Wednesday, February 3, 2021

 

Well I've done it.  My last day of work was Friday, and I'm now fully committed to making this trek.  Final(??) workup hike took place yesterday.  Carolyn and I spent my birthday hiking 14 miles at Lake Louisa State Park near Clermont.  Beautiful park and perfect hiking weather (50's for most of the hike).  We started out early and drove to the equestrian entrance at the northwest section of the park, where we started out.  I had chosen this particular park (I'd hiked it before) both for the distance available, and for the varied terrain and elevations.  Although Florida doesn't offer a lot of hills, this park had several gradual inclines that allowed for some semblance of altitude variation.   



Both of us were carrying pretty much what we plan to carry when hiking.  Carolyn is planning on joining me to hike for about a week in Virginia in the Shenandoah National Park.  My pack was loaded down with all of the anticipated equipment I plan to carry, plus 5 days of food.

After a couple of hours hiking, we stopped at a primitive campsite and set up camp.  This included erecting the tent, filtering water out of the creek, cooking a hot meal, and hanging the bear bag (using the PCT method).  Pictured is the camp as we set it up.

After a leisurely lunch, we packed everything up, and headed back onto the trail.  The 14 mile loop around the park is mostly designed for horse back riding, meaning we had to be very careful where we stepped.  It was also open in many parts, allowing for little overhead coverage. Not necessarily a problem for a winter hike, but would be grueling in the mid-summer Florida heat.


We made a couple of additional water/rest stops to enjoy the scenery, also stopping for some wild oranges at one point, and to watch two deer jump a fence at another point.  Overall, the hike took about 6 hours, with a little over 4 1/2 hours of actual hiking, averaging 3.1 miles per hour when hiking and 2.2 mph overall (including stops).

My fully loaded pack was at 37 lbs (25 lbs base weight plus food, water and fuel).  No issues at all with the weight or fatigue.  No anticipated changes to my gear based on this hike.  I was able to use my thin layer gloves in the morning, when the temps were still in the mid 40s, and they were sufficient for keeping my hands warm.  No additional layers beyond my standard hiking attire used, so with my additional layers for the AT (thermals, merino wool under shirt (birthday gift from Carolyn), fleece jacket and puffy jacket), I expect to be fine for the sub freezing temperatures anticipated at times on the AT.  I also have my wool stocking cap, extra socks, waterproof outer gloves, and a neck gaiter to address the cold weather.    


The one item I was missing was a Merino wool undershirt, which Carolyn gave me for my birthday, and my daughter Amanda emblazoned with a Gator logo and my Waymaker trail name.  All clothing layers now consist of Merino wool underwear, tshirt, and socks, along with the synthetic pants and shirt (no cotton anywhere). 

Tonight, I'm sleeping in my tent in my back yard one more time, as the temperature is supposed to drop to the mid-30s.  Assuming that if I can sleep warmly and comfortably at that temp, I should be fine to survive when the temps drop below freezing.   The plan is to get off of the trail for a day or two if a blizzard or bad storm hits, and hole up in the nearest trail town.  Hopefully that doesn't happen too much, as that can be a budget killer.


I do want to thank all who have already pledged to the Family Promise fundraiser based on miles I hike.  I wanted to reiterate that every dollar will go to Family Promise.  My hike is fully funded by hard earned savings, and no outside fundraising dollars will be used by me.  If you still want to participate in the pennies per mile pledge, please contact Chris McCallister at Chrismccallister@verizon.net. 

I will start posting my hike to this blog upon departing Amicalola Falls State Park on Monday, 2/22, with updates weekly at minimum.   See you on the trail!

2/4 Update - Spent the night in my tent in the backyard last night.  Temps dropped to 35, but I was toasty warm and comfortable all night.  Final check complete.  There was frost on my tent when I woke up this morning, so that will be interesting trying to pack up and go while on the trail.  We'll see how it goes.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Post Hike Day 6 - Thursday Sept 2, 2021

                  Home sweet home I’m writing this while sitting in my recliner in my climate controlled house, with an iced down drink, wea...