#gobengo

[appalachianben]

GEAR, GESTATED is a thoroughgoing photoessay with all of my gear, pre-thru hike, organized artfully by category PREFACE ON BACKPACKOREXIA: My pack's "Base Weight" comes to about 21 lbs. This excludes fuel, water, food, and worn items. I've been tempted to lie and say my base weight is 19 or 20 lbs, which I was expecting and aiming for, but apparently things like extra Ziplocs, toilet paper, and diaper cream don't weigh nothing (lesson learned!). I've also come to believe it the wiser to embrace amateurishness and a willingness to grow as a long-distance backpacker than to pretend I've done anything like this before; and fudged weights betray a stolen credibility. Backpackorexia is a pathological dysmorphia experienced by many egoic plebes during late stage thru-hike gear gestation. Inexperience, rather, is natural and important to face and accept, especially if prone to this condition due to overthinking life's practicalities. The potent antidote, as with many dysmorphias, is honesty and humility. I've backpacked, but I've never ultralight backpacked. I've packed what I expect to want, what was reasonably inexpensive, durable, and comfy, while always aiming for a low pack weight to decrease risk of injury. I will inevitably shed pack (and body) weight once I start. I'd love to end up with a base weight as low as 17 lbs, and only have to carry the exact food and water I know I'll need, plus try to send home a few cold-weather items when I can (e.g. replacing my sleeping bag with a bag liner, which alone would shave ~2 lbs). But for now, I'm a bit fat at over 21 lbs. But there will be no mirrors to look in on the AT or backpacker mags left to read; just my own self-image in the light of others', and my poor poor knees. Like it all, my gear choices and the following artful photo arrangements attempt to echo my preemptive fears and longings, and my personality: seemingly by the book, but with hidden quirks and certain obsessively engineered fineries, while clumsily ignoring a few major items, and never, ever giving too much of a shit. THE PHOTOS: Photo 1. ALL GEAR, packed and laid out (roughly Top L to bottom R): rain cover; rain jacket; poncho (purple); toilet "go bag"; towel; GPS tracker; wide tent stake (doubles as trowel); tent pole bag (also holds flute); sit pad; trekking poles; backpack; miscellaneous gear dry bag (green); electronics dry bag (silver); valuables dry bag (blue); sleeping bag dry bag (lt. green, also holds other down items); food dry bag (orange, holding appx. 10 lbs food); stove; sleeping pad in bag (black); hiking shoes; camp shoes; "clean" and "dirty" water bottles; water filter system (in mesh bag); tent body; clothes bag (red, doubles as air pump) Photo 2. SLEEPING SYSTEM: Sierra Designs Backcountry Bed (zipperless, 800 fill water repellent DriDown, comforter design, foot vents, sleeping pad slides into sleeve underneath bag to allow bag and pad to remain stationary while tossing and turning); Sierra Designs DriDown pillow (with down jacket stuffed inside); Big Agnes Pumphouse dry bag (red, waterproof silnylon, used for inflating pad, doubles as clothes dry bag and allegedly, as a shower or water bladder); Thermarest NeoAir Xlite sleeping pad (yellow w/black bag, aka ultralight crinkly potato chip cloud bed); ear plugs w/container; Granite Gear eVent 20L compressible dry bag (for all down items). Photo 3. SHELTER SYSTEM (most items are contents of the Nemo Hornet 2 person tent system): stakes bag; reflective guyline; wide tent stake; ultralight stakes (x6); fabric patch kit (in Ziploc); pole repair sleeve; poles; pole bag; tent stuff sack; Hornet 2p footprint; tent body; rainfly. Photo 4. BACKPACK SYSTEM: Granite Gear Crown VC 60L pack (with roll-top closure, line-lock compression, vapor current ventilating padding); Mountain Laurel Designs wasabi (color) UL hip belt pockets (x2, replaced noisy zipper pulls with shock cord loops); Mountain Laurel Designs UL pack liners (x2, big enough to store sleeping bag/down item dry bag and clothes dry bag for extra waterproof layer inside pack); REI DuckBack pack cover. Attached to pack are also: gear ties (green, x2); S-clips to attach crocs: shock cord to keep crocs from bouncing; shock cord loop attached to right shoulder strap to mimic Osprey's design for hands-free trekking pole holding; and, in order to add additional external storage for wet items, I cut and sewed on an extra large pocket made from grey 12L mesh ditty bag from REI--certainly one of my proudest DIY accomplishments to date. Photo 5. CLOTHING: REI running beanie; OR Helium II rain jacket; OR baseball cap with bug net pocket; Arcteryx Cerium Hoodie (850 fill, by far the best pro-deal discount I got); merino wool neck gaiter; Frogg Toggs poncho (purple) + hair tie; Icebreaker merino wool Anatomica LS underwear top (black); REI powerflyte gloves; Icebreaker merino wool Aero SS crew T-shirt; Nike 9" compression shorts; Prana Zion stretch pants (w/ built in web belt for waistline fluctuation); Walmart stretchy knee brace w/side stabilizers; Icebreaker 200 merino wool long underwear leggings; Icebreaker merino wool Anatomica relaxed boxers (strictly for sleep); Smartwool PhD calf compression sleeves (for camp, helps circulation; Big Agnes Pumphouse dry bag (doubles as sleeping pad pump); Brooks Sherpa 5" shorts; Brooks Cascadia 11 trail-running shoes (bought 1.5 sizes too big for foot swelling; Blue Superfeet after-market insoles (in shoes); Dirty Girls trail-running gaiters (for foot and gear protection from dirt/mud); Crocs (camp shoes); Fox River X-Static sock liners (for blister protection, silver thread sewn in for odor protection); A.T. logo Darn Tough hiking socks; extra Darn Tough quarter socks (x2, for sleeping, back-up pair); clothier ditty bag (green) Photo 6. WATER PURIFICATION SYSTEM: Smartwater "clean" water bottle w/sport top (for drink mixes, sport top used for backflushing Sawyer filter); Smartwater "dirty" water bottle (wrapped in Gorilla duct tape, bottle used for contaminated water); Potable Aqua purification/neutralizer tablets; Sawyer squeeze bag; Platypus 3L Hoser bladder (cut for inline adapter); Sawyer inline adapter kit (for quick bladder filling without even having to take pack off); Sawyer Mini filter (standard UL filter, allegedly same filtration mechanism used in dialysis); Sawyer Mini straw (great for drinking directly from stream); mesh ditty for water system Photo 7. FOOD/COOKING SYSTEM: MSR Windburner stove system and cup; pot scraper; pot cleaning mini towel; reflective guyline and mini carabiner for bear-bagging; Sea to Summit 20L silnylon dry bag (used as bear bag); utensil (serrated fork, spoon, green); spice ditty and containers (includes plastic dropper bottles and contact lens carriers); spice kit (lemon juice, my sister's homegrown tobasco sauce, my uncle's home-boiled maple syrup, olive oil, salt and pepper, turmeric, cinnamon, curry); extra Ziplocs; Odorproof bags for food, trash, and other odorous items in bear bag) Photo 8. ELECTRONICS: OR dry bag (silver); extra AAA batteries in Ziploc (for headlamp and GPS tracker); 2032 batteries (for backup headlamp); Apple earbuds w/pouch; iPhone cable; Kindle cable; Anker 2-way USB Powerport (quickly charges 2 USB devices at a time); Anker 10400 backup battery (provides 4-5 full charge cycles to phone); extra Ziploc; Lifeproof headphone adapter (maintains waterproof seal on case with headphones in); Black Diamond Spot headlamp (takes 3 AAA batteries); Kindle (older generation, long battery life, very lightweight, has books and guidebook pdf); LokSak bag to protect Kindle; Petzl E+Lite backup headlamp; iPhone 6 (not pictured); LifeProof Fre case for iPhone 6 (not pictured) Photo 9. HEALTH, SAFETY, AND REPAIR: Triple antibiotic ointment tube; Immodium (anti-diarrheal, 2mg x6); Benadryl (antihistamine, 25mg x12); RenuLife Ultimate Flora daily probiotic (soil-based, shelf stable, appx. 3 month supply); rx vial w/appx. 100 Ibuprofen; Blister Relief (w/wipes, dressings, moleskin); Leatherman CS pocketknife (great pair of scissors, tweezers, knife, file, bottle opener); Thermarest patch kit; rx vial w/Sewing kit (needles, thread, safety pins); extra shock cord; Velcro for attaching gaiters to new shoes; gear repair tape; Bodyglide (anti-chafing); Gold Bond powder (for feet and groin); Desitin diaper cream; Dr. Bronner's soap; TUMS in container (blue); Ziplocs; Wet Ones individually-wrapped wipes for toileting and cleaning skin; tissues; toilet paper; Repel 100% DEET insect repellent; toileting ditty bag (gray); hand sanitizer spray; LokSak waterproof toileting "go bag" (contains TP, wipes, hand sanitizer); GUM fine dental floss; nail clipper; Burts Bees Chapstick; travel toothbrush; toothpaste. These latter few items I'll keep in my hip belt pockets, as I like the idea of brushing, flossing, and clipping nails as I hike to save time. These pockets will also contain my camera tripod, a lighter, and a bit of food. Photo 10. MISCELLANY: SPOT Gen3 GPS tracker and quick reference page (the SPOT sends my coordinates to a server every 60 minutes while I'm moving, will send two pre-programmed messages to a group of contacts, including to Facebook, and has an S.O.S. feature that when pushed will activate International Search and Rescue services. From my short experience working in SAR in college, DON'T push the red button unless you REALLY need to!); lighter in Ziploc; wide tent stake (and trowel); backup lighter and storm matches in Ziploc; mini Gorilla phone/camera tripod; Absorber pack towel; Peppers glasses case; polarized sunglasses; thin Moleskine notebooks (x2) in LokSak; mini kite in Ziploc (yes, a "luxury item"); extra glasses cleaning cloths cut small in Ziploc; mini deck of Goosebumps playing cards; pen; Sharpie marker; mechanical pencil; OR dry bag (blue, small for valuables); Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork trekking poles; flute (bamboo, with Chinese symbols, plays 2 major scale octaves for happy tunes, purchased from a used musical instrument store in Manhattan); Thermarest Z-Seat sitting pad (for my aching butt, doubles as emergency mountaintop insulation from lightning); bandana; AWOL NOBO Guide 2016 in Ziploc (better than a map, the all-in-one thru-hiker resource with everything from the next water source, elevation profiles, and hiker hostel reputations); emergency travel voucher from American Airlines; talisman on string (from my dad, which I intend to fill with dirt from both Springer and Katahdin); money and cards with hair tie; well wishes on hearts from my extended family; OR dry bag (green, for these miscellaneous items) If you've dared read or scroll this far, please send me a message with any feedback on my gear choices. You know how a dysmorphic like myself loves getting "feedback" ;) And here's a link to my full gear spreadsheet with costs and weights and a few more notes: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1GmbvtiqXpeVKFcDdXvxWQAg6SNBceoR7CQoV0DeUcL8/edit?usp=docslist_api Thanks for reading!

[musclemechanics]

Help us wish Personal Trainer Ben Melick good luck! He goes to compete on @americanninjawarrior 8 American Ninja Warrior 8 in two weeks! Watch him do some prep training.

[hireben]

[plaidlog]

Adios Seattle. It's been a slice. #gobengo (at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac))

[hillaz]

The Making of Macklemore. I finally grabbed a copy. #kindofabigdeal #stuffistyle #locallads #gobengo @macklemore

[plaidlog]

My friend and coffee genius @benjaminput #gobengo (at Washington State Convention Center)

[plaidlog]

My friend and coffee genius @benjaminput #gobengo (at Washington State Convention Center)