Just watched your GDT film, it was great! Thanks for sharing it. I'm planning doing it in 2024 so it was great to see your version of it with lots of good info. You seemed to skip a few site bookings, how did you go overall with your bookings, did you end up staying at most of them or were they all out of wack by the end? ( I'm coming from Australia so I'm reluctant to book it all in advance if I'm just going to end up camping else where I'm not booked...) Cheers! 'Sausage' aka Greg
Hey Greg, thanks for watching! We ended up only skipping three site bookings the whole trip. Big springs in section C and Mary Schaeffer and Signal in section E. The rest we stayed where we were supposed to. We did however change our itinerary a lot in sections A, B, and D where we were able to go many days without reservations to sorry about. My recommendation is to book everything, but realize you can change things on trail with a bit of planning a few days out. And worst comes to worst, if you don't make it to a few of your reserved sites you will be fine!
Hey! Thanks for all the info. I am aiming to hike the GDT next summer and was wondering if you have any gear change recommendations after having hiked the trail! Thanks again 😊
Great to hear! I was very happy with my gear. -sleeping pad had a slow.leak but was too lazy to patch it -snapped both my hiking poles near the end. Maybe get aluminum -tent was great but need to be careful as it's not great in high wind and it's a bit too short in length for my height -we had a pretty dry summer but rain gear was amazing. If your rain gear is not very breathable bringing a UL wind shirt is worth it -I was fine not bringing rain mitts but I could see them useful. It snowed on the trail on us in section D and E. -be prepared for extremely high winds when choosing between sun hoody and large sun hat. Very happy with our choice. -we were very happy to go cold soak and cook. -we rarely filtered water on the trail and we're fine
Wow! thanks for the thorough response. My kit is very similar to yours. I keep hearing about all the rain and wind and bushwhacking, so I am going to upgrade my rain gear and use my larger Triplex... I too am 6'3" and like the extra space if its a downpour. Probably leave my filter at home and just bring aqua tabs for when I need them. I really appreciate your help! Cheers!@@CanadianSkylights
Hey! One more question... How about rain pants? Just curious on your opinion, I keep hearing about a lot of bushwhacking. I kind hate rain pants, but would it be dumb to go with a just a rain kilt and tall socks or tights as rain activewear for all the bushwhacking? Thanks again for your help! @@CanadianSkylights
I would say its not wise because the wind is so strong out there. We had days where it was raining sideways so hard it pushed the water through our goretex pants and jackets. I feel like you would freeze in those situations. But from a brush perspective, the trail had very little brush to contend with compared to stories of years past. I would say its not wise but doable to go rain kilt.@@woodyshepherd6904
Sound choices. Well done sir.
Just watched your GDT film, it was great! Thanks for sharing it. I'm planning doing it in 2024 so it was great to see your version of it with lots of good info. You seemed to skip a few site bookings, how did you go overall with your bookings, did you end up staying at most of them or were they all out of wack by the end? ( I'm coming from Australia so I'm reluctant to book it all in advance if I'm just going to end up camping else where I'm not booked...)
Cheers! 'Sausage' aka Greg
Hey Greg, thanks for watching! We ended up only skipping three site bookings the whole trip. Big springs in section C and Mary Schaeffer and Signal in section E. The rest we stayed where we were supposed to. We did however change our itinerary a lot in sections A, B, and D where we were able to go many days without reservations to sorry about.
My recommendation is to book everything, but realize you can change things on trail with a bit of planning a few days out. And worst comes to worst, if you don't make it to a few of your reserved sites you will be fine!
so great you're doing this with your dad. memories that will last a lifetime. looking forward to your videos of the hike.
Thanks Kim! It was a great time, I will hope to put together a video by the end of the year.
Great gear list .
Your dog is so cute 🐾🥰
Happy and safe trails!
May I give you one tip...be aware of how often you say "uhm" when making a video 😉
Hey! Thanks for all the info. I am aiming to hike the GDT next summer and was wondering if you have any gear change recommendations after having hiked the trail! Thanks again 😊
Great to hear! I was very happy with my gear.
-sleeping pad had a slow.leak but was too lazy to patch it
-snapped both my hiking poles near the end. Maybe get aluminum
-tent was great but need to be careful as it's not great in high wind and it's a bit too short in length for my height
-we had a pretty dry summer but rain gear was amazing. If your rain gear is not very breathable bringing a UL wind shirt is worth it
-I was fine not bringing rain mitts but I could see them useful. It snowed on the trail on us in section D and E.
-be prepared for extremely high winds when choosing between sun hoody and large sun hat. Very happy with our choice.
-we were very happy to go cold soak and cook.
-we rarely filtered water on the trail and we're fine
Wow! thanks for the thorough response. My kit is very similar to yours. I keep hearing about all the rain and wind and bushwhacking, so I am going to upgrade my rain gear and use my larger Triplex... I too am 6'3" and like the extra space if its a downpour. Probably leave my filter at home and just bring aqua tabs for when I need them. I really appreciate your help! Cheers!@@CanadianSkylights
Hey! One more question... How about rain pants? Just curious on your opinion, I keep hearing about a lot of bushwhacking. I kind hate rain pants, but would it be dumb to go with a just a rain kilt and tall socks or tights as rain activewear for all the bushwhacking? Thanks again for your help! @@CanadianSkylights
I would say its not wise because the wind is so strong out there. We had days where it was raining sideways so hard it pushed the water through our goretex pants and jackets. I feel like you would freeze in those situations. But from a brush perspective, the trail had very little brush to contend with compared to stories of years past. I would say its not wise but doable to go rain kilt.@@woodyshepherd6904
Thanks! I will definitely be taking pants!@@CanadianSkylights
Good call! Seems like you’re ready to go!