Let's face it: Thru-hikers like gear, and they like to talk about gear.
| 1999 | 2001 | 2001 update! | |
| Pack | Kelty “Radial” monster pack: 900 miles; Dana Designs K2 “Shortbed”: 925 miles |
Dana Designs K2 “Shortbed” | Dana Designs K2 “Shortbed” |
| Went through a gear change in Shenandoah National Park, my unofficial halfway point. The Radial served well enough, but rode on my back poorly and caused chaffing on my hips. I also hated the lack of usefull external packets. When my father wore it on the bike to aid the slackpack to Waynesboro, he noticed the ill fit and offered a gear exchange. He picked out the pack and ran it down to the meeting spot at Skyland. It turned out to be a fine enough pack to use on the next hike. | What a killer pack! Now it's time to see if it can stand up to the rigorous challenge of having patches sewed to it! | ||
| Sleeping Bag | The North Face “Crysalis”, down fill 20º bag | EMS “Boreal” synthetic fill 20º bag | Martmot Arroyo 30º down fill bag |
| And the big difference here kids? Next year's bag is a synthetic meaning I won't have to worry about wrapping it in a garbage bag. Down is a real bitch when it gets wet and even though my bag did not get wet, I would rather not have to worry about it every light mist. Went through a last minute gear switch before I went down to Georgia, ditching the synthetic and going with down once again. It really isn't an easy task to soak a down sleeping bag unless you are outright foolish with it and the weight difference of about 1.2 pounds is also nice. Notice that it is also 10º “lighter” than the previous sleeping bags. This could have turned out badly but I had some remarkably nice weather and the Marmot is signifigantly warmer than its temperature rating. | |||
| Sleeping Pad | Z-rest long, weight 1 lb 2 oz. |
Therma-rest lightfoam long, weight 2 lbs (or so) | Therma-rest lightfoam long |
| The Z-rest is bulky, thin and just barely confortable. I'd carry an extra pound of pad for more cutioning. Hello Therma-rest | The Therma-rest made the entire trip unscathed. I guess my fears of a puncture were unnecessary in '99 | ||
| Tent | Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight | The North Face Slickrock | The North Face Slickrock |
| Why am I switching tents? I loved the Flashlight. One big reason: the Flashlight is not free standing. Ventilation is a minor second. The weight of the Slickrock is nearly that of the Flashlight so no real trade-off there. | a.k.a “Craprock”, “Shitrock”, and “Leakrock.” A few other people had trouble with the same type tent. And as for freestanding, it's nice but not a necessity. Still, I don't hate the tent. | ||
| Ground Cloth | “Official” Clip Flashlight Ground Cloth | “Official” Clip Flashlight Ground Cloth | “Official” Clip Flashlight Ground Cloth |
| No reason to change here despite the tent switch. Incidentally, this was real handy to cover the shelter floors with. | No troubles here. A very useful item. | ||
| Camp Shoes | Pair of Tevas | Pair of Tevas | Pair of Tevas |
| Same pair of Tevas. Can wear them with or without socks. I've been everywhere with these sandels. Even Colorado. | Carried the entire distance. No tread left on them! | ||
| Camp Stove | MSR “Dragonfly” (1200 miles) |
MSR “Dragonfly” | MSR “Dragonfly” |
| Same stove as well. | Entire distance this time | ||
| Fuel Bottle | MSR 33 oz. fuel bottle | MSR 11 oz. fuel bottle | MSR 11 oz. fuel bottle |
| I honestly do not know why I was stubborn enough to lug a 33 oz. fuel bottle halfway up the eastern seaboard. White gas is plentiful and cheap along the trail and fuel bottles are not the most expensive piece of gear. I think I only filled it 5 or 6 times the entire trip and even topped off a friend who ran out two days from town. I knew at the time I did not need a tanker truck so what was I trying to prove? Sigh. | I only filled this tiny bottle 8 or 9 times thanks to the super efficient Dragonfly. This only further demonstrates how needless the 33 oz. bottle was. | ||
| Cooking Kit | MSR Stainless Steel 1.5L pot & lid Pot gripper (steel) P38 can opener Spoon (metal) Small Scrubby Matches & Lighter |
Titanium 1L pot & lid Aluminum pot gripper P38 can opener Spoon (composition unknown) Small Scrubby Lighter |
Titanium 1L pot & lid Aluminum pot gripper MSR Titanium Spoon Small Scrubby Lighter |
| I've exchanged the old pot and pot gripper for a titanium one for weight reasons. The change in weight is small but as I have learned, even a little counts. I have not yet decided about the spoon however. While Lexan spoons are available and significantly lighter than the one I carried in '99, I doubt their durability. It would be a shame to have one break while digging into a hard pint of Ben & Jerry's! | I went with the built in can opener on the Swiss Army knife in lieu of the p38. I also switched my old spoon in Hiawassee for the MSR spoon because the old one kept rusting. Yes, this is my fabled $20 spoon (it was really $18). | ||
| Water Containment | 2 One quart water bottles (370 miles) 2.5L Hydromedary One 1L Nalgene Bottle (1400 miles) Water Bag (750 miles) Dipper |
2.5L Hydromedary One 1L Nalgene bottle 96oz. Nalgene collapsable plastic H2O container Dipper |
2.5L Hydromedary One 1L Nalgene bottle 96oz. Nalgene collapsable plastic H2O container (1430 miles) Platypus 4L Water Tank (720 miles) Dipper (1520 miles) |
| I mailed home the two quart canteens as soon as I discovered the usefullness of the Hydromedary. Soon after I realized that having a water bottle of some sort around was still usefull, hence the Nalgene container. I have since bought a replacement Nalg because the marks had scratched off the old one (and I do mean old - it had been given to me by a friend). The dipper is a story in itself. I remember the exact day I made it by hacking the top off a 20oz. Pepsi bottle. Then I crushed it under my foot (collapsible capability!). Somehow it has managed to elude the trash bins and I now feel it deserves another go on the trail. The water bag was a useless piece of junk intended to make multiple trips to the spring unnecessary. After only 200 miles, the waterproofing had started to wear off and shortly after, water would just sweat through the thing. The collapsable Nalg is intended as a replacement, however, it is smaller and I can't picture the thing lasting more than 1000 miles. | The collapsable Nalg lasted 500 miles before springing a leak. Fortunately duct tape solved the problem until Kent, where I upgraded to the Platypus. The 96oz. Nalg was nice but it was a tad weighty and I always needed it to hold a tiny bit more water. The dipper unfortunately was lost at Mark Noepel Lean-to due to some stupid kids I was sharing the shelter with. | ||
| Water Purification | MSR Miniworks Filter (1000 miles) Iodine tablets |
MSR Miniworks Filter Iodine Tablets |
MSR Miniworks Filter (2050 miles) Iodine Tablets |
| No real change here. I don't mind the taste of iodine water so who knows how far I'll carry the filter in 2001. I do intend to start with it and it is nice to have a swig of fresh, non-iodined water. | A mouse chewed the intake hose on the filter towards the end of VT. Duct tape only did so much so I sent it home and went with iodine for the 100 Mile Wilderness in Maine. | ||
| Illumination | Minimag Flashlight (280 miles) Petzl Micro |
Petzl Zoom | Petzl Zoom (1700 miles) Petzl Tikka (400 miles) |
| I need a headlamp. With a name like Sleepy the Arab, one does a bit of night hiking. I am upgrading in 2001 because I needed just that much more to see at night. Oh yes, if anyone found a minimag at Spring Mountain Shelter just north of Hot Springs just after May 1, 1999, please use it in good health. | Never cared for the LED headlamps and didn't think they worked that well until I bought one. The Zoom was nice but heavy. | ||
| Rain Gear | Some kind of rain jacket and pants. Had a name like “monsoon” or “marmot.” Whatever. | Same jacket and pants | Just the jacket |
| Same things. The pants were sent home in Damascus and the jacket a couple hundred miles later. I expect the same thing will happen in '01 as well. Maybe not though. It was a drought, ya know. | Leaving the pants was a last minute choice that could have turned out badly. Not that there weren't times down south when I wished I had them. | ||
| Clothing | T-shirt (synthetic) Shorts (synthetic also) Railrider (pants) Midweight polypro top Midweight polypro Bottom (450 miles) Extra Socks Extra Liner Socks Fleece |
T-shirt (synthetic) Shorts (synthetic also) Railrider (pants) Midweight polypro top Midweight polypro Bottom (??? miles) Extra Socks Extra Liner Socks Fleece |
T-shirt (synthetic) Shorts (synthetic also) Polypro Gloves Midweight polypro top Midweight polypro Bottom (450 miles) Extra Socks Extra Liner Socks Fleece |
| The shorts and tee are for town use and will be the same ones from 1999. Everything else will be just about new (except maybe the fleece). The extra socks and liners may be tossed into the bounce box. | More pants were left behind and thankfully I did not miss them. Had to acquire new gloves when the ones I had for the last 10 or 12 years gave up the ghost. | ||
| Writing Implements | (All enclosed in large Zip-lock) Journal pencil and pen envelopes postcards notepad |
(In Zip-Lock) Journal pencil or pen |
(In Zip-Lock) Journal pencil and pen postcards (sometimes) |
| The small notepad was for recording what picture was taken where. I never used it and was able to identify all picture taken after the hike. If I feel the urge to actually do this in '01, I'll use the journal. I took both a pencil and pen for writing because I hate using pencil but did not want a pen to freeze on me. I realize I am going to appear weight-conscious to the point of anal by carrying only one or the other. So be it. The postcards and envelopes were picked up along the way and should have been thrown in the bounce box. | Despite my best intentions, postcards still managed to find their way into my pack. I bought a pen in Waynesboro. It is a really nice pen but two frickin' dollars. I still haven't decided if it was worth it. | ||
| Good to Have | Camp Towel Cord (3,000 feet worth) bandana Camera Extra Film (slide) |
Camp Towel Cord (much, much less) bandana Camera Extra Film (slide) |
Camp Towel Cord (3,000 feet worth) Bandana Camera Extar Film (slide) |
| Mice love camp towels. Why did mine survive? I stored it in my suspended food sack. Better luck next year, li'l bastards. Will again be taking the venerable hiking bandana and trusty camera. Will again use slide film. I like the detail of slides despite the later lack of portability for showing. One last note: only waterproof matches last on the trail and waterproof matches suck to use. A lighter is much less troublesome. | There was actually a time I needed the 3,000 feet worth of cord! That was the holy grail of bear bagging... | ||
| Not so Good to Have | Leatherman Tool First Aid Kit Wallet Walkman and some tapes (900 miles) 2 garbage bags |
Swiss Army knife Stripped First Aid Kit Financial/ID packet (some travelers checks) |
Swiss Army knife Stripped First Aid Kit Financial/ID waterproof case (some travelers checks) |
| All the stuff on the left either was too much trouble or was too weighty and some were both. A wallet come to mind as being particularly extraneous; all one needs is a drivers license, a credit card and a travelers check or two with a rubber band snaped around them and shoved into a plastic bag. There is a lot of weight in the wallet junk and the leather of the wallet itself. The first aid kit I carried also had a lot of extra junk. In 2001, first aid will consist of a couple of band-aids, Immodium AD and Vitamin I(aka ibuprophin). Lastly, the Leatherman was a useless chunk of metal that rusted shut after Boiling Springs. It had too many unused features. I feel a Swiss army knife will work better. I don't know why the garbage bags were there. Guess I figured a use for them somewhere. | My “wallet” was a Christmas present from some friends of the family. It was lightweight plastic that created a waterproof seal when shut and kept me from carrying too much wallet junk since the space inside was limited. | ||
| A few words about the walkman. I picked it up in Front Royal mainly because music was the one thing about “civilized” life I desperately missed. I intended to listen to the radio while I hiked and perhaps a tape (a few of which I had sent to me in Duncannon) after I had settled in for the night. It did not work that way - the cord from the player to the earphones always seemd to be on the verge of being knocked out by an errant swing of the arm. I was too tired at night to do anything but sleep. Tuning the radio was pointless for as soon as I found a station I liked (not often) it would fade away to crisp static once I decended to the valleys. Yet I was so hungry for music that despite its uselessness, I held on to it for the rest of the journey. | Missed music less this time around | ||
| Essentials | A.T.C Maps 1998 Thru-Hiker's Handbook Pack Cover |
A.T.C Maps 2000 Thru-Hiker's Handbook Pack Cover |
A.T.C. Maps 2001 Thru-Hiker's Handbook Pack cover |
| Carried 3-4 maps at a time. The Thru-Hiker Handbook is the best guide one can carry on the trail. | Managed to get my hands on the new Handbook | ||
| Personal | Toothbrush Toothpaste (6 oz. size) Shampoo (2 oz. size) Dr. Bronners 18 in 1 soap Chapstick Toenail Clippers Retin-a |
Toothbrush Toothpaste (1 oz. size) Shampoo (1 oz. size) Dr Bronners Soap |
Toothbrush Toothpaste (1-2 oz. size) Shampoo (1 oz. size) Dr Bronners Soap |
| The chapstick was never needed and the toenail clippers can be thrown into the bounce box. I never needed the Retin-a because walkin' the woods achieved the same result to my complexion as expensive chemicals did. | Did I really notice the differences in weight in this category? | ||
| More personal junk | Zinc oxide Baby Wipes Medicated Cornstarch Inhaler Ibuprophin Migraine Meds |
Ibuprophin Inhaler Excedrin Migraine |
Zinc oxide Ibuprophin Excedrin Migraine Inhaler Medicated Cornstarch (in film canister) |
| Most of the stuff from '99 will be in the bounce box until needed. One of the exceptions is the inhaler. Now one of the biggest surprises of the year was needing the inhaler only once in six months. Yet I can not use that reasoning for leaving it behind or putting in the bounce box. Lastly, the Excedrin is along for the ride because the perscription meds I had were not very effective and plus, past their expiration date. Oh yes, ibuprophin does not work on a migraine. | Zinc oxide is useful to counter chaffing and, well, better safe than sorry. | ||
| Misc. | Cup Sitting Pad (600 miles) Book (sometimes) |
Cup Book (sometimes) |
Cup Book (most of the time) |
| The sitting pad was to keep my ass from hurting when I sat down (that's the first place one loses fat deposits). Then I found out that that pain kept my mind off my legs. Gone! As for books, I read two really bad novels, excerpts from “Leaves of Grass” and “The Prince” on the trail. After a while, my mind became starved for reading material, a result of some sort of trail-induced deprivation. | The cup was always stored in my cookpot. I had much better reading material this go round as well: Lord of the Rings, Good Omens, Farenheit 451, and the extraordinarily bland Big Trouble by Dave Barry. | ||