LOCALadk Magazine

We hoped this meant that a trail was at least partially broken, but we would have to wait until we actually got into the woods to find out. In the summer, the trail is popular to do in sections, or to do as a thru hike while replenishing food and supplies partway through the trail. It seemed to us that the main reasons the NPT had never been done unsupported in the winter were because a: not many people actually would want to do something so committing and possibly miserable, and/or b: the people who had attempted or wanted to attempt it were limited by conditions, experience, or gear. My dad grew up in upstate New York, and got into the out- doors through bike touring when he was a teenager. He would plan and supply his own several-hundred-mile trips. Aer going out to Montana for college, he began to rock climb and ice climb, eventually going on several expeditions to Alaska and the Hima- layas, where he climbed the remote and dangerous Kanchenjun- ga (the third-highest mountain in the world) and Everest. From his alpine experience he learned to pack ultralight because, as he puts it, "You can't climb 5.8 with an 80-pound pack." Treading the thin line between keeping our gear lightweight while still pack- ing enough to survive in the possibly deadly conditions was key to our success in getting the FKT. At the Northville parking lot, we weighed the entirety of what we would use to survive for the nine days that we thought we would need to complete the 140- mile trail. Planning for nine days, we brought 60 ounces of fuel and nine days of food each, figuring about 1.7 pounds per person per day. We took the Black Diamond Firstlight tent, which weighs only three pounds, hoping to be able to sleep in a lean-to every night except the first. en, adding the necessary clothes and gear for winter camping, the weight of my dad's pack came out to 40 pounds (including three pounds of water and snowshoes); my LOCALadk 59

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