Two weeks from tomorrow is still my target date to start the AT despite the recent return of nasty weather. I hope winter is blasting itself out and things will be mild come the start of spring. Today I did my first complete gear check to see what I may still need before I go. I think I'm ready. The first picture is all my stuff and the second picture is what it looks like when it's all packed. Pack weight before water is 32 pounds which is not bad with five days' of food plus winter gear. I will shed a couple of pounds when the weather is warmer but I'm not sacrificing comfort (such as it is) for a pound or two of savings. Thank you to those of you who have offered recommendations for my trail name. I think I'm going to wait until I have been on the trail a few days before I settle on one. Give myself a chance to shift into "wilderness" mode and see what resonates then. Keep those suggestions coming, though.
Trail Name
The idea of a trail name is to essentially become a different person living in the grungy subculture of the Appalachian Trail. It's sort of like a superhero persona without the superhero part. Legend was that trail names are to be bestowed on hikers by others on the trail. But over the last few decades, that has changed and now many people choose their own trail name. Largely because too many people think they are clever namers and as a consequence some good, decent people end up with trail names like Monkey Butt or Stink Foot or, even worse, Butterfly. So I am asking anyone who finds their way to this blog to help me pick a trail name. I am more than open to other suggestions but here are some names that I thought of any of which I could be happy living with for five or six months in the woods. Please let me know what you think. Nomad Refugee Wastrel Fogey (not necessarily old) Sole Man Gu-Ru (referring to Gu energy gels) Just please don't suggest anything like Buttefl...
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