Backpacking the Foothills Trail

So Tom strapped on his new Eureka SpitFire UL and his new gourmet backpacking meal-in-a-bags and he headed off toward the Foothills Trail. I keep promising that I'll go with him, but each trip he plans finds me with so many other plans, I just can't go along.

He started out at Whitewater Falls and walked 25 miles, nearly reaching Oconee State Park. His walk mainly took him along the Chattooga River, which I've walked along before and longed to return to. In my memory, there are nice, tiny, sandy beaches along the Chattooga on which to rest and read, two of my favorite sports.

This was Tom's first trip with his SpitFire. He was/is concerned about rain. It is rumored if you don't keep the SpitFire tight, it might sag and allow water to drip in & that the Big Bertha is better in the rain. However, he got the SpitFire and not the Big Bertha and so far, so good.

It was worth it, to Tom, to buy the SpitFire, he lost nearly 5 lbs switching tents. On this trip, he kept the rainfly off so he could see the stars and moon. If it rained, he'd have experienced 10 minutes of discomfort putting the rainfly on in wet conditions. The SpitFire weighs in around 2lb, 8 ounces, but no lady likes to weigh in for anything, so keep it to yourself.

I'm gonna go backpacking again. It's just a matter of time. I'm getting the kids out of the house and getting myself back into shape. For now, Tom is alone, but it hasn't stopped him and I'm proud of that. He has some friends that he plans to go 50 miles with later this Summer. That'll get him in shape for my hike in the Fall. Fall '09, that's my claim.

Fall '09 works for me.