2012 NOBO Thru List (so far)

[thepokerkid227]

This is what I have bought so far for my 2012 thru starting early March:

Western Mountaineering UL 20 degree bag- 1lb 3oz
Thermarest NeoAir- 14oz
Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 w/fly- 3lb
GoLite Quest pack- 3lb 1 oz
Mountain Hardwear Wicked Lite tee- 4.1 oz
Mountain Hardwear Matterhorn convertible pants- 1lb 4oz
Marmot Trail Wind- 4.7oz
Patagonia R1 pullover fleece- 11.9oz
Marmot Precip jacket- 15oz
Marmot Precip pants- 9oz
Darn Tough Merino Wool socks x2- ?
Smartwool liner socks x2- ?
Arcteryx beanie- ?
Blackdiamond midweight gloves- ?
Icebreaker 200 wt leggings- ?
Icebreaker Oasis 200 wt long sleeve- 8.7oz
Icebreaker Tech T-lite 150 wt tee- ?
Stoic Merino boxer briefs- ?
GoLite Post Canyon softshell- 9oz
Patagonia down sweater- 12.1 oz
SOTO Micro Regulator stove- 2.6oz
GSI Outdoors Pinnacle Soloist cookset- 10.8oz
GSI Outdoors Cathole Sanitation trowel- 3.1 oz
Platypus 34fl oz SoftBottle x2- 1.8 oz total
Sawyer 3-way Gravity Filter System (homemade)- 13.6

Just some odds and ends to still pick up, i.e. drysacks, guidebook, first aid/hygiene kit, pack cover/liner, maps (if I decide to), etc. let me know how I am doing so far I think I may have gone a little overboard in the clothing part but I like to be prepared

[RWheeler]

Any particular reason you're carrying a 2-person tent?

The rest of the gear seems pretty solid, though. Although I've been told that convertible pants don't quite work out for a lot of people, so keep in mind that you may send either the bottoms home, or buy something else while on the trail and send the whole pant home.

And as for the clothes, it seems like there's a bit of redundancy there. I'd say nix the softshell (you already have insulation layers and wind/rain layers).

If you already have the two Platy bottles, then stick with them.

[TOMP]

I made a few suggestions for gear swap options. Looks good so far.

Thermarest NeoAir- 14oz thermarest ridgerest solite 8.6 oz
Marmot Trail Wind- 4.7oz Marmot Precip jacket- 15oz 2 jackets seems like 1 too many

Marmot Precip pants- 9oz Keep if you like to hike in them but I find rain pants super hot and sweaty, consider a poncho 1 oz
Stoic Merino boxer briefs- ? I imagine they would get funky fast try long distance running shorts 2.0 oz
SOTO Micro Regulator stove- 2.6oz me too
GSI Outdoors Pinnacle Soloist cookset- 10.8oz primus kettle 6.5 oz and only 16 bucks
GSI Outdoors Cathole Sanitation trowel- 3.1 oz you can probably dig a good hole with your boot or something else in your pack, or a rock.
Platypus 34fl oz SoftBottle x2- 1.8 oz total
Sawyer 3-way Gravity Filter System (homemade)- 13.6 sounds heavy go with the chemicals

Also, you have a softshell, a fleece, a merino wool type longsleeve, and a down sweater, seems like 2 too many. I would also factor the weight of the odds and ends into your pack weight otherwise you might be suprised at the end. Good luck and see you on the trail.

[thepokerkid227]

Think i'll go with the majority here and make my first line of business leaving the softshell behind

[thepokerkid227]

Should I leave the fleece or down jacket behind? Which one?

[TOMP]

I would keep the one that you feel is warmer. If they are equal then go with fleece because it dries quicker.

[BrianLe]

For an early March start, given what you already own, I'd be inclined to start with both the Patagonia R1 and the down sweater; you might need to layer these to stay warm enough with a 20F bag. I used that very same bag with a late Feb start but I had a beefier down parka and down booties, and needed all of that on several nights early on. At some point I'd guess you would then mail the R1 home and keep the down sweater --- more warmth for the weight, and later on a wind shirt is likely plenty enough to start the day with.

I agree that your stove plus cookset combo sounds a bit heavy. Heck, it's the AT, resupply is easy, so consider going cookless starting out, to offset the weight of more clothes and not yet being in trail shape at the beginning. While it's true for at least some people that added food weight offsets the savings in stove and cookpot and fuel, it's less true when you're starting out and eating less. And it's one less thing to fiddle with when you're figuring everything else out, assuming you have at least a little experience at eating cold.

I'm not a huge fan of rain pants either; you might find you like them in March, however, dunno. You can always adjust stuff like this by mailing it home along the way.

Since there are privies along the AT, or at least shovels at shelters without privies, you probably could go without a trowel. I like carrying an SMC snow/sand stake as it's sort of dual use. I think I only had to dig a hole on the AT a handful of times or less, but when you need to do it, I don't agree that pretending to dig with your heel is adequate. Inevitably you'll find yourself needing to go in an area with nothing but impacted rocks and roots and such.

I do agree with chemicals over a filter. I found the water sources along the AT in general to be quite nice, I don't recall ever feeling the need to filter out anything. I think the "worst" water I can recall seeing just had some tannens in it.

For an early March start, consider getting yourself a 1/8" thick thinlight pad from Gossamer Gear. On the coldest nights, put that on top of your neo-air. On less cold nights, put it under the neo-air, especially in shelters, then when you roll or fold it up in the morning, do that with a bit of care to wipe off debris so nothing is embedded in the 1/8" pad. Result: a bit warmer, and I think a smaller chance of developing leaks in the inflatable.

Consider a pair of mittens rather than gloves, perhaps something to initially layer over what you're starting with. If you can keep your extremities warm enough and keep moving, something like that Patagonia R1 plus perhaps a rainjacket should do fine for your core on all but the coldest of mornings.

[garlic08]

You had me going on that bag weight until I looked it up and found out it's 1 lb 13 oz, just a typo I bet.

Some wise advise I've seen here before as far as clothing is that you should be able to wear all your clothing at the same time.

If you get a chance, try the bag out in temps in the teens, and find out if you can comfortably wear clothes in it to supplement the temp rating. I say this because on my early April start, I weathered two winter storms in the first two weeks with blizzard conditions and overnight temps around 15F. I'm really glad I decided to bring my 15F bag, and I already knew that wearing a jacket to bed actually constricted my movement and circulation and made me colder.

Also for what it's worth, I was plenty comfortable in nasty conditions hiking in rain gear (tops and bottoms--I kept the bottoms into May), light long underwear top, light nylon trousers and shirt and light wool socks. I had a Marmot Driclime jacket for breaks. I carried a down vest but never needed it.

[kevperro]

I only hiked the Northern half and was fortunate enough to have little rain and few bugs but I'd agree with the people who said:

* Leave the filter at home. Most people who start with them don't finish carrying them.
* One rain jacket.... no pants. I never hike in rain pants.... you just don't need them in any condition except high cold wind/rain/snow conditions or for camp.
* I'd vote for carrying a stove. Food is very important but nix the full cookset. I liked the ability to cook to vary my diet rather than just boiling water. I love Bagels, cooked in butter and covered with crunchy Peanut Butter. Loads up on the calories baby!
* I hiked in the fall, Sept-Dec and never needed more than a 30deg. bag and a down top. Most of your day is spent hiking where you wear shorts and a t-shirt (even in rain/snow). You can always buy more clothing items in town as you feel the need to add them.

[kevperro]

Oh... one more item. Most nights I spent in shelters. I was going southbound during a time when the shelters were not packed. If it was raining, I'd stay in a shelter to keep my tent dry. If I found a shelter near the end of day that didn't have any likely snoring candidates.... I'd stay. If it was packed with noisy kids or annoying people I'd do another couple miles and tent. Bottom line is that your tent isn't as critical as you may feel. It spends a lot of time in your pack unless you are moving with the hoard Northbound (which is sounds like you might).

[RWheeler]

I only hiked the Northern half and was fortunate enough to have little rain and few bugs but I'd agree with the people who said:
...
* I hiked in the fall, Sept-Dec and never needed more than a 30deg. bag and a down top. Most of your day is spent hiking where you wear shorts and a t-shirt (even in rain/snow). You can always buy more clothing items in town as you feel the need to add them.

I find it really hard to believe that a 30 degree bag worked on the Northern half of the AT in Sept-Dec, seeing as how the temperatures can easily get below 0.

Care to specify what your exact sleep set-up was? Where'd you sleep (shelter, tent, hostel?), pad you used, what you'd typically wear when you slept?

I mean, I know everyone is different, this just seems way way extreme to me.

[kevperro]

Actually... started in August in the north and it rarely got below freezing until October. I was on Mt. Washington Sept 4th and there was a short hail storm but I ran in shorts and my rain jacket until I reached some sort of shelter. It was over in 15 minutes and I started hiking again and it rarely got below freezing at night until sometime in October.

I carried a 3/4 length self-inflating thermarest and a Feathered Friends 30 deg. bag. This was back before there was any such thing as an EN rating but it was a 2lb bag, light for it's day. I also had a down top (16oz) but I rarely needed it until the end of the trip where I was at lower elevation near Harpers Ferry.