Return to the Big Z

“Why do you need two canteens, one for that matter?

Binoculars? Unless you're a bird watcher you don't need those.

Lantern? Get a headlamp. Tikka Plus is good. If it's out of the budget you can get a cheapy at Wal-Mart. Get a photon microlight as a spare.

Water filter or drops or Iodine tabs?

Is your jacket for rain or cold weather? You might want a light fleece for night.

Sunglasses or hat?

Bandanna?”

“Thanks i would have missed those things.

I drink a lot of water and cooking.
The jacket is gore-tex for both.

I always wear sunglasses and ballcaps in the summer.

any other suggestions?”

“You might weigh your canteens and compare them to Nalgene bottles. The lexan bottles weigh 8oz and the soft plastic bottles weigh 4oz. I keep all of my water in Platys which end up being about 1oz per 1L of volume.

You probably won't need half of the tools on the Swiss Army Knife--personally I'd get rid of it as it's probably heavy. A good folding knife will weigh 2-3oz and be more usefull as it will fit your hand better.

I emailed you my list, it is in excel format.”

“What time is everyone getting there?

I was planning on being there around 2”

“I'll be there at 6-7 then I'll have to hike to camp, the second one, which will take a couple hours.”

“How about a bandanna? Probably one of the most useful items in my backpack.

If you're planning on refilling your water in the woods, you may want to consider a filter, iodine treatment, etc.

How about some raingear in case we get a shower or three?

There's a little outfitter just outside the Catskills up in NY who has an excellent checklist of what to bring. Check it out here.

I will be leaving my buddy's place at Carlisle, PA first thing in the morning on Fri 4 June, so according to Mapquest I should be at the trailhead around 2-3 PM. See ya there!”

“Oh yeah -- I was going to say that you may want to consider a headlamp instead of a lantern. I find that the headlamp is lighter, bright enough to walk around with in the dark woods, always shines where you're looking (including into other people's faces -- heh heh) and leaves your hands free to do other stuff like cook dinner or get ready for bed, etc.”

“It is a good list, but the Z is a easy park to hike. There is plenty of water and it is going to be hot and maybe muggy. But, being a newbie, I know how it is with gear. You want to bring it all because you have it. Enjoy, sounds all good.”

“Also, Naglene bottles are good, but I found that the 32 oz. Snapple bottles are even better. Extremely Light (light enough to carry a couple extras if you have the room), fairly durable, have a wide neck for easy filling, and if one breaks then who cares -- you just get another Snapple...”

“Bug spray.”

“got the lists and the food now all i need is patience to get through next week”

“Eh, you'll be fine. You'll be hiking with a great group of people. Feel free to ask questions about anything.”

“What time do you plan to be at the trail head ("a") on Friday?

Phillip Smith”

“I'm looking at 2-3 PM -- can't really get more accurate than that as I will be leaving from South-Central Pennsylvania that morning.”

“I'm leaveing Toledo around 11 so I ahould be there around 2-3”

“Leaving Columbus around 5:30-6, so be there around 7-7:30...some night hiking for me!”

“Arriving between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m EDT, leaving from Illinois down to Indianapolis and then east to Zaleski.”

“If you see a blue van its mine.

there will be 3 others with me. maybe we can link up and go in together. since the four of us are relative rookies.”

“broke my hand. sooooooo i am still a maybe! yo bear!”

“Os1johnson, I have hiked with Dub, Gemini, G-Force, Jerbear and Simer190 and they all are very proficient backpackers who don't mind helping out relatives or rookies. My car is a silver Taurus bearing Illinois plates BCKPCK and I'll be wearing a visor with the name "PROSECUTOR" on it, so you will have no trouble picking me out of a line up. If there is cell phone reception in the State forest, I'll turn my cell phone on 708-341-2302. I'm sure either Phatom Soul or myself would love the company walking in.”

“Sorry to say that I'm out of this trip. I will have to meet everyone on another one.

Jerbear, I'm sorry to hear about your hand!! How long will you be casted?”

“So we have a bunch of 2-3-ers, eh? I guess we're the pioneers then. Ya can't miss me -- look for the green Jetta with New Jersey tags (I don't think anyone else from NJ is coming out..)”

“Ruby, what happened? I guess we'll have to talk Isle Royale online now (unless of course, you come out east sometime between now and then...)”

“os1johnson, if you or your buddies have any specific questions just ask them here. Everyone's willing to help out! If you're uncomfortable making the short hike in alone, just let us know and one of us will wait on ya. I'll be wearing kahki colored pants, a scarlet and grey shirt ;-) and a light blue hat that says, "get out" with some mountains on it. I'll try to get there a little earlier too.”

“Hey os1, I'll stick around and wait for you guys. There's no rush -- we've got an entire afternoon to walk 6 miles.

From the looks of the topo map, the terrain seems similar to that of Harriman State Park over here in Southeast NY -- a lot of ups and downs, but none of the "peaks" are much higher than 1000' above sea level.”

“If there are any GPS nuts like me... you might find this interesting!
I converted the PDF map to a Garmin IMG file set... Below is a screenshot as well as the link to the files. Also I threw in a tutorial of how I did it.




IMG Files


Howto
”

“Very Cool Dr. Deet. I can only make maps after a hike. Haven't figured out how to make one beforehand with Magellan Software.

”

“Phantom, I am disappointed that I won't get to meet you and talk about Isle Royale. Unless there's another trip this summer somewhere in the midlle, we might have to plan it via computer. My boyfriend is in the Army and is getting a pass this weekend. He leaves mid-July for Afghanistan for a year, so I am jumping at any opportunity I get to see him before he leaves.”

“I'm not saying all of us are new at BAckpacking. Dj been a couple of times, I went once (but I am a no water sailor), Don's a exMarine (though be it a computer guru), and Steve (well he's a mech. Engr.)

We have the intelligence just not the experience.”

“Prosecuter & Phantom soul

We'll meet you at the trail head”

“I should be at the trail head around 6 PM. I will leave Cincinnati around 3 PM. If anyone wants to call me, my cell number is 513-364-5776.

Yo Bear, give me a call at my home tonight.”

“Post your Arrival Times in the new thread on the trip page. This will also help me with a final headcount.”

“i am out! hand surgey fri!nother time
ruby 6 weeks!”

“dangit, i wanna do this trip!

but i can't.”

“os1, I'll see ya there.

To all those of ya who considered but didn't sign up, what are you waiting for??? Just sign up, report to the headcount thread, and get in the car and drive. It's that simple! Yes, you could be on your way to a better weekend in less than 5 minutes... ;)”

“Roam, pack up and head out!”

“jerbear,

Hand surgery? Just throw some duct tape on it, take a few of your vitamines and go hiking. You know my dog is going to miss you.”

“It's here! I'll be leaving for class in an hour and as soon as it's over, Big Z time!”

“If it rains......

Plan B is a 4.5 hour drive to a kegger in Cleveland.”

“Good plan B.”

“How did it go? Is there a trip report somewhere that I'm missing?”

“How did it go? Is there a trip report somewhere that I'm missing?”

“I'm writing it right now.”

“Dang, you're a fast responder. 27 seconds.”

“It's up here http://www.thebackpacker.com/trailtalk/thread/31432.php”