We picked the coldest, rainiest, muddiest weekend possible for our final shakedown before the Appalachian Trail, in other words, we went backpacking in Pennsylvania in April. The purpose was mostly to try out our new gear and take note of any deficiencies rather than tackle miles. This will be a brief report on our weekend, mostly talking about how our new equipment handled the weather.
Where: Raccoon Creek State Park, PA
When: April 8th, 2022 – April 9th, 2022
Distance: 12 miles
Conditions: Upper 30s to low 50s, rain on and off both days
Route: https://caltopo.com/m/31U52
Gear: https://lighterpack.com/r/jzn7iq
Day 1
Heritage Parking Lot to Sioux Campground
Distance: 5.5 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,120′
We stopped at the park office to reserve a campground and were told by ranger to “stay warm tonight”. We drove to the Heritage parking lot and began hiking sometime in the mid-afternoon. The trail from the parking lot begins by following a road to the main lake before breaking off onto a dirt path. The hiking afterwards was largely uneventful. We traversed some gradual hills, moss-covered boulders, and exceptionally muddy trail towards Sioux Campground, finishing only a few hours later.
My pack felt very light on my shoulders, which is great considering my gear was 99% identical to what I’m carrying on the AT. The miles were easy and we set a strong, quick pace for the half day’s walk. Camping that night was the true purpose of the shakedown and we got to try out several new pieces of gear.
I used my new Platypus Quickdraw water filter with a 2L Evernew water bag for filtering. The Quickdraw seems to perform similarly to the Sawyer Squeeze, so nothing too noteworthy here. The additional screw-on cap over the dirty end is a nice touch that prevents water dripping over my pack when I put the filter away. The Evernew is more difficult to fill than my old water bladder, but the material seems much stronger and less-likely to puncture. Only time will tell how this setup compares but so far so good!
We pitched our Zpacks Duplex for the second time ever. The process is very similar to our old tent, which includes staking out the corners, standing up the vestibules with the poles, staking out the vestibules, adjusting everything to make it taut, and finally staking out the guy-lines. Our pitch was far from perfect but it went up quickly. Overall, we are pleased with the Duplex so far. It rained most of the night, and no water managed to enter through the tarp. That being said, we did wake up with two separate pools of water in the tent. My water bottle popped open and leaked and Amy’s bag was pressing down the side of the bathtub floor, which let in some water. As expected, the tent wall was drenched in the morning from condensation in the high humidity. We used our new Lightload towels to wipe it down and it was no big deal.
I tried out my Nemo Fillo Elite pillow (without the case) with some extra clothes stuffed under it and wrapped around my buff. It was quite comfortable and I think this strategy will be a winner for the AT.
Day 2
Sioux Campground to Heritage Parking Lot
Distance: 7 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,095′
We woke up to a chilly morning just after it finished raining. We shook the water off our tent (a benefit to DCF is that it doesn’t absorb water), ate breakfast, packed up, and set off. We broke off the main trail and headed south towards another lake and a wetlands. The hike today was much more scenic, despite being even wetter, muddier, and colder than yesterday afternoon.
I got to try out my new layer, the Patagonia Houdini, in cold, windy conditions. I was overall pleased with it’s performance as a windbreaker. It adds a lot of warmth to a standard midlayer for a low weight penalty. Since it is slightly water resistant, it helped keep my arms dry when it was raining, as the poncho otherwise leaves them exposed. The biggest design flaw is the lack of pockets. I am planning on carrying this windbreaker throughout the Smokies and then I will reevaluate.
Amy and I both noticed our hands were freezing in the early morning. Despite this, we plan to attempt to start the AT without carrying gloves. Once we were hiking for a few miles, crossing the dam along the lake, we were warmed up and it was no longer a concern and we don’t expect it to be this cold too often on the trail.
The trail looped back east and we crossed some lovely pine forests. It was exceptionally muddy at parts, and it was not long before our shoes were wet. The Injinji toe socks worked well for me. Though it was too short of a hike to know how they will perform in the long run, I did not get any blisters even when hiking with damp socks. The sun flirted with coming out from time to time, but ultimately the entire day was overcast and on/off rain. Our ponchos handled the rain as expected, keeping both our bodies and packs dry.
We continued through mixed forest and mostly flat terrain for several more miles before we reached the Heritage parking lot. Overall, it is safe to say the shakedown was a success. The biggest takeaway was practice with the tent, and hiking in comparable weather to the colder days we may experience in the Smokies. Our excitement is coming to a head, as this will be our last hiking trip before our starting day on April 30th. Any changes we make to our gear will now have to be done on the fly. Happy trails!
Wonderful 😊!