I noticed on day two my tongue was starting to get sensitive, so I made a point to brush my teeth more than twice a day. On day two, I brushed my teeth five times and the remainder of the days three or four times, which held mouth sores at bay. This required me to change my fueling strategy. Rather than constantly eating about 250 calories per hour, I’d eat some larger portions, usually Ramen or dehydrated meals, rinse my mouth several times with water, and brush my teeth, gums, and tongue thoroughly. I’d wait at least an hour before eating or drinking any calories again so my mouth could stay clean a bit longer.
I also brought mouthwash that I used primarily for sanitizing my water bottle, but then used for rinsing my mouth. A few times in my sleep-deprived state I used the mouthwash rather than brushing my teeth before falling asleep.
Gear
The FKT attempt was a good excuse to use gear that I had purchased specifically for Barkley, namely my pack, trekking poles, headlamp, water filter, and rain jacket. You can read my Barkley preparation blog post for more info on these items.
When I unpacked all my sleep gear my second night, it was a bit unsettling to see how little I had: a garbage bag as my ground cover, a borrowed bivy, a beanie, my waterproof jacket, and the small pad from my pack. Had it rained, I would have been forced to continue moving since I didn’t have a tent. Based on the weather forecast, my risk was low so I opted to take the risk to save weight.
I was thankful with all my stops and times my pack was puked out in the grass that the only thing I lost over the journey was my bug net on night five. I was expecting at some point to be covered in poison ivy rash from a stop or dirt nap, but I was lucky.
Trekking poles
Trekking poles were essential. Twelve months earlier I didn’t want anything to do with trekking poles, but I’m a convert. Not only did trekking poles save me from countless falls on jagged rocks, but it saved my weak ankles. I rolled my bad ankle at least a half dozen times, but every time I was able to walk it off. These were the only times I fell. Additionally, poles saved my quads. On day one I noticed slight quad soreness from descending with my heavy pack; however, it dissipated by the second day. There were few downhills I could run with full stride, so I constantly used my poles to distribute the force and help me brake on the downhills. Just twelve months ago, I didn’t want anything to do with trekking poles, and now I couldn’t have done the SHT without them. The only time I folded them were a few times when I was eating cold soaks, totaling an hour or two the entire journey.
Clothes
Laundry was simple when I got home, just my shirt, pants, undies, bra, and two pairs of socks. As I checked my pockets, I noticed something black stuck on my shirt…it took me a moment to realize it was a leach! That was the only parasite I found on me the entire 310 miles, not a single tick! (I did treat my top and pants with permethrin to minimize the risk of tick and mosquito borne disease.) My husband and kids were excited to observe their new pet they named “Cheetah” over the coming days.
Overall, I had a great weather window. I had little to no cloud cover the entire duration so I made sure to wear a brimmed hat, long sleeves, and pulled my hair and collar to cover my neck as best I could. The trail is frequently shaded. I ended up with zero sunburn, despite no sunscreen. The hot weather allowed me to carry a light sleeping setup, but also the bare minimum weight in clothing.
On day one when my pants were falling down constantly and chafing my waistline, I wondered if I made a huge mistake with bringing no other shorts or pants. Once my pants pockets weren’t stuffed with food, they stayed up fine, but in hindsight a lightweight pair of shorts would have been substantially cooler.
Foot care
