Date: 2018-10-01
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Throughout my hike I learned what gear worked for me and what gear needed to change. Some changes were out of necessity and others just out of desire. Here's a list of my updated list. I could have gone lighter and will absolutely do so on future hikes. Unfortunately, as experienced as you become, you still carry your fears in the form of added weight of unnecessary items. This is a look at the start, the end and the future...Sleeping Pad:Start: Therma rest Z-Lite folding MatEnd: Therma Rest NeoAir XliteThe folding mat just didn't cut it. It was cold, uncomfortable and awkward to carry on my pack. In Damascus, I bought the Neoair mat and loved that thing! It got a small hole in the last few 100 miles and I began waking up on the ground nightly but I patched it when I got home and have continued to use it since! I ended up cutting a piece of my Z fold mat up to make a butt pad to sit on in camp.Sleeping Bag:Start: EMS Boreal 20 Degree Long Mummy bagEnd: Mountain Hardwear Hyperlamina 3 Degree Long Mummy bagI began with the 20 degree and the first night on trail I instantly regretted it! At Mountain Crossings (Mile 31) I bought the Mountain Hardwear bag out of necessity. It's heavy and it wouldnt be my first choice normally but I'm glad I got it. I got my 20 degree bag back in PA and carried that throughout the second half of the hike except when I entered the Whites and had my 3 degree bag for a few weeks. So glad I did that!Pack:Start/End: Osprey Exos 58LLOVE this bag. Lightweight and comfortable. In the future I hope to get a smaller bag and cut my pack weight down significantly. This pack, however, was great and many hikers carry it! Looking into Mountain Laurel Designs and Superior Wilderness Designs PacksTent:Start/End: Marmot Tungsten 1PI like this tent but it's old and heavy. I am looking into a few other tents including the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2 or maybe even a trekking pole tent like the ZPacks Duplex or something similar. This is where I could have saved the most weight in my pack.Shoes:Start: Merrell Moab BootsEnd: Oboz Sawtooth Trail RunnersI began with boots and quickly realized how unnecessary they were. I knew before I started that most hikers wore trail runners but I was stubborn. The boots worked great for me and their only fault was their weight and lack of breathability but once I wore trail runners I never looked back. They were especially convenient for fording rivers in Maine as the trail runners would dry quicker.Cooking:Start: Jetboil pot and stove with Sea to Summit SporkEnd: MSR Titan Pot and MSR Pocket Rocket Stove 2 with Seat to Summit SporkMy Jetboil was stolen by the bear in NJ and soon after I purchased the MSR products. They were much lighter and less bulky. I shaved off a lot of weight with this purchase and love them. I could actually cook food rather than burn it to my Jetboil! Somehow, I carried the same spork the whole way and never lost it!Water:Start: Sawyer Squeeze, Two 2L Smart bottles and a 32oz sawyer squeeze bladderEnd: Sawyer Squeeze, One 2L Smart Bottle, One Sport Smart Water and 32oz Sawyer squeeze bladderReality is, you don't need to carry 2L of water constantly. By the end I was carrying 1L at a time and used the sport bottle to have flavored drinks. My 1L bottle was "dirty" and I filled it right in the streams then drank through the sawyer squeeze. The sport bottle was "clean" meaning I would filter water into it. It was a great system. The filter slowed down by the end but worked well overall. The bladder was nice to have for camp when I needed more water to cook.Clothing:On a daily basis I wore- EMS brand zip off hiking pants and a EMS grey Tshirt. Nothing special. Both worked well for me and I only switched out my shirt once it got extremely dirty. The button came off my pants but I made it work and sewed it back on after the hike.For socks I wore Darn Tough and man am I darn happy I did. I had little to no issues with my feet and I got three new pairs of socks after returning the ones I owned which ended up getting holes in them. These socks are beasts and I wouldn't wear anything else.I wore Injinji toe socks for a few days to help with my toes swelling and blistering but other than that had no issues.I carried an Eastern Mountain Sports Downtek puffy the entire way. It was great for cooler nights which happened the entire length of the trail and a pillow if I didn't need it for warmth. I highly recommend a good quality puffy!I had a pair of Nike Sandals for camp and next time would buy lighterweight camps shoes. They worked for what I needed though!I was given a bandana in Franklin, NC from Outdoor 76 outfitters and carried it as a towel and sweat rag the entire trail.I bought a buff in Harpers Ferry, WV to use as a bandana, neck warmer, towel and to keep bugs away. It was such a versatile piece of gear and one of my favorite items I carried.For rain gear, all I had was a Frogg Togg poncho. Cheap and Light it did fairly well covering my body and pack but like any rain gear it's not perfect. It didn't do well in the wind and the snap buttons on the sides were terrible. I will look for a different pncho or rain system in the future.I had a bug net that I carried all the way from PA and didn't use until ME when I couldn't handle the bugs any longer.Medicine Bag:End: Hand Sanitizer, Ibuprofen, Tums, Body Glide, Foot Powder, Baby Wipes, Tweezers, KT Tape, Nail Clippers, Ben's 100 Deet, Toilet PaperI ended up cutting down a lot on medical equipment. Reality was, I didn't need to carry the weight and a lot of my other equipment could be used for the same purpose in emergencies-- (ex: clothing to stop bleeding/ splint). I carried extra weight in baby wipe and foot powder the whole way to take care of my feet every night. I would highly recommend it! I never used the KT tape and should have got rid of it but it stayed anyway!Electronics:Phone, Charging cords, Outlet Block with two USB outputs! (This is important!!), Ipod Shiffle and Headphones, 10,000 mAH Ankr Charger, AAA batteries, Petzl Head Lamp, SPOT Gen 3 GPSMost of this stuff stayed the same except I switched out portable chargers for the Ankr which gave me more charge. I had difficulty in the cold with my phone because it constantly turned off on me and drained the battery quickly. The dual USB charging block was crucial for when you only have a little time to charge whatever you can. It allows two of my three devices to charge as needed. The GPS was cool and nice to give family and friends piece of kind and also track my progress. The batteries were replacements for the GPS.Misc:Bic lighter + A few matches just in case!Montem Ultra Strong Trekking Poles (I loved these things. They are so much cheaper than most trekking poles, worked great and were adjustable. The locks for the adjustable height ended up rusting and breaking but they lasted the whole trail and the owner gave me a discount on a new pair after I finished. Cork is a must in my opinion for the handle of the trekking pole).2 Sea to Summit dry bags. One for food and one for clothes.AWOL Appalachian Trail Guidebook (Carried in sections rather than the whole book).Gear is so individualized. What works for me may not work for others. I learned a few things about backpacking gear:1. Nothing is waterproof.2. You don't need as much as you think.3. If you haven't used it in a week- you probably don't need it. (With a few exceptions).4. Sometimes the best gear is not the newest and shiniest. Don't stress about it too much and try the stuff you already have.Thanks for reading!