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It’s funny how my life has evolved. In the late 90’s I threw out my computer and began a mad dash of hiking, kayaking and mountain biking. Then as the 2000’s came around, I gave up on the outdoors and succumbed to the latch of the internet.

Recently, Dawn and I have been trying to get back to backpacking before the chance passes us by. My case is especially dire because I sit in front of this Macbook for what seems like 80% of the day. I know I can go out and walk around the block for exercise, however I’m one of those people who needs some sort of ‘adventure’ in order to engage in exercise. Otherwise, what’s the point right?

This weekend was my maiden voyage back to the woods for an over-nighter. I decided my punishment should be quite severe, so I chose a section of the Appalachian trail above Asheville between Sam’s Gap and Spivey Gap. This section goes through the beautiful “Big Bald” area near Wolf Laurel ski area.

Joy and the alien owl invaders.

This was also Joy’s first journey into the woods for an overnight stay. Joy did fine on the trail but became very boogered at the camp site. We had several owls cooing all night long. The owls might as well have been aliens according to Joy. She snorted and paced most of the night. Other things frightened her as well like the campfire that she’d never seen before and the headlamp that made me look like an alien invader. Sleep was not as solid as I would have liked. She was up all night on alert.

Exercise is harder when you don’t exercise.

Dawn and I are in our mid thirties now. It has occurred to us that we need more exercise or life will get harder for us as we age. This fact was extremely apparent as I climbed up from Spivey Gap to the first peak at “High Rocks”. Joy and I went through 3 quarts of water on the first mile alone. My extra 25 or so pounds of useless fat did not help the situation either. I wanted to walk 8 miles on the first day to be ahead of the game by day two. Instead we got in 6 miles due to the steep terrain. It was easier on day two because it was mostly down hill. That makes a huge difference.

Pack weight is everything.

When I got back, I measured my pack weight at 27 pounds. I’m sitting here thinking, “If I could just get rid of my 25 pounds of body fat, it would be like carrying a 2 pound pack!” I tried to remember my hiking days 10 years ago. It seemed that I didn’t like to carry more than 20 pounds on my back. I know some people will pack up to 50 pounds in a big frame pack, but to me that is too much weight to be worth it. At least for the time being, I would like to reduce my pack weight a bit. Upon coming home I began to measure some of the things in the pack that were pretty much unnecessary like:

• 1 pound, 3/4 oz of trail maps and trail books for the whole region when the 2oz “AT Map 3 & 4″ would have done fine.
• 6 oz of paper scraps to start a fire with. ( see “one match fire” )
• 3 oz of plastic bags ( they keep building up in the pack on each hike)
• 1 pound of magazines, product labels and paper scraps. ( one piece of reading material should be enough)
• an entire 6oz roll of toilet paper when a couple of sheets would have been fine.
• 7 3/8oz of quarters, wallet and keys. ( a license, and a couple of $20 bills in case of emergency would have been fine )
• cotton clothing that absorbs water and becomes heavier

I figure I had about 3-5 pounds of useless junk riding around in my pack. I will be more particular about weight next time. Ultimately I would love to have no more than 20 pounds without food and water. You can carry 30 or so pounds in, but it’s always nice carry out a light load on the return journey.

The big thing that kept weighing me down was the water. I think that’s why people don’t hike much between mid June and mid August because even in the mountains, you can’t escape the heat. We needed so much water in order to climb each peak, and because water was only in the gaps, you had to carry it on each steep ascent.

The one match fire. Yesssssss!

I have always been pretty good and building a fire but I usually bring paper to get a fire started just in case. Just before this trip I watched this awesome Fire Starting 101 video by Clark Green about how to light a fire with one match. It seemed to solidify what I knew and help refine the technique. The big thing that he tells you is to find all your wood first and separate it into 3 groups. I was amazed at how well it worked. I usually run around the forest like an idiot trying to grab twigs as the fire dwindles down to nothing.

Things I didn’t bring that I wished I had

I was mostly prepared for the trip but there were some things I would have loved to had like bug spray, a cloths line, a camera, “conversion” pants and most of all, hot coffee in the morning. I’ve been looking closely at this Jetboil stove which has received rave reviews due to it’s light weight, quick heating time and integrated pot/drinking cup. The thing that really interests me is the French press attachment for making coffee. Just plop some grounds into the Jetboil, add water and boil it for 2 minutes. Voila! You have a huge cup of coffee in the forest.

Onward

Dawn had her bookclub meeting this weekend which is why she didn’t come with Joy and I, but we are all planning another trip next weekend. We will likely go to the popular Max Patch area around Hot Springs, NC.

Stay tuned.