Mega-Hike

this is a post from a facebook friend. He does solo hikes in Great Smoky national Park. Pretty amazing journey a few weeks back especially given how little he carries with him for 6 days and 150+ miles. He also did a solo bike ride across Alaska a couple of years ago. He was gone for 30+ days on that one. A few weeks ago, during my spring break, I completed my longest solo backpacking trip to date: 157.3 miles with 38,286 ft of elevation gain in an elapse time of 145 hours (about 6.1 days). Temperatures ranged from 20 F at night to 80 F during the day with crazy creek crossings and amazing ridge line views. These mountains are certainly some of the most spectacular found in the Eastern United States, and I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to explore them over the past six years. As usual, I took no stove, no water filtration, no water purification, nor tent; just a tarp. Food consisted of homemade jerky and homemade dried fruits with nuts of various kinds. Base weight for my pack was 8.3 pounds. I'm already looking forward to getting back on those trails this coming fall/winter, but only after busting out some sweet miles on bicycles with good friends.