I wanted to compile a list of all of my gear for anyone who may be thinking about doing the AT. Deciding on gear is probably the most difficult thing to do pre-trip – and cutting down your pack to a reasonable weight is even more difficult. So below I’ll give a short review of all my major gear items, then at the bottom, I’ll provide a complete gear list. This will have everything I carried on the trip (once I unloaded all the unnecessary stuff, like my awesome tomahawk).
Below is my gear list. If you’re thinking of hiking, it’s a decent starting place. Of course, every has their own preferences and comfort thresholds. So you may want to carry more, or you may want to carry less. And there’s always some things you’ll want to start with but that get sent home at some point. For me, that item was my tomahawk. That thing was awesome, but I only used it to stake in my tent. That’s just not worth the weight when there are perfectly good rocks around!
Pack: GoLite Jam 50
Sleeping Bag: Big Agnes Lost Ranger
Sleeping Pad: Big Agnes Air Core
Tent: Sierra Designs Light Year 1 (including footprint, poles, and stakes)
Food Bag: Granite Gear 13L waterproof bag
Cooking cup: Snow Peak 600ml Titanium
Utensil: Titanium spoon
Stove and Cooking: Beer can stove, 10 oz bottle of denatured alcohol, lighter
Important Stuff Bag: 2L Sea to Summit waterproof bag for things like phone, wallet, phone charger, any other electronics
Clothing:
Hat: I wore a baseball hat (just anything to keep the sun off your face)
Rain Gear: Sierra Designs rain shell **See above review. I would go with more than a shell if I were to do it over again.**
Toiletries: toothbrush and toothpaste, face wash, contacts and solution, glasses, powder, floss, small mirror nail clippers, multi vitamins, Dr. Bronner’s Soap (small bottle), hand sanitizer
First Aid: few bandaids (normal and butterfly), petroleum jelly (can also help to start fires), 3 safety pins, mole skin, gauze, safety strobe light, couple of glow sticks, whistle, ibuprofen, micro towel, sun tan lotion (never used it once), bacitracin
Other Random Items: Head net (for bugs), two 50-foot lengths of paracord, metal match, hockey tape (or duct tape or medical tape), tent repair tape, ziplock bags, trash bags, carabiners (I love these things, I had like 5), watch (analog face, in case your digital clock device runs out of battery)
Entertainment: book, journal, iPod, camera
Footwear: Merrell Barefoot shoes (Trail Glove, Sonic Glove, Bare Access), camp shoes (Crocs or sandals)
Blades: Gerber Paraframe 2, Leatherman Style CS Multi-tool
Guidebook: You need one. Awol’s and the ATC one are really your only choices. Pick one.
