Day 8 Zero in Hiawassee

A zero means no hiking (on the trail) and usually corresponds to a town day. My knee aches a bit when starting each day and will give me a twinge on steep downs, so I figured the rest day would be good for me.

Thought I would spend a blog describing my kit and camping. But first how I got here. I got the usual chores of laundry and resupply (thoughtful wife is sending mail drops)  done yesterday. But I was tired and didn't have time to get fully caught up on the blog or recharge my devices or plan the next few days. So I got the Top of Georgia shuttle to Dick's Creek Gap and then the Budget Inn shuttle here to Hiawassee. The rooms are very basic but inexpensive. Lots of food places within walking distance. 

Now my kit. I wear convertible pants, a long sleeved merino shirt, darn tough wool socks, dirty girl gaiters, a hat, and Altra Lone Peaks trail runners. I've got 2 extra pairs of socks and a merino T.  I've got a wind shirt, rain jacket and pants, and a down puffy (jacket).  I have a 30 deg down quilt, a Neoair Xlite air pad, a cuben Altaplex tent, and a Zpacks cuben Arc Blast backpack. I've got an electronics bag, a repai kit bag, and a first aid kit. For a stove I use a new version of the caldera cone and an alcohol stove. I cook by heating water then rehydrating dinners in freezer quart bags. See my Gear page for more details. All told my base weight is about 11.8 pounds. 4 days of food brings it up to about 18 pounds.  With water it can go up to 23 pounds (2 liters). 

When I load up the pack I put a Steripen (UV water filter) and my Ricoh camera in pack shoulder pockets. One hip belt pocket has snacks. The other has sanitizer, toothbrush, toilet paper, trowel, bug repellant, sunscreen, soap, headlight and knife (good sized hip belt pockets). In the packs back mesh pocket goes my tent pegs, maps, wind shirt, a cuben sit cloth, and my inReach Explorer. The two side pockets hold a Nalgene (wide mouth for Steripen use) and a Dasani water bottle that I drink from. In the packs main pocket goes a 2 liter Platypus backup water pouch (empty), a plastic compactor bag that keeps dry my puffy, quilt and optionally my spare clothes bag dry. My rolled up Neoair stands along one side. Then goes electronics, repair/first aid bag, and stove. I shove all that down with my dry tent. Then goes my food bag and finally the bag with my rain gear. We are going to get rain in the next couple of days. I might have to move the tent out to the mesh pocket. 

I think that's enough for now. In the future I'll describe my camp site 'operations.'  Here' a quick shot of the motel room. You'll miss the aroma. (:-). By the way triple crowner Buck 30 is here. So are Tex, Dregs, and Melissa. Now to do some trail planning...