Tag: hiking

Post Hike

Presentation in Cincinnati

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A week from today we’ll be giving a Lightweight Backpacking on the Pacific Crest Trail presentation in Anna’s hometown, Cincinnati. Here’s the blurb about the event:

Date: Sunday, August 18, 6 PM
Location: Roads Rivers and Trails, 118 Main Street, Milford, OH 45150

Anna Sofranko and Chris Alexander hiked the entire 2600-mile Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada. They walked across deserts, over snow covered mountains, and through old growth forests. In order to complete the trail before heavy snow fell in Canada they had to hike about 20 miles each day for 5 months. Dramatically reducing their gear weight allowed them to cover such long daily mileages enjoyably and free of injury. In this presentation they’ll share stories from the adventure, lightweight backpacking tips, and beautiful photos from their book Pacific Crest Trail: A Journey in Photographs – https://wanderingthewild.com/book Come join us for an exciting evening!

Please Join and Share this event with your Facebook friends via https://www.facebook.com/events/606869279333432/

We’ll hang around after the presentation to answer questions about the PCT, the John Muir Trail (which overlaps with the PCT), lightweight backpacking, or whatever else you’ve been curious about as you read this blog.

Hope to see you there!

Anna rock hops across Evolution Creek in Kings Canyon National Park
Anna rock hops across Evolution Creek in Kings Canyon National Park
Gear

Appalachian Trail Gear List Updated

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Photographing a bald on the Appalachian Trail

On a backpacking trip we like to be just as comfortable hiking as we are in camp. Lightening our pack weight has been key. Carrying less weight means less physical strain, more energy to focus on the beautiful subtleties of nature, and ultimately more fun. At the same time, we also like to sleep comfortably and cook a hearty meal. When choosing gear, we aim for the sweet spot which perfectly balances comfort on the trail and in camp.

We had a great setup on the PCT, but we are always refining our gear, learning what items aren’t necessary, researching new products, and finding things which serve multiple purposes. Simple durable items are a favorite of ours. In addition we make changes based upon the terrain and weather in the area where we’re hiking.

Rainy weather on the Appalachian Trail

We recently updated our Appalachian Trail gear list to reflect the changes we made while hiking the AT:

https://wanderingthewild.com/gear/at-gear-2013/

Hope you find it helpful.

Cooking dinner in the backcountry

We also wanted to let everyone know that North Star is continuing to recover. Her shingles rash is gone. The pain only flares up occasionally. The remaining issue is her energy level. She gets very tired after walking a few blocks.  The discussion forums we’ve read concur that it usually takes between 1-3 months to return to full health after a shingles outbreak. We’ll continue to be patient.

Sunset on the Appalachian Trail

Appalachian Trail - Southern

Day 36-38: The AT’s Highest Point is Our Lowest

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Day 36: Birch Spring Gap (Mile 171.5)-Spence Field Shelter (Mile 182.5); 11 miles

The crazy hail storm had passed and a variety of birds were greeting the new day. Take a listen to a minute of what we heard:

Unfortunately North Star’s painful headache still hounded her. The dizziness she’d been experiencing for the past week intruded as well. Bending over to pack gear made her head spin, forcing her to take several sitting breaks. We were dismayed that her symptoms were not improving.

The trail followed the border between Tennessee and North Carolina, taking us past beautiful old trees. All the recent rainfall nourished the wildflowers, known as “spring beauties,” which carpeted the ground. Shutterbug enjoyed the views, but North Star’s mold headache was so powerful that it made walking very difficult for her. The pain meant she couldn’t enjoy any of the beauty around her.

We kept walking. Fog blew in, at times condensing into rain.

We reached the Spence Field shelter where we cooked up a hearty dinner of couscous and pinto bean flakes. From our tent we heard rumbles of distant thunder. Though North Star was tuckered out she had trouble sleeping because of her headache.

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