Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is the best book I read on how to be a successful long distant hiker. I found the format refreshing. Less on the Appalachian experience and more on how to have a great experience on a long distant hike. The chapters on hydration, gear, clothing and food were particularly well researched and well written. I believe one of the most important items you covered is mental preparedness and a deep internal desire and passion to make such an arduous multi month journey a thru- hike entails. I have a few comments on items I found very important in long distant hiking. These were lessons l learned during several long distant section hikes on the PCT. I'm currently preparing for a Calendar Triple Crown in 2020. I'll be hiking nearly 8,000 miles in 10 months, or 3.6 times the distance of the Appalachian Trail. Lessons from a long distant hiker: 1. Mental preparedness is absolutely the number one item any long distant hiker needs to work on. You must be mentally prepared before venturing into the wilderness for several months. 2. Train with and wear calf high compression socks on all long distant hikes. I have used these for years and have never had any foot or leg swelling and these also prevented me from having any hotspots or blisters on my feet. I'm averaging 30 miles per day, starting on day one with No Pain! Look into socks made by CEP. 3. Hydration is often the most over looked and misunderstood fundamental of long distant hiking. I start off the morning at 6:00 AM drinking 32 oz. of water mixed with concentrated electrolyte solution (look into a product called LyteShow). I hike for two hours while drinking 32 oz. of electrolyte water, I then stop, find and purify two quarts of water. I add electrolyte solution and drink a quart of water and resume hiking while drinking the other quart of electrolyte water. At the end of my 12 hour hiking day I have consumed 12 quarts of electrolyte water. Dehydration reduces your energy and mental alertness by 30%. Most hikers have no idea how much water to drink or the importance that all their water needs to contain electrolytes. 4. Your chapter on food was excellent. I find that 99% of the long distant hikers I meet on the trails never carry sufficient calories for the hike their doing. For my long distant hikes I carry 28.5 oz. of food per day, this gives me 4,070 calories, or 143 calories per oz. I have done 4 week section hikes averaging 180 miles per week and have lost only 1 lb. 5. The chapter on gear was well thought out. When I reviewed the pages of the equipment you took on your hike I didn't see a base wt. for your backpack and equipment. The base wt. for my backpack with the equipment that can handle 110 degree weather down to zero degrees comfortably is only 12 lbs. I carry 4 days of food at a time with a wt. of 8 lbs. (I'll be averaging 150 miles for each 5 day supply of food. When water supplies are good, I carry just one quart of water at a time. At the start of the PCT at the Mexican boarder, that increases to over a gallon of water and the food supply goes down to 3 days. The max wt, of my 45 liter Rarely exceeds 22 lbs. Only snowshoes and extra water would bring my total backpack wt. to exceed 22 lbs. Lighter is always better!. 6. One of the main reasons I can keep the base wt. of my backpack to 14 lbs and still comfortably handle zero degree weather with 50 mph winds is my ultra light weight Vapor Barrier Clothing. All the VB clothing I need to be comfortable at zero degrees weighs only 26 oz. This includes a VB cap, face guard, gloves, socks, jacket and pants. I used my VB clothing inside my 15 degree top quilt at minus 5 degrees and was very comfortable. Look into VB clothing made by RBH Designs. Long distant hikers will certainly learn and benefit from your book and the lessons you gained during your Appalachian thru-hike. As a long distant hiker I appreciate the effort and research you put into your book. I hope to meet you on the trail. Max Walker