Appalachian Trail Winter Gear List: Taylor’s Pack

We’re leaving March 19th for our Northbound thru-hike and we’re planning for some cold weather. Below is Taylor’s portion of the gear list we currently plan on starting with. We plan on doing a test run with this gear a couple weeks before we leave, so we may be making some changes depending on how that goes.  Also, since we’re traveling as a pair we’ll be sharing some items, you can find the rest of our gear in Nikki’s Pack.

Related reading: How to choose your clothing for an AT thru-hike

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Comments 5

  • Change : Jan 6th

    Hi fellas. I Through-Hiked the A.T. several years back and have since Through-Hiked the Long Trail as well. I have also spent a lot of time on the A.T. and other trails in winter. I took a look at your gear list. I think the choice of a pillow might be superfluous, since you can just roll up an item of clothing that you’re not wearing and put it in a stuff sack and use it as a pillow. That’s if you need to save weight.

    Another thing about the A.T. is that it can be wet as hell. Wet + cold = chilly times. I might swap that down jacket for a synthetic one, since even tech-treated down turns into a clumpy wet non-insulating mess once you wet it or sweat it out. Just my two cents.

    Have a great hike!

    Reply
    • The Swords : Jan 7th

      Thanks for the tips! Do you have any recommendations for a synthetic jacket?

      Reply
  • stealthblew : Jan 7th

    The weather should be nice by late March in Ga. with the exception of a few cold fronts sweeping down from Canada – over the plains – and into the Southeastern states. These fronts can bring winter storms along with brief periods of sub freezing weather. Please bring your gloves (or mittens) skull and bomber hats for safety. A neck gaiter might be worth its weight too and an umbrella is very versatile.

    Regarding the sleeping bag liners -Long underwear might be a good substitute for them, but that might just be a personal preference
    .
    With all this talk about cold weather, the leaves are off the trees and the sun strong. Please do not forget the sun screen when hiking in Georgia during the month of March.

    Have fun!

    Reply
    • The Swords : Jan 8th

      Thanks! We definitely planned on bringing hats and gloves, but haven’t yet settled on what kind. Good reminder on the sun screen too! I know we read about that at some point, but may have forgotten about its importance in the winter.

      Reply
  • Rob : Jan 11th

    It’s proper, good job.

    As with everybody, you will refine your gear as you walk to what best suits your hike.

    Reply

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