TRAIL DAY 7
Sat, Feb 27, 2016 Nick hadn’t gotten his package by the time Theo and I returned to the trail. And “Pepto” was still ailing as I recall. Before heading back to Neel Gap, I wanted to check out Woody Gap Outfitters at the far end of the store. It proved to be an outpost for the home store at Top of Georgia Hostel a name which speaks for itself and was soon to be on my radar.
The Outfitter was small but it had some interesting stuff. I’d had an orange sleeping bag liner which somewhere I decided not to bring. A green one was supposed to be warmer still and I left that home as well. While they were supposed to add 10̊ or more of warmth, that possible advantage was not worth the weight or the bulk. The outfitter, however, had a light silk liner that packed up so small you could stick it in your pocket and it, too, was supposed to add 10̊ of warmth. I was a sucker for the tidy, little thing even at the high price of $86.00.
I also fell for a bright, yellow bear bag that proved to be way too flimsy with clasps that eventually broke. I emailed the sales attendant advising she discontinue the item.
But, one more piece of equipment would stand me in good stead and remains with me still: a pack cover for rain with a poncho-like hood incorporated in it so that rain would run off the head and pack cover as opposed to off a jacket hood and down the back under the backpack. A few along the way would comment on this clever design. It was not terribly pricy and worth it. I had left my dark blue pack cover somewhere in the first 30 miles.
Thinking of all the sleeping bag liners and different things I’ve tried over the years on my return to hiking, I am reminded of various experiments I tried. When I did The Old Loggers Path in Pennsylvania with my son and his two oldest boys in the summer of 2012, I brought along a sheet of Tyvek I had rigged into a pup tent with a floor and open ends. I also brought the green liner and a thin, shiny silver-and-orange space bag. My goal with the Tyvek was to see if it was lighter than my Fly Creek and almost as functional. The liner and space bag were my sleeping bag.
It did rain and the Tyvek kept me dry but it was as bulky if not more so than the Fly Creek and weighed as much. The sleeping bag was a bust. The plastic space bag did not breath and the green liner got damp during the night with the moisture given off by my body. . .so sleep was off and on – and damp.
With a new liner, a soon-to-fail bear bag and a very satisfactory pack cover, we were ready to go, after one last picture.