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My current target for starting my Green Mountain Club Long Trail thru hike is pushed back to mid summer 2016, after black fly season!
Fall 2015 did not materialize as I started my campaign too late in the summer to get on the trail early enough to catch the fall colours. One has to be on the trail in September. As a result of the short notice, contributions didn't materialize. Hurricane Irene ended my 2011 attempt. So, if first you don't succeed!!
Moral and financial support can help me complete this. I saw myself successfully complete two Montreal Half Marathons, I can surely succeed at this. Then I can look forward to actually planning on the doing the John Muir Trail in California summer 2017.
Current Gear Assemblage:
- Tent, Kelty Salida2 (may swap out for hammock? or Mtn Hardwear StingraryTarp.)
- Tarp MEC Guides Tarp? heavy.
- Sleeping bag, MEC Penguin + cotton liner + Integral Designs Micro Bivy.
- Mattress MEC Reactor 3.8
- Stove, MSR Dragonfly w/1L fuel bottle
- Pot Primus ETA 1L w/heat exchanger
- Spoon Primus Titanium Long Reach Spoon.
- Water carry MSR Dromedary Lite
- Water purif. Katadyn Hiker Pro
- Shower Seattle Sports Camp Shower questionable quality, though handy.
- 1L Nalgene
- First Aide Kit w/tick lasso
- GPS Garmin Etrex 20
- Compass Silva Ranger
- Backpack Gregory Baltoro 65L
- Lighting PTEC Sync Headlamp + UCO Candle Lantern
- Footware Pivetta light hiking boot. Littleway welt.
- Camp shoes Salomon Tech Amphibian3
- Camera Nikon Coolpix 110AW
- Stickpick Camera mount Stickpic Trekking pole camera mount (check sizing for trekking pole you are using. Indispensable)
- Trekking Poles Tracks Sherlock trekking staff
- Gorilla Pod Small
- Electronics Power Monkey Explorer recharger, Cell Phone
Clothing:
- Bug proof jacket
- dry teck tank top
- dry teck long sleeve top
- Shorts, 1pair
- thermal longs
- stretch knickers
- Westcomb thermal waterproof hoodie
- Marmot Precip waterproof? shell.
- Gators
EVERY donation however small, Twitter tweet or FB post is warmly welcomed and will add up. That being said, 1000$ US is the target suggested by a Triple Crowner (Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail and Appalachian Tail) Erin Saver Erin Saver's Walking With Wired who offered her generous and encouraging advice. CDN dollar now sits at 0.70 dollars U.S. so I am fund raising for 1,500.00$ CDN.
I'm a Type II diabetic senior, living on a modest fixed pension. My goal is to continue and complete and end to end through hike I started. Funding will help with:
a: food resupply
b: travel health insurance,
c: zero day stop-overs, (mostly hostel)
d: extra battery for my dSLR/ and Coolpix W300
e: emergency equipment replacement, and
f: gas or shuttle transfers for resupplies.
A support gift certificate to Eastern Mountain Sports would be a godsend.
Your support does not finance vices. I do not drink, smoke, or consume mind altering substances (I quit smoking tobacco 35 years ago I'm proud to say.... cold turkey.). My only vices are the fragrance of forests, appearance by wildlife, spattering of colours of wildflowers and the sounds of gurgling creeks and wind kissed vegetation.
You can check out my camera battery requests on my gofundme profile. Just click the green gofundme Donate button USD$, to the right for a breakdown.
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Terrific blog on 'Section Hiker's' Long Trail backpack from Journey's End to Lamoille River traverse in Johnson VT.
The Long Trail, Div. 11 and Div. 12
On finishing reading Philip Warner's aka Section Hiker's blog on these two divisions of the northern section of the Long Trail, feeling the cold air on my morning walks, seeing the trees start to turn is incredibly exciting.
Erin Saver aka walking-with-Wired and Jett Cat were a real inspiration, among many in the hiking community.
Here I am on our 3 day Iceline Trail / Twinfalls backpacking trip in Yoho National Park, British Columbia, CANADA:
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Thinking yeah, the nights are going to be cold, crisp and frosty but the colours resplendent and my down sleeping bag warm. Don't like the heat stress of a summer backpacking trip anyway, let alone having to contend with the mosquitoes, noseeums and especially those dreaded ticks.
I always hang a UCO candle lantern from the gear loft of my tent which adds a terrific sense of coziness, warmth, 10º anyway and security with that soft warm glow.
