winter season in the beginning.

Tent : six moon designs, trekker
It has no poles included,  you use your trekking poles as the tent frame so it really cuts down the weight.
24 ounces

So my big three comes out to 5.8 lbs so let's round up call that 6 lbs!  Not bad!
(Side note I never purchased any of these items at retail price , I always waited for them to go on sale.)
We will go into more detail on gear later on when things get closer.
Currently sitting at 74 days out till Springer mountain. 
My marathon is on January 3rd so I'm just trying to focus on one thing at a time.

Changing of the seasons

132 days out (at the latest )

The cooling temperatures and more frequent northeast breeze signals winter is coming, which means the trail is that much closer. For the past few nights I have found myself restless with my mind going 100 mph contemplating my gear selection and going over what needs to be done before heading to Amicola falls.

I recently went on a small overnight backpacking trip (shakedown hike) to Jennings state forest. Me and my hiking partner got a very late start on the day and arrived to the campsite an hour and half after  civil twilight to be met with another family of campers that were more than welcoming of us , offering us food and drinks and even better a warm fire to gather around. Turns out they were from a neighboring town and had canoed out to the spot to celebrate their son's 18th birthday. My hiking partner and I contributed what would could (which consisted of gather a bit of wood for the fire) but It's people like those that make hiking and camping really an amazing experience more than willing to share with people they have never met and have little to offer in return. (Trail magic)

I am currently 10 weeks out from my first marathon so the training for the race and trail continues.

I Hope everyone is enjoying this fall weather. -J.T.

Shakedown hike= smaller hikes that help determine your gear's usefulness and what is not really needed. More gear means more weight and remember I'm carrying my house on my back for 7 months so every ounce counts!

Trail Magic, defined as an unexpected act of kindness, is a quintessential part of the Appalachian  trail experience for many long-distance hikers.

A walk north

It's been a good while since I have posted on this blog, (probably a little after I got back from Montana with my grandparents) But I considering picking it back up once again for my next journey.

I won't be really leaving for this nomadic feat until late February/early march of 2016 but I have been preparing mentally/physically since I got back from my first trip in 2013.

The Appalachian trail spans nearly 2,200 miles running from Georgia to Maine going through 14 states

So If you'd like to follow i will be starting on the top of Springer mountain in Georgia  and walking north towards Katahdin in Maine, NOBO!! (northbound)
I will be posting a fair amount before my departure showing my gear preparation (shakedown hikes) and physical training  (marathon training)

Hope you enjoy the journey with me!

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not,when I came to die ,discover that I had not lived."    - Henry David Thoreau 

Abigdon, Maryland

Since leaving the west and getting back to the north-east coast I have noticed a few differences, everyone in the east seems to be in a hurry, you can see it in their driving, and the way the communicate with you.
The towns are plastered with graffiti and traffic jams are part of your daily routine.

We were going to stop of in Philly but we decided against it once we drove through, it's not that it is a bad town, it's just a little to fast paced from what we have been experiencing and it's a bit of a turn-off. (Me and the fresh prince will have to get a cheese steak some other time.) But from here on out we are just basically hitting big towns while we head south down the east coast. Wish us luck!

I feel like I do need to include this aswell... when driving through Philly we were just trying to find any campground to park the R.V.  and disconnect the car to go sightseeing. We got a little lost and decided to stop a a gas station to gain our bearings and come up with a game plan. While me and my papa were going over the map and looking up any campgrounds on the phone, my nana was doing her usual thing and going to ask strangers were we could go. She came back about 5 mins after leaving and explained the gas clerk said "what does my gas station look like a directory to you? This is Philadelphia we don't just have places to park your rig." So Again just the attitude kinda turns you off about the city. But nana wasn't done searching for directions, she met a gentleman named nate who happened to be working for the local utilities company and he was more than willing to take the time out of his day to give us directions to the nearest RV spot. And personally pulled up the directions on his G.P.S. and the phone number of the Campground. In the end he ended up recognizing the area of town it was located in and and strongly decided that wasn't a very safe place to go having grown up there. We ended up leaving Philly completely and continued south we we are now some where north of Baltimore on a creek that comes off of the Chesapeake bay. Nate, you really are an exceptional human being and I appreciate the kindness you showed to us.

Cheboygan , Michigan

4870 total miles

Well Michigan has been pretty awesome! We have seen spectacular sights ,tons of animals and alot of water and with even more light houses.
We drove up the upper peninsula, and stayed in a small town named "Escanaba" while staying there we toured the local National forests and went to see a place called "pictured rocks" along the shores of lake superior.  After leaving  we drove over the Mackinac bridge. Which is a 5 mile suspension bridge that goes over Lake Michigan and Huron, lucky for us we drove over it the day before labor day,  which on labor day they shut the bridge down and have a huge bridge walk lead by the governor for the full length of the bridge.

We rode on a large ferryboat that tooks on to lake Huron and out to "Mackinac Island", Huge tourist trap haha it was a cool island that doesn't allow any motor vehicles,  so everyone is either riding a bicycle or getting a ride from a horse carriage. 

Michigan has some very cool places and very beautiful sights to offer. 

Hope, Minnesota

4256 miles total
527 miles on the day

We left South Dakota this morning, only to be greeted by a monsoon, as we started to cross the state line into Minnesota the sun looked like it might start to make it's presence known but then decided against it and let the clouds and wind open back up. 

I wasn't able to take any photos today because I was driving the majority of the day, but I will leave you with a beautiful quote from John Muir-

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.

Badlands National Park

While staying at the Badlands National Park,  we have done and seen a ton. The first night we went to a ranger talk where he showed us all of the constellations that were visable, I saw Saturn, mars, and the Andromeda Galaxy. (A ton of shooting stars.)  We went to the Minute man missile National Historic sight, where we got to tour the launch control modules of the missiles that were "hidden" underground during the cold war. After we finished learning about our national defenses during that time.  we drove through the badlands N.P. into Buffalo gap national grasslands and on over to Wind Cave National Park where we saw hundreds of Buffalo, wild donkeys, and a mother deer with her spotted fawn. We went for a guided hike in the caves about 200ft below the surface of the earth, where we got to view a rock formation called "boxwork" that is a very rare occurrence. (No pictures of that, just a tad to dark ) after we went into pine ridge reservation where the wounded knee massacre occured. 

This morning I went for a hike in the badlands, only a 7 mile hike or so ,but It was amazing, I got on the trail by 6:15 and saw the sjnrise over the badlands and burn through the morning fog. Around 25 big horn sheep blocked the trail as a patiently waited for the male big horn sheep to walk his herd of females and calfs to safety on the other side of the trail the howling of  3 or 4 coyotes filled the morning silence, it set my nerves on edge a little bit. The rocks and geological formations are nothing I have ever encountered.  It really Is beautiful. 
 

There is a lot of little details that I know I'm leaving out. But they will never fad from my memories.