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  1. #1

    Default What did you take and wish you didn't? And vice versa.

    What item did you take and wished you just left at home?
    And after doing the AT, what item did you get or wished you had from the start?

    I'm in the 'fill up my bag' planning stage.. after looking at others gear list etc..

    Solar panels. ..40/60 on not taking it now.
    Might get a bigger tarp..4x4 metre..after reading someone wished for it on them rainy days..

  2. #2

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    Wind River Range...wished I'd taken a sleeping bag and not my hammock quilt...it was too narrow for ground sleeping.

    Don't have anything I wish I'd left at home...I have a minimal set-up that is light but keeps me warm.

  3. #3

    Default

    Titanium spoon

  4. #4
    Registered User skinnbones's Avatar
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    Default

    Poncho was useless item for me.

  5. #5
    ME => GA 19AT3 rickb's Avatar
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    Cutter Snake Bite Kit.

    Anyone remember those? People are smarter now.

    Just found it earlier this month during a round of de-cluttering. I am throwing out stuff by the car load, but for some reason I could not toss it and so relegated it to a corner of my desk — worse than useless — dangerous.

  6. #6

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by rickb View Post
    Cutter Snake Bite Kit.

    Anyone remember those? People are smarter now.

    Just found it earlier this month during a round of de-cluttering. I am throwing out stuff by the car load, but for some reason I could not toss it and so relegated it to a corner of my desk — worse than useless — dangerous.
    The Whoopy cushion can be repurposed in Barbie and Kens dinner party set.

  7. #7

    Default

    ...but “The Extractor” I still use for cupping sore muscles

  8. #8
    Registered User Koozy's Avatar
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    Wish I invested in ultralight gear the first time around. After even a few hundred miles, it was easy to rationalize the extra money would have been worth eliminating the discomfort of the extra weight.
    Especially a lighter rain jacket, lighter sleeping bag, and lighter pack.

    Wouldn't have brought anything more than a 1 liter water bottle and 1 liter bladder for water storage.

    Wish I had brought a trowel, and had not depended on the privies. There was a time or 2 when I felt ashamed of my cathole efforts.

    Wish I packed more premade food out of towns. A good sandwich, burrito or precooked meat in a tupperware can last for days, and is way more appetizing that the typical backpacker diet. Lived by that on the PCT.

    Wish I didn't bring an extra shirt. Mastering the system of layers and maintaining dry clothes for camp was key.

    I'm sure more would come to mind if I kept thinking about it....
    Frankenstein - 2014 GAME
    www.trailjournals.com/kylezontheat

  9. #9
    Registered User
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Goingforalittlewalk View Post
    Solar panels. ..40/60 on not taking it now.
    There is a reason the AT is called The Green Tunnel. Leave them at home. Instead bring a USB battery backup that you can re-charge when you go into town for resupply.
    Remote for detachment, narrow for chosen company, winding for leisure, lonely for contemplation, the Trail beckons not merely north and south, but upward to the body, mind, and soul of man.


  10. #10

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by rocketsocks View Post
    Titanium spoon
    Absolutely love mine...only one of two pieces of gear I was given that piqued my interest in backing that I still use.

  11. #11

    Default

    I bet a lot of people wish they brought more money.
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

  12. #12
    Some days, it's not worth chewing through the restraints.
    Join Date
    12-13-2004
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    Default

    fuel canister... stove didn't do much without it.

  13. #13

    Default

    Too many little items to list...lots of, "this is neat" or "I could use this" stuff that only weighed a couple of ounces that never ended up being used. After awhile I dumped out the contents of my pack every week and got rid of everything I hadn't used in the previous week.

  14. #14

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Bronk View Post
    Too many little items to list...lots of, "this is neat" or "I could use this" stuff that only weighed a couple of ounces that never ended up being used. After awhile I dumped out the contents of my pack every week and got rid of everything I hadn't used in the previous week.
    I've just started emptying my bag after a hike.....and relies I carry alot of pointless things...
    Like the tupperware idea. ..been looking for a screw top beaker that would fit inside my cook pot.. can't find anything

  15. #15

    Default

    My "AT thru hike" gear list nowadays is tailored to moderately fast and moderately light hiking while setup to be warm, comfortable, and allow me to stay out of towns as much as possible.

    I'm definitely not carrying a solar panel on the AT but be sure I do have my coffee cup.

    An Anker portable battery bank is much better for the AT than a solar panel. I just ordered a new one that is a wall charger/bank as one unit. Called the Anker fusion 5000mah.

    Might not be be enough backup power for some but for me it's plenty and reduces the number of things I have to carry.



    Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

  16. #16
    Registered User
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    Default

    Keep your pack to Under 30 pounds including 2 l of water and 4 days of food. If you aren't there, figure it ou!

  17. #17

    Default

    R U directly coming from the UK to hike the AT? It makes a difference in what to bring and not to bring. It certainly can matter financially.

    R U at all familiar with tarping? How so? Was it on a long hike... like the TGO Challenge? The AT weather for a typical NOBO thru can be wet for several days. You do have POSSIBLE AT lean to access but that's not an absolute. If you're in the bubble(high season) the strong tendency is for more hikers to hit the lean to's than capacity allows.

    During that first really LD hike - an AT NOBO Thru - I went through a steep fast gear, trail knowledge, skill building, and LD trail life learning curve. I'll estimate at least 70% of the gear I started with I switched out by Harpers Ferry and it stayed that way until summiting Mt K.

    Beyond the "items" - gear - that changed was mentality. I became more go with the flow, less stressed, more aware that LD hiking isn't just about hiking or gear. Ego fell away. How trail logistics like water carrying, fuel usage, how much food and what kind of food was carried changed.

  18. #18

    Default

    Let me add. I'm an avid A frame config. tarper so not against tarps. Personally, I wouldn't want to always be under a flat or cat tarp as my only shelter of choice on a typical NOBO 5 day non stop rainy stretch as a new tarper. Have you looked into shaped tarps or tarptents?

  19. #19
    Wanna-be hiker trash
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    Default

    Ego.


    ........
    Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.

  20. #20
    Registered User swjohnsey's Avatar
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    Default

    A small MP3 player/radio that uses batteries.

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