Day 5

Weather:
Sunny, no rain.

Today's HIke:
Neel's Gap to White Oak Stamp - 6.9 miles

I had a great night at the hostel. I slept well, showered, and ate lots of food. I was ready to hike. Before heading out on the trail we both needed to stop into Mountain Crossings for some new gear and a pack shakedown.

New Shoes - I have lost all normal sensation in my toes on both feet. All I feel is a mix a numbness and pain. I originally thought it was from the freezing cold weather, but later figured out (with the help of others) that my shoes weren't big enough for hiking. For a well fitted pair of hiking boots, you should be able to stick 2 fingers between the back of your heel and the shoe. I could barely put one finger between the back of my heel and my shoe. So, I switched out my Merrell hiking shoes for a pair of Keens.

New Sleeping Bag - I froze my butt and my feet off all week in my Marmot Pounder Plus synthetic sleeping bag (rated for 25 degrees). To my dismay, there were no ultralight weight synthetic sleeping bags at Mountain Crossings so I had to suck it up and buy a down sleeping bag (Western Mountaineering Versalite). It's sooooo warm! I'm considering it to me a guilty pleasure.

New Platypus - At the advice of my hiking partner, I had started y hike with a Sawyer inline water filter. These filters require you to cut the line of your platypus (water bag & hose/straw) to install the water filter. In addition, the filter can not freeze. So, we made sure the filter portion of the hose was in our packs and insulated but it was so cold outside when we started our thru-hike at Amicalola that our water lines and filters froze in the first hour. So I had to buy a new platypus and new water treatment (Aqumira).

After selecting out new gear, I participated in the famous Backpacker shakedown. The "shakedown" is one of the free services that Mountain Crossings provides all hikers that come through their store. Essentially what this means is someone with thru-hiking experience goes through everything in your pack and tells you what you can send home or switch out for another piece of gear in order to make your pack lighter. A long story short; I sent home approximately 7 lbs. of stuff; most of which was replaced with new gear for one reason or another. My pack (with food and water) now weighs between 28-30 lbs.

After the shakedown I packed up my bag, made a phone call home, and got ready to hit the trail. I had so much energy today! It's amazing what a good nights sleep and a 700 calorie breakfast will do to boost your hiking enthusiasm.