This weekend my wife and I spent a weekend at Mount Magazine State Park in Havana Arkansas. We had contemplated car camping, but after some contemplation, we decided to spring for a stay at the lodge.
My wife enjoys day hikes and she has been working on increasing her endurance. Before this weekend, five miles was the longest wilderness hike, which was also a recent trip. She has a good sense of her limitations and we go at a pace she can sustain. Mrs. Gavagai chose the route for our big hike on Saturday. It ended up being around a 7 mile loop. So, what kind of prep for a thru hike can I do on a trip like this?
Trail testing the new pack
Carrying feel and pocket access
My new Durston backpack arrived just in time on Friday for me to bring it along. I was able to pack it with 90% of the gear I will likely be carrying on my thru hike. The weight was around 14 lbs plus a water bottle. That is sufficient weight and time on the trail to get a feel for the pack. I have a small concern about the hip belt. I am not used to hip belts that are so stripped down. I cinch my hip belt down so the majority of the weight is on my hips, not on my shoulders. The hip belt rubbed my left hip a little.
I was also got a feel for where various easy access items might go on this pack. What kinds of things do I want to store on my hip belt? What do I want in the side pockets? What will go in the outside pocket? On the left side pocket, there is a small zipper compartment that was useful for us to store a paper map of the trails we were using. When we came to various junctions, if we had questions about which way to go, we were able to pull out the map, get our bearings, then stash the map back in that pocket. For my thru hike, I won't rely on a paper map as much, but I now have a good deal of practice accessing that pocket. I know where it is and I can get things in and out of it. What I decide to store in it may shift and change depending on a variety of factors. I have seen some people say they like to use it to store a hat. I have become fairly dependent on reading glasses for my phone. That might be a good place to stash a glasses case. We will see...
The water bottle pocket on my right side was easy to use. My concern for that pocket is whether bottles might fall out. Hopefully if that happened, I would notice it. If an empty bottle fell out, I might not. More practice trips will help me figure things like that out. For this trip, I carried a 1 liter bottle and a 750 ml bottle. I didn't have any problems with either of them, but the front of that pocket is quite shallow.
I will produce a full review of the Durston Kakwa 55 in a future article, but I want to get more use on the trail first. I will say one last think about the pack generally. I am very glad I opted for the 55 liter bag instead of the Kakwa 40. I don't think the 40 would be large enough for all the junk I will be carrying and the smaller capacity saves less than 2 ounces.
Pack loading
I got to practice loading and unloading the pack a few times. This is valuable practice. One thing I learned about this process was extremely valuable. Inside my backpack, I use a pack liner. The backpack is water resistant so it won't get water logged, but it is not water tight. Even packs that are seam sealed and supposedly water tight, get worn and eventually leak some, so it's always a best practice to keep items that must stay dry inside a plastic liner.
I was testing a light weight, but supposedly durable type of pack liner called "Nylofume". We were not hiking in rain, so I didn't get the chance to test how water tight the Nylofume bag was, but I did find out that air pressure can pop it if you force your down quilt inside more quickly than air can escape. I popped a big hole in the bottom of the bag. If I had done that on the trail in rainy conditions, it could have terminated my trip, or at minimum set me back until the rain subsided and I could find a replacement bag.
As a side note, those Nylofume bags are not the only option. People use garbage bags or trash compactor bags. Trash compactor bags are heavy duty, but heavier. This was my first time trying a Nylofume bag. I used a trash compactor bag on a couple of other trips and there are things I like about them that may make the marginal weight difference worth it to me. In addition to being more durable, they are super slick. My quilt slides in and out of those bags silky smooth. They are also quieter than the Nylofume bags. Nylofume is crinkly, almost like cellophane. I might take a compactor bag as my primary option, but bring a Nylofume bag as a backup. I could throw one in the very bottom of my pack and not have to think about it unless I need it.
I do believe in packing redundant systems, so on a real trip, I will likely bring a spare to avoid the worst scenarios, but this was a valuable lesson. I believe part of the reason this happened is that the Durston pack is a bit narrower than the Osprey pack I have been using.
Another lesson I learned related to loading my pack is the value of fully unpacking everything in ditty bags before you head out on the trail so you know...
- Whether you have everything or not
- Where you put it
There was a small bottle of biodegradable camp soap that I was sure I had packed, but it was not where I thought it was going to be. It was in a different bag. I didn't realize it until we got home today. In the future, I will dump all the items from my ditty bags so I know exactly what is (or isn't) in each one. For a weekend trip where we were staying at a lodge, which is basically like a nice hotel, there was no real risk. I packed in a bit of a rush, which was fine for this trip, but would be bad for a real backpacking trip.
I have made gear checklists in the past, but I have had so many gear changes, I need to update my list. Having a checklist should help.
Footwear
I believe I mentioned in a previous article that I have purchased (or had intended to purchase) some toe socks. While this was not the first time I have used the toe socks I bought, it was the first hike of this distance with them. No blisters or hot spots. We did 7 miles (approximately) on Saturday on very wet trails.
On Sunday, we did another mile and a half. I wore the same toe socks again, but put them on wet. This is something I have never done before. Even on the 22 mile section hike last month, I wore a fresh pair of socks for the 6 mile hike the day after. That is a luxury I will not be able to have on a thru hike. I will have to wear dirty socks to hike. I will also undoubtedly have to wear wet socks and shoes in the morning when I begin on many days. While not what I would choose on a day to day basis, it wasn't so bad.
I also tightened up my laces a bit on this trip and I paid a bit more attention to my stride on this trip. Anytime I felt my toe sliding or rubbing, I made a conscious effort to lead each step with my heal and roll to my toes. To know if these measures will make a difference on a longer hike, I will need to hike some longer distances, but I was not feeling any hot spots on my feet on this trip.
Miscellaneous gear testing
Stool
I haven't mentioned this item before, but I have a lightweight packable stool. It weighs under a pound and packs down very small.
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| Hillsound BTR |
I have carried this stool and used it a few times, but it came in handy on the trail this trip. Mrs. Gavagai was having some issues with her shoes. She needed to stop, not only to fix an untied lace, but to thread her laces differently. This stool deployed quickly and easily and gave her a seat that made it much easier for her to work on her shoes.
The name of the stool is "BTR", which stands for "Better than a Rock". It is made by Hillsound. Prices on these stools vary. I did not pay the price listed on most sites. If you are interested, shop around and find a deal. A lot of YouTube backpacking channels sing the praises of the Helinox Chair Zero. I'm sure that's a great chair. It weighs a pound and it has a back. However, the setup takes longer. If this BTR stool is in an easy to access pocket on my pack, it deploys in about 2 seconds. You undo an elastic strap, extend the legs, and pull them apart. Ready to go. To pack it up again, you squeeze the legs together, then push collapse them, and wrap up the seat webbing with the elastic strap again. The Helinox chair also costs more than double what I paid for the BTR stool.
I have not decided 100% if I will bring this stool with me for the thru hike. To be determined, but this weekend, it proved useful. Here is a video that shows how these stools open and close. There are two sizes. I chose the 17 inch tall version. I am just under 6 feet tall and a shorter stool would be too low to the ground for me.
Filtering
I have had practice filtering water with my Sawyer Squeeze and CNOC dirty bag, but I brought it along on our trip this weekend. I would not have needed to use it, but Mrs. Gavagai needed a break and we were at a place where she could sit while I collected and filtered water.
After I filled my dirty bag and started to squeeze-filter the water, the CNOC bag started leaking a small spraying stream of water. It was not a big leak, but it was concerning. It didn't make much difference with regard to the filtering process, but if I had filled my bottles and needed to carry a full bag of dirty water in order to have enough for a dry camp situation, I definitely don't want to be carrying a leaky bag on my pack.
When I got home today, I filled up the bag again to clean it out, but also to see if I could better see where it was leaking. It didn't leak this time. I believe it was user error. The closure at the top of the bag where you fill it only folds in one direction. If you fold it in the opposite direction, it doesn't seal properly. I was in a rush because I didn't want to keep Mrs. Gavagai waiting long and I don't think I was paying close attention.
Little experiences like this will help me not make them on a longer trip, but even if I do make them, I can troubleshoot problems more effectively knowing possible causes. It also makes me think it might not be a bad idea to have a spare bag that I could keep in a resupply. One of the virtues of the hydration system I am using is that I could get by with no dirty bag and just use a bottle. I can drink directly from a dirty bottle. Having the bag expands my water carrying capacity and gives me the option to gravity filter, but it's not required.
Trekking poles
There had been a lot of rain the day before we arrived at Mount Magazine, so all the mountain drains were flowing. We had a lot of small streams to cross. Mrs. Gavagai doesn't care as much for poles as I do. She uses them only occasionally, but there were a couple of creek crossings where she used them. They saved my butt from hitting the ground on one creek crossing. My foot slipped on a slick rock in one stream and I was about to fall. The direction I was going with my fall was downhill. I probably would have stopped after hitting the ground if I had not been able to stop my fall with my trekking pole, but who knows? I might have gone tumbling down the side of the mountain! Depending on how I landed, even if I stopped once I hit the ground, I might have been injured or broken a bone. Fortunately, I did have my pole. I was able to right myself and landed on my feet.
Have I mentioned that I love trekking poles?
Well, there you have it. Even a small weekend with a couple of day hikes can be useful. Use your gear and familiarize yourself with it. You learn processes, you test equipment to see if it works. You figure out ways to improve what you are doing and learn from mistakes.
Oh! I want to mention this. There is a Ouachita Trail facebook group. It's a great place to learn from other people and get information about trail conditions, etc. If you are thinking of doing a thru hike, or even section hikes, jump into that group.
This weekend there was a post about someone who was on the trail after the thunderstorm that came through the area on Friday. He got to a creek crossing that was too dangerous to cross. He wisely turned back and made it safely home. Always be safe on the trail. I applaud this person's decision. On my section hike last month, I made the decision to cross Crystal Prong creek in spite of the fact that it was higher than I would have liked. But part of the reason I decided not to double back the next day was because I was so exhausted from the 22 miles the previous day I was concerned about trying to cross a second time with lower energy and sore muscles.
Anyway, join the facebook group and learn from other people. Some hikers also use the page to link up with others to hike together.
Cheers,
Gavagai
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