I’m all packed up! Its almost 2am and I still can’t sleep… So much excitement! And I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. There is no doubt that this trek will be tough so I reckon a bit nervousness is only natural and healthy. It’ll help keep me sharp. My parents and brother are driving me out to the NCT trail head at Crown Point, NY. We are taking two days to drive there. Staying in hotels Thursday and Friday night, then on Saturday morning after breakfast, I’ll get booted out of the car and have to walk back home. The NCT is located less than 15 miles parents house in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. No doubt I’ll have to make a pit stop for some home cooking when I’m passing through in a few months. Well I better try to get some sleep. Lots of driving to do tomorrow.
-Samuel
I want to welcome the Bike Shop onto the All-In Trek Team as the newest sponsor! The Bike Shop is located in downtwon Houghton Michigan. It is a awesome shop to go to. This will be the fourth year since the owners Steve and Caleb took the initiative to create their own business directly related to what they both love. Bikes. I count myself lucky to have been friends with these guys for quite a few years now. Check out their shop or website if you get the chance.
www.goridebikes.com
31.8 lbs is now the total for my winter gear weight. It includes everything; pack, sleeping bag, socks, shoes, snowshoes, trekking poles, camera, phone, gps, boxer briefs, toilet paper, hats, gloves, etc. I’m pretty pumped on how light it turned out to be even with all of the electronics. Actual pack weight minus what I am wearing on my body will be about 20 lbs. This is good because that allows me to carry enough food for 4 or 5 days comfortably. I reckon we’ll find out real quick in the next week or so how good it actually is. I imagine a few modifications will be in order once I get to New York. Check it out!
Here is my first press release ever! It was a learning experience to write but the important information is in it so I reckon it suits its purpose. Check it out and feel free to send to around to whoever you think would be interested! It is also posted on this site under the “Media” drop down menu above.
Click on the link below to read it.
December 24th, 2010-Press Release, All-In Trek: Samuel H. Gardner
Well I have just over one week left at home before I depart to New York to starting hiking the North Country Trail. Its amazing how no matter how much you do, there is always more! Never fails. I have never been so excited and yet so stressed. I’m mentally ready which is the most important part because it allows me to be able to work through the difficult parts. I have a lot to do this week and lots of friends that want to see me off. The funny part is that on Jan 1st my life is going to become so incredibly simple and slowed down (approximately 3 mph). It will be a complete 180 from my life as it has been this year.
I can hardly wait any longer!
My parents bought these snowshoes for me as a gift. They are tough as nails and decently lightweight. The high durability and design made these my top pick for new snowshoes. I’ve been using them in the snow that we have here in northern Michigan and so far have turned out to be even better than I expected! I also got the 5 inch tail extensions for when the powder gets deep. And as a bonus- Made in the USA. Check out MSR HERE for more details. These are the nicest shoes I’ve ever seen. I’ll put them to the test this winter and will let you know what I think after!
MSR Lightning Ascent- 30 Inch
MSR Lightning Ascent Tail’s- 5 Inch
This weekend I teamed up with my long time friend Jake Heikkinen to do some creative map creation. It was really fun actually coming up with this map because we went with a theme that I have always been partial to. Treasure maps (AKA Indiana Jones style)! Besides creating a more fun map it was a goal to create a more functional map that was easier to read as well as more silkscreen friendly. I just got the file from Jake who did the actual hard work of putting the map together on Adobe Illustrator and figured I’d share it tonight! Thanks a bunch Jake for the help! Very much appreciated! Shirts soon!
Headed out on to the trail in a few hours. Going to trek a while with my friend Matt Abbotts. Not sure how long we’re headed for. The goal is to test out my winter gear system. I believe I have a good set up but its always a good idea to test it I reckon. I’m really excited to see how it works! Right now total gear weight including everything from camera to socks and trekking poles to shoes adds up to about 27lbs even. Actual pack weight minus the gear I’ll be wearing is about 17lbs. This should allow me to carrying about 20 lbs of food at a time. That is the idea anyway. I’ll let you know when I get back.
We will be hiking the local Peter Wolfe Chapter of the North Country Trail which is located in the Western half of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Its a beautiful section of trail so I am really looking for ward to walking it!
I’ll be back!
Holy smokes, its just around the corner. I’m super excited, nervous, anxious and mentally ready to get started! I’ve invested everything into making this dream happen and so have many people around me. I’m at the point now that I just want to get to the walking part already but I have many things to do yet before I leave home. I want to sincerely thank all of the people who have helped me to get me where I am today! I honestly can not do this with out you.
Also, here are a couple things I’ve made this week… I have decided to use a foam sleeping pade that I made out of some spare material in the barn because its super durable, warm and light weight. Its 1/2 inch thick and weighs 8 oz. I was able to save some weight by tapering the sides of the pad. Its not as comfortable as my NeoAir but its super durable and cheap. I plan on storing it on the outside of my pack so that its readily accessible to sit comfortably in the snowbank. The second item I made is a pot cozy to keep my food warm in the winter. It is made out of Reflectix (bubble wrap with foil attached to it) and aluminum foil tape. This cozy for my MSR Titan pot weighs less than 1 oz. These materials are available at almost any lumber yard. I spent less than $20 in making both of projects for myself and several of my friends. These are excellent items to make on the cheap to make your winter camping experience more pleasant. There are several videos about making the pot cozy on YouTube.com if you’re interested in more details.
Inspirational video of Mark Beaumont giving a presentation on his record setting globe circumnavigation bicycle adventure! 194 days and 17 hours-18,296 miles. He discusses how he chased down his dreams from start to finish. Watch this video! It is a must see.
Video: Mark Beaumont Talks on Risky Business
You can also visit his website HERE
