The Appalachian Trail- House Sitting Night 1

         Alright, as I am house sitting the g/f's house I find myself with too much time in which to get this blog going.  I bought one of my last pieces of gear today... and it is by far one of my favorites!  I will still have some random purchases as I get closer to my departure date (June 25th), but as of now I have only a tarp (most difficult buy) and my cookware yet to get.  I already have chosen the MSR Alpine 2 Pot Set and am planning on just removing the smaller pot and storing my stove inside my 2-liter pot while hiking.  I finally narrowed down my sleeping pads and purchased the Therm-a-rest 40th Anniversary Ed.  I tested the "Regular" size of the pad today just to make sure it would be able to slip inside my hammock for those colder nights.  Attached is a picture of the "regular" pad at 24oz. inside of its provided compression sack.

As soon as I get back to a PC as opposed to the Mac I am currently using (Thanks Mr. Bill) I will hopefully be able to navigate a little better and upload one my current Excel spreadsheets with my full gear list on it so anyone can check it out or give it a critique.

Last on the agenda, is my on going playlist that I have been preparing for my trip.  Despite my love for music I haven't bought a song on I-Tunes or updated my I-pod in quite a long while.  So, this leaves me with quite a unique situation when it comes to creating a playlist since I am basically working on a blank canvas.  I will leave you with what I have added so far and I encourage anyone to bring on some recommendations, as NO song is not worth listening to while stranded on the mountains.  Here it goes:



-Phantogram (Don't Move)
-AC Newman (On the Table)
-Broken Bells (The High Road)
-Bag Raiders (Shooting Star)
-Fleetwood Mac (Never Going Back Again)
-Nappy Roots (Good Day)
-Eric Church (Springsteen)
-Skrillex (Right On)
-Jason Aldean (Dirt Road Anthem)
-Carly Rae Jepsen (Call Me Maybe).... ha, cut me a break
-Hey Champ (Cold Dust Girl)
-The Band (Atlantic City)
-Washed Out (Feel It All Around)
-The Avett Brothers (Offering Live)
-The Avett Brothers (Murder in the City (Live 2010))
-Bill Withers (Ain't No Sunshine)
-Johnny Cash (Big River)

I look forward to your suggestions and appreciate you taking the time to check my trip out!
-Bert

*Tonight's post sponsored by: Acme California IPA (x4) and Ghost River Brewery (x1)