View Full Version : Pack list and a big thank you
After 6mos of reading, learning and many heated debates I'd like to thank the WB community for your willingness to guide and share your experiences with me. As I load my pack for her UPS journey to Hiker Hostle, my confidence in tackling our beautiful AT is high.
So here's my pack list (I don't plan to go into town much)
Osprey Exos 46 pack 2lbs 5oz
Marmont Limelite 2 tent 4lbs 10oz
Eureka Riner +40F bag 2lbs 8oz
BA insulated air core pad 1lb
big 4 total 10lbs 7oz
PACK
tent, bag, pad, packa, trash comp bag, pillow, gatorade bottle, 1.5ltr camelback, 1.5ltr nalgene canteen, sm book no cover, journal paper and pencil, AWOL guide, compass-thermometer-whistle combo, trecking poles,
crocs, 2 mini bungies, 3 carabiners.
CLOTHES PACKED
1 bike shorts, 1 shirt, 2 med wool socks w/liners, sleep top and bottom.
CLOTHES WORN
1 bike shorts, sports bra, 1 shirt, 1 med wool socks w/liner, Saloman mid trailrunners. watch, bandana, glasses, hat, ziplock ID, cash, credit card, check card.
HYGIENE/FIRST AIDE
mini tpaste and tbrush, 4oz Dr.Bonners, 4oz conditioner, goldbond, buttwipes, 1oz deet, headnet, Rx meds, vitamins, ibuprophen, aspirin, moleskin corn pads, 10 waterproof bandaides, neosporine covered cotton balls, ace bandage, diva cup, homemade pisser (sbhikes you are genius), nightime pee bottle, 2 hair ties, comb, tweezer, 2.5" mirror.
ELECTRONICS
Droid X and charger, Fugi XP Sport camera and charger, SPOT, extra batteries.
MISC
duct tape, headlamp, shamwow, exacto knife, headlamp, floss and needle, BA pad repair kit, aquamira, pepper spray, lighter, vasaline covered cotton balls, sitting pad/hitching sign (piece of old yoga pad written w/a sharpie) "hiker to town" & "hiker to trail"
22lbs base wt.
FOOD BAG
50' nylon cord, 2 carabiners, extra ziplocks, plastic wear, drink mix, sm plastic spatula, gorp, 2 cliffs bars, peanut butter, honey, flour tortillas, 3 foil packed tuna, 6 mayo packets, dried chives and celery seed, 8oz block of cheddar cheese, 8oz summer sausage, 6 mustard packets, grocery list for town.
Special thanks to Chiefiepoo who volunteered to meet with me and taught me how to hang a bear bag. He also showed me how to get my pack on by throwing it over my head. Best tip ever!
I'll be out for at least 3 months. Did I miss anything? what should I leave home?
mweinstone
05-21-2011, 22:06
may i know how this pack throwing over the head is done?
Yes I thought I would grow one big Popeye arm hoisting my pack onto one shoulder to put it on like a jacket. Chiefiepoo placed my pack on the ground directly in front of him with the top towards him and strap side up. Then he grabbed the pack at it's center and lifted it with both hands and slipped it over his head while his arms fell within the straps. It slid down his back and was on in one fluid motion. Very easy on me and the pack and not heavy this way. Does that make sense?
Jersey Tim
05-21-2011, 22:29
Informative, thank you for sharing! Thoughts:
-I like the combo-sitting pad/hitching sign idea.
-You didn't list a stove, but your food list seems to indicate you're going cook-less. True?
-What pillow did you go with, and what's its weight?
-Just out of curiosity, how far are you shooting for in your 3+ months?
mweinstone
05-21-2011, 22:29
yeah. but its weird. if you like it. cool. your list has a high fun factor. i like it. very cool.
yeah. but its weird. if you like it. cool. your list has a high fun factor. i like it. very cool.
I thank you for the vote of confidence. I needed the boost. Getting down to the wire and feeling a few butterflies.
Informative, thank you for sharing! Thoughts:
-I like the combo-sitting pad/hitching sign idea.
-You didn't list a stove, but your food list seems to indicate you're going cook-less. True?
-What pillow did you go with, and what's its weight?
-Just out of curiosity, how far are you shooting for in your 3+ months?
I saw the HTT, HTT on a bandana online but the site (can't remember) wanted 10 bucks plus shipping for it. I'm golden as long as I don't try to sit and hitch.
Yes I am stoveless. We all eat in town anyway and I'm just too tired at the end of the day too cook and clean up etc. Mornings are up and out. Breakfast is somewhere on the trail within the first couple of hours.
Pillow is a 6"x6" section of a memory foam pillow I already had (sorry I don't know the weight) Nicely contoured and smooshes and returns it's shape when I open the sleeping bag compression sack. I keep it along with my jammies, in the toe of the bag.
I'd like to get to Harper's Ferry from Springer and have my picture taken but MacAffee knob would make me happy.
LIhikers
05-21-2011, 22:58
Leave the moleskin home and use your duct tape in it's place.
Pack a small pair of cuticle scissors, or a small, VERY, sharp knife or single edge razor blade. Here's the reason. If you get blisters you'll need some way to cut the loose, dead skin away, treat the blisters with an antibiotic ointment, then cover them with the duct tape. Just my 2 cents
LIhikers
05-21-2011, 23:00
OH, and have a GREAT hike!
tat44too
05-21-2011, 23:03
I do believe you are ready. Stay safe, and have fun. Keep us posted, if ya can. Good luck...
Leave the moleskin home and use your duct tape in it's place.
Pack a small pair of cuticle scissors, or a small, VERY, sharp knife or single edge razor blade. Here's the reason. If you get blisters you'll need some way to cut the loose, dead skin away, treat the blisters with an antibiotic ointment, then cover them with the duct tape. Just my 2 cents
yes funny you say that. I bought more cuticle scissors today. My husband and I were fighting over them.
I'm afraid the duct tape won't be enough to cushion the top of my pinky toe by its self so I'll bring a few corn pads jest in case. I like the donut shape.
exacto knife is on my list instead of a pocket knife.
thanks for the well wishes and will chk in here at WB occasionally. I'm addicted now.
chiefiepoo
05-22-2011, 21:24
Thanks for the shout out, Skooch. I appreciate your kind words. The over the head throw is just a variation on how we load airpacks at the fire dept. With all of the bulky bunker gear you have to wear, finding the arm hole often takes time and makes you look incredibly dumb standing in front of someones burning house.
I know you're ready. You have put a lot of thought into your journey. You have asked for and received many good tips. Remain teachable, at least until Neels Gap. Rest when you're tired. Hydrate and nap often. Best of luck to you.
Carry on!
WingedMonkey
05-22-2011, 22:54
Hey Skooch, are you doing an online journal?
ed short
05-22-2011, 23:26
the small break away knife is very light, very sharp, and you just break off a small section to have a razor sharp new cutting edge. gnome
wannahike
05-23-2011, 06:14
I don't know what your yoga pad is made of but make sure it won't absorb water, makes for a lousy seat and gets really heavy. Yeah, don't ask how I know. :)
Have a great hike!
Hey Skooch, are you doing an online journal?
I'd like to but it seems like a commitment that is hard to keep. Sounds like a good question for a thread search. I did open a spot on trailjournals.com. So far I plan to hand write my thoughts. I decided to bring 10 self addressed stamped envelopes. old school so far. My family may transcribe them for me to the web.
Thanks for the shout out, Skooch. I appreciate your kind words. The over the head throw is just a variation on how we load airpacks at the fire dept. With all of the bulky bunker gear you have to wear, finding the arm hole often takes time and makes you look incredibly dumb standing in front of someones burning house.
I know you're ready. You have put a lot of thought into your journey. You have asked for and received many good tips. Remain teachable, at least until Neels Gap. Rest when you're tired. Hydrate and nap often. Best of luck to you.
Carry on!
I'll be in touch :sun
Hi Skooch,
I hope you have a wonderful time on your journey :) My thoughts are with you.
FYI, take it easy on the downs :eek:
Fortis
Two eureaka Spitfire tents would be lighter than that one 2-person tent, plus you get privacy. Also, eureka makes a light 2-person tent.
Also, look into S-Biners instead of Carabiners. Smaller, but much lighter and easier to use. Highly recomended.
Now I need some advice on what to do while I wait to leave. I'm finishing my last few days at work and can't concentrate. Can't sleep well. My pack is gone via UPS, miss her. My family and well wishers are done with me. Go already!
About_Time
05-24-2011, 13:30
I didn't see a cell phone on your list. I ran across a hiker with a broken ankle on Friday hiking nobo into the NOC. He'd already called 911 and I ran into the rescuers on the way down. Without a cell phone (and without me walking by), he'd have spent the night there.
A prepaid phone from Verizon costs about $20 bucks and weights about 5 ounces with a charger. They force you to spend $15 per month (advertised as $1.99 per day, but they have a minimum) that can be set up as a credit card replenish. You might want to consider it just for peace of mind.
TravelPro
05-24-2011, 14:20
All good advice. Sounds like you're ready.
You've probably already done this, but it's really helpful to take all your thru gear out for a shakedown weekend. Do some miles, live for 48 hrs or so as you intend to on the thru. It's a great way to discover what works, what little thing might be useful to add, and what may not be so useful or practical as was thought. It can be an enlightening (and lightening) experience.
Have a great trip. The gear is just stuff, but the trip is life.
Yes Droid X is a phone and SPOT has a button for emergency responders. It's sad so many hikes end with injury.
The Old Boot
05-24-2011, 14:46
Now I need some advice on what to do while I wait to leave. I'm finishing my last few days at work and can't concentrate. Can't sleep well. My pack is gone via UPS, miss her. My family and well wishers are done with me. Go already!
Hey, you could come and do some much needed housework for me...:sun
j/k!
Go do some volunteer work somewhere!! Visit some old folks in a seniors home, volunteer for a soup kitchen, heck offer to walk the neighbours' dog.
OR, if that's not your thing, make a trip to the library and snag a pile of novels (not AT books...:D)
Basically anything to keep your mind or body doing something except stressing until you can step foot on the trail.
I feel like I should know you, but Pinellas County & St Pete is a pretty big area. I just met chiefeepoo a few weeks back and took him and another guy up to Amicolola. It ends up that Jim is my neighbor up in Seminole.
I may have missed it in your list but be sure you have at least 3/4 roll of TP in a zip lock bag in your pack. That stuff is like gold and more than once I have had to reluctantly loan some of mine to a hiker is deperation. :)
Also, I didn't see a pack cover. I've had days after days of rain and glad I had the cover. Even with the cover, everything will still get damp. Be careful of your electronics - double zip lock bags. You've got water treatment covered... right?
For now, I'd just recommend using a stair climber or finding stairs to climb whenever possible. Flatlanders usually struggle with the climbs for at least the first week and I'm speaking from experience. I hike the Croom and Citrus trails here and they do almost nothing. Unless you are in awesome shape expect to be tired in the afternoons until you are adjusted. Go short days and build up (I guess that is common sense). You are still young, relatively speaking from my point of view, and will build strength over the weeks. Treat any blisters/hot spots quickly because that can save your butt and make the difference between a fun hike and one that becomes distracting. I pre-tape areas that I know have been prone to blisters.
Have an awesome hike!!!!!!!!!!!
yes Jim mentioned you. got the buttwipes (wetwipes)and the Packa (pack and parka combo, aquamira and lots of ziplocks as well as a liner for my pack are all on my list. I don't really expect to have a dry summer. Now that my pack is gone I've been Jogging again. So I like the expression "Start slow and then slow down".
Good luck from another TB area member. Hopefully I will be up there on the trail soon.
Toli and I were out on a day hike and ran into Skooch just south of Gooch Gap today. We had a nice chat. She had tears of joy as she was taking it all in. I wish her well on the remainder of her journey.
ekeverette
06-04-2011, 18:58
are you starting 3/12?