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Lavy
03-11-2008, 21:39
I am just trying to make my final preparations and have just packed everything up. I don't have a scale here so I can't weigh everything until tomorrow morning. After packing everything up I am "alot" worried that my pack is going to be quite a bit heavier than I thought. I'm not planning to do the approach trail. Right now, I have 5 days of food packed to start out with...is this too much? Should I only start out with 4 days worth of food? packing list as follows:

1 pair of convertible pants
1 pair of synthetic shorts
1 set of thermal underwear
1 synthetic t-shirt
1 long-sleeve shirt
1 fleece vest
1 soft shell jacket
1 rain jacket
1 rain pant
3 pairs of underwear
3 pairs of socks
3 pairs of liner socks
1 first aid kit
1 titanium cook pot
trangia alchohol stove
MSR sweetwater purification system w/ extra filter
treking poles
50ft nylon cord
Big Agnes air-core sleep pad
Big Agnes Seedhouse SL-1 tent w/footprint and rainfly
synthetic sleeping bag

I also have things like hand sanitizer, campsuds, vitamin I, multivitamins, deodorant, body glide, lotion, sun screen, q-tips, dental floss and extra batteries...are any of these necessary? How extensive should the first aid kit be...it seems like I could shed some weight there. I'll get back you guys on the total weight after I have a chance to stop by my clinic tomorrow morning to throw it all on the scale there. Let me know what you think so far guys, for the first time I'm starting to feel a bit nervous. Any help is much appreciated. Thanks

-Lavy

Lavy
03-11-2008, 21:41
I forgot to put in there that I also have a pair of gloves with silk liners as well...

Thanks everyone

peanuts
03-11-2008, 21:43
i would lose the shorts you have convertibles pants
are the thermals for sleeping?
ditch the soft shell jacket u are carrying a rain jacket(double duty)
send the extra filter when needed
the rest looks pretty good imho:)

LIhikers
03-11-2008, 21:57
I'd jettison one pair each of socks, sock liners, and underwear.
You only really need one pair on, one pair clean, and one pair waiting to be clean.
I DON'T see any guidebooks or, map and compass, or any kind of headlamp or other light, or warm hat. And don't forget stove fuel and matches or lighter. You mention having food but how about a little water? I think you're weight is going to have to go UP a little.

Appalachian Tater
03-11-2008, 22:06
You don't need deodorant or the footprint or extra batteries, either. Lay everything out and take out everything you don't absolutely need.

You will not be able to stay clean, so forget about clean and dirty clothes, think about wet and dry clothes, you always need to have one dry set of something to wear at night. Everyone else will be dirty, too, and won't notice.

If you don't get rid of this stuff now, you're going to suffer, and then get rid of it anyway.

What's in your first aid kit? Half of it you don't need. List everything in your pack.

Blissful
03-11-2008, 22:07
i would lose the shorts you have convertibles pants
are the thermals for sleeping?
ditch the soft shell jacket u are carrying a rain jacket(double duty)
send the extra filter when needed
the rest looks pretty good imho:)



Jacket is needed for the varying temps, though (I had my down one until May). You may want to ditch the vest instead or use it in May.

Also, I'd bring the three pairs of socks. Clean (or cleaner) socks help cut down on blisters, IMO. And I brought three pair of undies (one was cotton) wearing one clean pair in the sleeping bag is nice. Might consider a silk liner for sleeping bag.

Hat? Fuel bottle? Spork? headlamp? Water bottles or platypus? Cell phone? Camera? Tyvek for footprint. Lighter for stove.

Ditch deodorant, lotion, extra batteries. Bring only a small amount of campsuds, but may not need. First aid should have a few bandaids in various sizes, small antiobotic cream, small hydrocortisone cream, a needle, one ace wrap, duct tape. And bring your toothpaste and toothbrush. :)

Four days of food is plenty if not starting the Approach trail.

Frolicking Dinosaurs
03-11-2008, 22:15
I'd lose one pair of socks, liners and underwear and have the extra water filter mailed to me along the trail when needed.

As Tater says, the little stuff adds up - list it all.

JAK
03-11-2008, 22:16
You could jump on the bathroom scales for total weight on feet, and total skin out.

4 or 5 days of food?
- I work out food on a per mile basis unless I plan zero days.

Clothing? Don't bring any clothes you can't wear all at once!
- leave home either convertible pants or synthetic shorts
- bring your long underwear pants assuming non cotton
- leave home either synthetic t-shirt or long-sleeve shirt
- leave home either fleece vest or soft shell jacket
- bring a wool sweater
- bring rain jacket and rain pant
- leave 2 pair of underwear home, bring 1
- leave 2 pair of liner socks home, bring 1
- leave 2 pair of medium socks home, bring 1
- bring 1 pair of heavy wool socks

- why not a comfortable and stylish pair of wool pants and a light merino wool sweater for most of your walking on trail and in town instead of some of the items above?

Other gear?
1 first aid kit - OK
1 titanium cook pot - OK
trangia alchohol stove - OK
MSR sweetwater purification system w/ extra filter - OK
treking poles - OK
50ft nylon cord - 25 ?
Big Agnes air-core sleep pad - OK, plus 20"x48" blue foam pad for cold start
Big Agnes Seedhouse SL-1 tent w/footprint and rainfly - OK
synthetic sleeping bag - OK

Other stuff - OK, you will find out what is unneccessary

KG4FAM
03-11-2008, 22:30
1 pair of synthetic shorts - convertables have built in shorts and rain pants are your extra pants for laundry

1 long-sleeve shirt - thermal underwear does this job

1 soft shell jacket - use the vest and thermals with rain coat

1 first aid kit - usually over stuffed, go through it and weed out stuff

trangia alchohol stove - there are lighter alcohol stoves out there

MSR sweetwater purification system w/ extra filter - extra filters are unnessecary, you can buy them in trail towns or have them shipped to the next one

50ft nylon cord - if it is 550 parachute cord you can gut the insides and just use the shell.

Big Agnes air-core sleep pad - consider foam pad, get used to the hard ground

Big Agnes Seedhouse SL-1 tent w/footprint and rainfly - you could ditch the footprint, just find a good clean site

hand sanitizer - you are already cooking with alcohol, throw some on your hands

campsuds - I only bring soap type stuff that I can use as toothpaste. If you are considering how to clean your pot, the pot gets clean when you boil water for your next meal.

deodorant - no one is trying to smell better than anyone else out there

lotion, sun screen - these are basically the same, depending on lotion needs you could possibly use your body glide if you don't use that much

extra batteries - deal with not having a light for a few days until you resupply

How extensive should the first aid kit be...it seems like I could shed some weight there. - my kit is duct tape, Ibuprofin, one cigarette (bug bites/stings), gold bond.

smirkingjack
03-12-2008, 11:07
Hey Lavy,
I believe personal style is the critical element in this quandary. There's also nothing like learning from experience. I would imagine that you will jettison those things that you find burdensome fairly quickly. That being said, I believe there are a few changes that could be made to lighten the load.

Take the shorts. You're already taking rain pants.
Take the long-sleeve shirt. You do have the option to swap gear through mail as you feel ready to switch to short sleeves.
Take the vest and the rain jacket. I would leave the soft shell at home.
Take 2 pair underwear.
Take 1 pair hiking socks. (If you need the liner socks take 2 pair.)
Take 1 pair sleeping socks (If you use sleeping socks.)
Take the first aid kit (ruthlessly cut the kit down. If it doesn't present a practical easy solve, leave it out.)
Take 30' of cord.
Other things mentioned require more clarification. So, some questions...
Have you repackaged your soap, hand sanitize, lotion, sun screen, vitamins, dental floss into a smaller amount?
About your food needs, what kind of shape are you in? What is you daily milage estimation? How long will it take YOU to get to your next resupply?
LIhikers brings up a good point about maps, headlamp, water bottle, and fuel container. Do you have those things? You may also want to consider a bandanna (light hand towel, head cover, can also pre filter very silty water)
Ditch the deodorant, the q-tips, soft shell, and the foot print.
I would mail the filter replacement as you feel you need it.
Hope this helps a little. Keep us posted. Good luck.

jesse
03-12-2008, 11:14
load everything up, then go to a local stadium and walk up and down the stairs for 8 or more hours, if you can do it you're not too heavy, if you can't, you are.

Lilred
03-12-2008, 11:30
You could jump on the bathroom scales for total weight on feet, and total skin out.

4 or 5 days of food?
- I work out food on a per mile basis unless I plan zero days.

Clothing? Don't bring any clothes you can't wear all at once!
- leave home either convertible pants or synthetic shorts
- bring your long underwear pants assuming non cotton
- leave home either synthetic t-shirt or long-sleeve shirt
- leave home either fleece vest or soft shell jacket
- bring a wool sweater
- bring rain jacket and rain pant
- leave 2 pair of underwear home, bring 1
- leave 2 pair of liner socks home, bring 1
- leave 2 pair of medium socks home, bring 1
- bring 1 pair of heavy wool socks

- why not a comfortable and stylish pair of wool pants and a light merino wool sweater for most of your walking on trail and in town instead of some of the items above?

Other gear?
1 first aid kit - OK
1 titanium cook pot - OK
trangia alchohol stove - OK
MSR sweetwater purification system w/ extra filter - OK
treking poles - OK
50ft nylon cord - 25 ?
Big Agnes air-core sleep pad - OK, plus 20"x48" blue foam pad for cold start
Big Agnes Seedhouse SL-1 tent w/footprint and rainfly - OK
synthetic sleeping bag - OK

Other stuff - OK, you will find out what is unneccessary

ok I gotta speak up here about those socks. Hiking with only one pair of socks just ain't gonna cut it. Three is ideal, one wearing, one drying, and one pair dry. I always have a dry pair of socks to put on at camp, I never wear them in my boots. It is amazingly wonderful to put on dry, clean socks when everything else is soaked. Take care of your feet.

I've never used sock liners and I've never gotten a blister. ymmv

Lavy
03-12-2008, 11:49
Have you repackaged your soap, hand sanitize, lotion, sun screen, vitamins, dental floss into a smaller amount?LIhikers brings up a good point about maps, headlamp, water bottle, and fuel container. Do you have those things? You may also want to consider a bandanna (light hand towel, head cover, can also pre filter very silty water)
Ditch the deodorant, the q-tips, soft shell, and the foot print.
I would mail the filter replacement as you feel you need it.
Hope this helps a little. Keep us posted. Good luck.

I have repackaged all of these items you have mentioned into snack sized ziplocks or smaller containers. I do have a headlamp and as far as the fuel bottle goes I have one of the MSR fuel bottles. I will be taking the appalachian pages with me as well so I was figuring that solved the need for maps...am I wrong in that assumption? I will be taking a bandanna along because I have very long hair that will become quite an annoyance without one. I'm still up in the air as far as how I should be carrying water. I have Nalgenes and a camelback hydration bladder so I could go either way. I was also considering bringing a 4 liter dromedary...is this at all useful? I have started cutting back on alot of this stuff you guys have been mentioning and will be able to check my weights later on in the morning. I'll get back to y'all on it. Thanks everyone you guys are saviors.

Blissful
03-12-2008, 14:06
Yeah I am kind of amazed that people (mostly men) are advocating one pair of underwear and one pair of socks. Do agree with ditching the liners. But I still believe in three pair of socks and three pair of underwear (eps if you wear underwear hiking. If you plan to go commando you could probably leave one behind)). For health reasons even - women are also more prone to such things as yeast infections and there are chafiing issues (we can discuss this more on the female forum if you want)

Personally, I'd consider cutting your hair so you don't have to deal with the aggravation of snarly hair. :) But of course that's up to you. :)

Have a great hike!

quasarr
03-12-2008, 14:34
what backpack are you using? if your pack weighs 6 pounds, you can easily loose weight by switching to a 3-pounder

also it seems you are bringing too many personal care items. things I would leave at home

deodorant - you'll stink anyway and deodorant attracts critters

q-tips - can't imagine what you'd use these for

lotion - not useful and attracts critters

camp suds - leaving these behind will make your town shower that much better! ;)

You say you have an MSR fuel bottle - those are heavy and totally unnecessary since you're using alcohol! Alcohol can be safely stored in a plastic bottle. I use an empty Mountain Dew bottle, it's green so I don't confuse it with my water bottles.

hacksaw
03-12-2008, 14:37
I have repackaged all of these items you have mentioned into snack sized ziplocks or smaller containers. I do have a headlamp and as far as the fuel bottle goes I have one of the MSR fuel bottles. I will be taking the appalachian pages with me as well so I was figuring that solved the need for maps...am I wrong in that assumption? I will be taking a bandanna along because I have very long hair that will become quite an annoyance without one. I'm still up in the air as far as how I should be carrying water. I have Nalgenes and a camelback hydration bladder so I could go either way. I was also considering bringing a 4 liter dromedary...is this at all useful? I have started cutting back on alot of this stuff you guys have been mentioning and will be able to check my weights later on in the morning. I'll get back to y'all on it. Thanks everyone you guys are saviors.

I have found that a simple 16 oz plastic soda bottle-Pepsi is best-thicker plastic and better shape works well for alcohol. I know of several that survived thruhikes.

Same goes for water bottle, use either 20 oz or 1 litre, multiples if you need it.

Both these together will save about a pound over what you listed. I also wrap about 10 wraps of duct tape around one or the other.

hammock engineer
03-12-2008, 14:50
It looks like you got at least all your bases covered. Meaning nothing major is left out. For me some of the things look like overkill, too many of one thing. I just have my hiking clothes and sleeping clothes, along with an extra pair of socks.

I would just say that as long as you can comfortably carry the weight, just go with it. It will not take long for you to figure it out for yourself. Just keep in mind that everyone gives advice based on what works for them, not bad just the way it is. After a few days you'll figure out what you are not using and can do without. Just be prepared to change things along the way.

Enjoy your hike.

Christopher Robin
03-12-2008, 14:54
A whisle, molskin, instaed of sleep sock be a pair of hiking socks, a vsest is more versable a specily you have a rain jacket & a long sleve T-shirt or your themo short.

Thoughtful Owl
03-12-2008, 15:20
Yeah I am kind of amazed that people (mostly men) are advocating one pair of underwear and one pair of socks. Do agree with ditching the liners. But I still believe in three pair of socks and three pair of underwear (eps if you wear underwear hiking. If you plan to go commando you could probably leave one behind)). For health reasons even - women are also more prone to such things as yeast infections and there are chafiing issues (we can discuss this more on the female forum if you want)

Personally, I'd consider cutting your hair so you don't have to deal with the aggravation of snarly hair. :) But of course that's up to you. :)

Have a great hike!

Where did that come from. I thought from the profile, Lavy was a male and I didn't see any picture showing what his hair looked like

jaiden
03-12-2008, 15:38
Big Agnes air-core sleep pad


Unless your air-core is insulated you will be cold! Add a foam pad to start

maxNcathy
03-12-2008, 15:56
If it all weighs more than 28 pounds, leave all non essentials at home!..unless you are big and strong or small and very STRONG.
Have fun, Sandalwood

Lavy
03-12-2008, 17:48
After cutting down on alot of the things that everyone has suggested I took my pack to my clinic and the total weight with 4 days food and a little over 2 liters of water in a camelbak bladder was 39.0 lbs. I forgot to pull out the footprint of the tent so this isn't an exact weight but pretty close. Is this going to be too much or should I contiue to try and cut weight? I guess I should always be cutting weight but is this going to be acceptable? I will switch to a lighter bottle for my fuel and as far as my hair goes I don't think it's as easy as "just cut your hair". Anyone with long hair knows what I'm talking about. You guys rock, thanks for all the input.

max patch
03-12-2008, 18:32
I started my thru at 50 pounds, and eventually got it "down" to 45 with 5 days of food. So I have no doubt you can start at 39 with no problems and cut it down as you go as you figure out what you really need to be comfortable.

Appalachian Tater
03-12-2008, 18:41
The lighter your pack is the happier you will be, but 39 pounds is not a ridiculous starting weight,. When you get to Neels Gap you will have more experience, will have seen what other people have, and can get some good advice and shed a few more pounds.

FeO2
03-12-2008, 19:07
Yeah I am kind of amazed that people (mostly men) are advocating one pair of underwear and one pair of socks. Do agree with ditching the liners. But I still believe in three pair of socks and three pair of underwear (eps if you wear underwear hiking. If you plan to go commando you could probably leave one behind)). For health reasons even - women are also more prone to such things as yeast infections and there are chafiing issues (we can discuss this more on the female forum if you want)

Personally, I'd consider cutting your hair so you don't have to deal with the aggravation of snarly hair. :) But of course that's up to you. :)

Have a great hike!

I can't stand hiking with underwear on! It just turns into a chaffing nightmare. I "free-ball" it (I like the term free-ball because it makes my wife giggle:D) and bring a pair for camp. I agree with 3 socks though, 2 for hiking in and one for camp, the camp pair can back up the work pair, sometimes I rotate them through. Gotta have the body glide!!!!

My 2¢
FeO2

whitefoot_hp
03-12-2008, 19:54
too many clothes.

dessertrat
03-12-2008, 23:31
Never mind that last comment. 39 pounds with food and water is not light, but it's not all that heavy, either, unless you plan on getting new pack, sleeping bag, etc.

How much do you weigh? If you are a male over 150 pounds in weight, I would say go with 39 and see what happens.

Tinker
03-12-2008, 23:45
I did the Georgia section starting with 42 lbs. because I had just a little too much gear to fit into my frameless pack and had to use my 5-1/2 lb. pack. That was in 2006. I was 52 years old and weighed 210 lbs.

You'll be fine. Just make sure you'll be able to get around camp when the temps hit the low 20's without freezing (a nice down vest under your raingear should do it). I needed a full jacket.

Lavy
03-13-2008, 00:09
I am a little over six feet tall and weigh 220 lbs. It's tough to figure out if the clothing will be right. There's so many differing opinions. My concern I guess is getting so cold I'm miserable. I guess if I get too cold I can always set up camp and hop in my sleeping bag, right.

GGS2
03-13-2008, 00:27
... I guess if I get too cold I can always set up camp and hop in my sleeping bag, right.

Put on every piece of dry clothing you've got, jump in your bag under whatever cover you brought, make yourself something hot to eat and drink. Then if all else fails, make a fire and tend it all night long. If you get your stuff wet, the fire becomes essential. But on a trail like the AT, where you're hardly ever more than a few miles from a bailout, you can read your map, find the exit and hike like a madman to get to a warm place. To do that you need food, water and not much else.

But, as you will find if you mooch about in here, there are a few places where you can get into serious trouble, mostly on top of the higher mountains and ridges. For those places, the best policy is not to get into trouble there. Don't go up in a thunderstorm. Don't try to get another five miles in before the storm hits. If trouble is brewing, make camp, fix some grub, get your water taken care of, and hunker down until it blows over. Then hike on when the weather is fine, the sun is up and you are well fed, watered and rested.

Lavy
03-13-2008, 13:02
Thank you guys for alll your advice and support. You've all been so helpful :)

brwnerth
03-13-2008, 19:39
I am starting on April 5 and am a WB addict at this point. This has been one of the most helpful threads I've read! thanks to all you veterans!