A Perfectionist’s Guide to AT Gear Preparation

The following list explains my process as a self-diagnosed perfectionist preparing to hike the Appalachian Trail.

Step 1: Panic

Any perfectionist knows that panicking is a necessary step in any organizational process. Panic about what you don’t know, what you do know, and what you want to know. If your laptop doesn’t have 55 tabs on it, you’re not doing it right. Then you have to panic about how many tabs are open and which ones you can close without losing vital information forever. Every website is useful. Every gear review and recommendation YouTube rabbit hole is valid.

Step 2: Cross-reference everything

Step 2 comes when you have gathered enough information that you need to start comparing your sources. Do I believe the 50-year-old’s hiking pant recommendation over the 34-year-old woman’s just because he has music in the back of his videos and funny commentary? Maybe. This is cross-examination time. Spreadsheets comparing lighterpack gear lists from successful thru-hikers are a must. If you find matching gear choices, you’ve won! You can move on to the next stage.

Step 3: Buy, buy, buy

You’ve compared ounces, reviews, materials, costs and you’re finally ready to commit. Well, kind of. What if I don’t like the texture of this fleece? What if the color makes me nauseous? I have to wear it every day. The only choice is to use the savings from your waitressing job to buy options. You cringe at the sight of your bank account slowly dropping. Take a deep breath. Step 4 is coming.

Step 4: Return, return, return

So you got all the gear. Your mailman or mailroom hates you. Eleven packages in one day, Lily? Really? They don’t get it. You need to be 100% sure of every selection in order to feel prepared. You try it all on, test it out, and prance around in front of your roommate. You’ve narrowed it down. Now there’s a pile of boxes stacking up in the corner of your room and you must conquer your fear of returns. This is adulting. You got this. I think returns happen through the post office? You do a little googling to make sure. Confirmed. You spend almost as much returning the items as you did purchasing. Whoops. Next time you’ll research return policies before purchasing. Maybe add it to the spreadsheet? Too late now.

Step 5: Panic again

You have all your winning gear in front of you. Time to second-guess it all. Luckily, in the spirit of procrastination, you left this stage until the week before hitting the trail. You can’t second guess your decisions because you can’t replace anything. It simply won’t come in time. You take a trip to REI for the third time that week just to wander around in case you missed something. You buy a blow-up pillow to feel like that trip was worth the hour drive.

Step 6: Accept your fate

If you’re really like me, you found Zach Davis’ Appalachian Trials with only enough time to speed-read his advice after the gear shopping was over. You write down your reasons for thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail in your waterproof journal (yeah, that was one of the rabbit holes). Gradually, you realize that the perfect tent, the perfect fleece, or the perfect water filtration system is not gonna motivate you to complete the trail. Sure, they might help in minor ways, but ultimately it’s your mind and motivation that will get you to Katahdin. So you sit back in your United Airlines seat on the way to Georgia and accept your fate.

Step 7: ?

Hope that hiking 2,190 miles in the woods will kill your perfectionist tendencies because that was exhausting.

Here’s a link to my gear list if you’d like to see the “end” result.

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Comments 3

  • AmaSue : Mar 22nd

    OMG…laughing at your post, we totally think alike, not even set for start date and I am doing the exact things. Nothing important ordered, looking forward to your posts and best of luck!

    Reply
  • KB : Mar 22nd

    I would be completely remiss if I did not mention,……the neatest layout of gear I have ever seen since the army.
    Hike on!

    Reply
  • Mollie : Mar 25th

    I really liked this one! Great sense of humor and your words definitely resonated with me (esp the part about wandering around REI lol). Thank you for your candor!

    Reply

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