I am an aspiring Appalachian Trail Thru-Hiker. My channel is focused on inspiring others while sharing what I learn about thru-hiking, backpacking gear, the Appalachian Trail itself, and following a ketogenic carnivore diet.
So, join me as I prepare for my 2024 Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike and the many adventures that follow. And if you haven't already, dust off your bucket list and start checking things off...we only have one life to live, so let's get at it!
Dave, it sounds like you ended up adding carbs on your through hike? Were you able to stay mostly carnivore? 10 months on carnivore with no plans to change my diet back. My change was do to issues other than weight, although I have lost the belly and excess fat and am as lean as I want to be, working on adding lean mass at 57 yo. Just did a 29 mile weekend hike with 6,500’ ascent and felt great. Planning a 4-6 day hike of the Superstions and a multi week hike of the Scottish Highlands. Congratulations on your achievement and the information you have shared. Not a lot out there on longer carnivore hikes.👍
Hey there. Yeah. Before I get into it please don’t stop the carnivore diet. I still believe in it and restarted recently after getting off trail. I abandoned carnivore after about a month on trail. Long story short I had a hard time getting the right amount of food while on trail and also it was too heavy to carry. I ended up honing my pack food over time and ended with spam and tuna plus energy bars. They were lighter and easier to get in town. Also, I lost my taste for pepperoni and cheese as the weather got warmer. Almost gagging on the pepperoni slices. Also I feel that my sugar addiction worsened on trail. Something I’m working through now. Because I got really busy after trail I haven’t kept up with my channel but will get back to it after the dust settles. Thanks for following along.
Do you know where you were between May 27-30? I drove down from NJ to VA down the Blue Ridge Parkway and I stopped multiple times to check out the Appalachian trail along the way bc it’s a hike I want to do in the future I think me and you may have only been miles away from one another one point and months later I just happen to stumble across your videos that’s crazy 😂
That’s crazy bro I went down the blue ridge parkway over Memorial Day drove my 1998 Lexus from NJ down to VA and went down the whole Parkway and back and stopped at the Appalachian trail multiple times along the way and it’s crazy to think me and you were most likely only miles from one another at the time 😂
Very happy for you, fellow thru-hiker. You have been changed for the better forever! No one can ever take it from you. All the best going forward! Phantom, 2019 NOBO
Thanks for the update, Dave. You're looking remarkably well-rested compared to the last video. It's great to see an update on what you ended up with and what you found most useful, at least towards the last half. Pro-tip on finding the leak now that you're home. We always filled up the suspect item, used a soap/water mix 1/20, and dribbled around the suspect areas. That will get you anything around a seam. Failing that, push sections down into a filled tub and look for air bubbles. Failing that, take a utility knife and shred that sucker and call it even. 🙄🤣 Thank me later. Glad you're back in your baby's arms again [there's a song in there somewhere] and knowing that you'll be there next week too. Praying for you and Mrs. Dave as you readjust to normie humdrum life again, for you on the honey-do list, and for her to have patience listening to you regale her with stories of dungeons and dragons slain. In case you haven't heard it the last few days, "Remember, Jesus loves you." I heard it somewhere.
You look great, my Friend!! 💪🦵‼️ So glad to see you doing so well at the completion of your journey!! My mornings recently have left me feeling like I am forgetting something without having your Videos to watch as I started my day!! Congratulations once again and here is to your next adventure and a successful Pivot!! 👍😎
About 22 with three days food. 16-18 without. I would worry more about pack fit than weight. A UL pack doesn’t carry the weight like a Lightweight pack like the osprey 58
Bummer to see the Kakawa pack got holes, I just ordered the same one yesterday. I also got the same tent, can you talk more about how it would have been better to have the 1P, but you still managed to make the 2P work. What is the base weight of the pack without food and water? You mentioned only having 2 of the .7 liters was this adequate between each refill? Was spam and tuna pretty typical meals?
Hi. I was pretty rough on the pack so I expected 5 months to tear it up a bit. I’ll say that it wasn’t as bad as expected. They are pretty tough. 1p so that you can fit it into tighter spaces at camp. Lots of roots and rocks so the 1p would have worked better. Weight: I never measured without food and water but I would guess 15 lbs. food/day: two spam, 6-8 protein or clif bars, 2 tuna packs. Sometimes carried out a sandwich for the day.
Nope. Just the nylofume liner for the inside. But also made sure that anything outside was in plastic bag. Like my wallet in the pocket. It got wet but then dried quickly after getting rained on. Wasn’t a big deal. However I can see that it could be a bigger deal if it rains a lot.
Hi Dave! You look like you are well rested. Good for you! I'm very impressed by your thru hike accomplishment! I know about Blue's Clues handy dandy notebook from when my sons were kids.😂 Looking forward to more videos. Thanks for sharing!
@@daveabbett One of my friends hiked the entire AT years ago. He said when he finished it was strange the next several days, because his body was trained to get up and walk. But he didn't have anywhere to go. Haha! Where are you going hiking?
Yeah. Thanks. Unfortunately I wish I had another hike to use my dialed in kit. I’ll go on a local hike tomorrow. And researching the Laugavegur trail now. Maybe next year.
Dave, congrats again! Hope to start my hike in Feb or March. You mentioned hanging your food bag “most” nights and then seemed to edit or cut off clip of the vid. Another thru-hiker recently did a post trail vid and said to be honest, 98% of thru-hikers don’t hang their bags and sleep with them…The dirty little secret. Did you find that to be true? Just curious about the really skinny. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Yeah, I was told "real thru hikers don't hang their bags". And yes, lots don't hang their bags. But I disagree with this practice...mostly. I feel that the reason why people don't hang bags is because of the efforts that were taken to get to a point where there isn't lots of trash/food in the shelters for the bears. And some are just lazy or don't know how to hang a bag well. With that said, I mostly hang my food due to rodents. mice, chipmunks, etc. They love to get into bags. Also, I got really good at hanging my food bag...so a sense of pride. The times that I didn't hang my food were when it was pouring rain or horrific weather (snowstorm), we were in a public park where bears don't frequent (when known), and when there wasn't a suitable tree. But, that was less than 5 times. Also, many shelters have bear boxes, cable hangs, etc. So, yes it happens but I wasn't comfortable losing my food to rodents. Also, didn't see a single bear near a shelter the whole way.
Awesome to see the final kit. I'd love to see a comparison video from start to finish. What exactly was different. How long did you carry a stove? What were your biggest "lessons learned"? What surprises? How have you changed, as a person? How about a detailed discussion of diet? Great stuff! Congrats again!
Hi Kevin. I carried the stove until it got warm...I think I ditched it in VA. I was only boiling water for coffee and don't really like hot coffee. I have some ideas about more videos, just getting busy so dropping to once/ week going forward. I'll keep your suggestions in mind. Thanks
@@daveabbett Your welcome, it's been a pleasure. I know you had a ton of questions before you started your hike. If you where to do it all over again, right now, what would your plan be? Now you know what to expect, what would your approach be, to do it better?
Last big hike I was on we packed a couple extra distributed mortar rounds and 200rnds of linked 7.62 to feed the crew serves...And everything was made of canvas, vulcanized rubber and leather. Ounces make pounds and pounds make pain.
Awesome...been fun following your journey! Love the "Thank You, Jesus!" at the end. Backpacking (section-hiking the AT on a 10-yr plan) is quite a spiritual journey for me and if I ever get to slap that sign, I think I'll say the same thing, brutha...Blessings!
Thanks so much for following along. I feel like the spiritual journey is not talked about much while on trail. I hung around with a couple other Christians who helped keep our eyes fixed where it should be after such a long journey. Thanks again, I'm sure you'll get there someday!
