The other guy

Three weeks ago I spend a morning hanging out with Aaron Sorensen. I've mentioned him before in this post. He made most of his gear and we spent a couple hours geeking out discussing various backpacking gear nuances. In fact, he ended up making a pair of pants for me (AS specials from the last post). I hadn't been able to find ones that I like and some of the material he had was exactly what I was looking for in breathability. A pair of shoes which weren't working for him may become my sneakers of choice and he also had a flashlight which I was thinking of using. After seeing his light I ordered a very similar one. LED lights can clearly do some amazing things.

Looks like I will make an attempt the week of July 22 ish.

New Gear

I'm in Chicago and that gave me the opportunity to test some new gear. Last night the weather was around freezing, drizzling, and moderately windy. I brought my cold weather gear with the hope of exactly this type of weather.

Hat - 1 ounce
Balaclava - 1 ounce
Shirt - Micro weight zip tee - ? weight
Wind Jacket - 3.7 ounces
Insulating vest - 3.5 ounces
Wind pants - AS special (more on this in the next post) - 2 ounces

I also had random gloves (still undecided on specific gloves) and shorts.

Everything worked perfectly. I spent about 3 hours out in the weather, most of it without the vest. The jacket and pants didn't wet through for about an hour. (These aren't my rain gear, so that's good.) I was very comfortable without the vest but wanted to see how warm it would make me. With all my cloths zipped I was too warm. I could easily warm up or stay comfortable in colder weather. This is exactly what I was hoping. The clothing system will keep me comfortable and give me enough margin of error. (I'm still adding better gloves and lightweight leggings.)

Varietal Update

During training I'm focused on averaging 4 miles per hour while walking. So far it's going well. Last weekend I completed 14 miles on steep terrain and kept the pace though I was pretty tired for several days after. When I hike with other people I generally add 50 percent to my weight. (They are generally less interested in maintaining a 4 mile per hour pace.) The variety of strength and speed seems to work well for my legs and I feel the difference. This is a 27 mile week.

I purchased my first piece of gear specifically for the hike. The vest is my insulation layer. I have to say, gear does get me excited. In addition I nervously got my first pedicure. Since my feet will make or break the hike, it seemed important to take care of them anyway possible. I wanted to reduce my callouses and get my nails appropriately cut and filed, all to reduce the chance of blisters. (Blisters under a callous are impossible to fix.) It was great and I will continue to schedule monthly.

I've been corresponding through email with the other person also trying to break the record. It's been interesting trading tips.