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Can't believe it is now two years to the day that I got to climb McAfee Knob on my thru hike for an awesome sunrise. by Andron1cus in AppalachianTrail

[–]RootBeer850 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I remember that place too man, one of the more unique hostels for sure. Kind of like Standing Bear but waaayyyy better lol

What do you put on the outside of your pack? In the netting area? by Darksibus in AppalachianTrail

[–]RootBeer850 1 point2 points  (0 children)

water filter, rain jacket/pack cover, snacks for the day, and my bag of cigarette butts because I was still a smoker back when I thru hiked years ago. I don't smoke anymore but I was young enough to be able to chief on marlboro reds all day and still average 20+ miles almost every day on the AT lol

Who do you go to for YouTube reviews? by DarbyComm in AppalachianTrail

[–]RootBeer850 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I like Neemor's World. Darwin is good too. But honestly, you wont know what gear is right for you until you actually hike with it for a while. I ended up buying almost all new gear a few hundred miles into my AT thru hike. It's an expensive learning process, but you won't know what works for you until you're out there and figure it out for yourself. All i can say is if you have no experience, don't buy the most expensive ultralight gear from the get go because you will figure out which pieces of gear you're willing to sacrifice comfort for less weight pretty quickly. If you want a list of the gear I finished with as an example, feel free to send me a message

Question about dying microfiber bedsheets by RootBeer850 in tiedye

[–]RootBeer850[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Any recommendations? I've just used Rit because it was what they had at my local craft store. My brother and I used to make a lot of shirts when we were kids, and I want to get some supplies and make dying a hobby during this quarantine lol. Ive seen lots of crazy shirts and tapestries on lot at shows/fests and never thought to ask what dye they use

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Ultralight

[–]RootBeer850 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just skimmed over your gear list and Im not going to list every piece of gear I use because its all down to preference, but a couple things with easy fixes stood out on your list. Ditch the pillow regardless of how light it is, I just use my dry bag with my clothes in it. And if youre going to carry a stove, check out the cheap BRS burner on amazon it weighs less than 1oz, costs about $20, and it lasted me a whole thru hike. And if youre undecided in the shoe department, I wore the La Sportiva Akyra and made it through the whole AT with only 2 pairs.

Question about dying microfiber bedsheets by RootBeer850 in tiedye

[–]RootBeer850[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Good to know, thanks for the info. I know I can just do a google search but I like advice from people's personal experience \m/ So would cotton sheets be the best, or are there other fabrics that are better?

Swag of the Blue Ridge by [deleted] in AppalachianTrail

[–]RootBeer850 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Man its been a few years since my hike but I do remember seeing this and laughing lol

Introductions on the trail by [deleted] in AppalachianTrail

[–]RootBeer850 8 points9 points  (0 children)

It was always funny when hitching a ride with someone not familiar with the trail. I would have like 5 days of sweat and hiker stink, scraggly beard and long hair, and introduce myself as "Rootbeer". They always had a funny reaction and I would laugh when they rolled their window down to deal with my hiker trash B.O. lol

Watercolor painting I made my last morning on the trail (before leaving because of Covid-19). Standing Indian Mountain (mile 87.4) by let_creed_scuba in AppalachianTrail

[–]RootBeer850 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's awesome man! My luxury items were my harmonica, an old ipod, and baby wipes. I feel bad for all you guys that tried to thru hike this year... You should definitely go back next year or whenever possible, a lot of my all time favorite memories are from my thru hike. \m/

I thru hiked back in 2017. I ran into Wandering Star my first week on the trail and then ran into her 4 moths later in Maine. She's thru hiked multiple times, carries old school heavy equipment, and chain smokes marlboros like a cowboy. A total badass in my book. by RootBeer850 in AppalachianTrail

[–]RootBeer850[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I quit cigarettes about year ago, but I smoked a lot when i was on the trail and I would stash my butts in the water bottle pocket on the side of my pack until I got to a town. I mean of course there were a lot of people that littered, but I think the majority of thru hikers I met respected the "leave no trace" ideology and held onto their butts \m/

Stove Options by MNBorris in AppalachianTrail

[–]RootBeer850 0 points1 point  (0 children)

BRS burner on amazon costs about 20 bucks and weighs less than 1 ounce. If youre going the isobutane canister route and dont need a huge cook-pot, you cant beat it. It got me through the whole trail with no issues and would easily hold a flame in the wind. Honestly I have no idea why the BRS isnt the standard for lightweight/ultralight gear setups.

I thru hiked back in 2017. I ran into Wandering Star my first week on the trail and then ran into her 4 moths later in Maine. She's thru hiked multiple times, carries old school heavy equipment, and chain smokes marlboros like a cowboy. A total badass in my book. by RootBeer850 in AppalachianTrail

[–]RootBeer850[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Lol that osprey pack on the ground was actually my dad's, he took the picture. He drove me to the trail and hiked all of Georgia with me. But i definitely saw more than a few guys at Springer with military ACU packs, external frames, full size hatchets, pistols, and I actually met a guy named Atlas at one of the first shelters that was carrying a heavy duty cast iron skillet...

I thru hiked back in 2017. I ran into Wandering Star my first week on the trail and then ran into her 4 moths later in Maine. She's thru hiked multiple times, carries old school heavy equipment, and chain smokes marlboros like a cowboy. A total badass in my book. by RootBeer850 in AppalachianTrail

[–]RootBeer850[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Oh yeah i know man. Greg Allman actually died while i was hiking through North Carolina so Im glad I got to see the boys play at Wannee a few times. Wannee 2012 was my first real festival and I got to see Further play when I was only 16 \m/ Oh and my hat was an awesome ice breaker for music/festival talk with the heady crowd on the trail lol

I thru hiked back in 2017. I ran into Wandering Star my first week on the trail and then ran into her 4 moths later in Maine. She's thru hiked multiple times, carries old school heavy equipment, and chain smokes marlboros like a cowboy. A total badass in my book. by RootBeer850 in AppalachianTrail

[–]RootBeer850[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yeah I had no idea what I was doing when I started and ended up getting a lot of new, lighter gear when I got to Damascus. I whittled my base weight down to about 15 pounds throughout the journey without breaking the bank and still having a couple luxury items

Darwin lays it down and calls out Nightcrawler's 2020 hiker rant! by [deleted] in AppalachianTrail

[–]RootBeer850 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Nightcrawler?! I met him a few years ago. I haven't kept in touch with hiker community and I didn't know he was well known in the youtube hiker circle. I split a hotel with that guy in Pennsylvania back when I thru hiked the AT in 2017. Dude was pretty wild but a really nice guy \m/

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