Just Your Typical Appalachian Trail Gear List
Everyone loves gear lists, right? Hikers are gear junkies! I didn’t think I’d become one to post about my gear, but here I am, doing exactly that. No shame, no shame.
But for real, I’m actually intrigued, because I had never made a gear list before I left for the AT, nor had I when I finished. I’m interested to pile everything into a list so I can take a look at it all as a whole and start figuring out what new gear I want to invest in!
Anyways, here is what I carried on the Appalachian Trail. It’s not the most lightweight by any means, but it worked well for me and was sort of in-between heavy and ultralight. I hope at least one of you who reads this finds it even a little bit helpful 🙂 And if you’re a gear expert, please leave a comment if you have any tips or recommendations!
The Big 3
Pack: ULA Circuit
Tent: Big Agnes Fly Creek UL 2
Sleep System: Therm-a-Rest Z Lite Sol and the REI Lumen 20
Clothing and Waterproofing
Puffy: L.L.Bean PrimaLoft Packaway Jacket
Hiking Clothes: Basic Nike shirt and shorts (one pair of loose shorts, and one pair of spandex shorts for chafing)
(I also used a tank top in the summer and a long sleeve in colder weather, I just swapped out items through mail-drops depending on when I needed them.)
Sleeping Clothes (Base Layers): L.L.Bean midweight long sleeve crew and pants
Underwear (Not Pictured): No name brand sports bra and 2 pairs of underwear
Rain Gear: REI Rainier Jacket, a Six Moon Designs Umbrella, and a contractor bag to line the inside of my pack
Other Clothing Items: Picture Equipment beanie, 2 pairs of Darn Tough socks, Altra Lone Peaks
Kitchen
Water System: Sawyer Squeeze filter and 2 Smart Water bottles
Cooking System: MSR PocketRocket 2 with fuel, Toaks Titanium 550mL pot, Toaks long-handled spoon, and a lighter
Food Bag / Bear Line: Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Dry Sack, 50ft of Paracord, and a carabiner
(I also used my tent stake stuff sack as a rock sack to hang a bear line)
Miscellaneous Items
Headlamp: Black Diamond Spot 350
Trekking Poles: Black Diamond Trail Poles
Small Things: Pocket knife, pepper spray, and 2 bandanas (1 for cooking, and 1 as a pee rag that I tied to the outside of my pack!)
Electronics
Phone: iPhone 11 with charger, wall adapter, and earphones
Battery Bank: Anker PowerCore 26800 with charger and wall adapter (huge, I know, but I did get 6-7 charges, so, worth it!)
GPS: Garmin InReach Mini
First Aid
Homemade Kit: Duct tape, medical tape, Neosporin, gauze, Advil, tweezers, safety pin, electrolytes
Butt Paste: LIFESAVER when it comes to chafing! Body Glide is a no go for me. This stuff also works wonders on feet if your skin rubs raw!
Last Notes
I also carried some ziplock bags for waterproofing my electronics, a journal, and a couple of small sentimental items / good luck charms.
Depending on the weather, some of my gear changed. From VA – MA, I carried bug spray and a bug net. I swapped out the sleeping bag pictured above for a 50-degree quilt when it got hot, I cold soaked (went stoveless) for the summer, and also carried one or two more layers at the beginning and end of my hike when it got uncomfortably cold.
Lastly, I ended up switching to an inflatable Big Agnes sleeping pad, and to an L.L.Bean one person tent, both of which are not pictured. I switched to those items in Massachusetts.
These are the basics of what I carried, with some things being swapped out depending on temperatures and season!
Ahh! I Almost Forgot!
CROCS!
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Comments 13
Nice article. And with an name like MoXie. I had to subscribe. Question, you ever had a Moxie soft drink?
Haha yep! I live in Maine!
Wow! Great gear list. I actually have a lot of the same gear. I hope to do a thru hike sometime before my gear is obsolete.
really useful list , thank you. how useful was the umbrella?
I LOVED the umbrella! The one from Six Moon Designs is incredibly light. It keeps your entire upper body dry when it rains, so you don’t have to deal with the annoyance of rain constantly dripping down your face. Plus, you can use your phone underneath it and it stays dry! (Nice for taking photos and not getting your phone or camera wet).
Hey! How much did your pack weigh in the end?
Hey! I’m not exactly sure, but I remember it weighing 25 lbs in the beginning, and it only got lighter from there, since I overpacked a bit!
Great list. Also, good skills putting the pictures together like that for each major listing of items; gives it a professional look.