Posted from Waynesboro, VA mile 863.7.

I know I’ve been slow on posting updates on where I’m at and things I’ve been doing. The reality is I’ve been too busy having experiences to write about them. It kills me because I have so much time to think on the trail about all the stuff I want to write about. But when in the woods my day is packed with hiking and camp chores, and when in town it’s packed with socializing and town chores. So I really don’t get to write as much as I’d like. I’m going to try to be better about posting smaller more frequent updates and changing up the format a little bit so it’s not quite so daunting for me. I hope it will lead to more frequent but briefer updates which my friends and family (you) will hopefully appreciate.

Today I wanted to write a little about my equipment though. I recently passed by the 1/3 mark on the trail – 730 miles. At this point I’ve put some serious miles on my gear. My pack was holding up well until just after trail days (when I could have had it repaired) when the load lifter started to come unraveled where it meets the shoulder strap. The tips of my poles were starting to get bendy, then the linkage between the sections came apart,the straps were frayed, and finally the Kevlar cord that holds the pole together snapped on one. My shoes are starting to fall apart (most thru hikers go through several pairs of shoes during the hike). My pack is heavy which is part of the issue with my knees and its time to switch out to lighter summer gear.

I contacted Gregory who makes my pack and sent them a picture of the strap. They said because I was on the trail they would ship me a completely new pack for free. I just needed to deface their logo on my original pack so it couldn’t be sent back for warranty again. After some backs and forth about the same color not being available and such, I was concerned it wouldn’t reach Daleville, VA before I did. They expedited the shipping on it and the timing worked out perfectly. What was most amazing was when I called their support line, the automated system said “for a support representative press 1. If you are currently hiking on the Appalachian Trail, press 2.” There was a completely separate support process for AT Hikers! I felt like royalty and the support I received was amazing. They know that we are their target market here. We push their gear harder than anyone else. We talk gear constantly around the fire. When our friends are looking for hiking stuff they’re going to call us because whether I think I’m a gear expert or not, I’ve seen every brand, I’ve seen what fails, I know what people use and what people got rid of in the first week. The companies know that thru hikers are their brand ambassadors, and it’s smart for them to treat us as such. So far I’m loving my new pack and as a plus it no longer stinks of mildew from all the rain (for now).

Black Diamond was equally accommodating. Their support number had a recorded message saying they were too busy to accept support calls which I initially found disturbing, but they were very responsive through their email and drop shipped me a new set of poles without hesitation.

The shoes I’ve been hiking in are Oboz. They’re not super common out here as most people have opted for light trail runners, but I have wide feet and high arches and Oboz really fit me well. They suck when they get wet and feel like a couple of bricks and take a day or two to fully dry, but generally I’ve been happy with them. One perk I didn’t discover until I started looking into a new pair is the company offers up to 3 replacement pairs for people hiking the Appalachian Trail. On their online warranty claim form there’s a checkbox for “AT Thru Hiker”. After sending a picture of my shoes with a worn sole and the seams starting to separate, they put a brand new pair in the mail for me at no charge. Two weeks for delivery is kind of tough… I’m hoping my current pair last until Harpers Ferry. But I can’t complain about the price when everyone else is paying another $120 a pop for trail runners that wear out in under 500 miles.

In addition to yogi-ing free gear from the manufacturers, it was also time for me to swap out my winter gear for some lighter summer gear. I shipped my 3.5 lb sleeping bag and 2 lb thermal pad home with my old pack and replaced them with a 50 degree Marmot quilt (1.8 lbs) and a lightweight uninsulated pad (1.1 lbs), saving me at least a couple of pounds on my base weight. This is substantial when carrying a load over hundreds of miles and my knees will thank me for it. (Though they’re never as grateful as I think they should be.) Plus I’ll be a lot more comfortable in the 90 degree heat of Virginia and ahead.

I’m really enjoying the quilt though. It seems to be the new thing in sleeping gear. It’s basically like a down bag with no hood. It has a roomier toe box than my mummy bag and unzips all the way so my feet can hang out to keep them cooler and drier. I can unzip it all the way and just lay on top of it in my liner as well. It compresses down to a small loaf of bread and saves me a bunch of room in my pack. I think when I get back up to colder climes I will consider purchasing a 20 degree quilt instead of shipping my old mummy bag back. Enlightened Equipment makes some great products and people seem to be very happy with them, so I’ll probably look at one of theirs when the time comes.

Besides those items, most of my stuff is holding up OK. I purchased Darn Tuff socks when I started and they offer a lifetime guarantee (if you can find a place that will honor it). My REI pants, besides now looking hilariously large on me, are about to blow out in the ass (I blame them for the dehydrated meals). Maybe I’ll try to hit them up in DC for a new (better fitting) pair.

Overall I feel very well supported by the manufacturers of the equipment I’ve purchased for my hike, and that’s important when I depend on it every single day. I felt it worthy enough to give a shout out to them here publicly, but also because the gear I use every day is so important to my existence on the trail, I thought it would be interesting to read about.