View Full Version : Shakedown request
I've seen a few other people ask for advice this way, I hope I'm not breaking protocol.
I am planning to start in the Waynesboro, VA area and hike NOBO until I hate hiking or get to the end.
Here's a list of the items I've got planned for bringing, it may be missing a few things I can't remember; if I am missing something very useful, please let me know.
Osprey Exos 46
Big Agnes FlyCreek UL1
Marmot Pounder
Thermarest Z-Lite
Rain-cover for pack
Hiking pants
Hiking shorts
Hiking kilt? maybe (Mountain Hardware Hiking Kilt, looks like a khaki skirt, but lightweight and stupid comfortable)
Wool t-shirt x2
Wool boxer-brief x2
Wool longsleeve base
Wool pants base
Long sleeve hiking shirt
Rain jacket
Down shirt
Jetboil stove + coffee press
27oz metal water bottle x2
16oz metal coffee thermos (perhaps too bulky/heavy, high value though)
hand pumped water filter
2 liter water-bag for at camp
headlamp
phone + charger
Kindle
bushcraft knife
multitool
plastic spoon
gaffer tape
moleskin
basic first-aid stuff
deck of cards, solitaire is awesome
bandanna x2
pack towel/chamois thing
Sounds like too many clothes, and why wool, will be too warm during summer. Lose the metal water bottles. Coffee press?, Not even sure what that is. Might want to take a camera. Small knife is okay, don't need a multi tool.
SawnieRobertson
05-05-2013, 22:46
Back to your auto dilemma, if you are going to begin that far north, then you should find a place to leave it that will be convenient and not too costly for your return to it. Try listing the towns you are planning to visit and asking if there is a place at any of them where your car will be safe if left for a long time. Often it will be at a local visitor's center or at the headquarters of a state park. Good luck.
Train Wreck
05-05-2013, 23:38
Sounds like too many clothes, and why wool, will be too warm during summer. Lose the metal water bottles. Coffee press?, Not even sure what that is. Might want to take a camera. Small knife is okay, don't need a multi tool.
I'm a morning coffee addict :)
I have the same coffee press (if it's the one that goes with the jetboil) and they're great for making REAL coffee, not that instant crap.
Maybe you can change the metal thermos for something a little lighter, like a commuter travel mug with a lid.
Sounds like too many clothes, and why wool, will be too warm during summer. Lose the metal water bottles. Coffee press?, Not even sure what that is. Might want to take a camera. Small knife is okay, don't need a multi tool.
I was wondering about the multitool, I don't like to be without something when I need it, but how many phillips head screws do you need to undo or tighten while hiking? I mean lightweight merino wool, when I say wool, I have some smartwool next to skin shirts, and even though they are black they keep me nice and cool in the summer. The leggings are for rainy days, to keep my legs warm while wet, and sleeping. Pants, shorts and kilt are probably too much, but I'm still figuring out which 1 or 2 I want to bring with me, as I already own them, but they all lack in one way or another.
What would you recommend for water while hiking, if not the klean kanteens? I like bladders, but I tend to drink way more water than needed, when using those.
I'm a morning coffee addict :)
I have the same coffee press (if it's the one that goes with the jetboil) and they're great for making REAL coffee, not that instant crap.
Maybe you can change the metal thermos for something a little lighter, like a commuter travel mug with a lid.
The metal thermos is a klean kanteen vacuum joby, the thermos part is actually not too heavy, but the lid weighs as much as the cup, which is kind of goofy. My friend suggested stuffing it with my clean extra ziplocks and dining utensils, while not in use, to make up for some of the bulk.
I have expensive camera gear already, but nothing for hiking with, and I feel it's kind of silly to buy a snapshot camera. I'm considering it though, because people I know have mentioned wanting to see pictures. I tell them to just google image search 'appalachian trail'. I imagine there are already millions of pictures of the trail, shelters, hikers having a good time, etc.
...but... those aren't /my/ moments, so I'm looking idly for a decent AA powered camera.
I also forgot to mention boots and socks, I guess I imagined that was a given, but some people have done it barefoot.
Back to your auto dilemma, if you are going to begin that far north, then you should find a place to leave it that will be convenient and not too costly for your return to it. Try listing the towns you are planning to visit and asking if there is a place at any of them where your car will be safe if left for a long time. Often it will be at a local visitor's center or at the headquarters of a state park. Good luck.
Thanks, I realized I have too many things I care about in my car that I would feel stress about leaving somewhere I wasn't sure about, so I've opted to drop it with family in Michigan, and find transport from MI to the Waynesboro, VA area, beyond that I'm leaving unplanned to let the wind take me. I just want to make sure I have everything squared away for basic survival, and I hope to learn a lot from others I meet along the way.
Chaco Taco
05-06-2013, 20:12
If you start to hate hiking, you're doin it wrong
kidchill
05-07-2013, 17:52
I would ditch the 2 metal water bottles (substitute 32oz gatorade bottles), the coffee thermos (will you really be storing coffee and drinking while hiking?), the coffee press (listen, I love my Java, but ended up going instant, it's just too much weight/work to do it any other way), multitool (you're not playing McGyver, you're hiking), and the bush knife (I carried a 3 or 3.5oz leathermen all 2200 miles and used it 3 times, every time I was in town and could've borrowed scissors). I would also rethink your clothing situation. Set of trail clothes, set of town clothes (even this is optional, I just liked having something to change into after showering), gear for wet, and gear for cold...and cold is if it even happens. When are you planning to leave? Just my 2 cents...remember, HYOH!
bigcranky
05-07-2013, 19:13
When are you leaving? That would help with the advice. Assuming you are leaving soon:
For late spring/summer, I wear hiking shorts and UL wool t-shirt to hike, a second set of shorts and a long sleeve shirt for camp/town. I bring one pair of boxer briefs to sleep in, and hike commando. I don't bring pants, kilt, second wool t-shirt, wool long john bottoms, or long sleeve hiking shirt. In the summer I bring either a wind shirt or a very light fleece pullover, though the down shirt is probably fine.
I fixed my coffee problem with the Starbucks Iced Via, and so I don't need a stove at all on summer hikes. Cold breakfast and some iced coffee in my quart gatorade bottle and I'm good to go for the morning. So no stove, pot, or fuel, which makes life simpler.
Of course, all this is personal preference -- your list looks fine. I'd skip the multitool and any sort of big knife, too, though I do bring the smallest SAK and a small lockback Gerber knife. But again, personal preference. You'll be fine.
I would ditch the 2 metal water bottles (substitute 32oz gatorade bottles), the coffee thermos (will you really be storing coffee and drinking while hiking?), the coffee press (listen, I love my Java, but ended up going instant, it's just too much weight/work to do it any other way), multitool (you're not playing McGyver, you're hiking), and the bush knife (I carried a 3 or 3.5oz leathermen all 2200 miles and used it 3 times, every time I was in town and could've borrowed scissors). I would also rethink your clothing situation. Set of trail clothes, set of town clothes (even this is optional, I just liked having something to change into after showering), gear for wet, and gear for cold...and cold is if it even happens. When are you planning to leave? Just my 2 cents...remember, HYOH!
Yeah, Gatorade bottles sounds like a good plan, and reducing some of the clothing. Dropping the thermos is hard, but I would only use it in town, and until it's empty, on my way out of town.
When are you leaving? That would help with the advice. Assuming you are leaving soon:
For late spring/summer, I wear hiking shorts and UL wool t-shirt to hike, a second set of shorts and a long sleeve shirt for camp/town. I bring one pair of boxer briefs to sleep in, and hike commando. I don't bring pants, kilt, second wool t-shirt, wool long john bottoms, or long sleeve hiking shirt. In the summer I bring either a wind shirt or a very light fleece pullover, though the down shirt is probably fine.
I fixed my coffee problem with the Starbucks Iced Via, and so I don't need a stove at all on summer hikes. Cold breakfast and some iced coffee in my quart gatorade bottle and I'm good to go for the morning. So no stove, pot, or fuel, which makes life simpler.
Of course, all this is personal preference -- your list looks fine. I'd skip the multitool and any sort of big knife, too, though I do bring the smallest SAK and a small lockback Gerber knife. But again, personal preference. You'll be fine.
I should have mentioned that, sorry. The plan is to hit the road on Monday (2013-05-13) and make my way to Michigan to drop my car, and then a bus to somewhere along the trail. I should be starting no later than the end of this month, it depends on how quick I drive to Michigan, since I enjoy road tripping. So basically late-spring/summer, so I don't have to worry about too much cold.
I may shed some weight on the trail when I realize I don't need or use some of the silly things I have left in my pack, but this gives me a good start, thanks.
Osprey Exos 46
Big Agnes FlyCreek UL1
Marmot Pounder
Thermarest Z-Lite
Rain-cover for pack
Hiking pants/zip-off shorts (need to buy, on the way there)
Wool t-shirt - normal days
Wool boxer-briefs - normal days
Wool longsleeve base - cold/wet days
Wool pants base - cold/wet days
Rain jacket
Down shirt
Jetboil stove + coffee press
32oz sports drink bottle x2
hand pumped water filter (possibly replace with aqua mira drops)
2 liter water-bag for at camp
headlamp
phone + charger
bushcraft knife
plastic spoon
gaffer tape
moleskin
basic first-aid stuff
deck of cards (solitaire is awesome, it's meditative for me)
bandanna
buff
synthetic gloves
pack towel
boots
wool-blend hiking socks x2 pairs