2006/02/19– Gear and Thru-Hiking

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As many of you remember, I was going to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail in 2004, but abandoned that plan since I was hired by my State Park system full-time. I am again pondering the possibility of a thru hike of the AT (or maybe another really long trail). I would like some advice or perhaps persuasion one way or the other from viewers of this site. I have 99% of the gear I need (I really only need an extra pair of boots or trail runners and some new socks). I’m waffling on taking Beau, since I would be doing this hike in the summer of 2007, when he will turn 7. Please, anyone and everyone offer up some ideas (BTW, if you are reading this site, you will know that Beau is not the TYPICAL hiking dog that gets muddy, jumps up, yogis, etc… so please do not write to flame me or tell me you are going to kill my dog if he breathes around you).

I have some items for planning a thru-hike (or any long hike) that I will be uploading very soon. I found them on my laptop while I was cleaning it up. I figured that since I never used them, I should at least pass them along to anyone who would like them.

I also bought a new rifle yesterday. It’s an inexpensive .22 semi-automatic Mossberg rifle for target shooting and the occassional angry varmint in the yard. It’s the first gun I’ve ever purchased. It’s not as fancy as some, but it’s still nice to have.