Looking for a backpack that's right for me.

[Mikenet7482]

In the spring of next year I'll be walking 100 miles or more, and probably through a couple states, I'll be starting in North Carolina and will be hiking north and I'm wanting a backpack just right for my situation.


I'll be bringing the following items for sure, and probably more. I want to keep the weight down as much as I can but it will still be a lot of stuff that takes up space, right now I'm thinking the backpack will need to be larger than a medium one, but it doesn't need to be the most expensive one either. I want to keep the price under 200 dollars, and if possible closer to 100 dollars. I'm wanting a backpack that has more than a 40 liter capacity is what I'm thinking.


Here's what I know I'll be bringing, but my list has a way to go...


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-A medkit with everything I'll need, I've already purchaced a kit and added what I thought I would need, I added extra stuff the kit didn't have such as moleskin and a few other extra things. It weighs about 3 pounds.


-A quality tent.


-An appropriate sleeping bag, I also want to bring a very small pillow if it fits.


-a couple tarps or garbage bags to keep things water proof.


-a pad for under the tent if it doesn't have one, I need to stay warm


-a handheld shovel for burying waste and other needs I might have for it, this was another thing suggested on the appalachiantrail website. (I'll be bringing everything they suggest)


-water, enough to last a couple days I'm thinking (maybe more, I'm open to suggestions, I know water is heavy)


-A couple water filters, and a lot of disinfecting tabs, (I haven't decided the amount, but they're light weight so I'll probably bring a lot)


-food, I want to bring about 7 MRE's for food, they're not super heavy but take up a lot of space, I will also bring other snacks such as trail mix, and perhaps protine powder to mix with water. I'll restock food at the nearest town, but I'm open to suggestions on how many days worth of food to bring.


-Of course things like a map and compass, a couple knives, and several ways to make a fire such as a couple lighers and water proof matches.


-Two phones, one of them will be a smart phone as a backup and to take pictures. I want to cut out bringing a seperate camera to keep weight down.


-Two flash lights, one large one, and one smaller one that I can crank for emergency light.


-A small lantern for some extra light at night, or maybe a light I can strap on my head, I need something that's hands free.


-Power, here's a crucial one for me, it'll add some weight but I really want these things on my trip. I'm going to bring AA bateries, probably 15 or so which I can restock along the way in towns. I also want to bring a couple battery backups for my Iphone and other electrical devices that will need it, I'm thinkng of headphones, a small mp3 player, and a pedometer as luxury items. I want to get a good solar charger as well, the one I'm looking at can be hung on the back of my backpack or be folded out on the ground. The backpack I get will have to have loops or fasteners on the back of it to hang my solar charger. I'm also going to bring a small crank charger if there is no sun and I need to make power for my phone in an emergency, these are light, and the solar charger is light too, but I need room for these things.


-cloting, feet are important so I'll be bringing a few pairs of socks. I'll also be bringing a change of clothes, one light jacket, and one heaver jacket just in case. In these mountians it can get cold anytime of the year at higher elevations. I'll also be bringing something to protect my head in the cold, as well as a baseball cap.


----------


That's all I can think of at the moment but I'll be bringing other things as well, mostly small things. I havent decided on whether or not to bring a cooking pot, small stove, and propane tank yet. This will add some weight, but I'm open to suggestions on whether or not to bring that. I won't be bringing food that needs to be cooked, I don't think, and will be bringing things to purify water already. Any suggestions on what I'm bringing are welcome.


This wont be a short trip, and I want a backpack that will hold up if I decide to take other trips, also side compartments are awesome, id love to have different compartments to seperate my stuff. Id rather bring one that's a little too large than one that's too small. The backpack itself isn't heavy. Any ideas on backpacks or any experience with backpacks that yall have used is welcome. I'll be making this purchace in a few days locally so I can try a few on and find the best fit. Id also love to hear about backpack name brands that are known to be reliable.


Thanks in advance for any answers or tips on a backpack, I'm very enthusiastic about making this trip and have high hopes for it, and would love to hear a range of ideas on this.

[Walkintom]

It sounds like to me you're planning on carrying way too much stuff. When I read things like:
"-A couple water filters, and a lot of disinfecting tabs"
and "-Two flash lights, one large one, and one smaller one that I can crank for emergency light."

I hear warning bells and see flashing red lights that tell me you are cruising for a 70+ pound pack weight and likely a high degree of discomfort and probably a very short trip because of the discomfort.

You need to ditch most of your redundancy. You're talking about taking a trip, not surviving a zombie apocalypse, I presume.

Get more specific with your gear list expectations or you're going to be one of those guys I hate to see come through the door. They stroll in and ask, "So, what's the biggest pack you carry?" Then start describing how they will fill it - with stuff they don't need, won't use and will hate carrying.

[Slo-go'en]

Wow, you got a lot to learn. Please don't take that in the wrong way.

NC/TN is 386 miles long. Virginia is over 500 miles long. So, if you only hike 100 mile or so and start somewhere in NC, you will never leave the state. Sort of. The trail basically follows the boarder between NC and TN, so depending on which way you lean, you'll be one state or the other, so technically your hiking two states kind of at the same time.

First water. NC (and the AT in general) has lot of good water. You only need to carry enough to drink during day and even that's not really necessary as you cross frequent water source. Many of the sources are springs or small streams which personally I drink directly out of with no treatment. I rarely filter water until I get well into Virginia, but I have an iron stomach. At most I carry 40 oz of water at a time. However, it is a good idea to be able to carry a couple of litters if you want to camp away from shelters where there is no water. On occasion there will be a long walk to get water so you want to be able to carry a enough for the evening and next morning so you don't have to make the trip twice.

Food. MRE's are a poor choice. Not only are they bulky, the produce a lot of trash which you will have to pack out. Your much better off buying supermarket food and repackaging it in ziplocks to reduce bulk and trash. You can easily get into a town every 3 to 5 days to resupply.

Power. Solar chargers are useless. You will never have enough sun to make it do much. Crank chargers are useless. You have to spend hours cranking them.
I carry a MP3 player which runs on a single AAA. My headlamp uses 3 AAA's. When the batter in the MP3 player gets too low for the player it still have plenty of juice for the headlamp, so I swap out one of the batteries in the headlamp. When all three batteries have been swapped out, then I get a new set of 4 batteries. With good power management, a smart phone will go a week on a charge even if you use it a fair amount. A 2200 mAH power pack is all you need for an emergency recharger. Since you'll be in town every 3-5 days, recharging in town is all you really need to do.

As for as equipment goes, there is wide choice of options which can't be covered in a short post.

[nsherry61]

Kudo's for dreaming and planning for some awesome outdoor adventure.
Ditto on everything WalkingTom wrote.

Your list is pushing or surpassing the limits of the largest 80-100L backpacks and pushing or exceeding what the strongest among us would want to carry for more than a couple of miles (I'm guessing 60-100 lbs).

The only thing you probably want any duplication on is some socks and two shoes (one for each foot ;-))

I recommend reading lots on this site and spending as many day and overnight trips as you can manage between now and your departure to tune your kit and skill set. To build skills and confidence, I have found it helpful to do short overnight trips in the most miserable conditions I can find, taking as little gear as I think I can possibly survive with. The trips can be short enough I can walk back out to the car if serious problems arise. Then, on the next trip, I try to take even less based on what I didn't absolutely have to have on the previous trip. You may find you will be able to cut your pack weight by 1/2 (60-30 lbs) or more, still have loads of fun and still be perfectly safe.

Good luck on this fantastic mission/goal.

[Mikenet7482]

I'll take some of this into consideration, particuarly the distance I can travel to reach acroos a state. I mentioned in the opening post that the things I'm bringing are primarily light weight things, it wont be a 100 pounds worth of equpment, that's ridiculous, that's not even close to what Id imagine carring. Weight is important, I stated this several times in the opening post. My plan is to weigh the backpack as I get equipment, I wont be leaving with any more than 35 pounds or so, I've already thought of this. Im new to this site and the AT but I'm not new to hiking or long distance walking so I need some direct responses, I didn't hear about a backpack, and that's my primary question. Id like to bring a larger one, does anyone have any ideas?

As a side note I'll be conditioning myself over the next year for this trip, including walking with my backpack with roughly the same weight I'm planning on leaving with on my trip, that's why I'm getting the backpack early, so I can practice with it, but I need ideas.

The MRE's are one of the things I'm bringing, Mre's are loaded with protine and are commonly used by backpackers. I might cut down the amount if 7 of them is too much. I read that there is a town every 3 to 5 days on the ATC website so I wanted a couple for backup. This is a quote from the website so I think this is where the concerns here are coming from, ...

"Backpacking burns a lot of energy. However, novice backpackers on the A.T. often make the mistake of carrying too much food. An overly heavy pack with excess food can take the fun out backpacking. When deciding how much food to carry for your trip, keep these tips in mind:"

I'm aware of the weight, and I'm not preparing for a zombie apocalipse :P.

I've got to run but in short I want to work with the members here to make this trip work, I have other sources but as long as the members here can be direct, helpful, and friendly I'm all ears.

So any information on backpacks?

[Walkintom]

I'm going to try to address more of your post now that I'm done hyperventilating over everything I see as warning signs.

-A medkit with everything I'll need, I've already purchaced a kit and added what I thought I would need, I added extra stuff the kit didn't have such as moleskin and a few other extra things. It weighs about 3 pounds.

WAY too heavy for a medikit. Is there anything in there that you have no clue how to use or what it's even used for? If so, dump it. Don;t go prepared to do surgery. A more realistic medikit is a half dozen bandaids, a pair of tweezers, up to 4 ibuprofen per day and a couple of tiny foilpack tubes of antibiotic ointment. Anything serious happens to you; you're not in the wild wild west of the 1830's - get to a doc-in-the-box.


-A quality tent.How big? 1P,2P? How expensive? How heavy? Lotta variables here. If you're planing on doing a cheap 1-2P tent, figure 5-6 pounds. You may want to tarp it instead. Cheap tarp will be far lighter and probably about as effective.

-An appropriate sleeping bag, I also want to bring a very small pillow if it fits.
Do you sleep warm or cold or what? I'd say get a 20 or 30 degree bag, depending on your start date and how high you plan to camp. A synthetic 20 degree Kelty isn't too hard on the pocketbook and will actually keep you to the temp it says unlike a Walmart bag. About $100 or a bit less.

-a couple tarps or garbage bags to keep things water proof.
Contractor bags are good for this and the price is right. See if you can get 1-2 from someone instead of buying a whole box.

-a pad for under the tent if it doesn't have one, I need to stay warm
Get a pad for under you, not for under the tent. I prefer inflatable pads for comfort over CCF. CCF is cheap and light but a bit bulkier. Do what works for you but this is indeed an important layer.

-a handheld shovel for burying waste and other needs I might have for it, this was another thing suggested on the appalachiantrail website. (I'll be bringing everything they suggest)
Dude, use a stick. Trekking pole if you're using them, but sticks are found everywhere. Free, and you can leave it there. Shovel is such as waste of carrying effort IMO.

-water, enough to last a couple days I'm thinking (maybe more, I'm open to suggestions, I know water is heavy)
In this part of the country, don't carry more than 2L at once. Important item for you to research and understand: where will you get water next? This tells you how much to get now. Planning is pretty essential here but well worth the effort.

-A couple water filters, and a lot of disinfecting tabs, (I haven't decided the amount, but they're light weight so I'll probably bring a lot)
Sawyer mini will do everything you need. Just don't let it freeze. Put it in a ziploc and keep it in your sleeping bag if you think the temp will be below 30.

-food, I want to bring about 7 MRE's for food, they're not super heavy but take up a lot of space, I will also bring other snacks such as trail mix, and perhaps protine powder to mix with water. I'll restock food at the nearest town, but I'm open to suggestions on how many days worth of food to bring.
Lots of options here. Couscous is a favorite of mine that's readily accessible at grocery stores. Read up on freezer bag cooking. Instant Oatmeal is another easy option. Peanut butter. Cheese. summer sausage. Tortillas. Fruit. Tons of things to work. As already mentioned, MREs are heavy on trash.

-Of course things like a map and compass, a couple knives, and several ways to make a fire such as a couple lighers and water proof matches.
Are you bushwacking or following trail? If following trail, a map is nice but a compass is not something I'd anticipate needing in this part of the country. Maybe a tiny button compass integrated into a whistle or something if you really want. A knife can be handy. Knives, plural is wasted weight. Buy a Bic lighter. Very dependable. Not a knockoff. Maybe one or two waterproof matches for just in case, but that's it.

-Two phones, one of them will be a smart phone as a backup and to take pictures. I want to cut out bringing a seperate camera to keep weight down.
Umm, one phone dude.

-Two flash lights, one large one, and one smaller one that I can crank for emergency light.
Get an LED headlamp. Forget about flashlights.

-A small lantern for some extra light at night, or maybe a light I can strap on my head, I need something that's hands free.
Get that LED headlamp. Maybe a tiny LED lantern if you have some valid reason to be up at night and needing broad illumination. Otherwise this is wasted weight and space.

-Power, here's a crucial one for me, it'll add some weight but I really want these things on my trip. I'm going to bring AA bateries, probably 15 or so which I can restock along the way in towns. I also want to bring a couple battery backups for my Iphone and other electrical devices that will need it, I'm thinkng of headphones, a small mp3 player, and a pedometer as luxury items. I want to get a good solar charger as well, the one I'm looking at can be hung on the back of my backpack or be folded out on the ground. The backpack I get will have to have loops or fasteners on the back of it to hang my solar charger. I'm also going to bring a small crank charger if there is no sun and I need to make power for my phone in an emergency, these are light, and the solar charger is light too, but I need room for these things.
Umm, get a battery backup, up to 10,000 ma and forget about the solar in that part of the country unless you plan on spending prime hiking time sitting around waiting for it to charge. Assuming bright days and sunny spots available in the first place.

-cloting, feet are important so I'll be bringing a few pairs of socks. I'll also be bringing a change of clothes, one light jacket, and one heaver jacket just in case. In these mountians it can get cold anytime of the year at higher elevations. I'll also be bringing something to protect my head in the cold, as well as a baseball cap.
Get 2 pairs of good merino socks, like Darn Toughs. Wear quality shoes as well. Maybe a puff jacket to go with your rain jacket. Get a fleece headband that will cover your ears. For like $5 that's all you need for head warmth. I use one in up to -30 but I don't get cold that easily if my ears are covered.

----------


That's all I can think of at the moment but I'll be bringing other things as well, mostly small things. I havent decided on whether or not to bring a cooking pot, small stove, and propane tank yet. This will add some weight, but I'm open to suggestions on whether or not to bring that. I won't be bringing food that needs to be cooked, I don't think, and will be bringing things to purify water already. Any suggestions on what I'm bringing are welcome.
Look up cat food stoves. DIY can be very cheap
and effective.

This wont be a short trip, and I want a backpack that will hold up if I decide to take other trips, also side compartments are awesome, id love to have different compartments to seperate my stuff. Id rather bring one that's a little too large than one that's too small. The backpack itself isn't heavy. Any ideas on backpacks or any experience with backpacks that yall have used is welcome. I'll be making this purchace in a few days locally so I can try a few on and find the best fit. Id also love to hear about backpack name brands that are known to be reliable.
Know what you need to put in it before you buy it. It can make a difference in what you need to buy.

Thanks in advance for any answers or tips on a backpack, I'm very enthusiastic about making this trip and have high hopes for it, and would love to hear a range of ideas on this.

Don't want to damper your enthusiasm. You just have a lot of homework and decision making to do if you want to have a good time. Pick an area and start doing research until you get it fine tuned. Then work on the next.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Here is a link to a tried and true packing list for the A.T. from Mountain Crossing outfitters. This is a good middle of the road example of what an average 3 season A.T. Hiker would carry.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/3307399698426207/

[Walkintom]

I'll take some of this into consideration, particuarly the distance I can travel to reach acroos a state. I mentioned in the opening post that the things I'm bringing are primarily light weight things, it wont be a 100 pounds worth of equpment, that's ridiculous, that's not even close to what Id imagine carring. Weight is important, I stated this several times in the opening post. My plan is to weigh the backpack as I get equipment, I wont be leaving with any more than 35 pounds or so, I've already thought of this. Im new to this site and the AT but I'm not new to hiking or long distance walking so I need some direct responses, I didn't hear about a backpack, and that's my primary question. Id like to bring a larger one, does anyone have any ideas?

So, to address this. Here's what I suggest. Look up weights of things or if you have them on hand, weigh them. Start a list so you'll know how heavy your load is getting. I drink 1 gal of water every day, when not backpacking. Depending on conditions I may drink 3 gal a day while backpacking. Water weighs a tad over 8 pounds per gal. If you only drink 1 gal per day while backpacking and you carry 3 days worth, that's 24 pounds of your 25 pound allowance you've stated. So planning these weights is essential to success, yes?

Look at the Osprey Volt 60. It runs $180 and is backed by their Almighty Guarantee which essentially means they'll fix or replace it forever. The Volt 75 runs $200.

As a side note I'll be conditioning myself over the next year for this trip, including walking with my backpack with roughly the same weight I'm planning on leaving with on my trip, that's why I'm getting the backpack early, so I can practice with it, but I need ideas.

Lots of schools of thought here, and I never do what you're describing though I did before I learned that I can just walk out the door and go. Even when I'm fat and lazy I'm good enough to hike. YMMV.


The MRE's are one of the things I'm bringing, Mre's are loaded with protine and are commonly used by backpackers. I might cut down the amount if 7 of them is too much. I read that there is a town every 3 to 5 days on the ATC website so I wanted a couple for backup. This is a quote from the website so I think this is where the concerns here are coming from, ...
"Backpacking burns a lot of energy. However, novice backpackers on the A.T. often make the mistake of carrying too much food. An overly heavy pack with excess food can take the fun out backpacking. When deciding how much food to carry for your trip, keep these tips in mind:"

Look at dehydrated meals. Check the actual protein content of your intended meals along with the weight and volume of them. Then compare that to the dehydrated meals. You may be surprised to learn that many of us giving you this advice have already been there on the whole meals thing. For what you want to do the dehydrated meals are far more efficient. You'll get more protein for less weight and bulk because you aren't hauling water weight and bulk. Do your homework - it pays off.


I'm aware of the weight, and I'm not preparing for a zombie apocalipse :P.

I've got to run but in short I want to work with the members here to make this trip work, I have other sources but as long as the members here can be direct, helpful, and friendly I'm all ears.

So any information on backpacks?

Many of the members here will be glad to offer advice and have tons of experience doing what you're talking about doing. But they don't owe you anything - please don't come off as if you are accepting advice on sufferance. That's rude. You asked, we answered. Maybe not what you want to hear, but we're offering what we believe will provide you the most benefit. If you want to ignore it by all means do so. Just don't behave as if people owe you something more than common courtesy.

You specifically asked for getting your backpack down closer to $100 if possible. If you also look at the Kelty Catalyst 65 that's another $180 pack that will do the job well for you. I'm loathe to offer bargain packs because I don't think they'll carry the weight you're going to wind up with very well so most of what I can come up with is over $150. Keeping the price lower means fewer compartments and such but one of the features I like about the Catalyst is that it has a side zipper access port to the main compartment from the outside even though it's a top loader.

[Feral Bill]

You might consider an external frame pack. Used ones are available fairly cheap. Even new they are within the budget you mention. See the Campmor web site for some choices. They fit most people fairly well.

[rickb]

99.9% of posts like this on WB are sincere. Then there it that 1/10th of 1%. Not so sure about this one.

[Slo-go'en]

You can buy a backpack first and then find out it is too big or too small for what you need to carry. Therefore, the best thing to do is collect everything you need to carry and then buy a backpack sized for that amount of gear. (with enough room left over for about 5 days worth of food.

A 60 to 65 litter pack is a pretty typical size for an AT hike. Smaller then 60 and you have to really skimp of bulky items, bigger then 65 and you won't fill it up or will end up carrying too much stuff. Osprey packs are probably the most common packs used on the AT these days as they are the ones most outfitters tend to carry. However, there are many other brands out there.

Keep in mind while you can get cheap gear, you also get what you pay for. Cheap gear tends to break before long with hard, daily use and will have to be replaced so you'll end up spending more in the long run then if you just bought something good to begin with.

[Coffee]

The MRE's are one of the things I'm bringing, Mre's are loaded with protine and are commonly used by backpackers.

I'm not as experienced as many of the long distance hikers on WhiteBlaze but I've done a fair amount of extended backpacking trips over the past few years and I have never come across anyone who carried MREs on the trail. They have the reputation of being heavy for the calories delivered.

I think that the reason you are getting replies more general than "what backpack should you get" is that there are warning signs in your post and people are trying to spare you from making some big mistakes. If you trim down your gear list based on this feedback the answer regarding the backpack selection is going to be very different than if you stick with your original list. There are many good lightweight backpacks that can carry loads around 40 pounds but your gear list definitely points to a pack much greater than 40 pounds.

[Mikenet7482]

99.9% of posts like this on WB are sincere. Then there it that 1/10th of 1%. Not so sure about this one.

It's sincere, this is very important to me, I did see a little sarcasm in some of the initial responses, but I'm going to give this site a try. There's some information showing up now that will help. I'll have much more in the way of responses soon to clarify a few things and where I'm getting my information from. I'm eagar to learn about backpacks, the information and sources are what I'm finding helpful.

[ocasey3]

99.9% of posts like this on WB are sincere. Then there it that 1/10th of 1%. Not so sure about this one.

Yep. I think some one is having a bit of fun with the forum. Awesome, lol.

[Mikenet7482]

I'm not as experienced as many of the long distance hikers on WhiteBlaze but I've done a fair amount of extended backpacking trips over the past few years and I have never come across anyone who carried MREs on the trail. They have the reputation of being heavy for the calories delivered.

I think that the reason you are getting replies more general than "what backpack should you get" is that there are warning signs in your post and people are trying to spare you from making some big mistakes. If you trim down your gear list based on this feedback the answer regarding the backpack selection is going to be very different than if you stick with your original list. There are many good lightweight backpacks that can carry loads around 40 pounds but your gear list definitely points to a pack much greater than 40 pounds.

I got this tip from a friend who was in the military and used these on long hikes in and out of service. He's older now and backpacks as a hobby. On backpacking trips he discards the things he doesn't need in each MRE. The good thing about these is that everything is self contained and will stay fresh, they're very well packaged. I'm familiar with MRE's as well so I believe this is the way I want to go. It gives me a variety of food, without the need to cook, this could save me a great deal of time as well. Im really wanting these on my trip, Im going to make sure the weight is right, so no worries.

It might not be the most common thing but it's been done.

...................

Lots of replies showing up, and a lot I'll be adjusting, thanks for the information so far everyone. I'm going to pour much more into responses later, the weight I'm aiming for is 35 pounds, give or take 10 pounds. Much of the stuff Im bringing will take up more volume than weight. Such as the solar charger I'm wanting, it's very light.

There's a lot I agree with on here and am considering so I'll be on later tonight or tomorrow to specify and ask questions.

[Tuckahoe]

You will get all sorts of advice, and all of it you are welcome to ignore... but for the love of God, if you ignore everything else, please reconsider the thought to rely on MREs.

Each meal weighs 18 oz to 26 oz depending on the menu. You will need two of those to get the minimum daily nutrition -- though calorie deficient. This means you will be setting yourself up for 3.30 lbs to 5 lbs of food weight per day, and 12 lbs to 20 lbs for four days. You will be miserable.

My last trip I carried 6 pounds of food for four days. I tend to average 1.25 to 1.5 lbs a day

[Walkintom]

MREs typically weigh 18 to 26 ounces and have 1200-1400 calories if you eat them all. So without delving into individual packets and the calories per ounce you're getting there, on a whole you're looking at 40-70 calories per ounce as a range of likely possibilities. I'm going off info from here: http://hprc-online.org/comrad/

Without cherry picking for caloric value I grabbed a couple of freeze dried meals and looked at the labels, something I can't do with the MREs since I don't have any of those around. A Mountain House Breakfast Skillet pack weighs 5 ounces. It has 800 calories in it. That's 160 calories per ounce. Your nutrition density is much higher than an MRE. If you carried 2 of those you'd get more calories than any MRE offers and save 8 ounces off the lightest MRE - that's 45-60% weight savings and more calories.

An Alpine Aire Pepper Beef with Rice has 620 calories and weighs 6 ounces so it's not as nutrient dense as the breakfast. It's only 103 calories per ounce. Just 50% more efficient than an MRE - that's all.

Many of us carry items that aren't the most efficient. Bothing wrong with carrying something just because you want to. You seem to really want to carry the MREs, which is fine if that's just a decision you've made and want to stick to. Just don't do it on the basis that they're the best option for calorie density. You can eat better and simultaneously hike lighter.

Both of the things I mentioned do require a stove and if you're planning on going stoveless your food is just going to be heavier. You can rehydrate without hot water but it won't taste as good as hot.

[bshow]

I think you guys are being trolled...

[Mikenet7482]

NC/TN is 386 miles long. Virginia is over 500 miles long. So, if you only hike 100 mile or so and start somewhere in NC, you will never leave the state. Sort of. The trail basically follows the boarder between NC and TN, so depending on which way you lean, you'll be one state or the other, so technically your hiking two states kind of at the same time.

First water. NC (and the AT in general) has lot of good water. You only need to carry enough to drink during day and even that's not really necessary as you cross frequent water source. Many of the sources are springs or small streams which personally I drink directly out of with no treatment. I rarely filter water until I get well into Virginia, but I have an iron stomach. At most I carry 40 oz of water at a time. However, it is a good idea to be able to carry a couple of litters if you want to camp away from shelters where there is no water. On occasion there will be a long walk to get water so you want to be able to carry a enough for the evening and next morning so you don't have to make the trip twice.

Food. MRE's are a poor choice. Not only are they bulky, the produce a lot of trash which you will have to pack out. Your much better off buying supermarket food and repackaging it in ziplocks to reduce bulk and trash. You can easily get into a town every 3 to 5 days to resupply.

Power. Solar chargers are useless. You will never have enough sun to make it do much. Crank chargers are useless. You have to spend hours cranking them.
I carry a MP3 player which runs on a single AAA. My headlamp uses 3 AAA's. When the batter in the MP3 player gets too low for the player it still have plenty of juice for the headlamp, so I swap out one of the batteries in the headlamp. When all three batteries have been swapped out, then I get a new set of 4 batteries. With good power management, a smart phone will go a week on a charge even if you use it a fair amount. A 2200 mAH power pack is all you need for an emergency recharger. Since you'll be in town every 3-5 days, recharging in town is all you really need to do.

As for as equipment goes, there is wide choice of options which can't be covered in a short post.

Didn't know that about the AT being 386 miles on the NC/TN boarder, That's far so what I'm thinking is that I'll either be making a longer trip or cap the amount of miles I walk as a goal. Perhaps setting a goal of reaching a certain point or walking 300 miles, unless I get hurt or my body tells me to stop. I live in the north east of North Carolina for informational purposes. I'm very good at walking far in mountainous terrain. I live in Madison County on a mountain that's close to 3000ft it's tough to hike here as well but worth it when you get into it.

Thanks for that info

The info you had on how far the water sources are apart is very useful, and a relief to know it wont be as hard to find as I was thinking. I was going to make a seperate forum asking that question, it's my primary concern. I want to bring enough water to be safe, but not so much that it slows me down. I want to filter it though based on what I read here.....

http://www.appalachiantrail.org/hiki...ics/food-water

The water filters I'm getting are very very light and compact.

The MRE's Im going to open and discard things I don't need, everything inside an MRE is in sealed packages so I'm thinking I'll open them up and put what I need in a gallon sized ziplock just to keep things together. I'm proobably going to bring MRE's if I decide not to cook, having rice all the time is very efficent but I really want some variety. MRE's are time tested and relieable, it may even save me the weight of bringing a stove and propane tank. Am I wrong on that?

Most of the solar chargers I've read about are not fast to charge, your right, the one I'm getting has very positive reviews and is a well respected brand though. It's a Goal Zero solar charger which Im getting a lot of recomendations for, and I'm getting one of the lighter weight models. The crank chargers have some rough reviews but the one I'm looking at is cheap and only weighs a few ounces. I'm curious about these devices. Some of the reviews I've read are aparently people getting use out of them. I want to experiement with these kinds of things to see for myself. One review stated that people aren't getting charge out of them because they leave the phone on while charging. I plan to charge a low MAH battery backup with them directly as a test to see how well they work. These are things I want to experiment with, if they prove useless I'll return them or not bring them. As for the battery backup, I'll bring a high MAH one like your suggesting. The solar and crank chargers would primarily be just in case I get myself into a bad situation and need the extra power, Ill be backpacking with my health and safty in mind.

Walkintom

I'm going to try to address more of your post now that I'm done hyperventilating over everything I see as warning signs.

-A medkit with everything I'll need, I've already purchaced a kit and added what I thought I would need, I added extra stuff the kit didn't have such as moleskin and a few other extra things. It weighs about 3 pounds.

WAY too heavy for a medikit. Is there anything in there that you have no clue how to use or what it's even used for? If so, dump it. Don;t go prepared to do surgery. A more realistic medikit is a half dozen bandaids, a pair of tweezers, up to 4 ibuprofen per day and a couple of tiny foilpack tubes of antibiotic ointment. Anything serious happens to you; you're not in the wild wild west of the 1830's - get to a doc-in-the-box.


-A quality tent.How big? 1P,2P? How expensive? How heavy? Lotta variables here. If you're planing on doing a cheap 1-2P tent, figure 5-6 pounds. You may want to tarp it instead. Cheap tarp will be far lighter and probably about as effective.

-An appropriate sleeping bag, I also want to bring a very small pillow if it fits.
Do you sleep warm or cold or what? I'd say get a 20 or 30 degree bag, depending on your start date and how high you plan to camp. A synthetic 20 degree Kelty isn't too hard on the pocketbook and will actually keep you to the temp it says unlike a Walmart bag. About $100 or a bit less.

-a couple tarps or garbage bags to keep things water proof.
Contractor bags are good for this and the price is right. See if you can get 1-2 from someone instead of buying a whole box.

-a pad for under the tent if it doesn't have one, I need to stay warm
Get a pad for under you, not for under the tent. I prefer inflatable pads for comfort over CCF. CCF is cheap and light but a bit bulkier. Do what works for you but this is indeed an important layer.

-a handheld shovel for burying waste and other needs I might have for it, this was another thing suggested on the appalachiantrail website. (I'll be bringing everything they suggest)
Dude, use a stick. Trekking pole if you're using them, but sticks are found everywhere. Free, and you can leave it there. Shovel is such as waste of carrying effort IMO.

-water, enough to last a couple days I'm thinking (maybe more, I'm open to suggestions, I know water is heavy)
In this part of the country, don't carry more than 2L at once. Important item for you to research and understand: where will you get water next? This tells you how much to get now. Planning is pretty essential here but well worth the effort.

-A couple water filters, and a lot of disinfecting tabs, (I haven't decided the amount, but they're light weight so I'll probably bring a lot)
Sawyer mini will do everything you need. Just don't let it freeze. Put it in a ziploc and keep it in your sleeping bag if you think the temp will be below 30.

-food, I want to bring about 7 MRE's for food, they're not super heavy but take up a lot of space, I will also bring other snacks such as trail mix, and perhaps protine powder to mix with water. I'll restock food at the nearest town, but I'm open to suggestions on how many days worth of food to bring.
Lots of options here. Couscous is a favorite of mine that's readily accessible at grocery stores. Read up on freezer bag cooking. Instant Oatmeal is another easy option. Peanut butter. Cheese. summer sausage. Tortillas. Fruit. Tons of things to work. As already mentioned, MREs are heavy on trash.

-Of course things like a map and compass, a couple knives, and several ways to make a fire such as a couple lighers and water proof matches.
Are you bushwacking or following trail? If following trail, a map is nice but a compass is not something I'd anticipate needing in this part of the country. Maybe a tiny button compass integrated into a whistle or something if you really want. A knife can be handy. Knives, plural is wasted weight. Buy a Bic lighter. Very dependable. Not a knockoff. Maybe one or two waterproof matches for just in case, but that's it.

-Two phones, one of them will be a smart phone as a backup and to take pictures. I want to cut out bringing a seperate camera to keep weight down.
Umm, one phone dude.

-Two flash lights, one large one, and one smaller one that I can crank for emergency light.
Get an LED headlamp. Forget about flashlights.

-A small lantern for some extra light at night, or maybe a light I can strap on my head, I need something that's hands free.
Get that LED headlamp. Maybe a tiny LED lantern if you have some valid reason to be up at night and needing broad illumination. Otherwise this is wasted weight and space.

-Power, here's a crucial one for me, it'll add some weight but I really want these things on my trip. I'm going to bring AA bateries, probably 15 or so which I can restock along the way in towns. I also want to bring a couple battery backups for my Iphone and other electrical devices that will need it, I'm thinkng of headphones, a small mp3 player, and a pedometer as luxury items. I want to get a good solar charger as well, the one I'm looking at can be hung on the back of my backpack or be folded out on the ground. The backpack I get will have to have loops or fasteners on the back of it to hang my solar charger. I'm also going to bring a small crank charger if there is no sun and I need to make power for my phone in an emergency, these are light, and the solar charger is light too, but I need room for these things.
Umm, get a battery backup, up to 10,000 ma and forget about the solar in that part of the country unless you plan on spending prime hiking time sitting around waiting for it to charge. Assuming bright days and sunny spots available in the first place.

-cloting, feet are important so I'll be bringing a few pairs of socks. I'll also be bringing a change of clothes, one light jacket, and one heaver jacket just in case. In these mountians it can get cold anytime of the year at higher elevations. I'll also be bringing something to protect my head in the cold, as well as a baseball cap.
Get 2 pairs of good merino socks, like Darn Toughs. Wear quality shoes as well. Maybe a puff jacket to go with your rain jacket. Get a fleece headband that will cover your ears. For like $5 that's all you need for head warmth. I use one in up to -30 but I don't get cold that easily if my ears are covered.

Walkintom It will be a 8 person tent for all my stuff. :P JK I was thinking a 2 person tent, a medium to high end one, as well as a tarp. I'm not sure on what brand to go with, I have some research to do on it, I want it to hold up in a bad situation such as a windy thunderstorm. I live on a mountain and have experienced 50+ mile an hour winds at this elevation. I want to be smart about my tent but wont be spending 500 dollars on it or anything like that.​

I tend to get chilly at night, thanks for the info on the sleeping bag.

Thanks for clarifing that the pad goes in the tent and not under it. I was reading that id need to be insulated from the ground with a pad, I didn't know the details of it yet though.

I'm not bushwhacking, I'll leave the trail a little ways for water if I need it, bathroom breaks, and pitching my tent. When I say a little ways, I don't mean a half mile into the woods, but even if I get out of site of the trail I want a compass so I don't get turned around. It'll be small and very lightweight. It's also recomended at appalachiantrail.org and I've heard about bringing a compass since I was a kid. Here's their recomindation....

"A map and compass (learn to use them first!)"

Your saying one phone, I want to bring two phones in case one breaks, things break, especially electronics. Phones these days aren't heavy, it just makes sense to bring two along, this will be crucial. I want to know I have a way to call someone if I need to.

Good tips on a lot of stuff man, I'll look into contractor bags, I just dissagree with some of it.

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I reply and research more tomorrow, I have a lot of time to prepare for this trip, but finding things out early is good.

[Mikenet7482]

bshow

I think you guys are being trolled...

Nobody is being trolled, if you don't like the thread or don't have information then dont post in it. Im making this trip so these are serious concerns.