Now that all my gear shenanigans are over I can tell everyone what is in my pack. My decision to change over to a tent and a framed pack have added 1.7 pounds to my base weight, which is the weight of everything on my back, pack included, minus food and water. My setup with the hammock would have weighed 12.7 pounds, and my setup now weighs 14.4 pounds. This is still a pretty light weight as base weights go and I’m taking a couple things that some might consider unnecessary.
The weight of my food and water will change as I eat and drink and will resemble something like a roller coaster ride. Leaving town it will start as high as it can be, max food and water. Water weight will oscillate up and down during the day and food weight will slowly decrease as I approach the next town. I’m carrying a half gallon of water so that’s 4 pounds and food will weigh about 2 pounds per day. With the exception of the very beginning of my hike I won’t have to carry more than 5 days of food so that’s a max food and water weight of 14 pounds, though most of the time it will probably be in the 10-12 pound range coming out of town since many places you only need to carry 2-4 days of food before you hit the next resupply point.
Altogether, I’ll be carrying a maximum of about 28.5 pounds on my back. If I calculate food consumption correctly, my total weight ought to be down to 16-18 pounds as I’m going into towns for a resupply.
The lightness of my pack is also assisted by the fact that I’m making a Southbound trek. A Southbounder starts in the middle of summer, and I hope to finish before winter weather arrives in the South, so I haven’t packed heavy layers for sustained temperatures below 45-50 degrees. If my hike runs long, I may have to buy some additional clothing that is more suitable for colder weather. A Northbounder typically starts their journey in March or early April, and the weather in the Smoky Mountains can still be plenty cold. Heavy snow is still a possibility so those hikers have to pack a little differently than I am.
My “Big Four” – Total weight of 7 pounds, 3 ounces.
Pack – Osprey Exos 58, size medium. 2 pounds, 6 ounces.
I decided to use a framed pack after all. The no sweaty back aspect of not having a pack resting directly on my back really is awesome. The change from my Golite pack to this Osprey pack alone represents a pound of extra weight. Everyone says it’s worth it though because a framed pack does a better job of transferring the weight to your hips.
Tent – Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2. 2 pounds, 5 ounces.
I considered getting the one man version of this tent but if Kristin wants to come hiking with me at some point this will allow us to fit in one tent, but barely! The extra room when I’m alone means I have room to put the pack in the tent with me, facilitating easier access to stuff throughout the night if I need it. The two man version is also large enough that I won’t go insane if I’m stuck in it for half a day during a torrential downpour.
Sleeping Pad – Exped Synmat Hyperlite, size medium wide. 15 ounces.
This sleeping pad is pretty awesome. It’s a blow up pad and the material feels pretty durable. It’s 2.5 inches thick, which allows me to sleep on my side if I need to. I can never do this in a bed because of the pressure it puts on my shoulder. It has an R value of 3.3, which allows me to use a top quilt instead of a mummy sleeping bag, saving some weight.
The top quilt and sleeping pad (deflated)
“Sleeping Bag” – Wilderness Logics Top Quilt King 15*. 1 pound, 9 ounces.
This down top quilt is 55″ wide, providing plenty of extra room to drape around me and block out the cold. It has a draw string and snaps at the bottom to turn it into a foot box for cold nights. Another snap and draw string at the top allows me to pull the quilt tight around my shoulders if needed. Best of all is that I don’t feel restricted. The mummy bags I tried are just a tad tight for comfort and this quilt will be easier to pull on/push off as needed throughout the night to regulate my body temperature. I may send this item home once I clear the White mountains since I won’t likely need it again until the Smokies.
Clothing – Total weight of 3 pounds, 6 ounces.
REI polyester longjohns
REI Sahara long sleeve shirt
Fingerless wool gloves
Burton beanie
Sun hat
ExOfficio Give-n-Go boxer briefs
Down jacket
Elastic knee brace
Town shirt
Darn Tough hiking socks
Camp socks
Trash bag
The list above is clothing that I expect to be in my pack most of the time. Not included in that list is another pair of hiking socks, boxer briefs, athletic shorts and a short sleeve shirt. These items I’ll be wearing all the time unless I’m cold enough to need more layers.
Other Gear – Total weight of 3 pounds, 14 ounces.
Sea to Summit folding bucket
Sea to Summit head bug net
Compass/Whistle/Thermometer
Eating utensil
First-Aid kit (band aids, ibuprofen)
Black Diamond ReVolt head lamp
Gerber Mini Paraframe Serrated knife
Toothbrush w/ case, toohpaste, floss
Trash compactor bag (pack liner)
Dr. Bronner’s soap
Shamwow (wash cloth)
Gold Bond body powder
Toilet paper, hand sanitizer
Body Glide
GSI Cathole trowel
euroSCHRIM Swing Liteflex Trekking umbrella
Smartwater bottle (x2)
Sawyer Squeeze mini water filter
Iodine tablets
Ground cloth (2 yds. ripstop nylon)
Kindle
Moto E cell phone w/ charger
AWOL’s AT Guide book
Ipod Shuffle w/ charger
Clothing stuff sack
Extra stuff sack to use for a bear hang
50′ Zing-it for a bear hang
Chapstick
Ear plugs
Bic lighter
Matches
Pen/small notepad
Needle/thread
………..
The folding bucket and wash cloth are critical items for me. I’m a hot sleeper to begin with and when you add a film of sweat to that, preventing my pores from breathing, I get really uncomfortable. The folding bucket is some kind of polymer coated fabric and it’s capable of holding over 2 gallons of water yet is weighs less than 3 ounces. My intended routine is to wash off each night and then use the bucket to rinse out my hiking socks and and underwear. This should prevent any substantial sweat build up that would prevent the clothes from doing their job (wicking sweat away from my body) or causing friction due to the crystallization of sweat as it dries. I’ve done this routine already on one of my prep hikes and it works really well for me.
I’ve also made the choice not to carry rain gear. Almost everyone I’ve talked to or read about their experience says even with good gear you’re going to get wet from sweat, even if you keep the rain off. We’ve already established that I’m a warm person so I’d rather get wet from rain than so wet from sweat that it might as well be rain. Other people who have carried umbrellas have found they come in handy for a variety of other uses as well so I thought I’d give it a shot. If the umbrella doesn’t work out, I’ll buy a cheap Frogg Toggs poncho so I still have some ventilation but I’m protected from the worst of the rain.
For water filtration, I’m relying mainly on my Sawyer Squeeze. The hollow membrane fibers filter out all bacteria but not viruses. I’ve done a lot of reading and it looks like most cases of Norovirus and Giardia are spread through bad hygiene practices than just coming across bad water sources. I plan to take the iodine tablets and use them on questionable water sources or in areas where there is high hiker traffic, since there will be higher risks of hikers contaminating the water sources but outside of those scenarios I don’t intend to use the iodine. I’ve only used the Sawyer Squeeze up until this point and haven’t had a problem.
So that’s everything in my pack!
Hiking Thru 
Have a great time! Such a cool opportunity to go after a dream. Looking forward to your updates!
I’m hooked on following your progress and rooting for your success. I hope you don’t mind if I offer some advice that might be helpful. I have a lot of experience hiking in the mountains including some in the White Mountains. The White Mountains have some of the worst weather in the lower 48: cold, wind, rain. It can snow even in July. Imagine yourself standing outside with the gear you have in 45 F temps while someone is spraying you with cold water in a 40 MPH wind. Will you be warm enough? These conditions are far from the worst you could encounter.
Please consider adding some more light insulating layers (synthetic or wool) for your torso and some decent rain gear. Your down jacket will be nice for when you get to camp as long as you can keep it dry (useless when wet). Otherwise, it looks like your only torso insulating layer is maybe an REI long john shirt? On the rain gear topic, it’s true you will get wet inside even the best rain jacket. However, that wetness is pretty warm compared to the water falling from the sky that will go right to your skin without it. The rain jacket serves as a really poor wet suit and a wind breaker. Expect high winds while it’s raining, rendering a poncho somewhat useless. I hope you have nothing but sunny days and blue skies but you’ll have to be super lucky to get that in NH. The last time I hiked for a week in the Whites, we had 2 sunny days and 5 days of cold rain.
http://www.hike-nh.com/howto/howto.shtml?10things
Happy trails 🙂
The long sleeve shirt I’m carrying is actually a heavy synthetic mid-layer garment. If absolutely necessary I have a trash bag that can be worn that will be 100% water resistant while trapping body heat in.
I cannot say that I’ve hiked in 45 degree weather in a cold rain and high wind. With temps in the low 30’s I’m typically in shorts and two t-shirts as soon as my body warms up, though I know wind and rain are a whole different ballgame. I’m also pretty good at managing my pace to keep body heat up if needed to combat cold conditions. If I find myself lacking I can always have something mailed or hunker down in my tent for the day if it’s particularly bad. I know that won’t help me at that moment should I encounter said weather, and it’s a risk I’m taking with the choices I’ve made.
Moleskin. You have probably heard of it. I wouldn’t leave home without a few cut up pieces. It’s used to prevent blisters or stop them from getting worse if you already have one.
I used it when I climbed the Zugspitz in Germany. I also carry some in my golf bag.
Good luck man! I agree with Paul on the moleskin…it’s light and can save you from lots of blisters and infections.
We are all cheering for you! Be safe!
Thanks Paul and Todd! I have some moleskin as part of my first aid kit. Guess I forgot to put that in the post. I’ve heard some folks use tape if that’s all they have and even that helps with hot spots.
Have you thought about hiking poles? How are you handling your food – are you having someone drop ship you packages to the hostels on the trail? The drop shipments could also include any gear changes you may need to make as the weather changes. If you hit the Smokies in Nov it may be snowing or it may okay. In the mid atlantic the AT crosses close to some towns, but in the northern and southern portions the full town crossings are rarer. Use this link for the locations of the hostels, http://appalachiantrials.com/appalachian-trail-thru-hiker-resources-2/appalachian-trail-interactive-map/
You can also have packages shipped general delivery to post offices and just pick up your package at the post office.
I tried hiking poles briefly on one of my prep hikes and I just couldn’t make them work. I felt like a baby deer. I know they help avoid falls but I just wanted to throw them into the woods I was so frustrated.
I plan to get most of my food from towns or hostels that will have food for resupply. That might change though as I go along. Kristin will be home so I have a support person if I decide I want some mail drops. I haven’t planned any in advance because I’ve heard people talk about changing tastes as you go along with the amount of food you have to consume and having pre-planned drop boxes being full of food they no longer wanted to eat.
If my hike runs late in the season I may need to consider adding an article of clothing or two. I know that November in the Smokies can be unpredictable and there’s a risk of large snow falls. If I reach Harper’s Ferry late enough that I know I’m not going to finish until late-November I could potentially flip flop to Georgia and hike north. The Shenendoahs aren’t quite as high as the Smokies so the odds of big snowfall is lower in November.