Date: 2015-03-31
To: Atlanta Airport
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Here is my gear list. Totals are 39 pounds with five days food and 1/2 days water, or 26 pounds with no food and water. Yes, that's on the higher end, and higher than I'd prefer. All backpackers (that know what they are doing) pay close attention to the things they take and it's weight. Many brag about how little they take and how little it weighs.   I can't do that. My gear is not ultralightweight, perhaps not even lightweight. More like middle-weight!A few items are at or near lightweight status, such as my sleeping bag. But most others are middle weight.Food, at 10 pounds, or about 2 pounds per day, my heaviest item, is obviously required, to provide the energy I need to keep going. Some choose not to bring a tent, or just to bring a tarp or hammock. I choose to bring a free-standing tent, for its flexibility. I also choose to bring a Jetboil Mini-Mo propane stove, plus the required propane canisters, for the flexibilty and speed it allows me to cook (versus a much lighter, but slower, alcohol stove)The most outrageous weight-wise thing I have is my 5.5 pound backpack. I considered multiple times to replace it with a Osprey Exos 58 liter pack at 2.5 pounds. But I can't easily get all my gear into it (perhaps that means I am taking too much stuff?), and I don't like the reduced padding it has. So I will stick with the same Kelty 77 liter backpack I began with at Philmont in 2007. It's paid for! It's the same pack I used for 250 miles on the SHT, and it served me well. I am starting the trip with several pounds of (required) cold weather gear. I will send that home in a month. But I must take it back in September.   Since this is a long trip, if I find that I can get by with less stuff in a month, then I will buy a Osprey Exos and send home my Kelty. The Kelty allows me to put everything inside my backpack. I prefer that. I have nothing attached to the backpack.Weight Pounds        Item Description9.70        Food, five days worth, in UrSack Bear/squirrel-resistant food storage bag; Including 250 gms for the empty UrSack with 12.5" x 20" odor-proof plastic Opsack5.51        Kelty backpack, blue, Coyote 4750, empty, no cover, no lower straps, 4700 cu in, 77 liters; It is heavy, but very functional, including extra volume capacity; All of my stuff fits inside this backpack3.31        1 person tent, Big Agnes Seedhouse 1, with poles, stakes, purchased footprint, has rainfly and screen2.81        1 Liter Nalgene water bottle - Full2.15        Misc stuff in ditty bag: Bug headnet, sunglasses, flashlight, compass, whistle, knife, chapstick, razor blade shaver, toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, comb, duct tape, tent and air mattress repair tape, MicroPur MP1 chlorine tablets for water purification backup; extra 20' yellow parachute cord; Leuko tape for blister prevention , earplugs, propane can hole puncher, Ibuprofen, multivitamin tablets, Cajun spice mix, clip-on sunglasses, inflatable pillow1.68        Sleeping bag, Mountain Hardware, 32Deg F Phantom, in compression sack. 1.37        Raingear, RedLedge jacket top and pants bottom0.94        Mesh bag, with SteriPen and pre-filter, plastic and titanium spoons, 2 lighters, cleaning sponge, Nunn drinking water electrolytes, G2 Gatorade powder1.10        (for sleeping and keeping my sleeping bag a bit cleaner) Wickers underwear - Top and bottoms, underarmor hat1.21        Jetboil Mini-Mo propane stove. This both boils water fast, and can effectively simmer, to do actual cooking. No fuel included.1.15        REI Flash inflatable air mattress0.88        Camp shoes, green, Bare-Xlite 1500.85        Outdoor Research down sweater-jacket, lime-green0.79        AWOL's 2015 Northbound "The A.T. Guide" (half of it), cutout sections of the AT trail from state highway maps for the first half, AT passport, 3" x 5" Memo notebook, Appalachian trail Pocket Maps for the first 750 miles; Half of them (for 400 miles), 2 pens0.79        Propane medium gas canister, full, gas net weight 7.76oz, 220g 0.64        Thermolite Reactor sleeping Bag liner, for cold weather only0.61        Extra long REI brown sleeved shirt; 91% Poly, for cold weather only0.55        One pair Darn Tough socks; two pair nylon liner socks, one nylon underpants0.47        Two 2200 mAHr USB chargers, for MP3 player and smartphone, plus USB 120V charger, and four connecting cables0.46        Propane small gas canister, full, gas net weight 3.9 Oz, 110 grams0.44        Andriod Moto-X smartphone; This is also my camera.0.29        Plastic cathole poop trowel and campers TP0.29        First Aid kit - Band aids and moleskin, in Ziplock bag0.29        1 towel and washcloth and bar soap0.28        3' by 7' building wrap plastic, to protect air mattress in shelter0.22        1 plastic cup0.17        1.5 Liter Nalgene cantene collapsible plastic water bottle ¢ Empty; Fill at camp0.14        1 pr Ansell Projex yellow nylon work gloves, for cold weather only0.11        Sansa 24GB MP3Player, headphones, 6 hr internal battery, 32GB memory stick of all my music files + audio books38.77        Total weight with 6 days food and 1 full Nalgene water bottle-12.57        5 days food and 1 full Nalgene bottle26.20        Backpack and gear weight only; No food and no water                Here are the clothes I wear/things I carry3.80        Asolo Fugitive GTX hiking boots, with Superfeet insoles, with Darn Tough socks and nylon liner socks0.49        RailRiders long-sleeved nylon shirt, side vents, with InsectShield permethrin, for maximum bug and tick and sun protection0.71        RailRiders full length nylon pants, with InsectShield permethrin, with vents, for maximum bug and tick and sun protection0.20        Columbia full-rim Hat (David's)0.79        Knee Stabilizers, for both knees1.10        Hiking poles