Gear To Start With and High Level Strategy

First A Shout Out

My daughter has been “encouraging” me to get another blog written. Meg is most certainly my biggest fan. I try not to disappoint her. Since my last blog, she gave my wife and I our first grandchild. Lillian was born a week before Christmas and is possibly even more precious than my daughter. Among the things I will miss most while away are Meg and Lillian; possibly even more than my three dogs! We plan to FaceTime a lot and hopefully enjoy a visit or two. Meg and her husband love New England and especially Maine so maybe up there somewhere? 

Gear List

An obligatory part of blogging about the AT are gear lists. I’ve read every one of them I could find. The gear lists that were most useful listed what finished the trek, not started it. What gear worked and didn’t? The vast majority of us have some backpacking experience but nothing like a 2,200 mile trek. We (I) still have a lot to learn. The trail itself and the people on it will teach us though. So I take these beginning gear lists with a grain of salt like you should take mine. 

Strategy

I want to discuss my gear strategy before I get deeper into my detailed list. Strategy is much more entertaining to me and will partially explain specific choices. The AT trek can be divided into roughly fourths for gear adjustments in my approach. My wife will meet me every month or so to allow for this. There is a big tote being overstuffed with possibilities that will travel with her. 

 

 

Leg 1

The theme of the first leg is Packing My Fears. That stretch is Springer to Virginia from early March to mid-April. My fears are temperatures dipping well below 20 and prolonged rainy and cold days. I will err on the side of caution during this leg and fight the urge to pack too much. Included here are a rain jacket and rain pants, 10 degree Hammock Gear quilt, and Torrid insulated jacket. My warm base layer for sleeping will double as an extreme cold hiking layer. I plan to use the Thermarest NeoAir X-Lite sleeping pad which is light but well insulated on all four legs of the trek.

My biggest debate early on is which rain jacket to bring. The current choice is the Outdoor Research Helium II due to weighing just over 6 ounces. I am also considering the HD version with pit zips and a few other upgrades but it weighs 3 ounces more. Even a Gore-Tex jacket by Sitka at 11 ounces that is more storm worthy than the Helium II could go with me on this leg.   

 

 

Leg 2

The theme of leg 2 is Transition. This leg stretches from Virginia to the halfway point around Maryland. This section starts around mid-April and ends late May. The weather could be anything. I’m much more accustomed to trail life by now. My confidence is transitioning upwards along with that weather. At least that’s what I hope. Both allow me to shed some gear weight. I’ve probably already shed or exchanged several items by this point.

Ambitions here are fairly modest. I could swap in a lighter Sierra Designs Backcountry 30 degree quilt. Silk weight will replace mid-weight fleece sleeping/base layers. This will trim almost a pound of base weight. I plan to hike in Adidas Terrex pants the entire trek which weigh only 4.7 ounces but could save a couple ounces by exchanging the matching 6.8 ounce shirt for something lighter. I will treat the pants with Permethrin starting this leg for protection from ticks.   

 

 

Leg 3

My third leg is Pennsylvania to the doorstep of the Whites. It is now June through mid-July and hotter. Bugs are more of a concern. If I’ve made it this far, I’m willing to make do with even less. I am hiker trash and wouldn’t have it any other way. Lightening my pack to sail over the rocks of Pennsylvania and through the mud of Vermont would be nice.

I can’t imagine needing both a fleece mid-layer and the Torrid jacket now. I will likely leave the latter behind. If I even still have them, the rain pants too. I’ve mentioned planning to hike the entire AT in pants but Patagonia Baggies will be calling to me by now. A Rumpl one pound down blanket is an option to the quilt. Another one to one and a half pounds of weight could be shed.

 

 

Leg 4

The final quarter of the journey is through the Whites and to the finish line on mama Katahdin. I should be so fortunate. This leg is roughly mid-July until late August. My plan is similar to the second leg. Be prepared for anything. I hope to see my gear tote, and wife of course, just before starting the Whites. I’ll make decisions based on the forecast and the experience I’ve gained to date. There will be no more gear changes from the tote for the rest of the trek.

I’m guessing I will take back the Torrid jacket, 30 degree quilt, and maybe the rain pants to be safe in the Whites. I have the utmost respect for those mountains plus a healthy amount of fear. I’ll still be a little lighter than the 2nd leg of the trek but not as light as the 3rd leg.     

 

 

The Rest of the Big Four

I have already discussed quilts and the sleeping pad, so that leaves a tent and backpack, right? I am part of the Durston cult and plan to trek with the X-Mid 1P tent and the Kakwa 55 backpack. I’m 90% sold on the tent and 75% sold on the backpack with about six weeks left to obsess before I get to the Approach Trail and Springer Mountain trailhead. 

Past camping trips with my X-Mid 2P have been great. The tent is incredibly easy to set up, roomy, and very storm-worthy. I like how the fly covers the floor so the inside doesn’t get wet when setting up in the rain. It has two vestibules and is double-walled. Based on that, I bought the 1P version this past Fall. My only knock so far on the X-Mid is the large footprint it takes. I’m tempted to go with the Dyneema version to shave 12 ounces of base weight. A combination of the higher cost and possible condensation issues have me sticking with the SilPoly double-wall tent for now. 

My backpack will likely be the Kakwa 55 even though it has only been with me around the neighborhood so far. It’s roomy and comfortable. I have an older Zpacks Arc Air 50 DCF that I like and that would save me around 6 ounces so that is still in the back of my mind as an option.

 

 

Part 2 To Come

There is only around a month and a half to go before I start. Scary. I’m pretty settled but still am still debating and weighing everything over and over. My base weight is 14.3 pounds and what I’m wearing is another 4.3 pounds. Food and water are not included. I’ll get into more details of my gear concerns including food protection and cookware the next time. Enough for now. 

Thanks for reading. I appreciate it and look forward to hearing from you!