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  1. #1
    Recalc's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Kansas
    Hammock
    SLD 10' MTN 1.2
    Tarp
    HG Standard DCF
    Insulation
    Enigma/Phoenix 20
    Suspension
    UHMWPE
    Posts
    261

    Harpers Ferry, WF to West Mtn Shelter, NY

    My intent was to tell the AT goodbye by hiking it one last time. Age and knee pain would prevent this from happening. That being said, I came back with several take aways.

    Gear Changes
    • Blake's Hitch on a byte has been the mainstay of my tarp tie outs over the years, but the length of a 6 ft tie out will only go to 3 ft with this configuration. Removed a foot of cord and attached it to the tie out with the Blake's Hitch. A small byte was added to this cord to attached to a stake. The tie out now has a greater range and should the stake boomerang, the small loop attachment prevents it from getting lost. Thank you HF for this idea! While on the trail, may have even converted one more hanger to the Blake's Hitch Preservation Society.
    • Changed out carbon fiber stakes for titanium to accommodate the Eastern rocky ground. Good move.
    • Purchased a REI Snow Stake to be used as a pooper scooper & backup tarp stake, but wait, there's more. Bet it could double as a spoon if push came to shove.
    • Used CMoulder's method of folding the tarp on last hike and it worked well, but this time the snake skin was used to fill in blank spaces created by items such as MSR Titan Kettle. Ends were even slinked down the sides of the pack to fill up every imaginable space. Upside is good use of space & benefits of a snake skin. Downside is having a pack that is almost impossible to compress even with straps.[AIMG]

    Trail Musings
    Knees were under the care of an ortho doctor before the trip started. Able to hike a 2 MPH pace with lunch & breaks included. Looking back, 1.5 MPH x 10+ hours might have been smarter than 2 MPH x 8 hours.
    Two nights were spent in a shelter. Used a Polycro ground cloth, Z Lite Sol- 6 cut down pieces, with TQ & UQ. Underquilt was used with TQ as a Top Quilt. Cordage was all over the place but it worked well enough. I was warm.
    Darlington Shelter.JPG
    Would you believe the Darlington Shelter in PA (see picture) has a privy called the Taj Mahal? Who knew!

    Bottom Line
    Spent 26 days on the AT, had a good time & met some great people, but the rolling hills of the Ozark Highland Trail are looking good.
    Last edited by Recalc; 05-28-2022 at 11:06.

  2. #2
    Senior Member cmoulder's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    Ossining, NY
    Hammock
    DH Darien, SLD Tree Runner
    Tarp
    HG hex
    Insulation
    Timmermade, Revolt
    Suspension
    Kevlar, Lapp Hitch
    Posts
    4,912
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    356
    That is very impressive hiking over some challenging terrain!

    People not familiar with hiking think 2 mph sounds slow, but as an average for a full day over hills and rough terrain it is quite good when you include rest/eat/water stops. Depending on the length of those stops a moving average of about 2.4-2.8 must be maintained.

    But yes, early on the trail, more hours walking at a slower pace and fewer MPD really does work.

    Sorry to hear your knees did not cooperate, but clearly you had a good time nonetheless.
    Five Basic Principles of Going Lighter (not me... the great Cam Honan of OZ)
    “If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.” ~ Gen. George S Patton

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