I agree with MOST of what A-Train posted except, I always bring a book/crosswords, headphones, insulated coffee mug, and I'll never use hiking poles/sticks. I do carry maps as everyone should.
I agree with MOST of what A-Train posted except, I always bring a book/crosswords, headphones, insulated coffee mug, and I'll never use hiking poles/sticks. I do carry maps as everyone should.
I'll agree with you. I guess that's the reason why I'll never be an ultra-lighter.
I guess it's all about finding what works best for each of us.
Good post about thinking in terms of weight penalty.
Also, how much your first aid kit is a safety and comfort issue. You can probably hike the entire trail with just a few band-aids and some moleskin. But, then again, it's real nice to have more if and when you need it. Same goes for compass, whistles, repair parts, duct tape, and maybe maps.
Super article Atrain.
I cut my ground protection to 24x30 inch piece of tyvec about 2 oz. I use it under my butt and legs when I stop to rest or eat. It gives me a dry spot, reduces dirt on me and shorts ( big deal right? ) and keeps bugs at bay. This is a big plus many time I hike bite free when other look like a used smorgas board for bug....esp chiggers.
I wrap my two pegs in it and keep it in an outer pack pouch. This keeps the pegs from doing any damage and eliminates the peg bag.
On the plain side I have printed in large letters "AT HIKER NEEDS RIDE". When Hitching it gets unfolded, wrapped over my pack and pretty soon I'm riding.
In storms I place it over th end of my HH ridge line with my shoes over it to keep it in place, for that little extra protection. Big value if still using the stock fly. Really recommend a bigger fly 8x8 or 8x10.
Lastly because it is well washed and soft, it can be placed inside inside clothing as additional layering or used as ahead cover that is more waterproof than a standard bandana.
Oh did I say, "it was free", asked at a job site... "a scrap, sure"
ounces to grams
WWW.JACKSRBETTER.COM home of the Nest and No Sniveler underquilts and Bear Mtn Bridge Hammock
A-Train - great article and very well thought out. I think it does a couple of great things. First, it gives new hikers some good guides on gear decisions. I think it shows that you need to thoughtfully consider if you really need each item of gear in your pack. Second, it prompted a great discussion of how gear is a very indvidual decision. My gear list is mine and it might not work for you. All to often I think we try to impose our gear decisions on new hikers. New hikers tend to get flooded with suggestions on gear but the final decision has to be thier own. So take all the advice you get, filter through it, and pick what works best for you. You'll make some good decisions and some that you might change along the way.
GA - NJ 2001; GA - ME 2003; GA - ME 2005; GA - ME 2007; PCT 2006
A wise man changes his mind, a fool never will.
—SPANISH PROVERB
Good article, makes a lot of sense, but forgive us if some of us 2005-ers find out some things for ourselves.
Having lightened our 2005 packs with all the good advice here and elsewhere, we newbies sometimes don't understand the zeal with which everything not absolutely essential be jettisoned. Sometimes it seems like a competition. The lightest weight wins. No points for style. No points for enjoyment. Only weight counts.
Perhaps we will find out on the trail about that 2 ounce radio, or 0.5 ounce packcloth, and we may mail them home or leave them in a hiker box. I don't think this will cause anyone any grief, though. For myself, I'm better off trying something and finding out it is works or not, than to not try it and forever wonder it it would have worked for me.
I am grateful for the help you and others have provided, and I'm looking forward (March 20!!!!) to finding out the rest for myself. Hell, if I was inclined to take advice and not have to find things out for myself, I wouldn't be thru hiking this year. Or at all.
Frosty
The year before my hike, with my unbridled zeal for hiking the AT, I followed a number of hikers religiously on Trailjournals.com. I read about what worked for them and what didn't. I copied my "big three" from different individuals and never regretted it. I watched for any comments they made about what they sent home. Consequently, I ended up sending only a few items home. I can remember one shelter log ask us to list the top three items that we were not using (or wished we hadn't packed or something like that) I remember having trouble coming up with all three.
It is similar to what A-Train has done here. He has saved you some time by summarizing what worked for him. It may be a little late for this year, but if you have the time, find a few hikers (especially ones about your age) and read their entries on Trailjournals and review their gear lists.
The other thing is participating in a Yahoo group and deciding who has credibility and experience...much like here on Whiteblaze. I will be forever grateful to Footslogger for steering me to the Pategonia R1 Flash Pullover. I was about to pack a 200 fleece (bulky) when he told me about it. It was without a doubt my most cherished peice of clothing...compact, light, repelled moisture, plenty warm, zip up neck and zip pocket and it is still as good as the day I bought it. He also had experience in selling footwear. I described a concern I had after doing a couple of day hikes just days before I left for Springer. I thought it was just due to "normal break in" and he recognized it right away as something that I should follow up on. I did and he may have "saved" my hike.
A good post. I got my trail name from carrying 15-20 lbs. of food for the first three days!
I would like to make one comment. If you are fair skinned, sunblock is still a good idea. The leaf cover has not yet grown in early March and you won't always be walking in the shade.
Long-distance aspirations with short-distance feet.... :jump
Somewhere along the line i believe i read that the original use for superglue
i.e.,the reason it was developed-was as a way to stop bleeding and suture
up injuries in the field.
Is this true or is it urban legend?.One thing is for sure-it will glue your fingers
together and if nothing else was available(or working) you bet i would use it
before letting myself or someone else bleed to death.
Cheers to all.
Oldfivetango
Here is the info I've got from working in a high tech industry and from wilderness first aid courses. The glue was not developed for this reason but was tried at a later date as one of the many uses for the glue, probably after many people stuck their fingers together. The problem with using super glue is that the glue works fine but now you have a thin layer of glue between the two sides of the wound that hinder the body's natural healing so recovery time is increased. Also what you end up with is increased scarring as body tissue grows around the super glue area. Its use to stop bleeding has been discontinued.oldfivetango-"Somewhere along the line i believe i read that the original use for superglue i.e.,the reason it was developed-was as a way to stop bleeding and suture up injuries in the field."
"It was on the first of May, in the year 1769, that I resigned my domestic happiness for a time, and left my family and peaceable habitation on the Yadkin River, in North Carolina, to wander through the wilderness of America." - Daniel Boone
I agree with almost every suggestion on A-Train's list for folks hiking the AT. If anyone is doing their planning, print that post and keep it handy when making up your packing list!
Great posts, and a great thread!
I especially like the priceless comment (paraphrased): "If you want to pay to carry a ROCK in your pack, be my guest...hard to find a signal tho...most send the cell phones home." IMHO it's not whether a cell phone "could" be a good thing to have, it's about whether they will even work most places on the A.T. They won't.
Re: ground cloths...They can be a pain, but serve enough useful purpose that I've always used one. Agree if you set up in a gully and that gully gets flooded, the ground cloth won't keep your tent floor dry. So don't set up in a gully. Also--and I'm amazed at how many hikers don't get this--don't let your groundcloth extend beyond the footprint of the tent itself. That only draws rain water under your tent between the groundcloth and your tent floor. Very counterproductive.
But a ground cloth has served well to extend the life of my tent. How do I know? For five years out of the eight it took for me to complete the AT--and doing a lot of other backpacking locally--my tent was a Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight 2. I was on the third groundcloth by the time I retired the CF2. The first two had small punctures in them and were otherwise deteriorating, which I might assume would have meant punctures in my tent floor had I not been using a ground cloth. (Retired the CF2 to go lighter, and because repeated seam sealing was increasingly less effective--not due to floor punctures.) Also, a groundcloth is great for sitting on at rest stops when everything's wet, muddy, or snow-covered; and for those who use shelters, as a base upon which to lay out your pad and bag.
Yes! The small collapsible water bag.
It's also one of my most important gear choices, and one that quite a few have been envious of. One trip to the spring per campsite is more than enough, and by letting any silt in your collected water settle for a few minutes before filtering, it has the added benefit of saving your filter.
awesome post A-Train and an excellent disclaimer definitely good for someone who has never done any extended backpacking before to keep from making too many mistakes in the beginning and made sure they knew that this was what worked for you and might not for them. I agree with everything you said, though I always take too much food (i get those days where i just want to eat and eat and eat) and do carry my groundcloth, but again, I will never ever be accused of being an ultra-lighter (heck, i wouldn't even qualify as a "lighter"!!)
Fantasies are Merely realities in waiting!
like what?
a clear wide-mouth naglene cantene?
anything else?
I used a 6 liter Platypus with zip-top.
Anything's within walking distance if you've got the time.
GA-ME 03, LT 04/06, PCT 07'
Use a collapsable bag, like a Nalgene canteen or Platypus zipper. They are very light and fold up into nothing. You can find them at any store or web site that sells camping equipment. This is in addition to the container you drink from. I keep a 2 or 3 liter just for hauling, I don't filter the water I put in the bag. The water I use to cook is boiled so why waste time filtering it. I do filter from the haul bag into my drinking bottle.
"If you don't know where you're going...any road will get you there."
"He who's not busy living is busy dying"
Gaitors uses...
I never leave my gaitors at home and this is why...
1. keeps sticks out of your shoes
2. keeps leaves out of your shoes
3. keeps small stones out of your shoes
5. keeps mud off of your socks/legs if you happen to step into depper mud
6. keeps you from getting scratches on your shins in overgrowth sections
7. keeps the bottoms of your pants cleaner
8. "could" help prevent a snake bite from actually contacting skin. Oh boy ..the price to pay for saying that...sigh
9. if worn under your rain pants they help to keep your shoes dry in light to moderate rain...if even for an hour I find it very worth it.
10. keeps water from being splashed into your shoes/on socks if walking through a wet area with puddles.
11. keeps stickers from getting caught on your socks and thus annoying the crap out of you.
12. keeps shoe laces from being untied by getting caught on something.
13. small amount of warmth in winter/cold hiking conditions
the end...
THE Mairnttt...Boys of Dryland '03 (an unplanned Billville suburb)
http://www.AT2003.com
[email protected]
http://www.myspace.com/hudson_hartson