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Appalachian Trail – Gear – What to Bring

Appalachian Trail – GEAR

“A lot of people ask me if I were shipwrecked, and could only have one book, what would it be? I always say ‘How to Build a Boat.’”

- Steven Wright

Backpack

Arc Tery’x Khamsin 50

Tent

Mountain Hardware Solitude

Sleeping Bag / Pad

Mountain Hardware 20 Degree Tallac Stormlight (down fill)
Thermarest 3/4 length Ultralight

Cooking gear

MSR Dragonfly Stove
MSR 11-ounce Fuel Bottle
MSR Titanium Pot with Lid
Lexan Spoon
Small Gerber Knife

Clothing

Patagonia R2 Regulator Fleece
One Patagonia lightweight long-sleeve Capilene Top
One pair Patagonia lightweight Capilene Bottoms
Two Patagonia lightweight short-sleeve Capilene Tops
One pair Gramicci Shorts
One pair North Face Shorts
One pair EMS Nylon Pants
Lowe Alpine Triple-Point Ceramic (waterproof) Anorak
Two pairs Liner Socks
One Pair Smartwool Socks
One Pair Waterproof Socks
One Pair Chaco Z1 Sandals

Other Hiking Gear

Komperdell Trekking Poles (pair)
One 32-ounce and Two 16-ounce Nalgene Water Bottles
PUR Hiker Water Filter
Two Photon Micro-lights (one amber and one white)
Two Bandanas
Outdoor Research HydroSeal Stuff Sack (for clothes)
Outdoor Research Nylon Stuff Sack (for food)
Small Camp Towel

First Aid / Repair Kit

One piece moleskin
4-5 BandAids
Hydrocortisone Cream
Neosporin
Portable Aqua Iodine Tablets (back-up for filter)
Seam Grip
One Nylon Patch
Duct Tape

Other

Journal and Pen
AT Data Book
Pages from the ATC Thru-Hiker Companion Book
Camera
Toilet Paper
Small Radio with Headphones

With a full five-day food supply, my total pack weight was about 35 pounds (that’s about 10 pounds of food and 25 pounds of gear). I started out at 55 pounds though, and sent excess stuff (“dead weight”) home as I went. Some stuff that I realized I did not need included a compass, headlamp, extra clothing, and a swiss army knife. The weight of your pack becomes a huge issue on the trail so you pretty much ditch anything that you don’t use every single day. Believe me, when you are lugging a backpack over mountains all day every day you cannot help but think about how to get rid of ANYTHING you don’t need! It is not uncommon for a group of thru-hikers to sit around and compare their gear ounce by ounce, literally.

Everyone has something that they carry which they know is excess weight but they choose to carry it anyway. For me I carried a book for reading at night and at times I carried two cameras so that I could take both slide and print photographs. I also carried a small American flag to break out on worthy summits.

WonderGimp on the Appalachian Trail>Back to AT index & List of Journal Entries

Journal Index

Georgia – Overview And the poop on the Trail Divorce

0 (miles from Georgia) – Springer Mountain, Georgia Whose idea was this again??
87.7 – Georgia / North Carolina Aint no all-inclusive package vacation story…
161.7 – Fontana Dam, North Carolina No Rain, No Pain, No Maine
204.6 – Great Smoky Mountains National Park I My deodorant gets the heave-ho!
268.7 – Great Smoky Mountains National Park II The Food Appreciation Trail
336.5 – North Carolina / Tennessee & Trail Names How the Gimp got her name
390.7 – North Carolina / Tennessee The famous Roan Mountain hitch
452.9 – Crossing into Damascus, Virginia 3 states down, 11 to go!
516.7 – Grayson Highlands State Park Roughin it at Partnership Shelter
573.3 – Bland, Virginia My wonderful trail angels!
665.3 – Pearisburg, Virginia The switch from boots to sandals
767.4 – Catawba / Troutville, Virginia Heat wave in Virginia
839.4 – Montebello / Rockfish Gap, Virginia ‘Hiking with Gimpy Sr.
920.0 – Shenandoah National Park Rattlesnakes, Jack Daniels, and bears – oh my!
988.3 – Front Royal, Virginia Invasion of the Boy Scouts
1001.1 – Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia The mental half-way point
1061.4 – Maryland / Pennsyltucky Y’all done drank enough beer!
1123.8 – Duncannon, Pennsylvania The Half-Gallon Challenge
1208.9 – Port Clinton, Pennsylvania $1 Yuengling drafts and the rocks of PA
1283.9 – Pennsylvania / New Jersey Friends and family visit WonderGimp
1334.2 – High Point, New Jersey Rain, rain, rain, trail magic, and more rain
1440.7 – Bear Mountain, New York Hike Naked Day!
1486.1 – Kent, Connecticut Gimpy Sr. and Barkeater hike with W.Gimp
1543.8 – Great Barrington, MassachusettsWelcome to Mosquito Hell
1618.0 – Massachusetts / VermontPhoton and strobe lights for the 4th of July
1687.3 – Killington, Vermont The Inn at the Long Trail
1738.1 – New Hampshire Live Free or Die!
1794.4 – North Woodstock, New Hampshire Gettin’ above treeline
1814.4 – AMC-land, New Hampshire Entering the White Mountains!
1854.0 – Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire Mooning the tourists on Mt. Washington
1869.2 – Gorham, New Hampshire My first Moose sighting!
1920.7 – Andover, Maine The way Life should be…
1979.3 – Rangeley, Maine Closing in on the end
2015.6 – Kennebec River, Maine Eye of the Tiger!
2095.7 – Monson, Maine 100-mile Wilderness
2152.0 – Abol Bridge, Maine Katahdin is in sight!
2167.1 – Baxter Peak, Mount Katahdin, Maine Goodbye Capilene – Hello Cotton!!

Other Pages:
Map – Yep, 14 states
Gear – What to Bring
FAQs – See for yourself
Glossary (learn the AT lingo)
Links to Additional Info
Trail Injuries Everything from blisters to swampfoot
Trail Privies Bring your own TP
Class of 2000 Katahdin Thru-Hiker Pictures