Follow Me!

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Kudzu

I decided to follow the masses and join Twitter. It hit me while flipping through the pages of the latest Backpacker Magazine and reading an ad for the Spot Communicator. I realized that not only does the Communicator let you send friends and family position and status updates via email but it also lets you update social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

I don’t think I’m ready to spend $99/year for a Spot subscription with as little usage as the device would get. However, I’m fairly confident based on coverage maps that I’ll have fairly decent cell service which should allow me to tweet from the trail. 😛

I’m not sure how well this will work out but we’ll give it the ol’ college try. Who knows? Maybe it’ll be just the ticket for helping me stay connected while I’m getting dirt under my boots.

So Suspendful

Posted on April 17, 2011 by Kudzu

Last night after taking heed of someone’s suggestion at hammockforums.net I decided to try a new suspension method for the hammock. I used to bow hunt as a kid but haven’t touched it in years. Well, I pulled my rig out of the attic and one of the arrows had gotten bent which was perfect. Using my tubing cutter I trimmed off two 2.5″ pieces to use as toggles.

Toggle

I have to say that it worked incredibly well. Typically the toggle would be secured with a marlinspike hitch so I was expecting to fall on the ground at any moment during the night. They both held firm, though, despite my shifting around trying various sleeping positions.

But wait! There’s more! I was so happy earlier in the year when I upgraded my caribiners to ones with a higher rating and lower weight. They weigh in at 1.1 oz each for a total of just 2.2 oz. Imagine my joy when I put the toggles on the scale and they weigh just .2 oz (5g) combined! Switching to toggles shaves off a full 2 oz off the total weight of my hammock (rigged). I have just 2 more to go and I’ll be down a full pound!

I am going to change out the zipper pulls for Kelty triptease line which should save me some weight (8 pulls total) but I can’t remember where I put it. Somehow it didn’t find its way back into the gear box. 🙁 Oh well.

Bring on the beer!

Posted on April 16, 2011 by Kudzu

Well, it seems that it’s a sad time for light hikers. Heineken has apparently discontinued the long-favored 24 oz mini keg so loved by hikers around the world for making ultralight cooking pots. Comparing my Backcountry.com 700 titanium pot with the Heineken which has a comparable capacity the savings is about 3 oz (4.1 oz vs 1.4 respectively).

Hikers across the country are scouring their local liquor stores trying to buy out the last stock. On Friday I picked up 10 cans and today I scored another 13 buying every can they had. Tonight I’ll crank up the can opener and future pots will be born. 🙂

Mini Heine Kegs

First Night in the Light Hiker

Posted on April 16, 2011 by Kudzu

Well, last night I spent my first night in the Light Hiker. I have to say that while it took me a while to get to sleep (which always does in the backyard with AC and other noises) I slept GREAT! I found it easy to get in various positions while trying to get to sleep and once I was out I was OUT.

I always make a cardinal sin in the backyard for some reason and put the foot to the east. That means that about 7 this morning the sun woke me up. Well, a simple reposition and I was back out until the bladder screamed at me around 8:40. I NEVER sleep this late!!

If you’d like to know how I really felt when I woke up, watch this.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o89iKsKw19M

Gearing Up for Dropping Down

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Kudzu

The next Appalachian Trail adventure is just 49 days away and it’s time to get serious about getting ready. We’ll be hiking further than we have in the past and without re-supply so I’m looking for every opportunity to drop pack weight. I also hope to drop some “me” weight but I haven’t been to successful in the past at actually working towards that goal.

I just picked up a new hammock in an effort to shave some decent weight off the pack. So far, though my time has been limited, I’m pretty content with the change. Read about it more in the Gear section.

Trailblazers Meeting

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Kudzu

Had a good meeting last night with the North Florida Trailblazers, the local chapter for the Florida Trail Association. Our guest speaker was Elston Chavarria, owner of Aventuras Naturales. Elston spoke to us about the various eco-tours his company provides throughout South and Central America.

It was interesting to see some of the many beautiful birds and animals that reside in other parts of the world and to learn a bit about their habitats. I think several of us are ready to hop on a plane after watching his presentation. I know I have the bug for Brazil now.

Hopkins Review

Posted on March 25, 2011 by Kudzu

I finally got around to finishing the review I’d started on the FT section from Hopkins Prairie to Salt Springs. Check it out in the Trail Reports section.

Hopkins Update

Posted on March 20, 2011 by Kudzu

Things didn’t go so well for my friends hiking from Alexander Springs to Juniper Springs. The water situation was horrible and they hiked about 8 hours after running out of water. Either they couldn’t reach the water sources they found or it was still disgusting after filtering. They ended up with severe dehydration and major blisters.

I was able to leave town early and picked one of the guys up at Juniper while the other made his way to Hopkins Prairie. They were both rode hard and put up wet. We had a good group gathering last night and the moon was absolutely gorgeous. I understand it’s the closet it’s been to the earth in about 18 years.

After a great nights’ sleep in my hammock I woke up to a foggy prairie. The temperature dropped to 46 overnight and I was chilled waiting for my beloved Gram Weenie Pro to boil the water. I enjoyed some maple and brown sugar oatmeal and a warm cup of coffee which really helped warm me up.

I knew my buddies were out for the day so I hit the trail solo about 9:30. It was a hot day for sure with mostly open hiking and little cover from the scorching sun. I still had a great day, though, and saw a good bit of wildlife. I enjoyed the section though it would be much nicer either earlier or later in the year.

I made pretty good time and averaged about 3 mph for a moving average. I hit the Salt Springs Rec Area about 1:30 and my buddies picked me up to return me to Hopkins and my truck a little after 2.

Be sure to check under the Trail Reports section for my gallery. Hopefully I’ll have a full report including video posted soon.

GPX Track (Right click-Save As)

Pre-AT Warmup

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Kudzu

The time is rapidly approaching for me to head north again to resume my AT hike. The date’s been set for the week of Memorial Day and the plans are underway.

This weekend my buddies for the May trip are heading down to do some hiking through the Ocala Natl Forest. I’ve already done most of the section they’re covering but I’m heading down Saturday to meet them at Hopkins Prairie. I’m looking forward to putting the hammock up again. It’ll be the first time since the January hang at Buck Lake.

On Sunday we’ll hike from Hopkins Prairie to Salt Springs. It’ll be a short dayhike for me coming in right at 10 miles but it should be good to get the legs working again. I’m not sure what to expect with this section. I hope it’s less sugar sand and more firm trail. Either way I’m looking forward to it.

Pupdate #3

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Kudzu

What a weekend this has been! It’s been a crazy time of cleaning up mess after mess. Let me just say that worms are pretty darned disgusting when they come out. I’ll spare you the details, though. 😉

The pups have gone through four IV treatments and we’ve gone through about $800. All told, though, they’re making a full recovery and are back to their old, playful selfs. The change in their behavior has been incredible and aside from their obvious weight loss after four days without food or water you would never know how sick they’d been.

They’re back running around and playing and we’re trying hard to keep them calm. They’re so hungry that they’ve been getting into everything in the house and jumping up on the tables in search of any scrap or morsel of food. We started introducing small amounts of water this morning and they’ve been keeping it down. This afternoon we started with small amounts of wet food (not kibble) and that’s staying down as well! The food is literally gone in seconds. Poor guys.

I’m very happy with how well they’re doing. They’re certainly a handful but I think they’re part of the family now. We’ve been through a lot together and still have more medicine to take but I think it’ll be a short road to full recovery. Pumpkin is near and dear to my heart now and she follows me everywhere and loves to be in my lap while I watch tv, work on the computer, etc. She’s my baby girl. Can you tell she’s feeling better?

Queen of the Grill