but, he got it doneOriginally Posted by Old Hillwalker
This is true. But I'd hesitate to recommend that anyone emulate his behavior.
No one can predict who will have a successful thru hike. We think we know what’s best and what it takes to succeed but we are wrong. We are arrogant.
Good Luck Tinybee. I'm leaving 2/10 and started with a 42 lb pack. I have been able to take out 6 lbs so far and plan to do one more pass at trying to reduce items. When it finally warms up I should be able to reduce about 5 lbs in extra sleeping pad, extra quilt to supplement a 20F bag, microspikes and other things. I am looking forward to sending those home!
Some things I eliminated.
eliminated 1 full set of clothes, but kept the socks so I have 3 pair total. I figure I could add a few more clothing items in late spring, but for now I wear the same thing every day. to hike I have one base layer, a short sleeve shirt to add some body warmth, a fleece, and my rain coat. At camp I have a puffy to wear.
I decided to eliminate the wet wipes, unless I find I do not like this. I plan to just wet tp so that can go right in the privy, no reason to carryout. I will take a few dry wysi wipes at 2gm each just in case. those have to be packed, so I will have few small ziplocks to take them out with the trash. overall less wipes and baggies.
I am leaving the picaridin at home until probably April. I don't think we ill see any in February/March and you can always find some in town when they appear.
Do you need Clorox wipes or would just one type of wipe work.
Do you need to bring some items like PI wipes. I've not gotten PI from hiking, just working in my wooded back yard. You have several items which people don't need in most cases, but you have to decide what to need from the start vs what you could pick up at the next resupply.
Do you need a paper guide? I will carry pdfs of both guides on my phone at zero extra weight. I also downloaded various atc pages and took pictures of National park info.
Good luck, i'm sure you will find things you don't need. I've been training with 38 - 40 lbs in my pack. Currently about 36 with 5 days food and 1ltr water. (at winter temps I can walk 8 miles with 1 liter so I am sure I will find water.)
Can someone send you a box in case you eliminate things you want? I'm planning to send myself a box with some of the eliminated items to Fontana dam as I leave. then I can bounce them forward or home if I do not need them at all.
Practice this at home first several times, and see how you do. TP is designed to disintegrate when wet. It may not stay adequately together for your intended purpose.
I do this at home so it works with good tp, but I should probably try with the 1 ply stuff you can usually find in single rolls on the trail.
IMO, I'd probably keep the brace and the compression socks.
Every ounce adds up, so I'll question taking two Sham Wows. One is listed under "Shelter" and the other one as "Packed Clothes". For me one of them would serve both purposes. And, those, like the 'camp towels' that many people buy, those Sham Wows may be larger than necessary.
I've always carried a "camp towel" purchased at outdoor stores, but I imagine a Sham Wow would work just as well. But for me, even the smallest camp towels that I see sold are larger than what I need (and choose to carry). Using a pair of scissors to reduce the towel's size resolves the issue. My current "camp towel" measures just 20 inches long by 4 inches wide. That works fine for soaking up condensation or rain water within my tent, for use as a wash rag, and also for drying my body. Yes, carrying a larger camp towel would occasionally make it possible for me to dry myself off more quickly after showering, but I accept that inconvenience in order to get some weight reduction.
When it's dry, my cut down camp towel weighs just 1/10 of an ounce. But after use it remains damp, even after I've squeezed out as much water as possible. So, the little towel goes back into my pack quite heavy, then weighing about 1/3 oz. I wonder how much two full sized 1 Oz. Sham Wows together weigh after they've become damp.
..........
Many great suggestions, a few small adds...
Is the sham wow the towel that gets hard when dry? Usually stays wet and slimy and heavy. I hated mine. Got a microfiber wash cloth which worked better.
No Clorox bleach towelettes.
I loved my baby wipes, but I dehydrated them prior to trip (hot car or low oven) would add warm water on trail for a lovely evening cat bath, then nighttime hot cocoa. They become amazingly light.
Get comfortable with toilet kit (female urinary diversion tool) prior to trip, also diva cup or similar for menstruation
i love a book at night (ebook on devices already carried)
start Very slow to prevent injuries. No shame in sending back extra stuff at mountain crossings.
You will see lots of different gear and get lots of solicited and even more unsolicited advise on gear choices when you are on trail. Especially being female from men. They generally mean well. Everything from ultralight highest tech to super heavy winter military, and then some guy with a shower curtain and rotisserie chicken in a Walmart bag, wearing Levi’s, cowboy boots and a leather jacket (yup I met him too) not sure which if any finished, but they were all glad to be starting.
did you have a headlamp? Missed that.
Mostly have fun !!!
Thanks RockDoc. I will take a look at the hat situation. I also need to pull together exactly what specific items I will be bringing along for food. Point taken about carrying water up to water.
I will comb through my list and get rid of some of the redundancies. Food weight is also something I will reduce. I will use the 1.5 lbs per day suggested. I can reduce the electronics; not worth all the weight. As far as the med kit and first aid, I am not sure where to cut. I am only taking minimal amounts of each med. I agree that foot roller can probably go and not sure how the bottle of water would work for the same purpose unless frozen. I am definitely re-evaluation my wants vs needs~ Thanks
Hi Two Tents. My thoughts with the foam sleep mattress and the blow up is that if the blow up goes out in the middle of the night (as I have often heard people speak of), at least I would have something to carry me over. In addition to the added barrier to the coldness of the ground when there is snow or it is really cold outside. I agree that it is a lot of additional weight. Is there some lighter weight option to the foam mattress that you could suggest? And still trying to pare down load quickly so that I can get out with it asap.
Yes. I am a cold sleeper as well.
Ha ha!
In regards to the gloves, I actually purchased those from Zpacks. They did not work for me. The pot cozy seems to be the thing to use to maintain heat. I will adjust the weight after I make i out of the Reflectix material. The "portable toilet" will hopefully prevent me from having to go out in freezing cold and rain to use the bathroom. I am also looking into downsizing my battery. Great suggestions! I will definitely use some of them.
nope, does not harden.
I get two generous camp towels by cutting of one of these in half:
https://harborfreight.com/home-outdo...wel-60400.html
Dries fast!
It's a hiker trash version of a brand name Camp Towel!
Thanks for the advice peakbagger. It is my goal to not start out with a bunch of stuff that I will not need. I will need a bit of "extra coverage" as well. My hair is very short.The gators are a what if item. If there is snow in the early part of the trail, I saw that as a way to protect my feet and lower legs. And I like the bread bag suggestion. I will use that if necessary.
Yes. The Reactor is heavy. I am definitely carrying the fear of being uncomfortably cold.
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