Life is busy! As I write this blog, he is six weeks away from the start date of March 11th. Since retiring on January 1st, I have cleaned and repaired the entire house to have it ready for market by the end of February. Also, her wife was asked to undergo a thorough examination by her primary care physician before attempting her AT. other visiting doctor. Unfortunately, there are family history issues that require special attention. But the good news is that it still has the green light for most of the poking and stabbing and scanning.
show me the money
On the hiking side of life, I’m almost done buying gear. Besides packs, tents and quilts, there are many small items. Thinking about which brand to spend your money on can be stressful. What you need in your pack and what you don’t. Methods/ingredients used for cooking and cleaning. And how many clothes do you bring? But I made an effort and feel pretty good about my choices.
walking the walk
I have been training. Last week I did my longest hike ever. I traveled from home to my parents’ house. A car circled by me the whole time, 18 miles in total. Most of the time there was a greenway system, but about a third of the time I was walking on the not-so-large grass shoulder area. With only about 1,000 feet of elevation gain, the hike took him less than 5.5 hours. My shoulder was sore by the end, it felt good to walk that far, but I feel like there’s still a lot left in the tank… I have to go back to cleaning the attic that afternoon This was important because it didn’t!
Whistler
Do you have a word for Jerry, your mentor at AT? I worked with both him and his wife, Cappy, at the local middle school. Cappy is also a long-distance hiker. Jerry hiked most of the AT last year on a trail named Whistler (not the same person in the Whistler’s Walk book). He was a great help to me in choosing gear and providing advice. It’s so good that I’m including it here in case it helps someone else. Whistler said in an email: Lean forward when putting on the pack. He hikes and fastens his hip belt. Then shoulder he pulls on the straps (if your backpack has straps) to even out the load while straightening your back. As you stand, you’ll feel the pack rest on your hips. Fasten the chest strap, then loosen the load leveling strap so that 90% of his weight rests on his hips. The shoulder strap should be worn lightly over the shoulder. Tighten and loosen the chest strap throughout the day so that his shoulder strap does not stay in the same place all day. ” What great advice! Since then I’ve done a couple of short 2 hour hikes and definitely noticed a difference.Thanks Whistler. We are also looking forward to your questions, so please be patient.
Let’s conclude this blog. So far I’ve been doing these monthly, but I’m picking up the pace because blogging on The Trek from my smartphone has a learning curve and can use practice. I know I haven’t read the blog instruction manual too much. That’s for sure!
Until next time!
George
This website contains affiliate links. This means that The Trek may receive a portion of any product or service purchased using a link in an article or advertisement. Buyers pay the same price as usual. Your purchase helps support Trek’s ongoing goal of providing quality backpacking advice and information.
For more information, please visit the About this site page.
