Backpacking the Appalachian Trail: A Weekend Section Hike

This coming weekend, we are planning on backpacking 14 miles on the AT. We will hike from Carvers Gap to US 19E. It’s a busy section of the trail with many hikers claiming it’s the prettiest section of the entire Appalachian Trail. That said, it is the prettiest section in North Carolina, hands down.

We are excited about the change in weather we have had here in North Carolina. The highs this weekend will be in the mid 70s with lows in the low 60s. It should be the perfect weekend to be out on the trail.

We have freeze dried food that Ghost has taste tasted. It weighs a lot less than the Farmer’s Dog! We found some freeze dried liver treats for him, as well. I think he’s going to have a great time with us this weekend. He’s a very adventurous pup.

Since Marty has diabetes, we found freeze dried keto meals that we will be giving a try. We taste tested one this past week and it was delicious. Trying to eat healthy on the trail can be a challenge given that so many hiking foods are high carb.

I’ll be carrying my meals, Ghost’s snacks and my own snacks in my Adotec Grizzly Bear bag. Marty is using a BearVault. I like that the bag is lighter weight, however, some National Parks require a BearVault. That’s why we each have different types of food storage containers.

This weekend backpacking trip will be a test run. We think we have all of our gear together — we got the final things on Monday. Marty had quite a few things he had not brought to the house since he moved in. One of the things I’ll be using is a Big Agnes sleeping pad. When I bought mine many years ago, I got one that was on sale. It’s a narrow pad. I need a wider one. <laughter> I am always falling off of the narrow one, but as I had never used a sleeping pad like the Big Agnes pads, I didn’t want to spend too much, so I got what was on sale.

I’m looking forward to the hike this weekend. It will be a great two night trial to see how prepared we are to hit the trail in the fall for a much longer hike.