Everyone loves gear lists, don’t they?  I am not sure why, because it seems to me what’s in your pack is very much in the same vein as “Hike Your Own Hike” – your reasons for hiking, for speed, for zeroes, and for carrying next to nothing or the kitchen sink are your own, and probably unique to you. 

But maybe that is what makes gearlists so fascinating.  Because they are like a fingerprint.  They identify you, where you’ve been, how you think, and probably more. 

So, with that preamble, I present to you another gearlist (clicky linky for Lighterpack) running 15.9lbs Baseweight.  This gearlist is by no means generic.  Let me give you a run down of the big flavours.

• It’s a Canadian’s gearlist.  Despite us being America’s next door neighbour, our dollar is weaker, and whatever kind of “free trade” deal is currently in place does not touch duties and costs of cross-border shopping. 
• It’s a 50 year old‘s gearlist.  I got me some pills to take, and a set of reading glasses, and probably some other bits and bobs that a strapping 20 year old wouldn’t even think to take. 
• It’s a gearlist that still has some throwback items I have had from before I ever heard of Ultralight. There’s probably a story for each of them… catch me in camp some evening and I’ll tell you a couple. 
• It’s a gearlist to hike the AZT.  There’s a lot of stuff I am leaving at home, because it just isn’t needed. Two of them are bug spray and bear spray, just as examples. And there’s some stuff that I would only bring to the desert – the foam mattress, the stargazer kit and the groundsheet to name a few. 

Big Four

My shelter is the Durston Drop XMid 1P. That’s right, the OG. I picked it up back when I first began to hear of ultralight, and I cast my eyes around for a trekking pole tent that would not break the bank. Sadly, next to none of them were available in Canada. But at least this one was designed by a Canadian, so I ate the import duties and received my prize. Honestly, I haven’t had it out much – I picked up a 2P a year later when my wife wanted to do a section of the Great Divide Trail with me. Had to snag it second hand, they were rare as hen’s teeth at that time. 

I have the stargazer kit and the new groundsheet, mainly because desert nights could be both prickly and stunning. Worth the weight penalty. 

My sleep system is going to include my oldest foam mattress, an old Thermarest Z-Lite from I think about 2003.  That will go in the tent on the bottom, not necessarily for extra warmth, but to protect my air mattress. On top of that will be my Nemo Tensor insulated, which is plenty of R-Value for me. I’ve had it out in sub-freezing temps and been fine on it. I have a Thermarest mattress sheet as well – a small weight penalty, but I can wash it with my laundry and it will take my sweat and body oils. I just upgraded my pillow from a Sea-to-Summit Aeros to the Aeros UL Deluxe.  I found the smaller pillow to be awkward to manage, hoping the larger one works better.  Lastly, I have a hand-stitched 20 degree quilt from Little Shop of Hammocks, a cottage company in Saskatchewan.  I’ve actually met the owner (and craftsperson) who made it while on trail and it’s excellent work.

My pack, you can probably guess is a DurstonGear Kakwa 55. I have a Drop 40 and a Kakwa 40 as well, but I find that when I use the Kakwa 40 for extended trips, I max it out.  I mean, it’s stuffed. So I decided to grab a 55 so I don’t have to spend as much time carefully organizing and compressing everything, and so that I can fit a bearcan if I have to. Not that I’m bringing one this time. 

Hanging out with a statue at Colossal Caves last spring.

Food and Water

I am still extremely weirded out at how nonchalant hikers are on the AZT.  People eat in their tents, sleep with their food bags, and never worry about rodents or bears. It’s crazy. But, I am not going to overpack so I am just bringing a drysack with an Opsak inside for food (I think I’m going to eat outside my tent anyway, and hopefully there will be no food scents inside), and then a Sawyer Squeeze for water. I’ve used and been happy with the Katadyn BeFree on many trips, but I’ve been convinced that the rugged Squeeze will serve me better with the sketchy water sources on this trip. I also picked up a CNOC 2L bladder to complement my Smartwater bottles, which will give me a carrying capacity of 4L on the trail.  I hope that’s sufficient. 

For a stove, I prefer the Jetboil Stash. I have used a BRS stove, and must concede it is lighter, but the Jetboil just outperforms it in so many ways, I won’t be going back unless I am desperate. The Stash boils faster, uses less fuel, won’t overheat and collapse (Which I have literally seen a BRS do in the wild), and all for maybe a 15 gram weight penalty. 

Clothing

My Lighterpack only includes the clothes that will be in my pack, not the stuff I will be wearing. So, add a set of Outdoor Research Ferrosi shorts, an OR sun hoodie, a nylon belt, my Saucony trail runners (got them for a steal on clearance last year, and they are decent performers though I would prefer Hoka Speedgoats, and will probably buy them if I need a new pair on trail), a set of Injinji sock liners, a pair of Darn Tough Micro Crews, my Dirty Girl gaiters, and my Garmin Instinct 2 Solar watch.  Oh, and a ball cap. 

In my pack I’ll have a light half zip fleece which is my go-to midlayer 90%  of the time which gets worn first for light rain, chilly mornings, chilly evenings, and any other time I need more than thin technical fabric. I’ll also have a Decathlon Forclaz hooded puffy for REALLY cold mornings and evenings (anything within spitting distance of freezing), a pair of OR Ferrosi pants, some short shorts for when I am too hot to think or want to go for a swim in Hutch’s Pool, a merino t-shirt for a backup top and extra underwear and socks. I’ll have a pair of very light merino gloves if I am desperate, but my hands usually run pretty hot. 

I’m bringing raingear – OR Helium top and bottom just in case. They are very lightweight and not very durable, but if something sustained hits – especially wind and rain at the same time, I think I’ll be glad to have them.  Better safe than sorry. 

Breaking trail… an easy job on this segment! I believe this was heading into Saguaro National Park.

Electronics

I’ll be packing a GroPro 12, and hope to put together some trail videos. I will have a couple of attachments along with, including a headmount and a polemount. Packing a 20mAh Battery pack, and it should last as long as I need it to as I think the longest pull away from a potential recharge is 6 days. I have an extra battery for the GoPro too, so if I can avoid the need to top that up and just use the battery pack for my phone, that will be awesome. 

Everything Else

Just a few other notables – I use a stick sunscreen – I find it less messy and chance of spilling. Got a Jereko Gear Stake/Spade driver from GearTrade in Calgary – it was handy on my last trip for driving stakes in the hard ground without resorting to smashing the stakes with rocks. Only caution – it is plastic, so if it is not used carefully it will break. I managed to get my hands on a teardrop thermometer – I like knowing how cold it really is in the microclimate. I have this handy cooling towel I got a couple of years ago at a fitness event on base – it is so light and quick drying I love bringing it. It can serve as a drying towel for a swim, a drying towel for condensation on the inside of the tent, and of course something to cool the neck on a hot day. Also packing a cork ball – I wanted something to massage feet and limbs with in case I inflame some tendons or something. You never know right?