For 5 months in 2019, I walked (or thru-hiked) the entire length of the Appalachian Trail (or “AT”), a 2,192-mile north-to-south footpath that crosses the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States. The massive trail winds its way through forests, bogs, pastures, mountains, and almost every other imaginable terrain.
As of 2019, about 21,000 people have successfully thru-hiked the entire length of the Appalachian Trail, with the current yearly average being over 1,000 new finishers each year.
The vast majority of them do the trail northbound, starting at the southern end (Springer Mountain in northern Georgia) and hiking to the northern end (Mount Katahdin in northern Maine). However, there are some people (roughly about 10-15% of all thru-hikers) who choose to go the opposite way. They start in Maine in early summer, when the trails on Katahdin, including the AT, are have finally thawed out, and finish in Georgia in late fall or early winter depending on their pace. This is called a southbound (or SOBO) thru-hike.
A SOBO thru-hike is considered to be more difficult than a northbound (or NOBO) thru-hike for two reasons:
- The northernmost section of the trail (specifically the sections in Maine and New Hampshire) is the rockiest, steepest, most physically demanding, and most dangerous section of trail. A NOBO hiker has had months to prepare and get in shape before reaching this section, but a SOBO hiker is getting this section right at the start when they’re still inexperienced and have yet to get their “trail legs”.
- SOBO hikers have a narrower window of mild weather than NOBOs do. NOBOs typically start their hikes in early spring, but SOBOs can’t start their hikes until early summer. While NOBOs can expect some wintry conditions at the start of their thru-hike due to the high elevations of the south in the early spring, it’s unlikely they’ll see any wintry weather after that, even in Maine in the early fall. A SOBO, meanwhile, typically spends at least their final full month hiking in wintry conditions due to them reaching the highlands of the south well after fall has started and with winter close behind.
Nevertheless, if it’s SOBO or NOBO, completing a thru-hike of the AT is incredibly difficult due to the terrain, weather, physical demands, logistical challenges, the harshness of living outdoors for months on end, and just about everything else you can think of. Only about 25% of people who have attempted a thru-hike of the AT actually succeed, but in early December of 2019, I was able to join the club of AT thru-hikers when I reached Springer Mountain in northern Georgia, completing my thru-hike!
Now, I’d like to share my gear list with you from my SOBO AT thru-hike. I hope it comes to good use for you if you ever decide on a backpacking trip. I believe that this gear list can work not just for a thru-hike, but for ANY backpacking trip!
Read on to see my full southbound AT thru-hike gear list – or click here to read my wife’s northbound thru-hike gear list for women!
My Southbound Appalachian Trail Thru-hike Gear List
Backpack
- Osprey Kestrel 48
- It was super durable, but I didn’t like how heavy it was because of the stiff frame and the mesh pockets on the outside kept ripping.
- Gossamer Gear Mariposa 60
- I switched from the Osprey to this pack in Vermont since it was a lot lighter, had no stiff frame, and its pockets didn’t rip. I liked this one much better even though it was a little less durable and I had to patch it a few times with Tenacious Tape.
Pack Cover
- Osprey Ultralight Pack Raincover—Medium
- It easily fit over and cinched tightly on both my packs, keeping them nice and dry on all but the worst of rainy days.
Trekking Poles
- Black Diamond Trail Pro Trekking Poles
- Super durable, lightweight, and strong. They saved me at least 30 times a day from tripping and falling on my face (the AT is SUPER rocky and unsteady in a lot of places), and they helped me hike faster while giving my arms at least some form of a workout over the course of 5 months.
- Duct tape wound around trekking poles
- There’s nothing you can’t do when you have duct tape. Really helped me avoid blisters whenever I felt a hot spot forming!
Water Supplies
- Clean and filtered water storage
- (2) 1-liter Nalgene bottles for clean water
- I really liked having durable and reliable water bottles for peace of mind, so I used these my whole hike (even if they were a little heavier).
- (2) 1-liter Nalgene bottles for clean water
- “Dirty” water storage
- (2) Sawyer 1-liter bladders
- I got them with my Sawyer Squeeze filter, but they were annoying to fill up and weren’t very good quality. Ditched them in Pennsylvania (amazed I made it that far with them).
- 1-liter Smart water bottle
- Switched to this in Pennsylvania from the Sawyer bladders. It was more durable, easier to squeeze water through it into my Nalgene bottle when I was filtering, and easier to fill up from water sources.
- (2) Sawyer 1-liter bladders
- Water filter
- Platypus Gravity Works 2-Liter Water Filter Kit
- Decided to start the trail with the Platypus because I had heard bad things about Sawyer (too heavy, breaks easily, etc.). Less than 100 miles into my hike, though, the Platypus busted and I was forced to hike a couple of days while drinking unfiltered water. That sucked, but I luckily didn’t get sick.
- Sawyer Squeeze Filter
- Switched to this and ditched the Platypus after 100 miles. The bad things I heard about Sawyer turned out to be #FakeNews. My Sawyer wasn’t heavy at all and it was very reliable in filtering from any source you could think of. I had to backflush a lot towards the end of my hike, but otherwise, the filter held nicely.
- Platypus Gravity Works 2-Liter Water Filter Kit
- Water accessories
- Sawyer plunger (comes with the Sawyer Squeeze Filter)
- Simple and universal plunger. Did hundreds of reliable backflushes of my Sawyer filter with it.
- Replacement O-ring for Sawyer filter
- The O-ring can break or fall out easily on the Sawyer, so I made sure to keep a couple extras with me. They weigh nothing and you can get them from any gear shop near the trail.
- Bottom 1/3 of Smart water bottle to use as a scoop
- From Kent, CT all the way to Pearisburg, VA, water sources were scarce and the few places I could get water from mostly consisted of small puddles. Cutting up a Smart water bottle to make a scoop served me very well.
- Mesh bag for carrying all my accessories/filter together
- Made it easy to keep my filter, scoop, o-rings, and plunger all together so that it was super easy to access what I needed every time I needed water.
- Sawyer plunger (comes with the Sawyer Squeeze Filter)
Tent
- Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL 1-person tent
- I believe with tents, you can only have 3 of the following 4 categories with any one tent…
- comfortable
- lightweight
- durable
- reasonably priced
- I believe with tents, you can only have 3 of the following 4 categories with any one tent…
I think, though, that this tent is probably the closest to being able to meet all 4 categories. It stood up to all the abuse I gave it and only leaked once (during a massive storm in New Hampshire), it was pretty dang comfortable, it wasn’t TOO heavy, and it was a pretty reasonable price. The vestibule was great, too, for nights at the end of the trail when it was freezing, windy, and snowy and I had to cook dinner inside my tent to avoid turning into a popsicle.
- Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL 1-person tent footprint
- You need a footprint to make sure the floor of the tent isn’t directly in contact with the ground, helping to keep the floor of the tent dryer and cleaner. Sold separately from the tent itself.
- NRS Tuft Sack Dry Bag (5L) for storage
- I always used a dry sack for my tent so that when it rained overnight, I could pack my wet tent into a dry sack the next morning. That way, the water wouldn’t leak out from the tent and get other important things in my bag (such as my sleeping bag and clothes) all wet.
Cooking Supplies
- Snow Peak Trek 900 Titanium Cookset with lid
- This cookset was the perfect size for the meals that I had in the evening and it heated up really fast. On top of that, it was big enough to store all my cooking supplies in while hiking. My only issue with it was that the lid, which has a small metal handle on it so the lid could double as a mini frying pan (which I never used it for), didn’t hook onto the top of the container, so I had to use a makeshift strap to hold the lid on.
- E-cloth wash & wipe microfiber dishcloth
- A simple little cloth that weighed next to nothing and I was able to wipe my pot dry with it every evening after cooking and cleaning.
- Small sponge (1/4 of a regular sponge)
- For scrubbing the last stubborn bits of mac ‘n cheese off my pot after dinner. I would buy a sponge, then cut it into 4 smaller sponges, keeping one and while mailing the other ones down the trail to pick up later. Each quarter-sponge lasted me about 2 weeks before it got too nasty and had to be replaced with one of the ones I sent down trail.
- Snow Peak Titanium Spork
- It was a great and lightweight tool to use. Also, it was super durable and super lightweight, but I just didn’t need it for anything that my Silicone Spatula couldn’t do (see below). I sent it home in Pennsylvania.
- Snow Peak Silicone Spatula with detachable head
- This thing doubled as both my spoon and my scraper for my pot whenever I was done eating. The silicone was nice because unlike a titanium spork, it wouldn’t scratch the sides of my pot when I was scraping every last bite of food out of it.
- Gerber Evo Jr pocket knife
- Honestly didn’t really need it for anything, but it was always nice to have a knife if I wanted to cut slices of meat/cheese or do things like cut a rope. Also, it gave me a tool for self-defense (which I never had to use it for, fortunately).
- MSR Pocket Rocket 2
- Worked super well in all conditions and by the time I finished the trail, it was still in great shape! Cooking every night was a quick and easy process with this thing.
- MSR IsoPro Canister Fuel (3.9 oz net weight; 7.4 oz gross weight)
- Always super easy to find while on trail (every trail town and most gas stations had them). I always carried two with me just in case I unexpectedly ran out of fuel in one.
- (2) BIC lighters
- What good is a stove if you can’t light it? Again, I always carried 2 lighters so I could have a backup to light my stove in case one failed.
- AntiGravityGear Pot Cozy
- AntiGravityGear is a really cool company that will custom make cozies to fit any-sized pot. My awesome wife and parents sent this to me as a gift a couple hundred miles into my hike, and it did a great job of keeping my pot warm after I boiled water, thus saving me precious canister fuel. I could just throw my dinner in my pot with a bunch of water, bring the water to boil, then kill the pocket rocket and stick my pot in the cozy and it would keep the water super warm so it could continue to cook my food.
Sleeping Supplies
- Therm-A-Rest NeoAir Venture Sleeping Pad
- Probably the most annoying part of my thru-hike was having to blow this mofo up every single night, but it was nice and comfy to sleep on. It was a little noisy when I rolled over during the night, but I got used to it really quickly.
- REI Men’s Flash Sleeping Bag (Long)—29-degree rating
- This sleeping bag did a really good job. It kept me the right temperature at night, was relatively lightweight and was super cozy. It was also really durable and I’ll be able to keep using it after cleaning it and re-fluffing the down in it.
- Enlightened Equipment Enigma Top Quilt—10-degree rating
- I sent home the REI Men’s Flash and switched to a warmer quilt for the final month of my hike because it started getting really cold and the Flash wasn’t going to cut it. I had a couple of nights where temperatures were in single digits and wind chills were well below zero, but this, combined with my liner, did pretty well at keeping me warm. On top of that, It was much lighter than a 10-degree sleeping bag would be, and it strapped pretty securely to my sleeping pad. That being said, I think the 10-degree rating it’s given is a little generous (probably more like 15-18 degrees), and it was a little annoying to have to re-tuck it under me every time I rolled on my side.
- Sea-To-Summit Thermolite Reactor Liner
- My liner took my bag/quilt down another 10 degrees. It was FANTASTIC on the super cold nights because I could cinch myself really tightly into it and form a warm blanket of air around me. To save on space, I just stuffed it into my sleeping bag or quilt rather than carry it separately in its own pouch.
- Cocoon Ultralight Air-Core Hood and Camp Pillow
- Super lightweight and packed down super small. It was great when I had my sleeping bag because it would tuck right into the hood, but it was annoying when I had my quilt because it would slide around whenever I turned my head. If you prefer a quilt, I would recommend you look for something that sticks to the ground better.
- Sea-To-Summit eVent Compression Dry Sack (Large) for storage
- It’s essential that your sleeping bag/quilt stays dry because cold weather can make a wet sleeping bag a dangerous situation. This dry sack did a great job of keeping everything dry and it packed down really tightly, so it didn’t take up much pack space.
Clothing
Shoes and Socks
- Salomon XA Pro 3d
- I had to ditch these shoes 100 miles into my hike. The hard plastic frame on the heel started to come apart and so every time I took a step, the sharp plastic bits would jab me in the back of my ankle. By the time I could get new shoes, my ankles were really messed up and it almost ended my thru-hike early.
- Altra Olympus 3.5
- Poet at Shaw’s Hiker Hostel in Monson, Maine recommended I switch to these shoes, and he happened to have a pair in stock. It was a decision that saved my thru-hike. These shoes had zero drop, so it took a while for my calf muscles and Achilles to adjust to them, but once they did, they were probably the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever hiked in. The cushioning on the sole is amazing, the shoe is wide so that your foot can grow into it (because your feet will swell up over the course of a thru-hike), they’re very breathable, and the tread does pretty well on terrain like the AT. The only issue I had with these shoes was that they were expensive and they only lasted about 500 miles before I needed to switch them out, so they put an extra-large dent in my hiker budget.
- Superfeet Trailblazer Comfort Insoles
- Just to give myself a little extra cushioning, I put these insoles in my Altras. They were very durable and comfortable as well.
- (2) pairs—Fox River X-Static Liner Crew Socks
- I started having some issues with blisters in Vermont, so I decided to do two things…(1) put extra Gold-Bond on my feet; and (2) got some sock liners. These liners were very thin and I thought they’d rip easily, but they held up surprisingly well and helped my blister issues go away.
- (2) pairs—Darn Tough Hiker Socks
- Darn Tough is the king of hiking socks. Super durable and well-cushioned. Plus with their unlimited lifetime warranty, I was able to do a free swap for a new pair at the Mohican Outdoor Center in New Jersey when one pair started ripping.
Warm Weather hiking gear
- Prana Mojo Shorts
- Super lightweight and breathable. Wicked sweat pretty well.
- Hanes Ultimate Sport Boxer Briefs
- Super lightweight and breathable. Wicked sweat pretty well.
- Under Armour UA Tech Loose T-Shirt
- Super lightweight and breathable. Wicked sweat pretty well.
- 100% polyester baseball cap
- You’re under the shade of trees most of the time you’re on the AT, so you don’t really need sunglasses. But a nice hat helps to keep the sun and sweat out of your eyes.
- Original Buff
- For REALLY hot days, having a buff around your head to act like a bandanna or sweatband takes at least some of the work away from your baseball cap. Also, on the really cold nights on the second half of my hike, the buff acted as a great insulator for my head, face, and neck.
Cold-weather hiking gear
- REI lightweight base layer long-sleeve crew top
- Layers are essential when hiking in cold weather, so I always started out with a base layer. This one was pretty light and beat up from years of use, so I used it for the first couple of months of my hike (when it was still warm) just in case I had the occasional cool/windy day.
- Ultimate Terrain Trailhead Hiking Quarter Zip Mid-Layer
- Added this mid-layer when it got colder in Virginia. Nice and breathable because I could partially zip it down if I was too warm, but also would keep me relatively warm on cold hiking days when I wouldn’t break a sweat even when going uphill.
- Mountain Hardwear Ghost Men’s down jacket
- Super durable and lightweight. Only had to patch it with Tenacious Tape once. Stayed pretty puffy, too, despite it being stuffed in the front pocket of my pack every day.
- Outdoor Designs running gloves
- For those cool and windy days where I needed something on my hands, but not enough that my hands would get too hot and start sweating. Did the job well.
- Softshell ski gloves
- For those really cold days towards the end of the trail. Put them on right over my running gloves and after about 10 minutes, my hands would start to warm up.
Nighttime gear
- Under Armour UA Tech Loose T-Shirt (100% polyester)
- Used it as my only top layer for most of New England (since it was still summer) and most of the mid-Atlantic (since it was early fall and still kind of warm). Was breathable and comfy.
- Under Armour Base 4.0 Men’s Top
- Switched to this in Virginia when the weather turned colder. Much thicker and warmer, and I needed it the rest of the trail. I never really needed it during the day because this base layer was so warm, but I used it every night, and it was great.
- Hanes Ultimate Sport Boxer Briefs
- Might as well sleep in the same brand of undies that you hike in. I had two pairs of undies…one for hiking in and one for sleeping in. Breathable and comfy.
- SmartWool Merino150 Long Underwear Bottoms
- Wore them every night my entire hike. A great base layer. They kept me warm, they were breathable enough that I could still wear them in the summer in the North and not sweat while also protecting my legs from the many mosquitos.
- Prana Stretch Zion Pants
- On really cold nights when my merino bottoms weren’t cutting it, I would also put on these durable and breathable pants.
- Darn Tough Hiker Socks
- Same principle as my undies. I had two pairs of Darn Toughs that I used for hiking, and then another pair that I used strictly for sleeping so that my feet were always warm and dry.
- Wal-Mart brand one-size winter hat
- Just wanted to have something to cover my head on the really cold nights, especially since I had a quilt in the South and needed to have some form of headcover as a result. A simple winter hat from Wal-Mart did the job nicely.
Wet hiking gear
- North Face HyVent 2.5-liter Rain Jacket
- It held up wonderfully the entire thru-hike. I rarely wore it when I was hiking because every time I put it on, it would just make me really hot and sweaty, thus negating the purpose of keeping me dry in the first place. However, it was a great windbreaker, so I wore it all the time at shelters and campsites in the final month when it was getting real cold at night.
- *North Face doesn’t make the HyVent anymore, but the Marmot Men’s Lightweight Waterproof Rain Jacket is a good substitute*
- It held up wonderfully the entire thru-hike. I rarely wore it when I was hiking because every time I put it on, it would just make me really hot and sweaty, thus negating the purpose of keeping me dry in the first place. However, it was a great windbreaker, so I wore it all the time at shelters and campsites in the final month when it was getting real cold at night.
- Military Surplus Gen 3 Level 6 pants with Gore-Tex
- Prana Men’s Union Belt
- I have no idea why I thought bringing a belt with a heavy buckle was a good idea. They were meant for my Prana Zion pants, but those pants fit me fine even without the belt, so I sent this belt home after just a week of use.
Clothing storage
- Sea-to-Summit 8-liter dry sack
- Super important that you keep your sleeping clothes dry, so I made sure to use a dry sack for these as well.
Toiletries
- Outdoor Research Dry Ditty Sack (medium) for storage
- If you can’t fit all your toiletries in this bag, you have too many toiletries.
- Collapsible Toothbrush
- Some hikers saw most of the handle off their toothbrush to save weight, but I was happy with a collapsible toothbrush.
- Travel-size Toothpaste
- Lasted me about a week at a time. Got a new one at each resupply.
- Chap Stick
- Good for keeping my lips from getting chapped from the sun and wind.
- Contact Lens Case and Travel-size Contact Lens Solution
- Lasted me about a month at a time. I would change the solution in my case every 2 days, so I was able to make it each bottle last a little longer.
- 3 pairs of contacts
- Always liked to have a couple spares in case of emergency.
- Retainer
- It’s annoying that I have a crooked tooth from my rowdy college days and that I have to wear a retainer every night because of it, but it is what it is.
- Travel container of Dr. Bronner’s
- To give my hands a quick disinfectant and for emergency shampoo/soap use.
- Nail Clippers
- Nothing is worse than having to ask a fellow hiker for nail clippers, so I made sure to have a small pair of my own.
- Floss
- Just because I’m a thru-hiker doesn’t mean I have to have bad gums.
- Beard Comb
- Just because I’m a thru-hiker doesn’t mean my hair and beard have to be a TOTAL mess.
- Ziplock bag full of Allergy pills
- For those days on the trail when the pollen FINALLY gets to you.
- Ear Plugs
- If you don’t have these, and you’re within ear-shot of a fellow hiker at night…you will NOT sleep well that night. Trust me, bring them. If you run out, pretty much every hiker hostel on the trail has them in stock.
Electronics
- Outdoor Research Dry Ditty Sack (small) for storage
- If you can’t fit all your electronics in this bag, you have too many electronics.
- Goal Zero Flip 10 Portable Charger
- I always kept my cell phone in airplane mode and used it sparingly so I could go at least a few days without needing to recharge it. Still, there were a few pretty remote stretches of trail where I would go up to a week without being somewhere I could charge my phone. This tiny portable charger gave me a whole extra charge to my phone to give me peace of mind.
- Short USB Cable
- For plugging in my phone and charger whenever I found an outlet.
- Black Diamond Spot Headlamp
- Super bright and super effective, but I was really annoyed by how quickly the battery drained on this thing. I had to use it a few hours a day every day for most of my final month on trail (since the days were getting so short) and after about a week of use, the headlamp would already be dimming.
- AAA batteries for headlamp
- Always had two complete resupplies for my headlamp (8 batteries total). AAA’s are really tiny, so it wasn’t a big deal to carry this many.
- Apple 5W USB Power Adapter
- For plugging in my phone and charger whenever I found an outlet.
- Soundcore Spirit Sports Earbuds (Bluetooth headphones)
- When you’re stuck in the green tunnel for days on end, you need some form of entertainment, so I took solace in music, audiobooks, and podcasts. These headphones were great because they were durable, lasted about 10 hours on one charge, and could fully charge within an hour.
Food
- NRS Tuff Sack Dry Bag—15-liter
- Daddy needs to have his food well protected.
- A dozen gallon and quart ziplock bags for trash and holding dinner foods
- Ziplock bags are currency on the AT. You need them for holding things like your dinner, your trail mix, and many other foods. You also need them for storing your trash.
- 3 days worth of meals
- Here was what I ate in a typical day…
- Breakfast
- Pop-tarts
- Candy bars
- Protein bars
- Lunch
- Block of Cheese
- Summer Sausage
- Candy bars
- Snacks
- Protein bars
- Candy bars
- Dinner
- Dehydrated Meal
- Candy Bars
- Spam Singles
- Breakfast
- Here was what I ate in a typical day…
- Miscellaneous food items
- Propel powder packs
- Small container of olive oil
- Mini spice bullet
- While it was nice to sprinkle some salt, pepper, and garlic powder on my food…it was annoying to open and was bulky. I sent this item home when I was in New York.
- Miscellaneous mini-condiments (mustard, mayonnaise, hot sauce, etc.)
- I found these to be lighter and easier to use than a spice bullet. Started hoarding condiments at resupplies and they really spiced up my dinners (especially hot sauce!)
Miscellaneous
- Outdoor Research Dry Ditty Sack (large) for storage
- Used this to store all my miscellaneous items listed below.
- Bear Hanging Rope—100 ft. 3 mm utility cord
- Super strong and durable. Every bear bag hang was successful with this rope, and I never lost or ripped it at any point!
- Carabiner with 10-lb. weight capacity
- Used this along with my bear hanging rope for hanging my food bag.
- Toilet paper (in a ziplock bag)
- Is an explanation really necessary?
- Tenacious Tape
- Used this to patch inevitable rips in my down jacket and my pack.
- Hand warmers
- Essential for the final month on trail. Just like ziplock bags, hand warmers are currency on the AT.
- Glasses
- In case my contacts started bothering me or I ran out of contacts.
- Gold-Bond Friction Stick
- To stop the chaffing.
- KT Performance Blister Kits
- To stop the blisters.
- Ziplock bag of ibuprofen tablets
- Aches and pains are inevitable when you’re hiking every day for 5 months. Was always nice to have some ibuprofen close by.
- First Aid Kit
- Band aids
- Antibiotic Ointment
- Tweezers
- For removing ticks…surprisingly, I didn’t really have issues with ticks during my thru-hike. I only had to use my tweezers twice.
Loose Items
- Cell phone (iPhone 8)
- Mophie charger compatible with iPhone 8
- A portable charger that would provide an additional charge to my phone with the push of a button.
- Gaia GPS downloaded to iPhone
- Awesome app that prevented me from ever getting lost, helped me find things like water sources and landmarks, and used the GPS on my phone (even while in airplane mode) so I would know exactly where I was. I used the NatGeo AT maps.
- AWOL (A.T. Guide)
- A great written guide that I would use from time to time because unlike a cell phone, a written guide doesn’t require batteries and will still work if you accidentally drop it in a stream.
- Mini notebook for journaling (and a pen)
- I kept a journal of my thru-hike so I could remember it all when I came home. Every night, I would journal for about a half hour about everything I saw and experienced. The best decision I made on my thru-hike because it helps me remember so much about it.
- Chums Surfshorts Wallet
- Super durable, waterproof, and lightweight. Used it to carry the essentials…
- Driver’s License
- (1) Debit Card
- (1) Credit Card
- Cash…good to carry about $50 at a time
- Health Insurance Card
- A written list of emergency contacts
- Super durable, waterproof, and lightweight. Used it to carry the essentials…
Conclusion
I hope this list helps you be prepared on future hikes, and if you decide to do a thru-hike of the AT one day, I hope this list serves as a great guide for you.
Happy Hiking!
~Andrew “Shanty” Baldwin (AT SOBO 2019)