Another Gear List

[josh_ATL]

My experience on the AT and other trails in the east is exactly the opposite, I have seen a grand total of exactly zero umbrella carriers. I understand why people like them, and I'm certainly not married to my present method of hiking without one, especially given my many cases of skin cancer...shade is my friend. But I am married to my hiking poles and given the occasional tunnel of vegetation which I would have to navigate, I don't really want to attach something to my pack which will get hung up on limbs.

Now, when I do the PCT...you bet I'll have one. Heck, I may get a prescription from my dermatologist and get it paid for...lol

I've never had mine get caught on anything if it was in my pack, but I've snagged it a few times with it open. I'm actually on my second one because I caught it on a low hanging branch and ripped a pretty big hole in it. Luckily it was just a drug store umbrella. I've snagged my MontBell a few times, but it seems to be a lot more durable. I'm sure sure I could damage it, but I try to pay a t least a little attention to it. I definitely made fun of my friends who hiked with umbrellas before I tried one out for myself. I just so happened to find one in a hiker box at Partnership Shelter right before I was about to head out into a huge thunderstorm. I was a believer from that day on. I just didn't realize how helpful they are. I think the best thing about them is the fact that they keep rain from running down the front or back of your neck while hiking in a downpour. Plus, they can literally take the place of your rain jacket if it's warm enough outside. Don't get me wrong, you'll still get wet, but it won't be from sweating in your rain shell. It also kind of helps to keep water off your pack so it doesn't become so water logged so quick. On the rare occasion I use trek poles, I just clip my sternum strap over the handle of my umbrella and use a gear tie to cinch it to my shoulder strap so I have a hands free system to beat the rain. I'm a big umbrella advocate, but before dropping $50 on a trekking umbrella, try a cheap dollar store one and see if you like it. That was what I started with, and eventually trader up to a nice hiking one.

[josh_ATL]

Josh,

The reason I suggest hanging is the possibility of rolling into the trekking pole and having the shelter crash down... If you are on a slope... if room is limited... if you flail about when sleeping.... Just an idea.

I, too, gave away Victorinox Signatures for X-Mass. So, so good. Only tool I keep with my keys. Indispensible.

Take care,

Miguelon

I might have to try hanging if I can get a good pitch. I'll have to play with it to see if it's feasible. It would be nice not having my trek poles in the middle of my shelter (down side of mids) taking up room. I'm been super impressed with just how bombproof mids are though. I've had it set up in the Whites with 60+ mph winds, survived torrential downpours, and have even had my 100+ lb dog run into the center support at full force and it's never fallen.

[Engine]

I've never had mine get caught on anything if it was in my pack, but I've snagged it a few times with it open. I'm actually on my second one because I caught it on a low hanging branch and ripped a pretty big hole in it. Luckily it was just a drug store umbrella. I've snagged my MontBell a few times, but it seems to be a lot more durable. I'm sure sure I could damage it, but I try to pay a t least a little attention to it. I definitely made fun of my friends who hiked with umbrellas before I tried one out for myself. I just so happened to find one in a hiker box at Partnership Shelter right before I was about to head out into a huge thunderstorm. I was a believer from that day on. I just didn't realize how helpful they are. I think the best thing about them is the fact that they keep rain from running down the front or back of your neck while hiking in a downpour. Plus, they can literally take the place of your rain jacket if it's warm enough outside. Don't get me wrong, you'll still get wet, but it won't be from sweating in your rain shell. It also kind of helps to keep water off your pack so it doesn't become so water logged so quick. On the rare occasion I use trek poles, I just clip my sternum strap over the handle of my umbrella and use a gear tie to cinch it to my shoulder strap so I have a hands free system to beat the rain. I'm a big umbrella advocate, but before dropping $50 on a trekking umbrella, try a cheap dollar store one and see if you like it. That was what I started with, and eventually trader up to a nice hiking one.

Thanks for the info, I may have to give it a go this year. Given that it rains about 20-30% of the time on the AT, finding the best solution to dealing with it is critical to maximizing enjoyment. TBH, if it's warm enough to sweat under my really well ventilated (huge pit zips) AGG jacket, I usually forego any rain protection and just get wet.

[josh_ATL]

Looks like you've got a lot of items listed as 'worn or carried' in your list. That will skew your base pack weight significantly.

Regardless, once you're on the trail, you'll figure out what you want to get rid of & what you want to keep or possibly add. Generally, reducing is better than adding. As I like to tell my Scouts... "Ounces become pounds and pounds become pain."

Good luck on your hike.

Yeah, I've been told my worn items is a little confusing. I weighed my clothing bag a few weeks ago before I set out on a little 50 mile hike in 20-30 degree temps, and it was only about 2lbs. My clothing system depends on a lot of things. Sometimes I'm more concerned with the volume of my clothes and sometimes it's the weight. I keep extra stuff in my bounce box with my extra electronics, food etc. and am able to swap things out every couple days as needed, or dictated by weather. I probably should have disclosed that I've hiked the AT once before already, but I'm trying to balance weight and comfort/luxury items this time. There have been several times that I've left town with a large enough resupply to get me to the next town, and my pack has weighed less than 10lbs, but also had times where it was hovering around 25lbs. I'm generally pretty happy if its >20lbs, and ecstatic if its around 10lbs! It did take me until probably Harper's Ferry to get good at the food game, and not buy so much where I was walking into town to get a mail drop with 5 lbs of food. I think most people ride the strugglebus when dealing with resupply at least for the first couple hundred miles. That was the biggest help as far as weight control goes. I rarely walk into town with anything left except wrappers. I know it's probably not the popular opinion, but I ok with running out of food a day before I get into town. It definitely gives me some motivation to get some miles in, and town food tastes sooooo good after a day long fast. Looking back to what I started hiking with a few years ago, (40+ lbs pack) or my Philmont pack when I was in scouts (60/70lbs) to where I'm at now, I've kind of impressed myself with how much stuff I gave up that I was sure I'd need, or want to carry. It's crazy to me sometimes how I can lose stuff in such a small pack. You would figure that keeping inventory of everything you're carring would be easy, but every time I stop and pull my liner out to clean my pack, I'm always surprised at what I've been carrying around that I've forgotten about. When I hit New Hampshire, I unloaded my pack to clean it out really well for the first time since Virginia and found 2 pairs of the stock insoles that camp in my Altras, an AWOL book that I thought I had lost so I bought another, a Hawaiian shirt I'd bought for hiker prom in Damascus, a half full iso-butane canister (pretty sure one of my hiker trash buddies snuck it in there, because I carry an alcohol stove) a zip-lok bag full of zip-lok bags and a probably 2 month old can of PBR. I guess I never really paid it any attention because it was all underneath my pack liner and the only time I'd notice it was when I was grabbing my sleeping bag, but there wasn't a lot i could do in the middle of the woods. I've decided I need to be more diligent about cleaning my pack out at resupply instead of just piling new crap on top of old crap. Anyway, thanks for taking time to look thru my gear list.

[josh_ATL]

Loaded my pack up this morning with almost (yes, almost) everything including 3 days of food 6 lbs 12 oz. (just used food items I had in house for weight est.) and a touch over 2 liters of water. exactly 30.0 lbs. My goal was to keep it under 30 pounds.

Gear list (always changing)
Zpack Arc haul Zip w/ 2 belt pouches, 1 shoulder pouch, 1 side pocket.
Enlighten Equipment Rev. 20 degree quilt
Warbonnet Blackbird DL 1.7
Zlite Sol Sleeping pad - instead of UQ - can also be used to go to ground if needed - doing flip flop starting in april hoping weather wont be a huge problem,
-- don't want to add another pound or so for an under quilt
Warbonnet Superfly with 2 mod poles. . Poles
MacroMo JetBoil w/spork, collapsible cup in stuff sack.
Puffy coat in bag with buff - will use as pillow
Zseat
Crocs - may replace with flip flops
poncho
zpack rain kilt for ground sheet under hammock for pack and shoes
zpack food/bearbag
sawyer squeeze w/ 64oz water bag
first aid kit - VERY little
black diamond headlamp
SPOT GPS
head bug net
repair kit (pen knife, 3 AAA Batteries, patch kit, needle & thread,
biking gloves
pack rain cover - (may not take)
rash compactor bag
travel toothbrush - paste
nail clipper
chap stick
Deet
toilet paper with .6oz trowel - travel sanitizer
(2) 1 liter smart water bottles. ( only plan on carrying no more than 1 to 1.5 liters at any time)
(1) 16oz water bottle for drinking on pack shoulder strap.
electronics (includes medical equipment* ) --have a mild case of sleep apena. may be able to go without but will start with it. ( its almost silent and I won't snore with it ) great for hostels and shelters! lightening cable for iphone *The Cpap & battery is 4lb 1oz lbs (battery can be used to charge iphone)

Clothes in pack
1 darn tough socks
1 wigwam sock liner
1 underware
1 cabin/camp socks
1 gym shorts (laundry/sleep)
1 long sleeve shirt
1 short sleeve shirt
1 light weight base layer top and bottom

30lbs isn't bad, but 20lbs is waaaay better and 10lbs is heavenly. I notice I'm hiking with a 30lbs pack, but if i get sub 15lbs, it's really not that much different from hiking without a pack...in my opinion. Here's my 2 cents about how I think you could save a little bit of weight:

-Drop the Z-Seat...you already carrying a CCF sleeping pad that will be way more comfortable than that tiny Z-Seat.
-If you can survive without camp shoes, then ditch em. I see more people ditch them than carry them the whole way. I'm usually fine walking around either barefoot/sockfoot, or in my trail runners until I go to bed.
-ditch the rain cover, and just use your pack liner, especially if your bag is Cuben Fiber.
-is your CPAP portable or does it need to be plugged in? If you can't use it on the trail then I'd leave it at home, or use a bounce box and ship it to wherever you're going to be staying.
-I would only carry either an extra long sleeve shirt, or an extra short sleeve shirt, depending on how cold/warm it is since you already have a top and bottom base layer packed.
-the only other thing I can suggest (but not recommend...haha) is ditching the hammock for a lighter tent/tarp setup. I love my hammock, but it weighs about twice what my tarp does, and I doubt even with the sleeping pad you'll be able to stay warm some nights. I've got an under quilt for my hammock, and it's warm-ish, but it's can't even come close to going to the ground. I started with my tarp and sleeping pad, and switched to my hammock once it warmed up enough. I was still carrying my hammock in Vermont when it started cooling down and I ended up sleeping having to sleep in shelters the rest of the way until I got my tarp back. Even with the pad, I was freezing.

Anyway, hope I was at least a little help. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll do my best to give you a somewhat educated answer.

[josh_ATL]

Thanks for the info, I may have to give it a go this year. Given that it rains about 20-30% of the time on the AT, finding the best solution to dealing with it is critical to maximizing enjoyment. TBH, if it's warm enough to sweat under my really well ventilated (huge pit zips) AGG jacket, I usually forego any rain protection and just get wet.

If I can convert one person to the ways of the umbrella I feel like I've made the hiking world a better place...hahaha!!! Definitely give it a try! A lot of the time I'll forgo umbrella and jacket as well. If it's hot and I'm already sweating then the rain is just doing me a favor. I forgot to mention in my earlier reply that the umbrella makes it possible to use a camera in the rain. I fully intend on getting pics/videos of those days because the only videos I ever see are of the majestic balds around sunset because nobody has their cameras out when it's ****ty out side. I know for a fact a lot of my friends/family think a thru hike is just 6 months or leisurely walking around while you're on vacation. Maybe I can show them the ugly, not so fun side of hiking...haha! I saw someone posted a link for a hands-free trekking umbrella that I'm really thinking about giving s shot for this next hiking season.

[FiftyNine]

30lbs isn't bad, but 20lbs is waaaay better and 10lbs is heavenly. I notice I'm hiking with a 30lbs pack, but if i get sub 15lbs, it's really not that much different from hiking without a pack...in my opinion. Here's my 2 cents about how I think you could save a little bit of weight:

-Drop the Z-Seat...you already carrying a CCF sleeping pad that will be way more comfortable than that tiny Z-Seat.
-If you can survive without camp shoes, then ditch em. I see more people ditch them than carry them the whole way. I'm usually fine walking around either barefoot/sockfoot, or in my trail runners until I go to bed.
-ditch the rain cover, and just use your pack liner, especially if your bag is Cuben Fiber.
-is your CPAP portable or does it need to be plugged in? If you can't use it on the trail then I'd leave it at home, or use a bounce box and ship it to wherever you're going to be staying.
-I would only carry either an extra long sleeve shirt, or an extra short sleeve shirt, depending on how cold/warm it is since you already have a top and bottom base layer packed.
-the only other thing I can suggest (but not recommend...haha) is ditching the hammock for a lighter tent/tarp setup. I love my hammock, but it weighs about twice what my tarp does, and I doubt even with the sleeping pad you'll be able to stay warm some nights. I've got an under quilt for my hammock, and it's warm-ish, but it's can't even come close to going to the ground. I started with my tarp and sleeping pad, and switched to my hammock once it warmed up enough. I was still carrying my hammock in Vermont when it started cooling down and I ended up sleeping having to sleep in shelters the rest of the way until I got my tarp back. Even with the pad, I was freezing.

Anyway, hope I was at least a little help. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll do my best to give you a somewhat educated answer.

I've thought about your suggestions in the past..
- I am definitely ditching the rain cover.
- agreed, my tent setup is more than a pound lighter but there a a few reasons I'm not ditching the hammock.
my sleep apnea, if I sleep at an incline I tend to breath better. I keep my head side slightly higher.
I love having my own seat/couch to lay and sit on...
It is soooo comfortable.

Sleep apnea - this is my biggest problem. Sleep apnea is when not enough oxygen is getting to your brain and in turn causes you to have less energy. I have heard of many people with apnea having to leave the trail because they basically run out of steam to continue. One or two nights without the CPAP will not have a big effect but multiple nights The lack of energy will catch up to you. Even just using it a couple of hours each night to prolong batt life will have a big difference. My CPAP system is portable and good for about 3 full nights before recharging the battery. The battery is 1 1/2 pounds. The whole system (Cpap, battery, charger,cords and equipment needed is 4 lbs 1 oz) if this is something I have To carry,I will, if it means staying on the trail. I am hoping to ditch this after a month or so because of the combination of losing more weight and the hammock.



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[josh_ATL]

I've thought about your suggestions in the past..
- I am definitely ditching the rain cover.
- agreed, my tent setup is more than a pound lighter but there a a few reasons I'm not ditching the hammock.
my sleep apnea, if I sleep at an incline I tend to breath better. I keep my head side slightly higher.
I love having my own seat/couch to lay and sit on...
It is soooo comfortable.

Sleep apnea - this is my biggest problem. Sleep apnea is when not enough oxygen is getting to your brain and in turn causes you to have less energy. I have heard of many people with apnea having to leave the trail because they basically run out of steam to continue. One or two nights without the CPAP will not have a big effect but multiple nights The lack of energy will catch up to you. Even just using it a couple of hours each night to prolong batt life will have a big difference. My CPAP system is portable and good for about 3 full nights before recharging the battery. The battery is 1 1/2 pounds. The whole system (Cpap, battery, charger,cords and equipment needed is 4 lbs 1 oz) if this is something I have To carry,I will, if it means staying on the trail. I am hoping to ditch this after a month or so because of the combination of losing more weight and the hammock.



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I'm there with you on the hammock. I LOVE mine! And, honestly, I've thought about just carrying a small one for camp so I'd have somewhere to sit or lay around. I definitely sleep better when I'm hanging, and since your feet are at an incline above your heart, it aids in muscle recovery and will reduce soreness and alleviate fatigue.

Unfortunately, I'm very familiar with sleep apnea. I have a very mild case, but my dad suffers from it horribly. Like stops breathing for minutes at a time while gasping for air. He couldn't believe how much better he slept, and how much better and less fatigued he felt the next day after he started using his CPAP machine. He loves the outdoors, but hasn't been able to take any hikes with me since he started using his CPAP machine because it's so uncomfortable for him to sleep without it. I'm glad you said something about a portable CPAP machine. That might be exactly what he needs to help him get back outside. I haven't had any problems with mine since I started long distance hiking a few years ago. My sleep apnea got better corresponding directly to how much weight I lost while I was hiking. Now, I hardly snore at all and hope the same thing might happen for you. If you wanted to stay out longer, you could carry a decent size battery bank to charge your CPAP, and get a couple more days on trail before you would need to head into town. Anyway, thanks for the response. I'm definitely going to look in to the portable CPAP machines.