Gear list!!! Lemme know what you think. Mid July end to end

[StubbleJumper]

With respect to insulation, you are hiking from mid-July to mid-August, so you won't need much. Either a microfleece or a puffy jacket would be fine. Most of the time, you will be too hot during the day as the temps should be mid-70s and humid during the day and high-40s or low-50s overnight. When you hike in the mid-70s, you'll want shorts and a long-sleeved shirt. In camp, as the sun goes down you'll need the microfleece or the puffy as temps will fall into the 60s during the evening (pants or leggings are nice too).

With respect to rain gear, my preference in Vermont during July/August is to not use any. Most of the time, the rain is not too cold and if you are hiking you'll generate mucho heat. When you stop for a break you might get cold, and that's when you might break out the microfleece if you are inside a lean-to or a rain jacket if you are taking a break in the woods. It's good to have something like Frog Toggs with you as it's always possible that you'll get a cold and/or windy rain and you might want the vapour barrier. But mostly, in July/Aug in Vermont you will be too hot and sweaty in rain gear and you might find that you're better off without it (in fact, I've seen guys hike with no shirt at all in the rain).

[fastfoxengineering]

I hiked in late August to mid September and only wore my gear once while hiking. But the I was a mile from a shelter and wanted to try and stay dry.

I wore my jacket ontop of my Mansfield. But I was using it as a rain wind shell and we were hanging out up there.

Even when it was cold and rainy, I was sometimes chilly, but hiking kept me warm enough. If I had put my jacket on, I would have taken it off 10 minutes later.

For July/August. Youd see a frogg toggs jacket and wind shell in my pack. No umbrella. Frogg toggs would come in handy while in camp.

On a side note. I'm not one who regularly brings camp shoes. I hike in lightweight breathable trail runners. I will never hike the LT again without a set of camp shoes. My trail runners were practically wet for three weeks straight.

The Long Trail deserves some luxuries. Cause it can be a mean mean trail.

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[FreshStart]

I'm trying to find a lightweight pair of camp shoes, I just can't bring myself To carry size 12-13 crocs. After all the weight savings to add on another pound at the end is going to kill me.

I hiked in late August to mid September and only wore my gear once while hiking. But the I was a mile from a shelter and wanted to try and stay dry.

I wore my jacket ontop of my Mansfield. But I was using it as a rain wind shell and we were hanging out up there.

Even when it was cold and rainy, I was sometimes chilly, but hiking kept me warm enough. If I had put my jacket on, I would have taken it off 10 minutes later.

For July/August. Youd see a frogg toggs jacket and wind shell in my pack. No umbrella. Frogg toggs would come in handy while in camp.

On a side note. I'm not one who regularly brings camp shoes. I hike in lightweight breathable trail runners. I will never hike the LT again without a set of camp shoes. My trail runners were practically wet for three weeks straight.

The Long Trail deserves some luxuries. Cause it can be a mean mean trail.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

[fastfoxengineering]

Find Dawgs or Hounds on Amazon. My brother got a pair. They weigh about 4oz each. Pretty nice. I wore em in camp once. Price is right now

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[bigcranky]

I brought the lightest flip flops I could find.

[LoneStranger]

Haven't had a chance to use them on trail yet, but my wife got me a pair of FitKicks for Christmas. Put them on the scale just now and they run 8.5oz for the pair. Most of the weight is the sole with a very light stretch to fit upper. Seem like they will work well enough for camp and break shoes in addition to water crossing use.

[Collin]

It looks like a solid list. I took the E2E book and the GMC map and the map was worth its weight in gold. The E2E I only ever used for the little diagrams of the town layouts, but that was it. I would leave it if I did it again. I used a dollar store poncho that fit over me and my backpack which was great for my "rain gear". Hope you have fun out there.

[Dogwood]

Different approach for different people. I wouldn't forgo all rain protection like a WP jacket or at least poncho on a LT NOBO even starting in July going into August. The LT has exposed locations on ski runs, while going over mountain ski tops/resorts and Camel's Hump, Mansfield, Jay, etc. Although none of these per say are long mileage segments being soaked with temps getting into the low 50's possibly 40's even in July at LT latitudes with a wind while being drenched in more exposed locations even walking drenched on Journeys End Road is not a mistaken scene I would care to repeat as a stupid light decision I made to not carry any rain wear on LT hikes including two LT thru-hikes. One in August and one in Oct.

I entered Vermont the end of May last year wearing a poncho during a heavy rain with wind and got soaked. A day or two later I meet a guy who was getting off the trail and he gave me his Frog Togs rain jacket. Probably saved my life during the next couple of days of cold rain.

I don't bother with rain pants. The LT can be quite overgrown in places up north and the pants just get snagged on the brush. Thunder storms are common in July and when the trail gets wet, it gets very muddy. Gaiters are well worth having.

Test mud puddles with your hiking poles before you step into them. That way you can find where the solid place to step is. I've sunk my poles all the way down to the handle in one of the mud puddles along the LT! I came real close to slipping off the log I was teetering on and ending up face first in that muck!

Look out for "green" rocks when it rains. Green rocks means moss is growing on it and is very slippery. Also be very careful in the Sterling pond area north of Smugglers notch. The rock there is a kind of soap stone and is very, very slippery.

GOOD advice. Gonna have some mud that is deep in places. I've sunk up to my knees. Lots of rain falling the month pre hike and during July. As said it rains HEAVILY on the LT.

[chilln]

Your list looks solid. One thing is your water system. What I have done and it seems to work for me is bring 2-64 oz bags and 2-1 liter smart water bottles. It allows for one trip to the water source and fill up both bags. You will have plenty of water for the night and morning. Also at night I just filter right out of the bag into my pot. Then I take a smaller, I think it's 24 oz size with the type of top you flip open to drink. Take off the flip top and put it on the end of your filter and cut the top off of the bottle for a water scoop. Trust me filling the bags is a pain, expecialy out of water that shallow or not fast moving. Then roll up your filter and bags and store it in the scoop. The flip top is the same size as your syringe to back wash the filter. You just put it on one of your clean smart water bottles and squeeze. Just a side note. I've seen multiple throu-hikers just filtering out of a smart water bottle. It would save time which is the only drawback of the sawyer.

[hepatica]

With respect to rain gear, my preference in Vermont during July/August is to not use any. Most of the time, the rain is not too cold and if you are hiking you'll generate mucho heat. When you stop for a break you might get cold, and that's when you might break out the microfleece if you are inside a lean-to or a rain jacket if you are taking a break in the woods. It's good to have something like Frog Toggs with you as it's always possible that you'll get a cold and/or windy rain and you might want the vapour barrier. But mostly, in July/Aug in Vermont you will be too hot and sweaty in rain gear and you might find that you're better off without it (in fact, I've seen guys hike with no shirt at all in the rain).

Maybe this is just a woman thing, but this was not my experience at all! As I said before, I have gone E2E twice and both times I have experienced cold, soaking rains for multiple days with temps dipping into 50s and wind on the ridge tops. My first hike I was going SOBO and actually stopped at the outdoor store in Johnson to buy an additional long sleeved shirt. I had one long sleeved base layer, but I wanted to keep that dry for sleeping, and I was doggone cold hiking in just a t-shirt and my rain jacket. On day 2, from Jay Camp to Tillotson it was a steady downpour all day and the winds on the ridge were blowing steady at about 25mph. I ended up jogging part of the trail just to stay warm. It rained 10 of the first 14 days it took me to reach Rt. 4 in Killington. I think I might have experienced hypothermia in just a wet shirt and no rain jacket. If this is just a woman thing, then you can pass this info on to your wife

[LoneStranger]

Pretty sure that's not just a woman thing hepatica. I was shivering just reading your description of your day 2. Wet up high on windy ridges is cold no matter who you are!

[bigcranky]

We had plenty of very cold rain, especially in the northern section. It was manageable with rain gear, but would have been dangerous without. I don't think it got above 50 the day we crossed Jay Peak, in an all day downpour.

[StubbleJumper]

Maybe this is just a woman thing, but this was not my experience at all! As I said before, I have gone E2E twice and both times I have experienced cold, soaking rains for multiple days with temps dipping into 50s and wind on the ridge tops. My first hike I was going SOBO and actually stopped at the outdoor store in Johnson to buy an additional long sleeved shirt. I had one long sleeved base layer, but I wanted to keep that dry for sleeping, and I was doggone cold hiking in just a t-shirt and my rain jacket. On day 2, from Jay Camp to Tillotson it was a steady downpour all day and the winds on the ridge were blowing steady at about 25mph. I ended up jogging part of the trail just to stay warm. It rained 10 of the first 14 days it took me to reach Rt. 4 in Killington. I think I might have experienced hypothermia in just a wet shirt and no rain jacket. If this is just a woman thing, then you can pass this info on to your wife

My day of cold rain was from Round-top to Spruce Ledge. It was probably in the 50s, but I just kept walking and generated plenty of heat. Mostly I don't worry about wind on the LT because 90 percent of the trail is below the tree line or on very sheltered ridges. But certainly the Breadloaf Wilderness sucks when it's foggy and windy (don't ask how I know!) and crossing Camel's Hump or Mansfield could certainly be miserable in bad conditions. You definitely want to have some sort of insulation and some sort of rain gear with you just in case you get a very cold rain, or just in case it's raining for the 20 or so miles of the LT that are highly exposed to the wind.

That being said, my experience was that most of the days that it rained were just crappy days in the woods rather than potential hypothermia events. A day of rain going up Glastenbury Mountain is going to be wet, but the woods are so thick that there'll be virtually no wind and the constant climbing pretty much guarantees that I'll be sweating.

[FreshStart]

I just pulled the trigger on the Patagonia r1 hoody. So I'm going to switch that out with the down vest. Good idea? Lol, I hope so!!

[StubbleJumper]

I just pulled the trigger on the Patagonia r1 hoody. So I'm going to switch that out with the down vest. Good idea? Lol, I hope so!!

That should be nice in the summer. It'll be warm enough in the evening, you can sleep in it on a colder night, it'll still provide warmth when wet and it should work just fine under a rain jacket. IMO, it is a good choice for July/August in Vermont.

[flame]

Most enlightening (and fun!) thread! Thank you! After reading, I think that (for my Aug. N2N), I should make a few additions / changes: LT map (+Guthook); 20* bag; Long pants; LW fleece (synthetic) instead of down sweater; LW camp shoes. Also, might have to celebrate my (hopeful) finish with a craft beer tour

[Dogwood]

My day of cold rain was from Round-top to Spruce Ledge. It was probably in the 50s, but I just kept walking and generated plenty of heat. Mostly I don't worry about wind on the LT because 90 percent of the trail is below the tree line or on very sheltered ridges. But certainly the Breadloaf Wilderness sucks when it's foggy and windy (don't ask how I know!) and crossing Camel's Hump or Mansfield could certainly be miserable in bad conditions. You definitely want to have some sort of insulation and some sort of rain gear with you just in case you get a very cold rain, or just in case it's raining for the 20 or so miles of the LT that are highly exposed to the wind.

That being said, my experience was that most of the days that it rained were just crappy days in the woods rather than potential hypothermia events. A day of rain going up Glastenbury Mountain is going to be wet, but the woods are so thick that there'll be virtually no wind and the constant climbing pretty much guarantees that I'll be sweating.

What one experiences below tree line or in "thick woods" is dependent on the type of woods or trees. In the northern half of the LT and some in the northern southern half there are more thick evergreen forest stretches which shields against wind. In areas of deciduous trees, particularly after leaf drop or before leaf out, the forests are more open and not as sheltering as seen more often south of Stratton fire tower.

On one LT thru-hike as well some other VT trail hopping around from med-late Aug into the beginning of Sept I experienced 16 days of drenching rain in 20 days. Glad I had a rain jacket and some med light insulation in the form of a synthetic vest. Didn't need it all of those days but when I did glad I had it. When it wasn't raining the UL, as breathable as I knew available then, rain jacket served as a wind jacket. I wore it I bet 18 of those 20 days.