Caitlin To Katahdin @caitlintokatahdin - Tumblr Blog

Here I go.

I camp tonight atop Springer Mountain. The southern most terminus of the trail. The beginning of this adventure that always seemed to be so far into the future. It's here! I start today technically. Wake up bright and early and hit the trail! It's real, it's here and I still can't believe it!! I'll check in again when I hit a town which is 5 days from now.... Here I go!

#Appalachian trail #at #at2015 #appalachain trail 2015 #ctk #Caitlin Burt #Caitlin to Katahdin #ctk text post #hiking #backpacking #start #start of it all #here I go

I've made it to the airport...

…and they don’t have a Starbucks in this terminal. WHO DOESN’T PUT A STARBUCKS IN EVERY TERMINAL!?!? Don’t they understand that I am embarking on my longest no-Starbucks stretch ever and I deserve Starbucks on demand for the next 4 days!? What is this world coming to!? I had to settle for Dunkin😒….rough start.

#coffee battles #starbucks addict #Appalachian trail #Appalachian trail 2015 #Caitlin Burt #Caitlin to katahdin #ctk #ctk text post #ctk 2015 #travel #hiking #backpacking

Causeway sunrise from the bus window. I'm officially on my way!

#my mommy's favorite view #beautiful #Appalachian trail #at #Appalachian trail 2015 #at2015 #Caitlin Burt #Caitlin to Katahdin #ctk #ctk2015 #ctk pictures #nature #hiking #backpacking #let the games begin #love #pretty #view #I can't believe I'm actually doing this

Well...

So, what I am getting ready to do clearly hasn't hit me yet and I hope it hits me soon. I mean, I leave NY tomorrow! I should be over the moon excited and yet I'm just kind of numb. Not overly ecstatic, not nervous, not anxious, not...anything. This is the exact reason why I need this trail. I want to feel again. I have taught myself to turn off all emotions as a defense mechanism to deal with loosing my mom and I am apparently way too good at it.

I'll start taking bets on the first emotion I feel again being the "shitting my pants with fear because I'm all of a sudden alone in the woods" one...

I'm officially in the single digit countdown!

#9 days #at #appalachain trail #appalachain trail 2015 #at2015 #thru hiker #countdown #hiking #backpacking #outdoors #nature #ctk #caitlin burt #Caitlin to Katahdin #ctk2015 #ctk pictures

Tickets have been bought.

I will be going on an adventure to get to the start of my adventure…

March 3rd:

Jitney to Queens

Cab from Queens Jitney stop to LaGuardia Airport

Plane from NY to Tampa, FL. (because a one way ticket to Tampa was $100 cheaper than to Atlanta…riddle me that.)

Stay with my best friend in FL for a farewell visit.

March 5th:

Drive with said best friend from Tampa to Atlanta having a blasty on a mini road trip because we love those. Crash with my cousin in ATL for the night for another farewell visit.

March 6th:

Drive from Atlanta to Amicalola Falls State Park.

March 7th:

Hike the approach trail.

March 8th (My 25th birthday):

FINALLY START THE TRAIL.

It may not seem that crazy to some but I am not a mass transit kind of girl. It’s gonna be interesting to say the least but that’s what makes this all so exciting! Now just back to the waiting. Watching the minutes tick away….and I thought the planning made me anxious!

11 DAYS!

My Gear Breakdown.

So as D-Day inches closer and closer, people keep asking me all kinds of questions but the most common curiosity shared by all is the rabbit hole known as my backpack...

Everyone wants to know what I'm gonna do about clothes or keeping clean or where I'm gonna sleep and, above all, how in the hell am I going to fit it all into a pack that I can even pick up let alone carry for 6 months straight.

Well here is the answer for all of you curious cats. I formally present to you a breakdown of everything in my pack.

Pack: Osprey Women's Aura 65

Sleeping Bag: REI Serrana 3 Season

Sleeping Pad: Therm-a-Rest ProLite

Tent: : REI Quarter Dome Single Person Tent

Trekking Poles: : BAFX Anti Shock Hiking/Trekking Trail Poles

In the back, that green monster is my pack. That is what will hold all of my belongings for 6 months. Everything I need to live and survive fits in there. Amazing, huh?!

In the green sack on the left is my sleeping bag. It has a 25 degree comfort level and I have a liner that adds an extra 10 degrees so I am good to sleep in 15 degrees even though I hope I don't have to!

In the black sack in the middle is my sleeping pad. It's like a mini air mattress that's literally the size of a human. No wiggle room...

On the right is my tent. Yes it is a one person tent and it's.....cozy. Yeah....cozy. That's a nice way to put it.

And making the ominous crossbones at the bottom are my trekking poles. Those black beauties are how I will be able to make it up those damn 3,000 ft accents.

Ahhhh my clothes. Let's take a look into my trail closet, shall we? Yes, the clothes I carry will be my whole wardrobe....for six months. I will be sending myself warm weather clothes (shorts and a tank top) in April but this is pretty much it....for six months...

Starting with the pink shirt and going clockwise;

Top hiking shirt, top hiking pants, camp shirt, short sleeve hiking shirt, medium weight socks, gloves, hat, camp leggings, base layer leggings and base layer shirt.

My warmth for when I start! A down jacket (which is compactable and folds up into its pocket for easy storage) and a fleece.

Down Jacket-NorthFace Thermoball

Fleece- Northface Glacier Quarter Zip

My rain gear. What will save me when spring comes around and I hike every day in torrential down pours.

Top- Sierra Designs Hurricane Jacket Rain Gear

Bottom- Sierra Designs Microlight 2 Pant

Here's the odds and ends.

Top row: 2 sports bras, 2 pairs of medium weight socks, 1 pair of heavy weight socks.

2nd row: 3 pairs of hiking underwear, 2 pairs of sock liners, gloves, camp shoes. Yes those are Crocs. I'm proud to say that I avoided them since they came out but I had to give in for a light weight pair of camp shoes. I know....I'm ashamed.

3rd row: buff, hat, and, the most important piece of gear I have, my shoes. Saloman XA Pro Trail Running Shoes. Those babies are my lively hood and although I will have to replace them at least 2 or 3 times throughout the course of my trip, those shoes will be what takes me to Katahdin and makes my dream come true.

Bottom row: cute hiking hat and 3 bandanas just because.

Alright how about a look into my bathroom?

In the top left corner you will find my shower.......aka baby wipes. Top right corner is my toilet.......aka a trowel for digging poop holes. And in the medicine cabinet we've got tampons, toilet paper, charger and external battery, safety whistle/compass/signal mirror/magnify glass, 50 feet of paracord (for hanging my food so the bears don't eat it all), badass pink knife, swiss army knife, chapstick, sunscreen, shampoo/body wash, toothbrush, tooth paste, advil, antibacterial, bandaids, Neosporin, alcohol wipes, 2 gauze pads, hair ties, comb and super cool sunglasses.

Moving away from the bathroom, let's travel over to my kitchen...

Stove: MSR Pocket Rocket

Cook System: GSI Pinnacle Soloist Cookset

Water Purification: Sawyer Squeeze

Water Bladder: Platypus Hoser 3.0L Reservoir

Sawyer Squeeze, the amazing system that will stop me from getting tape worms, or Ebola, or whatever the f**k else is in the water. Total filtration in the palm of my hand. Also have a 3L bladder with epic straw and water bottle to put all of that purified water in. And the black and orange cylinder is my stove/pot/bowl/fuel canister/spork all packed into one. The backpacking world makes some amazing shit, don't they?! Don't forget the biodegradable soap to clean with.

So that's it! This is it all packed up!

Not too bad huh? I believe my total pack weight is around 35lbs....yes that's heavy but really not too bad! No my water bottle is not broken. I wrapped it with duck tape so I could bring tape with me but not bring the whole roll. Took some trial and error but I finally got my pack closed and organized. Only difference is I took my tent out of its bag and stuffed it in at the bottom so now it looks like this...

Alright! I'm all packed and ready to go! Can't wait. Anxious and excited and ready to be at Springer Mountain already!

28 Days.

How a fat kid trains for the Appalachian Trail…….oh you know....just wearing my pack while I make dinner. 😂

#fat kid #appalachian trail #training #ctk #ctk pictures #ctk 2015 #making dinner #cooking #silly #backpacking #hiking #camping #at #at 2015 #appalachian trail 2015 #lol #funny #caitlin burt #caitlin to katahdin

Only 30 Days Until I Start The Trail.

…and I’m totally freaking the f**k out.

#appalachain trail #at #at2015 #Caitlin Burt #Caitlin to Katahdin #hiking #camping #backpacking #countdown #holy shit #ctk #ctk2015 #ctk text post

dryyoureyes-startbelieving

40 Days To Go......

It’s almost here! I’ve gotten most of the planninng done but this trip is really just a bunch of planning for the unknown. All the planning I’ve put into this and after a month or so I’m going to have thrown it all out the metaphorical window. But planning has been done nonetheless.

Itinerary? Check. Mail drop boxes packed? Check. Gear bought? Check. Mentally prepared? …….

As much as I am excited and ready to get out there, I don’t think it has really sunk in. I mean six months of living in the woods, walking at least 10 miles every day, a shower once a week (if I’m lucky), living in the woods for six months, eating immense amounts of processed and preservative packed foods, sleeping in a tent every night with black bears and snakes running rampid, living in the woods for six months, not having any cell service or outlets to charge electronics, not seeing family and friends, living in the woods for SIX MONTHS….ahhhh that is what dreams are made of.

With just over a month left before I hit the trail people keep asking me what my worries and fears are. My one and only fear is not finishing. Out of the estimated 2500 hikers who began a northbound thru-hike in 2014, only about 1267 made it to Harpers Ferry, WV (the unofficial half way point) and only 644 completed their hike….that’s less than a 26% completion rate. Damn. What happens when I get burnt out? Or I want to sleep on a mattress after a hot shower? Or put on makeup, do my hair, put on real clothes and look like a sociably acceptable human being? Am I going to just give up? It’s easy for me to sit here in the comfort of my home and say “Hell no I won’t quit!” but I hope when push comes to shove I’ll be able to power through it. In the back of my mind I know I can but the question is if I will.

But I guess that’s one of the reasons I am hiking is to prove that to myself. That I am strong enough and I do have the will power to push through the pain and make it the whole way. Any thing less just feels like failing.

And failure is not an option.

Therefore I am leaving that fear in this post. No more will I entertain the idea of not completing all 2189.2 miles. I will make it to the summit of Mt. Katahdin and I will have one kickass story to tell.