I have a new quest, a new challenge to conquer. Previously I have posted here about my long-distance bike travel. Now I'm ramping up for some long-distance foot travel.
A very dear friend of mine has decided to hike a large portion of the Appalachian Trail. He is conquering some personal challenges and has decided that the AT will help with that. I don't have the time to commit to a "large portion," but I have agreed to accompany my friend on at least one warm-up hike to prepare him for the longer trip.
We have decided to hike 45 miles of the AT in April as preparation for his long hike starting in June. So that means I am ramping up for the April hike.
I am a gear nerd. I admit it. No matter the hobby or interest, I love the gear. So the first thing I did when the mention of a hike came up was to dig out my hiking and camping gear and take inventory. Then came the countless hours of Internet research to learn that much of my gear is barely suitable and that I need to get new gear. Let's start with my pack.
I had a Gregory Whitney (pictured above) that I purchased new from REI sometime in 2003 or 2004. It is a HUGE pack. It's 90 liters in volume and more than seven pounds in weight. I bought it in preparation for a trip to Iraq where I needed to pack three months worth of stuff. That's a lot of stuff but fortunately, I never actually had to carry it over any distance greater than 50 yards. For our 79,000 yard trip, this pack surely wouldn't do. It's way too big and could get way too heavy. The "recommended" pack volume and weight for AT hikes is 50-65 liters and as light as humanly possible. Of course that meant I needed a new pack.
Step 1: Sell the Whitney on eBay and buy a new pack. Step 2: Do the countless hours of research on the Internet to find the perfect pack for AT thru-hikes. The research led me to a few options. My first solution was the Gregory Baltoro 65. Same great manufacturer, same great comfort, top end of the size recommendation (good and bad), but that pack is heavy too. It was a touch over five pounds, just two fewer than the big Whitney.
The lightest options... anything by ULA, the Circuit or Catalyst. These are the packs of choice on the AT and other long-distance trails. They are little more than a light rucksack; super light, on the small end of the capacity recommendation, but usually above my price range (which was whatever I could sell the Whitney for).
Other awesome choices... Granite Gear packs, specifically the Nimbus Meridian. A superb pack, but over my range new and hard to find used on eBay. Osprey packs, all great, lots of options in the 50-65 liter range, but again, sometimes too pricey for me.
Enter the Deuter ACT Lite 65+10. Same great features as the others but just a little cheaper. So I managed to pick one up on eBay for just $91, including shipping. Great deal on a great pack. But I don't have it yet. I just won the auction the other day and it should be arriving in a week or so. I'll be posting a review as soon as I try it out.
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