The Long Trail

[huntermj]

Well the second week of July i'm taking a week off to go hike some of the Vermont Long Trail. It runs the spine of the green mountains. I figure hiking a moderate 15 miles a day i should be able to cover 100 miles at an easy pace.
A friend will be droping me off down south and i will make my way north to be picked up.
Sooo i will be packing a knife and some clean underware with me. Can you guys think of anything else i should bring with me?



Sorry i couldnt resist. I crack me up.

Planing and packing for a trip is just as fun for me as the trip is. i recently bought a "jungle hamack" and will be using that this trip, the mesh panels will be a god send to keep the dear flies off me. There are also huts along the trail for anybody to use. Water is no issue on this trail and i will bring a pump to filter it. wet weather clothes are a must. The biggest problem is carrying 7 days of food, at least it gets lighter each day.

This will be my last opertunity to get out for a while as we have a large commercial job starting next month.

I cant wait

[Rick]

I guess I need to link you over to Sarge's post. You and your clean knife and underwear. Was that right?

Stay safe and enjoy the trip. Write when you find work and send pictures!!!!!

[huntermj]

Well at least the knife is clean.

[crashdive123]

Sounds like a great trip. Have fun and take lots of pictures.

[Canadian-guerilla]

The biggest problem is carrying 7 days of food, at least it gets lighter each day.

have you thought about foraging for wild edibles along the way ?

[huntermj]

I will be taken my Peterson's guide but i dont have the experence to be eating anything. It will be fun to just look around and try to id some plants and read about there uses.

[Ken]

Sooo i will be packing a knife and some clean underware with me. Can you guys think of anything else i should bring with me?

Yes. Ben & Jerry's coupons and a store locator.

Have a great time, Hunter! Pictures please.

[BENESSE]

What kind of food are you bringing along for 7 days?

[Winnie]

Bee, he's a mayn! he don't need no food. He has a clean knife and underwear

All joking aside, have a lovely trip, HMJ and I think everyone has said it.... pics please!

[hunter63]

Don't forget the camera, bear spray, and tinkle bells.........
Just kidding, enjoy the trip, I was serious about the camera...................

[huntermj]

Thanks guys,

Most of the food will be dehydrated soups i put toghter from seperate ingredents i order online, add spices and seal-a-meal, there pretty good.

I will be passing by the Ben and Jerrys factory on the way out of town, they do have tours...


I will be taken many pics in travel log style.
Who whats to come over and see the slides of my vaction? lol
i will defently get some pics up of the trip afterwards. Now that i've commited to it i'm ready to leave now!

[2dumb2kwit]

The biggest problem is carrying 7 days of food, at least it gets lighter each day.

Look at the bright side.....at least you don't have to carry the amount of food that I eat in 7 days. LOL

Be safe....have fun!

[Asger]

Lucky you! I wish you a great trip

One thing .. you did mention soup, but you havn't mentioned bacon.. what is this!?

[Justin Case]

be safe and have a good time, I envy you

[pgvoutdoors]

Good luck and have a safe trip - that's a great trail.

[huntermj]

Spent some time checking gear today. Set up the jungle hammock for the first time. The cords connecting the hammock to the ring to tie it to a tree is very stretchy, creating a lot of sag. And the whole thing is rather narrow and unstable.
So I had decided to use my parachute hammock with a mil spec poncho for a fly and it is half the weight of the jungle hammock, then i walked outside tonight and was assaulted by bugs that like to bite. Well at least the jungle hammock has a built in fly and mosquito netting, so that’s what im bringing with me.
I have a light weight sleeping bag that isn’t very warm so i added a liner to for extra warmth. I think that will be good for the conditions im expecting.
I had to replace the sheath on my Mora knife as it had broken and was transferring the masons string, fishing line, snare wire and small fire steel to the new sheath when I was surprised to find the fire steel had corroded to half its original size. It still would throw a spark but I swapped it out for a new one.
I bagged six days of food plus an extra bag of rice and dried fruit. I will weigh myself before and after the trip. Im expecting to lose 5 pounds, we’ll see. Im not trying to lose weight but its just the nature of the beast.
Still more to do like the first aid kit and such. Oh I thought I might try to make spreader bars for the hammock. Went to the hardware store and bought a replacement broom handle and some small pieces of steel to try to fab/rig something up. I expect rain so I will have a rain jacket, pants and will still bring the poncho.
So far im looking at about 30 pounds to carry.
I guess I am thinking this trip through a bit more then usual because once my buddy drops me off and drives away I will be committed to whatever gear I have on me for 7 days.

[kyratshooter]

That is an erie feeling. My kids dropped me off at Springer Mt. summer of 2001 and I hiked to Damascus,VA.

I remember wondering what I had forgotten. It did not matter since I shipped half my pack weight home at the first mail stop. Oddles of noodles, beef jerky, rice and sauce, peanut butter and tortillias, instant coffee and gorp. Don't forget the gorp!

[huntermj]

Kyreatshooter that sounds a bit like Bill Bryson's book "A Walk in the Woods".
Only they chucked it over a cliff.
Ok i've been playing with the flip video camera and did a walk through on the gear i will be packing. Not exciting stuff but it was a good exercise for me to figure out how to trim and upload from this laptop. The pc. has died a peacful death and will never again wake from that eternal slumber.
Well if anyone wants to check it out. links in the sig.

[Rick]

The link is bad.

[Batch]

Kyreatshooter that sounds a bit like Bill Bryson's book "A Walk in the Woods".

LOL, we used to listen to Bill Bryson "A Walk In The Woods" audio book on the way to hike spots. Way too funny! He does stuff for NPR from time to time. Awesome funny book!