Long Trail E2E hike Mid Sept. – Mid Oct 2011

[Jason Robichaud]

HI all,

I am getting a ton of good info from reading all your posts! Thanks so much. So I am embarking on the Long Trail in a few weeks with my dog and girlfriend. We are doing a Northbound hike and will probably stay out of the shelters (due to the very large dog accompanying us) most nights. I haven't put together my two hiking companions list yet but wanted to get some feed back from you folks asap. We hope to hit the trail once it dries a bit from Hurricane Irene.

Here is my gear list thus far: http://www.geargrams.com/list?id=4307

I'd love some feedback, criticism, gear suggestions, etc.

enjoy your HIKES!
– Jason

Just as a heads up: the dog is carrying our first aid kit.

[Jason Robichaud]

So I've swapped the Exos for my GG mirapoa plus and my pad to a GG 1/8" cut down and a neoair short. Also added a snowpeak umbrella.

Any and all feedback is appreciated?

[Ryan Linn]

Gear list seems fine, Jason. Have you been keeping an eye on the trail access conditions, though? That might be important for your resupply strategy.

Also, come to think of it, are you a generally warm person? Because mid-October in the far north will start dipping down below freezing at night. Chances are you'll be fine with the Marmot Hydrogen and a lot of extra body heat in your tent from the extra person and dog. Just make sure you know what you're getting into :)

[Jason Robichaud]

I have been Ryan. I'm keeping a close eye on it. My friend who is resupplying us is a vermonter and is accessible for "change of plan" situations.

I do sleep (very) warm. I'll probably switch out the down jacket for a warmer one 3/4 of the way through. Along with shoe and sock choices. I plan on starting the trip in my NB Minimus sneakers and then my salomon gtx trail runners come late september. I've been juggling between aqua mira tablets and a stripped down platypus gflow system. Any suggestions?

[Ryan Linn]

For water, I'd say go with whichever you're more used to. Month-long hikes aren't always the time to test out something new. I always go with the chemical treatment because there aren't any parts that can go wrong. But I'm not familiar with the gflow system.

[Steven Adeff]

Want to do this with my pup as well (no g/f though). My house mate's parents are on the GMC board and they've been feeding me trail condition info as it comes in.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/greenmountain/htm/greenmountain/g_home.htm
Preliminary reports say the Long Trail did not suffer much damage, but reports were still coming in, most of the damage is to side trails and the roads going in. I'm sure more info will be had over the next few weeks.

Anyway, my thoughts on your list…
Do you need a wind shirt AND the rain jacket? is there a reason to not just use the rain jacket as a wind shirt when needed? My other thought on this is that it's rainy these days more than it's just windy…

also, for water, I've been using the Sawyer inline filter lately with my platy bladder. which is like the platy gravity system but without the need to have the extra bag. the flow rate is excellent and in theory you could take one and filter into your g/f's water container. I'd say it takes no more than a few minutes to filter 3L (my platy size). I've used this a few times for overnighters in the Whites and love the versatility of being able to collect water from any reasonable source. This last weekend I used it for the first time to filter water for the group and it was much more convenient than my steripen, the downside being you can't really fill a soft bag in a lake, you need a source that can leave the bag in air which leaves you with the small water falls in streams.

The filter is something like $25 through walmart online with a water bottle that I just "threw away".

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