Ditch which gear?

[Five Tango]

I don't go in the woods even for a local day hike without a fire starter and a compass.Do not rely on the el cheapo keychain compass as I had one fail on me.A real compass can be had for under $10 and they dont weigh much.A real map is good idea as well.

[One Half]

depends on which trail and where you are hiking. The AT in many places is easy to follow without a compass/GPS/maps and you get good cell reception and could get by with just an app like Guthook if that's your comfort level. Personally I would never hike the Whites without a trail map and compass and I've been there a lot. I love maps and generally don't hike without one regardless but it's something I would "consider" ditching on the southern portion of the AT. I also love my guidebooks. But I can do without them in places. In other places they are essential. If I were hiking more back country though you can bet I would have at minimum a compass, map and guidebook if available. I would also have a much "beefier" first aid kit if I was hiking more remote places than the majority of the AT.

SO as others have said, not enough info to give you a good answer.

[Slo-go'en]

I think I have heard to ditch the brain, is that right? Just leave my bad pulled shut with the string?
Bag rain cover - not needed? Just use the trash compactor bag?
Compass? follow the blaze? Use my compass on my phone?
What else can I ditch?
Thanks
Vickie 2020's my year

That's a real open ended question. There's a lot of thing you don't need, but might want any way.

Personally, I like packs with a "brain". I find it much more convenient to get to often needed things during the day from the top pocket. I put a lot of odds and ends in the brain which would have to be in stuff sacks in a roll top.

A compass on the AT is pretty much useless since your rarely actually going north. Get the Guthook app and know exactly where your are.

A rain cover can be handy. Not only does it provide an extra layer of protection (use the compactor bag regardless), it gives you something to unload your pack onto if the ground is wet.

[randall_mcduberson]

That's a real open ended question. There's a lot of thing you don't need, but might want any way.

Personally, I like packs with a "brain". I find it much more convenient to get to often needed things during the day from the top pocket. I put a lot of odds and ends in the brain which would have to be in stuff sacks in a roll top.

A compass on the AT is pretty much useless since your rarely actually going north. Get the Guthook app and know exactly where your are.

A rain cover can be handy. Not only does it provide an extra layer of protection (use the compactor bag regardless), it gives you something to unload your pack onto if the ground is wet.

Personal opinion, take it for what it is:
I don't trust electronics as an end all be all. Batteries die and phones stop working or get dropped in water or get crushed when I slip down a rock. A compass on the AT wouldn't just be for finding north. Knowing how to use it, in conjunction with a map, can get you to a road, back to the trail, to a mountain top, fire tower, etc if you get lost or sidetracked. Even in the military where we have computers in our trucks and handheld GPS and multiple redundant systems, we still carry maps and compasses. **** breaks. Often. And always when you need it most.

[cmoulder]

I think I have heard to ditch the brain, is that right? Just leave my bad pulled shut with the string?
Bag rain cover - not needed? Just use the trash compactor bag?
Compass? follow the blaze? Use my compass on my phone?
What else can I ditch?
Thanks
Vickie 2020's my year

Without a complete gear list this a futile exercise. Use geargrams or lighterpack. Or something.

[vickietyer]

Thanks so much for all the tips. I'm going next week for 100 miles section hike on the AT in Shenandoah. I've got base weight down to 12-13 pounds with a tent, pad, quilt, camp cloths & shoes, puffy, rain jacket, Be Free filter, two Gatorade bottles and two one quart size ditty bags of stuff. I've got a bad foot so I'm lookin to go light, so I took out a backup charger for my phone and I'm wondering about the brain I have never used. And I have never used a compass, I have a tiny one I could trade it out with. And its summer so can I take something lighter than my quilt, I'm from Texas and I don't like sleeping cold. Thanks again!

[CalebJ]

IMO, if you're hiking in Shenandoah this time of year you won't need a puffy jacket. Maybe a t-shirt, base layer, and a lightweight shell. Everybody's different, but it won't be particularly cold. I checked Harrisonburg's forecast and the lowest low in the next couple of weeks is 63*. High's are mid 80's to low 90's.

[Elaikases]

To quote from an article ( https://thetrek.co/appalachian-trail...-hiker-survey/ )

Overkill Items

Other than winter layers, bug nets, and other seasonal gear, the items hikers most commonly discarded were:

• Parts or all of their First Aid kits
• Bear proof sacks or cans (these are necessary in other regions of the U.S., but not the AT)
• Bear spray or pepper spray
• Secondary electronic devices (e.g. tablets, Kindles)
• Cameras
• Towels
• Solar chargers (useless in the “green tunnel”)
• Surplus tent stakes
• Microspikes (not needed unless you’re hiking very late or early in the season)
• “My dignity” (you better expect you’ll become hiker trash)

Most of these items, such as bear canisters and bear spray, are commonly used (or required) in other regions of the U.S., but they are unnecessary on the Appalachian Trail. Bear spray is primarily designed for use with bear species like grizzlies, which we don’t have on the east coast. Before hiking the AT, you should educated yourself on behavior around black bears, and if you do that, you won’t need bear spray.
As woman who was traveling alone, I did bring pepper spray on my 2014 thru-hike, but that was a precaution against creepy men, not wildlife. I never had to use it but I did feel safer hiking alone at night, and it hardly weighs anything.
The following items are so unnecessary that hardly anyone brings them in the first place. If, for some reason, you’re thinking of bringing these, just don’t:

• Secondary light source (just bring 1 light source and spare batteries)
• Additional sleeping pads or bags
• Ground mat for under a hammock
• Machete
• Saw
• Mirror
• Pocket shower
• Satellite phone
  
  
  

Recommended

[Dogwood]

Next week in S NP for 100 miles...don't take the puffy. Better off with a light wt possibly synthetic vest. You'll get more use out of it. Supplement food(less food wt~!) at the S NP Waysides and Skyline Resort. If you have want a "zero day" and like caves check out Luray Caverns or do a S NP separate from the AT loop or out and back of White Oak Canyon(WOC) or descend WOC and come back to the AT via Cedar Run Tr to Hawskbill Gap. Lots of waterfalls on the hike. DESCENDING WOC is the less strenuous option and coming back up Cedar Run Tr. https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvis..._RoadTrail.pdf

[Dogwood]

This is a better - more scenic - more diverse loop than the AT between Hawksbill Gap and Skylands. If it's heavily raining all the better. The many falls will be roaring. IMHO, it's a damn shame the majority of ATers and most on this site WB when hiking S NP never get off the damn AT OR even worse AT thru hikers skip all of S NP because they ignorantly assume S NP is boring or all flat having the narrow gotta go gotta get er dun mindset ...time to race through S NP.

[GaryM]

A smart phone replaces a compass, maps, camera, books etc. Other stuff, well if you have carried it a few times but never used it you might want to consider dropping it, seriously, does everyone in a group need a compass and a lighter or will just one passed around work.

[Venchka]

Have a great trip Vickie!
ps: The Weminuche Wilderness Area & San Juan Mountains of Colorado are a lot closer to you.
Have fun!
Wayne

[Venchka]

Forgot a link.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weminuche_Wilderness
Wayne

[Ethesis]

Thanks so much for all the tips. I'm going next week for 100 miles section hike on the AT in Shenandoah. I've got base weight down to 12-13 pounds with a tent, pad, quilt, camp cloths & shoes, puffy, rain jacket, Be Free filter, two Gatorade bottles and two one quart size ditty bags of stuff. I've got a bad foot so I'm lookin to go light, so I took out a backup charger for my phone and I'm wondering about the brain I have never used. And I have never used a compass, I have a tiny one I could trade it out with. And its summer so can I take something lighter than my quilt, I'm from Texas and I don't like sleeping cold. Thanks again!

Another Texan. .

The guy guy is right who says this time of year you won’t need the puffy.

Depending on which part of Shenandoah you can plan a few hotel/hostel stops as well.

Wish you luck.

[bigcranky]

Don't be too quick to dismiss the puffy jacket, especially if you take a much lighter sleeping bag or quilt. My wife carries her Montbell UL Down Inner on every hike, and uses it often even in the summer. It can supplement a lighter bag, and she hates being cold. (Now, if it's a 3-pound high altitude mountaineering down parka, then, yeah, you won't need that in Shenandoah in July.) That said, a light fleece vest or pullover should be plenty.

Re: your other items: I always took off the "brain", but I always carry a rain cover, keeps water from running in that hole in the top left by the drawstring. (Now my pack has a roll top that is much more water resistant.) I have a mini compass that fits on my watch band - I would not hike without a compass. While it's true that the trail rarely goes "north" it's also true that it's easy to get turned around when off the trail for a bit. Plenty of people either have a hard time finding it again, or go back to the trail and start walking in the wrong direction. A compass will help with this if one is paying even minimal attention.

You already ditched the phone battery - so just keep the phone on airplane mode and it will easily last a week with light use (camera, occasional databook use.)

We did Shenandoah in July in 2005, and it was *hot*. Never got below 70 or 75 at night. The good news is that there are places to get water (and rest rooms) along the hike at waysides, picnic areas, and campgrounds. Don't pass up getting water at every one of these -- there's often not a lot of water on the trail, usually just the spring at the shelters (huts.) The bad news is that there are long stretches of the AT in the Shennies in the southern section that don't have water and there aren't as many developed places to stop. So just be aware of that when you're there. The next good news is that you'll walk through or past several camp stores and waysides where you can get a meal at the restaurant, or a cold beverage in the store. I can highly recommend breakfast at Big Meadows Wayside, or really any of them. Burgers at Elk Wallow were darn good, too.

The conventional wisdom on Whiteblaze is that the Shennies are "easy." Disbelieve this. They are only easy in comparison to the stretch of Central VA that precedes them for northbound thruhikers, who in any case are in phenomenal hiking shape when they go through. For us mere mortal section hikers, yes, there are some nice long stretches of relatively level trail, but there are also some good climbs. And it's going to be hot and humid So keeping your pack weight down is a good strategy. Also, keep up with water consumption and consider some sort of electrolyte powder if that's something that helps you (it sure does help me.)

Good luck and have a great hike!

[MtDoraDave]

I did the section between mile 550 and 650 (or so) in VA last week. I did not bring my puffy. I did not bring a pack cover.
What I did; I brought my frogg togg jacket. When it rained, I put it on my pack to keep my pack dry. When it's warm and raining, wearing it while hiking will only make a person wet with sweat, so let the rain land on me, not the pack. At camp in the evenings or early mornings when it was around 60 degrees, I wore it a couple times, and it was completely adequate in keeping me warm enough.

I did, at one point, make the scary error. I went off trail to answer nature's call. It was a flat-ish area, so I had to go further off trail than usual. On my way back, I did not go the exact same route, but simply in the same general direction. I didn't see any hint of the trail. I had that stomach dropping "uh-oh" moment. It is SO easy to lose the trail in some places. Change return route by a few degrees and perhaps the trail curved a bit... and you're simply in the woods alone. I believe that this is how most people get lost/ go missing on the trail. I was just about to stop where I was and wait (for hours if necessary) for a hiker to come along, when I came back to the trail.
Would a compass have helped? Not if I didn't check it before going off trail and then using it exactly 180 degrees out to return to the trail. And there are places where it's rocky that sometimes the trail isn't as obvious as it is in other areas, and one could walk over it without seeing it...

I love the lid on my pack(s) for things like T.P., medicine, powder, wipes, small trash bag, pen, lighter, spare trekking pole basket... things that I often need during the day and don't want to go digging into my pack to get.

Things I've brought with me on each week-long section that I have never used: Ace bandage, spare headlight, neosporin,

[QiWiz]

Ditch: camp shoes, camp chair, clothes that are not worn to hike or sleep in, socks >3 pairs, underwear >3, water filter other than a squeeze-type, canister stove (use alcohol or Esbit, just my HO), hand sanitizer, dish soap (clothes/self soap is OK), big knife, big headlamp.

[BuckeyeBill]

A smart phone replaces a compass, maps, camera, books etc. Other stuff, well if you have carried it a few times but never used it you might want to consider dropping it, seriously, does everyone in a group need a compass and a lighter or will just one passed around work.

Yes smart phones have all kinds of apps the will replace what you say they will, especially on certain trails. However, as how many of us have pointed out here and in other threads that electronics can fail due to batteries going dead or accidentally getting wet during a creek or river fording. A compass, a good map and knowledge in how to use them will help you pin point your location good enough to help SAR Teams find you. For pictures or videos, I have found that dedicated camera makes better photos and videos than smart phones. As far as books go, I have noticed I am too tired even think about reading. Yes I will have my phone with me, but to only call for help if I have a signal and to call home to let family know I haven't been eaten by a bear.

[Time Zone]

Does applying something like Scotchguard shed enough water to avoid a heavier wet backpack?

I don't have experience using Scotchgard on a pack and then carrying it in the rain. However, I have used both Scotchgard and silicone waterproofing spray products on motorcycle riding gear (after the fabled "breatheable / waterproof" fabric started leaking water, which wasn't long at all) and in my experience, it provided only a marginal benefit in terms of water shedding. Water still got in, usually where the riding suit had wrinkles from my movement/positioning, or at seams. On flat areas it seemed to work OK.

What's more, it retained dirt (soot & road grime) much more - never could get it very clean. That may have been more with the silicone than the Scotchguard, I forget, but basically I did Scotchgard first and when that wasn't waterproof anymore, I went to the cheaper stuff. So by the time I went to the cheaper spray, the riding suit had more miles on it. So maybe not a fair comparison as far as discoloration goes. Note too - Scotchgard underwent reformulation in 2003. I'm not sure which one got sprayed on my gear, the old or new.

Bottom line, I wouldn't bother with either spray again for outdoor gear. Get a pack cover or poncho (or Packa, as noted).

[Time Zone]

Would a compass have helped? Not if I didn't check it before going off trail and then using it exactly 180 degrees out to return to the trail.

This is an important point.

Before you go, practice going off trail at home, with a compass. Just simulate it. I tried it one day, even though, to that point, I only knew how to use my compass with a map and a known location. It turns out, you don't need either a map or a known location (nor declination adjustment) to use a compass to help you go off trail. [of course, you should have a map anyway]

I simply knew the saying, "put red in the shed", and went from there. It became intuitive after that - you put red in the shed and figure out your bearing (heading?). Then you go 90 degrees from that to go perpendicular off trail, then 180 degrees from that to get back. If you think you may have trouble adding/subtracting 3-digit numbers in your head, or remembering them, write it down as you go. If the trail is faint, it helps to count your steps once you leave the trail, or time it, to avoid going past it on your return.