Gear ++

  Sorry, dear readers.  I had to put the blog to bed for the Christmas months.  As I was running around trying to finish projects for gifts and then getting myself full of the goodness that is Charleston seafood and beach time, I let the blog go.  Mea Culpa. 
   
  I took some time off hiking for a month too.  One, to let any stress or repetitive chronic injuries in my legs and knees heal up and, two... it's whitetail season down here in Dixie and I don't want to mess with someones bag limit... or end up in it... as it were.  But, during the months that the blog was down I was able to finish getting my kit together.
  
  My 'system,' backpack, shelter and bag, came together in early December with the addition of Sierra Designs Ridge Runner 30 degree down bag.  I love this bag.  I mean it.  I'm in a committed relationship with this bag.  I know it's down and that she temperamental and mean when she gets wet, but when I snuggle into that loft and the temp outside is below forty I feel like I'm in the arms of a loving fuzzy ducky mother.

 So she don't look like much, but she's got it where it counts.  Ahem.

  For shelter I combined my Eno double nest with Kelty's Noah's Tarp, which is an enormous but surprisingly lightweight, crushable swath of rainproof fabric.  It looks like this when it's in the machine.

  The third part of my system was a real trick.  I'm doing this whole thing on a budget.  Probably a budget of a quarter of what a standard through-hiker normally spends.  So I've been constantly adding a little bit of gear here and there, when it was on sale or when I could find something on close out.
  
  When it came to my pack, however, I was in trouble.  I and everyone involved was leery about ordering a bag online.  Plus, new bags, good ones, are expensive.  But it turns out I happened to have a really excellent bag left over from my sisters backpacking trips years ago.  It is a Glissade from Eureka, and though its old it still had a lot of fight left in it. 

  I'll get some better pics up soon.

  All the other little essentials soon fell into line.  And I've come to love wool socks in a way I've never believed possible.

   I promise to start posting at a frenetic pace.  Upcoming posts... My kitchen that is smaller than a kitten, pictures of my Pinhoti section hiking, more gear more gear and some thoughts about adding my dog to my trip
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  And to Matt, sorry I was late getting to the response, feel like the Smokies??? I'd love the company, it'd be epic.  Drop me a line at the hushmail address and we can figure something out.

-Josh