My Ultralight Gear Journey

On the Appalachian Trail I finally achieved the sub 10lb base weight of my dreams with a tiny little Pa’lante pack. Every time someone would mention how small my pack was, I felt a surge of pride. I was more proud of my ultralight base weight than I was on the fact I was hiking this impossibly difficult trail.

Some of you may be familiar with my journey to becoming UL. It is something that quite literally happened over night, after a saber toothed rodent devoured my lovely Atom Pack. (Atom Packs have since done a fantastic repair on it- huge shout out to them for this!). Read that story here: https://thetrek.co/appalachian-trail/how-a-rodent-made-me-get-serious-about-my-base-weight/

I love gear.  I am a total gear head. When I am sad or lonely or bored I dive deep into the world of UL backpacking going down endless rabbit holes of researching anything I can think of that could be suitable for backpacking. I often try out new gear and then sell what doesn’t work for me on either Facebook marketplace/ Ebay or Vinted. Trying new gear is something that brings me great joy in life. Whilst I am content and very happy with my current set up, I am definitely not done trying new items.

I reflect on my journey to UL backpacking

When I started researching gear 5 years ago before my 2022 PCT hike; it was very overwhelming. When you first dive deep into the world of UL gear there are so many cottage brands, outdoor influencers telling you what you should get and what works best, but honestly, you only really learn through trial and error and getting out there and using it! My set up for the PCT was the lightest and the best that I could afford at the time and slowly I have upgraded over the last few years. Cottage gear is not cheap and you do pay for the quality often. The other issue is everybody’s body is shaped and built differently and what works for some people doesn’t work for others. Some female hikers love using a pee funnel on trail whilst I have no interest in trying that. Some hikers don’t need a camp pillow, whilst that is even more essential to me than my sleeping mat! I love using a pillow for my dreamy siestas, spread out across my dirty yet beloved piece of Tyvek.

Only the essentials and pack shake downs 

On the AT I shunned every single luxury item. Anything I envisioned I could live without, I did. I carried only the essentials. I went stoveless and cold soaked eventually  giving up on that all together and just eating snacks and sandwiches and cereal with coconut milk powder mixed with water. I would shove my feet into dirty wet shoes every time I needed to leave my tent to pee. I was honoured to be asked to help other hikers reduce the size and weight of their packs and behind me I left a trail of hikers getting rid of their camp shoes, rain pants and spare underwear. Camp shoes, I had decided, were only for people who aren’t hiking hard enough, rain pants in summer were unnecessary as legs are water proof and honestly why do you need more than one pair of underwear? I had become a shake down artist. 

But this was on the Appalachian Trail. Town was always a couple of days away or if something went wrong and you had to get to town in case of an emergency, there was always access to a  road nearby. The AT is so steep and rugged that every single thing on your pack feels so heavy  weight. On the PCT nothing in my pack seemed to bother me the same way that things did on the AT. My only real issue with my weight on the PCT was carrying 8 days of food in a bear can up Bishop Pass all the way to Mammoth, cursing every single tuna packet and tortilla I had packed. 

I didn’t feel that I needed hot food or camp shoes for my wet feet on the AT when there was always a hot diner meal and a shower or laundry accessible. After staggering up the approach trail wondering why I needed food at all on the AT I realised that the more rugged the terrain, the more essential it was for me to be UL, especially with my fibromyalgia and just general lack of motivation for walking a lot of the time!

Changes I am making for the CDT

On the CDT I will be carrying a stove. I will be eating hot food because dehydrated foods weigh less than fresh food. I struggle so much with my nutrition (help!)  I will have longer food carries and I want to try to get it right. I have bought the smallest, lightest pot I can find. I am also going to carry camp shoes! I have found the very best and lightest camp shoes on the market which I can still hike in if I want to on the road walks or in town! I am awarding myself these pieces of luxury because I have already achieved UL status so I know I can go without.  I do not think it will be safe for me to have a 30l pack when I have long food carries on the CDT where I will need to pack extra food and carry many litres of water for my safety. I cant imagine fitting 7 days of food into my Pa’lante! 

I am still undecided what pack I will be using for the Continental Divide Trail. Gear is always a learning curve. Who knows, maybe those camp shoes won’t make it past Silver City let alone to Canada! 

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