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bigben
11-05-2005, 05:29
Hello, I'm new here. I plan on section hiking the whole AT NOBO starting in 2006. It will probably take me 20 years, at which point I'll retire and thru hike the whole thing. My first leg will be this spring, starting sometime in April going NOBO from Springer Mtn. to Hogpen Gap in GA over 5 days. I would like to know what clothing most people starting a NOBO AT thru hike wear and/or take? I don't need specific brand names or anything.

Here's what I plan on taking/wearing.....

-3 pairs of Smartwool Hiker socks
-2 pairs of UnderArmour synthetic boxer briefs
-2 synthetic, wicking short sleeve T-shirts
-Polartec lightweight long underwear(top and bottoms)
-1 pair of convertible trail pants(Supplex nylon material)
-1 pair of cotton "sleeping" shorts
-either Polartec200 fleece pullover or Cabela's TEC jacket(lined water-resistant Windshear fleece soft shell)
-lightweight, breathable rain jacket and pants
-Gore-Tex baseball hat, fleece gloves, maybe low gaiters
-Montrail Torre GTX hiking boots
-Teva sandals(for camp)

Any glaring omissions? What out of the above list would you leave at home? Any advice/experience would be useful.

Thanks,

Bigben

Whistler
11-05-2005, 06:18
Welcome, BigBen. Glad you're here. For 5 days in April in Georgia I would:

-leave 1 pair of UnderArmour boxer briefs at home. I use one pair for both hiking and sleeping, and have gone for up to 7-8 days without a problem.
-wear 1 t-shirt and leave the other at home.
-wear the convertibles
-leave the cotton sleepshorts at home. I actually think UnderArmour is more comfortable for sleeping. Your mileage may vary.
-choose the P200 fleece, leave the softshell at home
-keep the rain jacket and probably leave the pants [depends on how early in April the start date is]
-keep the cap and gloves; I don't use gaiters
-swap the boots for shoes; If you already own and like the boots, use them. You might want to consider switching to trail shoes one day if the weight you're carrying makes it possible.
-leave the sandals at home; You might like them, though.

The only glaring omission I don't see listed is a warm hat/beanie that you probably already have. Bring it.

The other thing is to consider a warmer jacket. Maybe switch the P200 fleece for a synthetic-fill or down jacket. But the list looks good, and I'm sure you'll have a great time.
-Mark

Mongoose2
11-05-2005, 10:52
Bigben

I agree with Mark, consider a warmer jacket. Perhaps the 3 in 1 made by North Face, I use low gaiters and they work fine. Most surprising was how cold it got in April in Georgia. Make sure you have a sleeping bag appropriate for the forcast....April '04 I froze my pumpkins off and had a 30 degree bag; HA! 30 degree my @ss! Really Mark, get a good bag. And have a great time!

Mongoose

SGT Rock
11-05-2005, 11:15
Hello, I'm new here. I plan on section hiking the whole AT NOBO starting in 2006. It will probably take me 20 years, at which point I'll retire and thru hike the whole thing. My first leg will be this spring, starting sometime in April going NOBO from Springer Mtn. to Hogpen Gap in GA over 5 days. I would like to know what clothing most people starting a NOBO AT thru hike wear and/or take? I don't need specific brand names or anything.
Clothing an be a subjective thing. One hiker may be comfortably in 50F weather in shorts and a T-Shirt, while another may need a long sleeve shirt and pants with gloves. You need to know how much clothing you need based on your acclimitization to weather and other preferences.


Here's what I plan on taking/wearing.....

-3 pairs of Smartwool Hiker socks
-2 pairs of UnderArmour synthetic boxer briefs
-2 synthetic, wicking short sleeve T-shirts
-Polartec lightweight long underwear(top and bottoms)
-1 pair of convertible trail pants(Supplex nylon material)
-1 pair of cotton "sleeping" shorts Sleep in one pair of your unerarmor shorts and hike in the other. This way they can serve as a replacement for the other. But more than likely you will end up tossing the other pair of shorts and just using one for everything.

-either Polartec200 fleece pullover or Cabela's TEC jacket(lined water-resistant Windshear fleece soft shell)
-lightweight, breathable rain jacket and pants
-Gore-Tex baseball hat, fleece gloves, maybe low gaiters
-Montrail Torre GTX hiking boots
-Teva sandals(for camp)

Any glaring omissions? What out of the above list would you leave at home? Any advice/experience would be useful.

Thanks,

Bigben
Good luck.

Bassline
11-05-2005, 11:34
No offence to convertible pants, but have you thought about just carrying a light pair of shorts, and having rain pants to put on as a backup? You gotta realize, a lot of us are weight freaks. That is just the nature of long distance backpacking. Also, if you choose to ditch the Sandles, and I would, check out a pair of Croc's/waldies. These shoes are very comfortable, fairly light, and you can hang them outside your pack. A lot of other people said everything else. Oh, you can always sleep in your thermals, and have one pair of underarmor for the day. That is what I do. Oh, and check this website out, if you listen to the other guys who are talking about insulated jackets...

http://www.rei.com/outlet/product/47926602.htm?vcat=OUTLET_SSHP_MENS_CLOTHING_SA

That is a steal!!!

Kerosene
11-05-2005, 15:28
I concur with most of what Whistler recommended, although I would bring a long-sleeve synthetic shirt for hiking when the temp drops below 40F or so and/or the winds pick up. With your long underwear, one of your shirts, your P200 fleece, and rain jacket/pants you should be plenty warm in camp down to about freezing. I used this setup with a P100 fleece and did fine, although I hit the sleeping bag earlier than usual. You will want a skullcap and gloves/mittens.

bigben
11-05-2005, 15:43
Thanks for all the comments. I will probably leave the cotton sleep shorts home, but take everything else. I know it's only 5 days, but I plan on packing as if it were a thru hike, except for the food. I plan on starting each leg on the next year's subsequent calendar date, so I have to deal with the same weather as a thru hiker would.

I HATE winter "beanie-style" caps. All they do is make me sweat. I don't wear them unless I know the temps are going to be below 10 degrees F. I am no ultralighter, but seriously consider the weight of everything. That said, I like to have a whole outfit to wear if everything I'm wearing gets thoroughly soaked, so a couple extra clothing items aren't a big deal to me. As far as the Polartec 200 fleece pullover vs. the Cabela's jacket, here is the jacket.....
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/horizontal-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat21082&id=0027166950202a&navCount=2&podId=0027166&parentId=cat21160&navAction=push&catalogCode=XF&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat21160&hasJS=true

It's heavier and bulkier than the pullover. It is very warm, almost too warm to hike in for me, but I'd rather have too warm than not warm enough. What say you?

I love my Montrail boots and will definitely not get a pair of lighterweight boots. And I'm torn about buying a pair of Croc's just to save a few ounces when I already have the Teva's.

Bigben

Uncle Silly
11-05-2005, 15:57
No offence to convertible pants, but have you thought about just carrying a light pair of shorts, and having rain pants to put on as a backup?

Gotta agree with Bassline here. I carried a pretty regular pair of hiking shorts, thermal underwear, and my FroggToggs for an outer shell. Lightweight, breathable, and fairly windproof. For colder hikes I'd consider a full-on pair of long hiking pants, but wouldn't bother with convertibles.

Bassline
11-05-2005, 23:30
I know it's only 5 days, but I plan on packing as if it were a thru hike, except for the food. I plan on starting each leg on the next year's subsequent calendar date, so I have to deal with the same weather as a thru hiker would.
[Bigben

Hey man, I am not saying this to offend you, but I think you are starting out with a lot of the same stuff that Thru-hikers get rid of by Neels Gap. Of course thru-hikers come with all sorts of different gear, but one thing most long distance hikers have in common is very few articles of clothing. If you wanted to do it like a Thru Hiker, I think I would really evaluate what you need and dont need.

As far as the beanie is concerned, I had it, along with my gloves, in my pocket at all times. It was much easier to get warm by putting them on, than it was to search my pack for my jacket. Remember, you dont need to saw your tooth brush in half to make reasonable decisions regarding weight.

bigben
11-06-2005, 01:24
Thanks, and I'm not offended in the least. All those clothing items are things I already own for hiking. I plan on having 45 lbs of pack weight, including everything. I would be wearing the boots, socks, convertible pants, hat, gloves?, T-shirt and whichever jacket I decide to take. Which would leave in my pack the long underwear set, 2 pr of socks, a T-shirt, 1 pr of boxer briefs, rain gear and sandals. That equates to 31 oz of clothes, 24 oz of rain gear, and 29 oz of sandals. I probably will look for a lighter substitution for the sandals. I wear XXL everything, so it's a little heavier.

Other gear: Lowe Coutour III pack, SD Clip Flashlite, Thermarest Prolite 4, Slumberjack Ultimate 20 long bag, homemade Supercat stove, 1L Ti pot, MSR Miniworks, Tikka Plus, miscellaneous others.

This will be my first experience on the AT, but I have a good deal of hiking and backpacking experience. If 45 lbs kicks my butt in 2006, I'll be lighter in 2007, and so on. 45 lbs doesn't really bother me much. I'm a full-time firefighter and we train all the time with 30 lbs of turnout gear and a 36 lb. air pack on. Looking at the maps and elevation sheets, those hills would definitely get my attention if I wasn't wearing a pack at all. I'm 6'3" 285lbs, played college football, and work out 3x per week. I plan on hiking with a pack on as much as I can between now and then to prepare. I may be typing that you all told me so come the end of my hike, but 45 lbs is well under 20% of my body weight, so I think I can hack it. Well see. I truly appreciate everyone's advice. Seriously.

Bigben

justusryans
11-06-2005, 01:28
dude, I wouldn't let the weight worry ya. I'm 5'8" weigh 165 and typically carry 40-45 pounds with no problems. That's probably close to the average pack weight leaving Springer.

Bassline
11-06-2005, 15:49
Thanks, and I'm not offended in the least. All those clothing items are things I already own for hiking. I plan on having 45 lbs of pack weight, including everything. I would be wearing the boots, socks, convertible pants, hat, gloves?, T-shirt and whichever jacket I decide to take. Which would leave in my pack the long underwear set, 2 pr of socks, a T-shirt, 1 pr of boxer briefs, rain gear and sandals. That equates to 31 oz of clothes, 24 oz of rain gear, and 29 oz of sandals. I probably will look for a lighter substitution for the sandals. I wear XXL everything, so it's a little heavier.

Other gear: Lowe Coutour III pack, SD Clip Flashlite, Thermarest Prolite 4, Slumberjack Ultimate 20 long bag, homemade Supercat stove, 1L Ti pot, MSR Miniworks, Tikka Plus, miscellaneous others.

This will be my first experience on the AT, but I have a good deal of hiking and backpacking experience. If 45 lbs kicks my butt in 2006, I'll be lighter in 2007, and so on. 45 lbs doesn't really bother me much. I'm a full-time firefighter and we train all the time with 30 lbs of turnout gear and a 36 lb. air pack on. Looking at the maps and elevation sheets, those hills would definitely get my attention if I wasn't wearing a pack at all. I'm 6'3" 285lbs, played college football, and work out 3x per week. I plan on hiking with a pack on as much as I can between now and then to prepare. I may be typing that you all told me so come the end of my hike, but 45 lbs is well under 20% of my body weight, so I think I can hack it. Well see. I truly appreciate everyone's advice. Seriously.

Bigben

Right on man, sounds like you have thought it out fairly well. Now, my advice would be to figure out, when you get back, what you used a lot, used a little, and what was really worth the weight. Really what light weight hiking is about is freedom. You have less recovery time, and exert less energy so you can afford to put in big miles, or do a few miles fast while taking many relaxing breaks. Good luck though man. It is all good.

Bassline