Glory Days

I was reminiscing the other day about where this backpacking obsession began and my first overnight trip. My outdoor roots go deep, back to when my father used to take us four wheeling in his old Ford Bronco in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Later in those same forests I would hunt (although I spent more time walking and seeing than shooting). Eventually I realized I didn't want to hunt, just walk in the woods. As a young adult I decided to start car camping, and as I was at a local outdoor outfitter buying a Eureka Timberline 4-man tent, I spied the Appalachian Trail guide for the Pennsylvania section of the AT. I had never been in the woods of Pennsylvania, and though maybe I'd find some car camping spots in that guide. Little did I know what I was getting into.

I decided to do a little recon, if you will, and took a drive up to Leheigh Gap for a day hike. I was hooked! I immediately went out and bought a 6500 cubic inch, 7 pound load monster for all the gear I would surely need for my newfound adventure. After acquiring a synthetic sleeping bag (about 5 pounds), an axe (gotta have one of those), AND a folding bow saw I was set. On September 23rd, 1988 I started north on the AT at Leheigh Gap, fully expecting to cover 12 miles with the 65+ pound load on my back. Poor, innocent fool.

Getting water at a spring:


The long and short of it is I made it 6 miles. Made camp after going as far as I could go, and enjoyed my time in the mountains immensely. I hiked back to my car the next day, and was completely exhausted. I spent the next 4 days as sore as I had ever been. Interestingly enough, it never occured to me that backpacking was not for me. On the contrary, I couldn't stop thinking about it. The very next trip I no longer had an axe or saw, as well as a few other items not used, and not long after I acquired a down bag and external frame pack that saved me a good 7 pounds!

Given enough time we evolve as backpackers, lightening our loads to what we find comfortable and (hopefully) developing new skills that further this evolution. My own personal journey took me to the point of hiking with a sub-5 pound base weight, but these days I find I'm most comfortable with a base that falls into that 8-10 pound range. I got down to (almost) the barest of bones (I danced with thoughts of a sub-3 pound base for a time)and decided I liked a few goodies like a thermarest pad and a Kooka Bay pillow, etc.

Where has the road taken you, and where are you now?

Gear Review: Headsweats Supervisor

In my early years of backpacking my standard piece of summer head wear was the simple, but versatile bandanna.



It would keep the sweat out of my eyes (no easy task), as well as serving as a pot holder, wash cloth, water strainer, etc. Few pieces of gear can rival it's multi tasking capabilities. The bandanna still has a place in my kit, but I think it has finally been ousted by the Supervisor by Headsweats.



I've never been much of a visor kind of guy, prefering baseball caps for my ever thinning hair (I don't have a forehead, but a five head, if you will). Even so, I decided to give the Supervisor a try. After using the Supervisor on my last outing to the Adirondacks I'm here to say my trusty old bandanna has one less task to perform.

Being a heavy sweater I appreciated the open air feel of the visor. It fit well and felt quite natural. The Cool Max terry liner worked so well, not one drop of sweat rolled down my face during the entire trip. In fact, if I tilted my head down the sweat would drip off the tip of the brim, but never on me. Speaking of the brim, keeping the sun out of my eyes was greatly appreciated and would never have happened with a bandanna.



I'm sold on the Headsweats Supervisor, and highly recommend it for your warm season hikes.