Since going back out we have upped our mileage. We did 3 days of 12 mile hikes, one 15 mile hike, a 10 and then a 6 mile hike into town. Elliott and I were out for a full 7 days with no shower... yikes. I showed twice today. Dan and I may have poison ivy... we are trying not to scratch it. Pretty much it sucks. If it does not calm down by the next town we will be wiping all of our belongings down with rubbing alcohol (which shouldn't take too long because we keep sending stuff home). I got a new pack yesterday. It is 2.5 lbs lighter then the one i had and packs down smaller. This should make my hike easier each day. Elliott's foot seems to be getting better and he will be getting a new pack hopefully in a week or two.
Today we will be hiking up a mountain about 10 miles. We will go from an elevation of 1,000ish to about 5,000 ft. Uphill is the hardest so today will be interesting. After that is should be relatively soon sailing to Fontana Dam. At this point one of the guys we were hiking with will be heading home, he is a section hiker, and we will miss him.
Well I am running out of time for today. I will try to update in more detail next stop.
Hope everyone had a great Easter!
Looks like you kids are having a blast (minus the poison ivy and hurt foot). I'm guessing that since you are sending things home that you overpacked and there were a lot of things you discovered you didn't need? Curious- What kinds of things did you not need and which are pretty much essential?
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Water - Water purifier
Shelter
Proper clothing (but not too much)
First Aid Supplies
Bible
Don't need
Extra Hammock
We cut our towels in quarters and sent the rest home
A lot of extra first aid supplies
Extra books
Some socks
Heavy backpacks (we bought lighter packs)
Pots and pans (we cook in our cups)
Clean Canteens
Big stove (we bought a smaller lighter one)
Lots of little things that we thought would be useful, but you hardly use
Pretty much every time we are in town we go through and try to lighten the load.
The Springer Mnt caretaker suggested that every time you are in a town try to get rid of three things. Camera cords, extra rope, over load of first aid supplies, the hat you never wear, extra socks and so on
Bottom line: You spend your day eating, hiking and sleeping so all you need revolve around those three things.