I’m afraid that the complexities of updating this page in a timely fashion with both videos and pics are beyond me right now so, going forward, I’ll continue with videos within the posts themselves, along with the occasional picture. However, for those of you who like to see more pictures, you should follow my Facebook page, My Appalachian Trial. Hope to see you there!

I’ve neglected this page because I can’t work out how to upload pictures with some narrative. Nonetheless, I’ll try some now and we’ll see how it goes.

Above should be 5 pics of the deliciously “rustic” Standing Bear Farm, which I absolutely loved.

This is where to come to see pictures and videos I’ll be uploading on the Trail.  However, in the interim, I thought I’d put in a few video reviews of some of the equipment I’ve chosen to take with me.  The latest video will always appear at the top of the page and I’ll put in a few more over the coming days.

6th March 2014

Today, I’ve added the reviews of my choice of trekking poles and my solar charger.

I was particularly keen to have extendable, light poles and these fit the bill.  Ultimately, the cork handles made the most sense to me and, along with the ability to use the extended pole to quickly put up my tent, I went ahead and got these.  So far, on my local hikes, they are working out really well.

Next, I want to give a shout out to my clever wife for coming up with this fantastic charger.  I have been deliberating over how much I want my gadgets with me and have decided to take my phone and Kindle.  However, in order to keep up with this blog and to post regularly, taking the iPad seems the way forward.  This charger will handle them all, so I’m delighted to have it with me.

26th February 2014

To start with, my backpack, which I guess is one of the most important things I will have on the trail.  There were a few contenders, though the lumbar support on the Gregory Baltoro 65 pretty much sold it for me.  Given the lightness of some of my other gear, carrying a little more weight in the pack didn’t put me off.

Next, the tent.  The Tarptent Rainbow was an easy selection for me, mainly because it is so easy to put up.  There is an ingenious system of just the one strut and, coupled with my trekking poles, even I was able to put it up in about 5 minutes.  It must be said that I only put it up in my living room, so perhaps it wasn’t quite under trail conditions!!

The biggest decision was whether or not to buy a one man or two man tent, given my more chunky stature.  However, I’m glad I went with the one man, as there is ample room, even for me.  The cheesey music is their’s, not mine, by the way.

Lastly, for today, I chose an ultralight sleeping bag, the Katabatic Gear Pallisade.  This is so light and packs into virtually nothing and I am blown away by how warm it is at the same time.  As you will see in the video, this pairs with a sleeping pad, the Therm-A-Rest X-Lite, so I’ve got that as well.  Hopefully, this combination will prove to be a good choice though, with another dump of overnight snow on Georgia last night, I’m expecting one or two chilly nights in the first couple of weeks, when I will doubtless be sleeping in most of my hiking clothes.  That should be nice after a couple of days.