Long distance hiking provides some unique challenges and circumstances that require a few subtle but important differences in the type of gear one might bring along. Here is some of the gear that I considered essential on my Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike, and what I thought about it in the end. Some might be obvious, and some not so much.
My gear before I left. Over a third of this stuff ended up being sent home.
Related Gear Posts:
- Complete Women’s Hiking and Backpacking Gear List
- Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike Backpacking Gear List – Before and After
- Choosing a Women’s Sleeping bag | Everything You Need to Know
Warm Sleeping Bag
Warmth vs Weight vs Money is the thru-hikers eternal struggle
Hikers can save weight and money by purchasing a sleeping bag that is rated for warmer weather.
I knew, however, that I wouldn’t be able to make it through this hike unless I was comfortable when I was sleeping. For my sleeping bag I went with the REI Joule 23 degree bag — a women specific bag, which means that the temperature rating was pretty accurate for me.
It has water resistant down insulation, so it is lightweight but not as susceptible to damp conditions as down would normally be. It also has waterproof material around the edges where it’s most likely to touch a damp tent. Even though I am a cold sleeper I was generally warm and cozy. When it would rain all night, and the tent soaked through, I stayed dry.
A Comfortable Sleeping Pad
For my sleeping pad I was willing to sacrifice more weight for a comfortable nights sleep.
I got a Klymit Static V Insulated Sleeping Pad . It is 2 inches wider than a standard pad and has some insulation to keep me warmer on cold nights. It turned out to be very comfortable and never punctured.
On the coldest nights, cool air would seep through around my hips, but that was my only complaint. If i were to do it again I may opt for a standard sized insulated air pad that weighed a bit less. I’d also go for a women’s specific sleeping pad, because they typically have more insulation around the hip.
By NY our sleeping pads were filthy and deserved a good scrubbin’
Water Filter (Sawyer Mini)
Some view water filtration as a non-essential item. I disagree. Vomiting and worms are among what can await you if you decide not to filter water.
For my water purification I new I wanted a filter versus purifying drops because I wanted clean and clear looking water. The Sawyer Mini is one of the lightest weight filter options and also one of the cheapest.
I started my hike with an MSR pump filter. When the filter started to have some issues, I realized that the repair kit was the same price as buying a brand new sawyer mini! While the mini does tend to filter slower than other options, its price and weight made it worth the purchase.
Smartwater Bottles
When a Nalgene bottle became too heavy, and when my Sawyer Squeeze and Platypus bags failed, my Smartwater bottle was there for me. Smartwater is a disposable water bottle that you can buy at almost any grocery store. It’s made of a thicker plastic that normal disposable bottles, which makes it extra durable, and if it breaks its super easy to find another!
People using the Sawyer Mini found these bottles especially helpful for a few reasons. The sawyer screws perfectly into the threads of the bottle. The long and thin shape of the bottle helps it fit into packs easier. Its super lightweight, and a hard plastic bottle is easier to fill from the filter than a soft collapsable bottle. By the end of the trail almost everyone using a Sawyer Mini had converted to using Smartwater bottles.
Plastic Bags
Yep, good old plastic bags from the grocery store. Many thru hikers today tend to hike in non-waterproof trail runners. The are nice and light and breathable. Your feet and socks are getting wet no matter what you do, so trail runners just make sense. There are some times, however, when you need to stay dry.
If you are planning on encountering snow, a plastic bag over the socks can help your feet from getting wet and freezing. They are also nice to have if you are not planning on carrying camp shoes. Once I ditched my camp shoes, I realized that if my shoes were wet in town or at the end of the day, I could still put on a clean pair of socks and plastic bags and I stayed happy and dry.
Lightweight Cook System
Some hikers choose to completely forego any type of cook system in order to save weight.
My system was comprised of a lightweight alcohol stove made from a soda can, a plastic container to carry fuel, a Snow Peak 900ml titanium cook pot, a windscreen, and a titanium spork. While these items alone weigh very little, they can add up, especially when I was carrying a full container of fuel. Cooked meals, however, were extremely important to me. Being able to look forward to a warm meal every night, and going to sleep with a happy and full tummy helped me to get through the toughest days.
The A.T. Guide Book
This book is probably the number one essential piece of gear for any Appalachian Trail thru hike. It was my eyes. Without this guide I would have been hiking blind onto each road crossing and town. This isn’t the only thru hiker guide out there, but it is the most widely used one currently.
You can get this year’s A.T. Guide here.
It described where towns were in relation to the trail and included maps of the towns. It also showed distances between landmarks on the trail and an elevation profile. Without my guide I wouldn’t have known how to plan between resupplies or even where to stop for the day. I cuddled it to sleep some nights.
The 2014 NOBO A.T. Guide.
Goldbond
Goldbond was essentially my entire first aid kit. By the time July rolled around I had gotten rid of all my band aids, athletic tape and pretty much everything else that you may find in a sane persons first aid kit. What remained was a lot of advil and a huge container of Goldbond. duing the summer months I was sweating so much that I was chaffed pretty much everywhere. Goldbond saved me. I love you Goldbond.
Bug Spray
Many people are against spraying harsh plastic-melting chemicals onto their bare skin and possibly inhaling them in the process. Well, if I had to drink those chemicals to escape the buggy hell that was the northeast in July, I would have. Because when you have to choose between chemicals and losing your sanity, I chose chemicals.
Phone with extra Battery
My phone was not only my phone but also my camera, books, music and much more. When you are hiking ten hours a day, things can get pretty monotonous. Listening to audio books, podcasts and music helped me to space out and do work son! To make sure that I always had enough battery life
I chose to use a Mophie case which can be charged at the same time as your phone and provide 100% additional battery life. The Mophie wasn’t fool proof as the charge died away in cold conditions and would sometimes switch on without me knowing. I rarely actually got a full 100% charge out of it, but it did what I needed it to and also was a pretty hearty protective case as well.
My hiking buddy in the midst of a full fledged gear explosion.
So there are some of my most essential items for an Appalachian Trail Thru Hike. What are yours???