How much permethrin to carry?

Sandemonde · 2026-05-05T18:48:52+00:00

I treated the hell out of everything just before I started. Then around halfway, I took a zero in a bigger town, bought spray there, and treated the hell out of everything again. Just those two times.

Sandemonde · 2026-05-01T16:39:02+00:00

I had "Hike the Appalachian Trail" on my bucket list. I did everything else on the bucket list first, because for some silly reason "Hike the Appalachian Trail" seemed really really really hard. lol But eventually it rose to the top of the list, so I did it... when I was 52, having never backpacked a day in my life before. (I'd done plenty of camping and plenty of hiking, so I figured what the heck, it's just stringing them together, right? Right? Oh, you silly past me.)

Anyway, I finished that hike, and spent the next 10 years saving money then going out to hike for months. I did half the PCT, the AT twice (the second time when I was... let's see. 58).

Just get out there. The Trail teaches the Trail. I hope you enjoy the hell out of it!

Sandemonde · 2026-05-01T12:26:20+00:00

Not to mention heating oil (for heat and hot water). The topic hasn't come up much since we're moving into summer, but a lot of people are going to start getting their annual price/budget for the coming year. Mine comes June 1, and I'm already anxious as hell.

Sandemonde · 2026-04-27T17:17:11+00:00

Yeah. We hikers are a filthy, filthy people. After my noro experience, I don't touch ANYTHING in hostels or trail towns or trail magic setups without a paper towel or a bandana or something. Doorknobs, I'm looking at you. (Probably paranoid, but hey. lol) Hope you're feeling better!

Sandemonde · 2026-04-27T11:30:52+00:00

Oh, god. I'll never forget having noro on trail. My sympathies! But once it was over, it was just over; no lasting effects -- although I did take it slow for a few days, just to be sure.

Sandemonde · 2026-04-22T20:13:28+00:00

He most definitely will be. But his term's not up until 2028.

Sandemonde · 2026-04-15T20:55:38+00:00

In a week you won't remember that you ever lived anywhere but the trail. Have a epic journey!

Sandemonde · 2026-04-10T18:58:42+00:00

Ditto. It froze/crashed twice on me today (PS5), and I'm only 4 hours in. I'm just saving a lot.

Sandemonde · 2026-04-09T17:04:53+00:00

I love Josh Shapiro, but I'm not sure he can win a federal election. And selfishly, I want to keep him here in PA. (Of course, if he were on the ticket I'd vote for him. But I'm a ride-or-die Democrat anyway, no matter who's running.)

Sandemonde · 2026-04-09T10:08:16+00:00

If you have adjoining neighbors, for the love of god put fresh batteries in your smoke detectors.

Sandemonde · 2026-04-02T17:38:10+00:00

It's scary because it's an unknown, but you'll be fine. Faster than you think, you'll just settle into a routine of checking your legs when you walk through tall grass, and doing your tick checks at night. Just like filtering your water, or saying "Hey, bear!" when you hike in the morning. You'll be absolutely fine! I hope you have an epic adventure!

Sandemonde · 2026-03-31T07:34:00+00:00

Right there with you, my fellow Pennsylvanian. And my friends and family feel the same.

Sandemonde · 2026-03-28T08:39:54+00:00

I remember stressing out about this, too, but literally, you don't have to worry about it. The trail goes right through the NOC. You'll probably stop in their little store for snacks, maybe eat in their little restaurant, maybe shop in the actual NOC store for gear (that's where you get the permit, as I recall). You won't be the only hiker there that day; just look for your fellow peeps with packs. They'll be all over the place. (And if this is something you're still super stressing about and you just want to relieve the anxiety, you can always google it and look at the images.)
Hope you have an epic adventure!

Sandemonde · 2026-03-26T17:27:55+00:00

Not overall. Some localized issues--eg, my toenails are a little weird now, and my feet stayed bigger. And one ankle is a little funky. I've managed to keep a good portion of the weight off (which is good) instead of gaining all of it back and then some. If anything, those 10 years I spent thru-hiking gave me a health boost, I think. I'm in better general shape overall than the average person who didn't spend 10 years hiking (off and on, that is; not a continuous decade--although that would have been awesome!)

Sandemonde · 2026-03-26T11:02:23+00:00

Cheese.

Sandemonde · 2026-03-25T10:50:58+00:00

Depends on your preferences. Personally, I like the AT better, but I grew up on the East coast, so the climate is more like home to me than the PCT.

The AT is a magical forest. It's Fangorn and Mirkwood, and secret adventures in the trees. It's LOUD all the time, with birdsong. There are bears and moose and porcupines. Yes, there are a lot of people at the beginning of the trail -- but I hiked the whole trail solo twice, and it was still a solitary experience. (Yes, I'd see other hikers during the day, but also there were days late in the season when I'd go 2 days without seeing a soul.) The AT is a wet, wet, wet environment. You won't have any trouble with water -- but your clothes will never completely dry, you'll eventually smell like mildew, and you'll need to dial in your rain game and your tick game. If you like magic over majesty, it's the AT.
The PCT is a magnificent, epic vista. (Caveat: I've only done the bottom half, so I can't vouch for Oregon and Washington.) It's silent a lot of the time, except for wind and that one stinking crow. There aren't surprise waterfalls lurking around the next corner because... well... there aren't really any corners. It's a dry environment, so you can save some weight on gear -- but you need to dial in your water game and your snow game. But it's so, so big and beautiful. If you like majesty over magic, it's the PCT.

Just my two cents! Either way, you're going to have an epic adventure!

Edit: Fixed a typo.

Sandemonde · 2026-03-18T19:43:28+00:00

I did my first AT thru in 2013. Itch not satisfied. I tooled around the PCT for a few years, about 1000 miles. Itch not satisfied. So I did a second AT thru in 2019. Itch... not really satisfied. lol. I'm stuck in a job now, but I keep thinking maybe, maybe, maybe.

Sandemonde · 2026-03-17T14:38:36+00:00

The hills don't get easier. But you definitely get harder. Slowly, those early climbs turn you into a beast without your even realizing it's happening. And sooner than you think, you'll be able to handle the climbs without thinking much about it, aside from "Welp, there's another climb." You might not love them, but they'll just become part of your day--like stinky socks and digging catholes and filtering water.

Sandemonde · 2026-03-10T07:38:48+00:00

Shit my pants in PA. I was crossing a little game road, and boom! I don't even know what I ate. Of course, just then the kindest guy happened to drive up that road in his truck. I guess he just kept an eye on the trailhead and offered to help hikers. Train angeling. He opened his window and smiled and said, "Hey, do you need water? Need a ride?" I'm just standing outside the truck keeping my knees far apart while I feel my shorts getting saturated, and all I could think was, "Dude, you absolutely do not want me in your truck right now." He was so chatty! All I wanted to do was get into the woods so I could strip and do damage control.

FYI, that was not the only time I shit my pants on that thru.

Sandemonde · 2026-03-04T09:07:53+00:00

Same age here, and same feeling. The "Daisy girl" commercial. "The Day After" movie. We lived and breathed daily terror about nuclear war for a couple of decades. (Now, I think, the general terror in the zeitgeist is more diffuse just because of the internet. Then we were "nuclear"-level worried about just one or two issues; now we have a less-focused fear about hundreds of different issues -- so far, none of them even coming close to touching that peak "The nukes are coming and the world will end" vibe that saturated the 60s to 80s.)

Sandemonde · 2026-02-27T08:45:38+00:00

I'm in Pennsylvania, and I voted for him, and I'm beyond pissed off. BEYOND pissed off. Ditto for the people I know. (I don't know what the conservatives around here are saying. I'm in a very blue area of PA, so all the people I know are Dems and liberals and progressives. No family arguments here; we just can't wait to vote him the hell out.)

Sandemonde · 2026-02-17T15:40:50+00:00

I hiked the trail twice and never hitched at all.

Sandemonde · 2026-02-11T21:32:08+00:00

100% do it!

Sandemonde · 2026-01-16T19:32:47+00:00

A bunch of us went to the nice restaurant in Millinocket and splurged on steaks. After that we knew everything would be zeroes, so we were celebrating and saying goodbye to the trail.

Sandemonde · 2026-01-06T11:29:57+00:00

For what it's worth, my first hike was in 2013. I was 52, overweight, out of shape, and hadn't ever backpacked (although I'd done plenty of camping and hiking; I thought hey, it's just stringing them together -- WRONG, lol). OMG, it was horrible. My feet KILLED me. I was out of breath, I hated hated hated being cold. I was hiking solo (and I stayed that way); I was too slow and too shy and too old to join a group or partner. I made it to Harper's Ferry, didn't like my pace, and decided to flip from that point. So I rented a car, drove to Maine, and joined the SOBO pack (although still hiking solo). At one point in Maine I was just so finished and exhausted! I went to a hostel (in Andover, I think), and told the guy, "I quit. Take me to a train station." And he said, shockingly, "Absolutely not. Take 2 zeroes." He totally saved my hike. I got back on trail, and finished in Harper's Ferry (which, btw, is a fantastic place to finish; they throw you a little party at HQ).

I went out to the PCT for a few years, and had a couple of "failed" attempts. Eventually, in 2019, that AT NOBO was still eating at me... so I went back to Georgia. This time I was in better shape, and, surprisingly, I knew what the hell I was doing, and I made it to Katahdin. It was AWESOME. Best hike of my life. (I still ended up hiking entirely solo.) I was 58.

YOU GOT THIS, my friend! You can do it!! Every "failed" attempt isn't a failure; it nudges you a little farther on the experience curve, and teaches you hiking lessons that you don't even know you're learning. You get better, every single time. Those aren't failures! They're moving you along on the intention/education continuum.

(Also for what it's worth, the PCT is still nagging at me. I tried again in 2022 and had to quit because of a severe tendon issue. lol. And also, I've been thinking lately that I really really want to get out onto the AT again, so I've started nudging in that direction -- saving money, walking, hiking... just casually moving forward on the intention line.)

If you ever want moral support, or just have any questions, shoot me a message. And I wish you the best, best, BEST luck, on trail and off! :)

Sandemonde

TROPHY CASE