Tour of the Hiker Hostel; http://www.hikerhostel.com

Tour of the Hiker Hostel; http://www.hikerhostel.com

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Arrivred at the bus station

Just a quick video on our bus ride.

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HikeBikeDale: MYOG DIY sunglasses case from reflectix Ultralight

I took some of the reflectix that I had left and I made my own replacement case for my sunglasses. The old case was several times heavier. Minor weight... but big savings when thinking overall about this and other small bits like it.

One quick video...

We just wanted to make a quick video about a few things before we hit the trail. Oh, and Crocs rock!!

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First food boxes received

Here are the first 2 boxes we received. Just wanted to show a breakdown of what these boxes contained. If there are any questions please let us know. This is also an example of the cozies we are taking along. We just made these out of our remaining material.

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Closing in on our trail date...

I know that some people have followed us recently, and some for a while.  I want to start by saying that your support is totally awesome, and inspiring.  The last week has been quite stressful, but quite amazing as well.  We have had quite a bit of good times, and quite the number of issues as well.  Let me see if I can break down what the issues have been.

The biggest issue was getting our first box of food.  I had suggested that we provide cash in hand to cover the expenses that would be incurred by mailing our food.  However, my wife determined that we should open a USPS account online and save our credit card information.  She figured that this would streamline things.  Only problems have arisen from this issue, and we have resulted in providing cash to pay for the drop boxes that are being mailed PRIORITY FLAT RATE SHIPPING.  The idea to do things online was awesome, and a great idea.  But in the idea of problem free simplicity... not so much.  Problems have arisen when using the wrong browser... and other dumb issues, that I recommend you bypass by using cash.

Another issue we had was getting a ride from Asheville, NC to the trailhead.  In short, we looked on the internet and found that we could take a Greyhound bus to Gainesville, GA.  Then we would be picked up by Hiker Hostel.  They would keep us overnight, and then take us right to the trailhead to start our hike.  This was the perfect situation, and we are taking advantage of this for sure.

There are so many things that need to be said...  I have been pretty slack with getting them up on the blog here.  I will work hard to get some updates before we leave for the trail.  Thanks again for all that have supported us... and more will follow soon.

Remember... we leave on the trail March 1st!!!

Hanging out in North Carolina!!!

I just landed in Asheville, NC tonight.  I was picked up by my cousin and we went to her house for the night.  As I got out of the truck, I quickly realized what it was that made me so fond of North Carolina in the first place.  The sky was clear and the stars were bright... it was amazingly cool and crisp and refreshing.  As I write this I am in the guest house, and I am getting ready to go outside for a while and check out the sky and the surroundings by night.  Since my cousin has a new baby... they are in the other house keeping it quiet.  So... I should have more tomorrow and I cannot wait to remind myself of why I love these mountains.

For those who are not clear... I lived here for 3 years in '97, '98, & '99.  Those were some of the greatest times of my life.  I am really gearing up to see people that I have not seen in 10 years and I plan on trying to make the most of this short time that I have (2 weeks) before hitting the trail on March 1, 2011.

Please check back as I party away for 2 weeks and relive the glory days of young naive fools.

BTW... the pack cover deal worked well.  There were several spots on the outside that were rubbed pretty good and could have potentially caused damage to the pack.  So, I am very glad to have done what I did to keep damage to a minimum.

How I covered my pack for travel

When flying on planes and checking baggage, I personally like to wrap my pack. I stopped by walmart and bought a dress bag. It cost less than $3. I reversed the waist/hipbelts and clipped them around the bag itself. Here are a few shots I took while packing it for check-in at Austin airport.

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Pack Weight....

As we get closer to D-Day, or leaving for trail day, my wife and I are really looking over the choices that we have made about gear.  We are sitting in a hotel room outside of the Austin Airport in Texas... and we are cutting things out... quickly.  Without a day on the trail... what is it that is causing us to cut out items we have chosen at this time?

First what we did to measure our overall pack weight... we went down to the fitness room and brought our packs.  We got on the scale without our packs and established baseline weight.  Then we put the packs on and measured ourselves again.  The results were pretty shocking to us.  I weighed in at 27 lbs, and she weighed in at 24 lbs.  Now, lets look at what caused this to happen.  We had packed many things that were unnecessary and would never even have made it to the trail.  When moving out this weekend and trying to gather anything and everything that we might need... we were CRAZY in the head... we put too many things in the pack.  However, there were plenty of things we thought we could also live without.

We leave on planes tomorrow and have about 2 more weeks before hitting the trail.  There will be some movies in the next few days that showcase what has been decided and why it was decided... even before hitting the trail.

Be back soon...

Advertising at Starbucks

Annette did an amazing job for us to help get the word out!

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Tying up loose ends...

When going on a thru-hike... there are loose ends to tie up.  I just shot this quick overview video to give an idea of things I have to take care of before I leave.  Please reach out if you have any questions or problems.

Packing Soap & Liquids

I just whipped up a quick video showing how I packaged up the soaps to be included in our drop boxes.  Check out this video, maybe it will help others when they go to pack this type of stuff.

Trail charging and batteries on the trail

I had made a video of the waterproof Android phone that I am planning on carrying; the Motorola Defy.  However, I had not given any information about how I planned to keep it charged up.  I researched solar chargers, and found reviews that state they are horrible and don't work except in direct sunlight.  Now since the AT is also called "The Green Tunnel" that indicates that the sunlight might not be so perfect for this type of charger.  Not to mention that this solar type can be very finicky and desires direct sun exposure.  I then tried various USB chargers and I found some surprising results.  I hope that these results help anyone looking into this type of thing for charging along the trail.

Finally... ALL FOOD is DONE!!!

Yesterday we drove our food over to a friends house.  We transported it in Jason's truck and took it to Jessica's house.  She will be mailing our parcels through our USPS online account that we setup using a credit card.  This should make printing labels and sending parcels hassel free.  Be sure to check out these videos of the day we moved all the food out of our living room.

Coffee & Drinks for the Appalachian Trail

I was sorting some of the consumables for the Appalachian Trail thru-hike, and I had to stop and take a breath.  I have made up a quick video of what I was doing, and what my thoughts were at this point.  I needed to slow down and realize that this is not a competition.  Geez... trying to break free from the GO GO GO attitude we are used to in life... is sometimes difficult.

Dinner production system is complete

Last night we got to the end of the food production system.  We still have some odds and ends to fix up in the snacks section; gorp, bars, and snacking foods.  However, at this time we are done with the real difficult parts of the food assembly.  Please check out this video showing the current finished state of the food production system.

Dinner preparations: meal building

I hope that these videos help everyone understand the types of steps we have taken to make our meals for the trail.  Many might say that this is a a lot of work, but many might say that we are geniuses.  My hopes are that we enjoy ourselves regardless of what others think.  We are having fun together making food, we plan to have fun together hiking the trail, and we hope to have fun together everyday of our lives.  Here is to the idea that together best friends can have the best time possible.  Please remember, that "The journey IS the destination".  Nothing more, nothing less.