AT Thru Hike Gear

[R3l@x]

this might just be crazy talk but I've always laid out the gear I was happy with and then found a pack to fit what I wanted to carry. Your load out is very similar to mine. What I consider smart light. I have a Jam 50 for summer but when I do a 5 to 10 day trip in shoulder season I pick my Six moon designs starlight or one of my ULA packs. You can look at this two ways. Adjust the gear to your pack or adjust the pack to the gear your happy with.

Hope this helps

[Chop]

If it were me I would:

- Get a smaller cook pot
- Get rid of the head net, deet, fire starter and 3/4 of the towel
- Get rid of the Sawyer Squeeze and use Aqua Mira
- Add a 3rd pair of socks. Rotate 2 pair while hiking and keep the 3rd pair clean and dry for wearing at night
- Get rid of the NeoAir pad and groundsheet. Commit to the hammock and have the pad sent to you just for the Smokies and the Whites.

When selecting gear keep the saying in mind that "You can't camp your way to Katahdin."

I'd concur with the above as well. There are only two nights that I would have liked to have a pad with on my 2011 AT thru-hike...once when I did work for stay at Zealand hut and another time at Lake of the clouds. That's it. And, having done more hiking up there since (I live in the White's), I'd sleep north of Zealand by a couple miles and hammock, and then stay near Mizpah Hut and hammock and then walk from Mizpah to Washington and beyond Madison in one day. Very doable.

There is quite a bit of talk on the difficulty of hammocking in the Whites.. Aside from Mizpah to Mt. Madison, you can find a place without a terrible amount of effort.

I had an 1/8" gossamer gear pad along during this section, so that is what I slept on in the huts where I did work for stay....not enough for my cranky 38 year old-too many hours in front of a computer-leaning over workbench - back, but it was only a couple of nights.

Dutch and some of the other guys are really right in saying that you will ditch the gear that you don't need early on. Don't be married to certain things and you will be able to let them go easier.

Ditch most stuff sacks...they make things that will spread out nicely into a round ball that doesn't spread out nicely. Your GoLight pack should be plenty big. I've used the Circuit for about 600 miles over the years and it is a great pack, but it was really too large for me. I keep mine around for winter outings.

You are going to have a blast! If this is your first big hike, don't let it be your last...enjoy it, the wilderness and all the good folks you meet out there.

[NMardin]

That all sounds like good advice, I wish I could impart more into it but I will certainly be taking away from it. Chop, where in the whites do you live? I grew up about 10 minutes from Mt Lafayette.

[Chop]

I am in Thornton, just south of the Lincoln/N Woodstock area.

[NMardin]

Ha! I used to work at Clarkes Trading Post for the summers!

[pinballwizard]

The sunglasses will also protect his eyes from sticks and branches hitting him in the face too.

Fronkey

+1 to this

[Chop]

Ha! I used to work at Clarkes Trading Post for the summers!

Nice..just up the road

[NMardin]

Good to see more folks from the Shire