Dennis and I were speakers at the Appalachian Trail Club of Florida. Dennis presented slides from his 2008 walk on the first part of the Long Trail, which is also part of the Appalachian Trail (AT). I think he was a little wary that all the photos of the mud might change my mind about going.
After the slide presentation, we showed the members the contents of our backpacks for their thumbs-up or thumbs-down. Most of my gear was approved, but several people commented on how small my Osprey Talon 33 backpack was. Afterwards, I decided that it was really too small to carry 10+ lbs. of food in addition to everything else. Instead, I am going to use the pack that Dennis used on the Camino and our travels in Europe, a Gregory Z35 Pack. It is 12 oz. heavier, but has greater carrying capacity.
In addition to this gear change, Dennis lightened his 2008 AT load buy purchasing lighter equipment. With the new technology, his pack weighs about 4 lbs less.
Since Spain, I enjoy café con leche, a coffee/warm milk beverage. I drink an Americanized version of it daily. Since I don’t like instant coffee and can’t see using the gas in our canisters to brew a pot, I asked the club members what they did on the trail. Almost everyone said to use Starbucks Via, single-serving instant coffee packets that they enjoyed. Today I found out they even have a Coffee Mocha version. I’m sure I’ll try both.
This morning I walked with the larger pack. I will have to get use to the new fit, but I think I will be able to do so. Just in case, I’m taking the smaller pack to NH, as a backup.
“My bags are pack, and I’m ready to go.”
