The One Where I Survived
Hello Again!
As you can read, I did not die on my first solo backpack into the Great Unknown. I came, I saw, I walked out of the forest wiser, older, and much smellier.
And it was glorious.
I had a great time and hardly got freaked out by bears at all. Actually, after all the hooplah and the preparation, I'm a little disappointed I DIDN'T see a bear at this point. I did see plenty of signs of bear, including a big ol' pile of steaming bear poo (or scat, if you want to be all grown up about it). Also a bear came around the cabin I was staying at Friday night and gnawed on a bunch of coolers. So maybe that's enough bear for my first trip out anyway.
I ended up heading up to Shenandoah National Park and hiking the Beecher Ridge/Overrun Falls trail. It was wonderful. The total trip mileage was supposed to be 12 miles, but I added in a little extra on the Trace Trail, so it totaled about 14. In all, I successfully planned the hike, packed for the hike, hiked the hike, set up camp, hung a bear bag, tore everything down, hiked out, and didn't die. That last one was pretty big.
I'm sure I'll tell more stories in the coming days, but one goal of these posts is to start doing gear reviews for women's hiking gear. So I'm going to list everything I was wearing and a brief review. This first one will be a little longer, hopefully I won't be changing out my stuff that often so things like my backpack and stove system and such won't change.
Headband: Asha Headband by Sherpa Adventure Gear. Awesome. The fabric is soft, the color is bright, the whole item is well made. When it first showed up I thought it would be too big and slide off my head, but it stays in place really well.
Shirt: Rinchen short sleeve tee by Sherpa Adventure Gear. Also awesome. I'll definitely be buying more gear from this company in the future. The shirt wicked away and dried my sweat in no time, the material is really soft and the fit is great. I recommend cutting the tag off before you go, I didn't and it rubbed badly since it was right under my hip pocket on my bag.
Pants: Fabletics capris. Great for running, ok for backpacking. They're comfy and warm enough, but they slid down repeatedly in back where my bag rubbed against them, so I definitely did part of the trail with a constant plumber's crack...
Socks: Darn Tough. Awesome awesome awesome. Fun colors, super comfy, and kept my feet really warm, even when I put the socks on my wet feet post-frigid water crossing.
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 7. Super impressed by these shoes, I can see why they come so highly rated. They gripped the slippery rocks and logs well, were really comfy, and dried quickly, even when I stepped in a giant mud puddle.
Bag: Osprey Tempest 40. Love it, but definitely wouldn't go any smaller than this. It fit everything perfectly for a one night hike, but if I needed to pack a lot more food or clothes for varying weather it would have been a tight fight. Really love that the bottom unzips, I keep my tent at the bottom of my bag and it was easy to access each night when I set up camp.
I borrowed the tent and the sleep system. The tent is a single walled Big Agnes, I highly recommend a double walled just due to the sheer amount of condensation on the walls in the morning. I used a quilt in conjunction with my Thermorest pad. I think I'll probably end up with a traditional sleeping bag instead of a quilt, because I sleep cold and like to really snuggle down inside the bag.
As you can read, I did not die on my first solo backpack into the Great Unknown. I came, I saw, I walked out of the forest wiser, older, and much smellier.
And it was glorious.
 |
| So artsy. Instagram is gonna love this one. #feet |
I had a great time and hardly got freaked out by bears at all. Actually, after all the hooplah and the preparation, I'm a little disappointed I DIDN'T see a bear at this point. I did see plenty of signs of bear, including a big ol' pile of steaming bear poo (or scat, if you want to be all grown up about it). Also a bear came around the cabin I was staying at Friday night and gnawed on a bunch of coolers. So maybe that's enough bear for my first trip out anyway.
I ended up heading up to Shenandoah National Park and hiking the Beecher Ridge/Overrun Falls trail. It was wonderful. The total trip mileage was supposed to be 12 miles, but I added in a little extra on the Trace Trail, so it totaled about 14. In all, I successfully planned the hike, packed for the hike, hiked the hike, set up camp, hung a bear bag, tore everything down, hiked out, and didn't die. That last one was pretty big.
 |
| Super proud of myself for setting up the tent. Also for figuring out the timer on my phone. |
I'm sure I'll tell more stories in the coming days, but one goal of these posts is to start doing gear reviews for women's hiking gear. So I'm going to list everything I was wearing and a brief review. This first one will be a little longer, hopefully I won't be changing out my stuff that often so things like my backpack and stove system and such won't change.
 |
| Trying to look introspective... Or something. |
Headband: Asha Headband by Sherpa Adventure Gear. Awesome. The fabric is soft, the color is bright, the whole item is well made. When it first showed up I thought it would be too big and slide off my head, but it stays in place really well.
Shirt: Rinchen short sleeve tee by Sherpa Adventure Gear. Also awesome. I'll definitely be buying more gear from this company in the future. The shirt wicked away and dried my sweat in no time, the material is really soft and the fit is great. I recommend cutting the tag off before you go, I didn't and it rubbed badly since it was right under my hip pocket on my bag.
Pants: Fabletics capris. Great for running, ok for backpacking. They're comfy and warm enough, but they slid down repeatedly in back where my bag rubbed against them, so I definitely did part of the trail with a constant plumber's crack...
Socks: Darn Tough. Awesome awesome awesome. Fun colors, super comfy, and kept my feet really warm, even when I put the socks on my wet feet post-frigid water crossing.
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 7. Super impressed by these shoes, I can see why they come so highly rated. They gripped the slippery rocks and logs well, were really comfy, and dried quickly, even when I stepped in a giant mud puddle.
Bag: Osprey Tempest 40. Love it, but definitely wouldn't go any smaller than this. It fit everything perfectly for a one night hike, but if I needed to pack a lot more food or clothes for varying weather it would have been a tight fight. Really love that the bottom unzips, I keep my tent at the bottom of my bag and it was easy to access each night when I set up camp.
I borrowed the tent and the sleep system. The tent is a single walled Big Agnes, I highly recommend a double walled just due to the sheer amount of condensation on the walls in the morning. I used a quilt in conjunction with my Thermorest pad. I think I'll probably end up with a traditional sleeping bag instead of a quilt, because I sleep cold and like to really snuggle down inside the bag.
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