How I Got My Trail Name

After trying to avoid the mud day after day I decided to just go for it. I took off running and thought I would school lil' Buddha by flying over the mud traps with my graceful speed. Instead my shoe got swallowed up and sucked off! This was the moment my trail name changed from "Just Jon" to "Johnny Mud Foot"

Two Moose Playing on Lake Moxie

This was one of my favorite mornings on the Appalachian Trail. When I first woke up I didn't know what the noise was, but was pleasantly surprised to find two moose playing in Lake Moxie. At one point they were both running right at me, but in the excitement of the moment I forgot to hit the record button. One of the many beautiful moments in Maine.

The Ray-Way Pack

Looking for a great off season project?

The finished project!

I love tweaking my gear before each trip. For years it was just small things like removing padding, cutting extra straps off, trimming data books and such. But before finishing my hike of the AT I decided to try a simple little DIY project, making a alcohol stove out of a cat food can. It was simple, and the only tool needed was a hole punch. The funny thing was that it became one of my favorite pieces of equipment. Not because it was so great, but because I had taken a little time to make it, and it worked.


A New Project
After understanding the self-satisfaction that comes with creating a simple piece of equipment I decided to take on a more ambitious project. Enter the Ray-Way Backpack. This was a project that I wanted to try since the first time I heard about it, but I honestly didn't think I was capable of undertaking such a project, I was worried that I lacked the skill, that I would just be wasting money, time and nylon fabric. But eventually I decided to just go for it. 


What Have I Gotten Myself Into
After I received the materials, instructions, and the instructional DVD it seemed that my fears would be coming true, this appeared to be even more complicated than I originally thought. I put all of the information and fabric in the closet for a month or two before I decided that it was time to get started.

This is where it all began...

Learning To Sew
My sewing experience was zero starting off, but the users guide that came with the sewing machine was actually pretty helpful with adjusting tension, threading the machine and winding the bobbin. There were two things that really helped me a lot. Looking at seam on everything! I was looking at other packs I had, different articles of clothing, quilts, whatever. I just wanted to learn what a good stitch should look. The second thing that helped was working on some test fabric. I messed around with some cotton sheets trying out different stitches, and stitch lengths and eventually did a few more tests with the supplied materials.


The Pack Is Born
I'm not going to go into every detail to make the pack, if you want to do that visit Ray Jardine's site, but I will say that I just took it one step at a time. It was a lot like a thru-hike. Starting off I knew I had a long way to go, but that first night my only goal was to cut out the pieces, then the next time I worked on it it would be just one shoulder strap and thats how I continued and kept myself at it. Sometimes my schedule would not permit me to work on it every night, or I just didn't feel like it but my only goal was to finish it before any Spring time hiking trips, so there was no rush.


Now, even with the small goals I set for myself everything didn't go smoothly and from time to time I shared a few words with the machine. I had to deal with needles breaking, fabric bunching up and thread tangling wildly on the underside, but I just had to step away calm down and fix the problem. As time went on my skill began to grow a little, and I ran into fewer problems.

Crap, looks like it's time for the seam ripper... again.

Things I Learned
Did I learn how to sew? Yes. Am I a pro? Ha! My pack is far from perfect, but I actually have a lot of trust in it, because I know how it was made. I even have the confidence that if something were to rip on it I could repair it in the field(a needle and thread will accompany me on trips from now on). While working on this project I learned techniques that could be helpful in any number of projects, and now I'm not quite as apprehensive of them.


Whats Next?
First up, some field testing(will post review of pack performance after enough testing is done)! After that, who knows. I have been eyeing that tarp kit as well!

This was one of the more trick stitches.

9.1oz, now thats ultra lite!

Specific Questions? Let me know! View more photos of the pack on Picasa.

View the Ray-Way Pack Field Test

Sunrise on Shining Rock Wilderness

The Shining Rock Wilderness is located in North Carolina, just east of the Appalachian Trail and offers some spectacular hiking options. Stay tuned for my full Shining Rock trip report that will be including detailed route information!

Eating Utensils On The Trail

When I’m on the trail there is one thing that I never fail to think about. It can be a beautiful, sunny day with sweeping vistas or a cold, rainy day with thick fog and clouds obscuring everything, but there is one thought that unites them both. How much longer until a good meal? I can only eat so many granola bars before I need to sit down and eat something warm, something filling, something that benefits from the use of a utensil. And while this may seem like a easy decision, I have a few things for you to consider before heading out into the back country.

I am going to assume that you are interested in hiking lite (I’m not going to cover all of the reasons why in this post) and the best way to do that is not not carry something at all. Now I know that I started this post by saying how much I think about eating a good meal with the use of a utensil, but if you are on a short two day, one night hike and can tough it out by drinking your noodles out of the pot, then go for it!

Now for those of you who plan to take something with you, there are a few options. Full size, half size, collapsible, steel, titanium, plastic and more! Let’s start with the size, as that (in my opinion) is one of the most important features.

It’s Not The Size, It’s How You Use It
To help determine the size of the utensil, you need think about what you will be eating out of the most. I use a titanium pot that is around three inches deep and a short handled spork works great, but if I was eating out of a freeze-dried meal bag, the short handle would force me to put my hand down into the bag with all of the food residue sticking to the sides making one of my hands very messy. And lets be honest, if you are getting your hands covered in food, then it partially defeats the reason to use a utensil altogether.

Titanium Or Plastic?
Once you figure out the size, the next feature is the material. One of the nice things about plastic is that you can cut the utensil down to the exact size you want, but on the flip side, it can break, leaving you with a much shorter utensil than you ever wanted (I have found plasticware much more prone to breaking in cold weather, especially when going between the cold air and hot water). It is for this reason that I have chosen to use titanium.  It’s not quite as lite as plastic but I know that I can depend on it for a long time to come.

Learning To Love The Spork
Growing up, I hated the spork. I always got it with some cheep to-go meal that had a spork, napkin and a single serving of salt and pepper wrapped up together. It couldn’t function as a fork, and it was a pathetic spoon. So when I got into hiking I was anti-spork for a long time, but then I broke down and got a nice one... and WOW! It worked great as both fork and spoon.  Not just that, but I think it makes a far superior eating utensil for ramen noodles than anything else.

So, if you have given up on the spork because of those awfull cheep plastic ones, consider giving them a second chance. But if you have and still think sporks are evil, try to limit yourself to just one utensil. I would take a fork over a spoon, because it is usually much easier to drink any extra liquid than it is to wrap a spoon around a wet noodle.

Alternatives
Modern eating utensils have evolved over the years, but depending on what you are comfortable with and where you are trekking, you could try some alternatives. Early man would use his hands to eat, or use a shell to scoop liquids. You can even carve a twig into a crude fork with the smallest of knives. Before heading out, do some research about what type of materials you may have to use, but remember, at the end of a long day, you are not going to want to spend 30 minutes carving something.

Remember, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to go lite. While I decided to get a titanium spork, you could very easily throw a free plastic fork in every re-supply box for your trip (or pick one up in town). While the plastic utensils may break, they are pretty easy to replace and going a few days with a broken utensil is not going to kill you.

What Would You Do In A Situation Like That?
I want to know what you think! Let me know what you use, or any tips you have to make eating a pleasure on the trail!