At thru-hiking....help

“I really want to thru hike the AT. I'm won't be doing it for a few years, but I wan tto start accumulating my gear now. Does anyone have any advice on the best kind of gear to get, and I mean any type of gear I could possibly need, and what I should leave out. Any help would be much appreciated.”

“Have you got any gear at all now?
What kind of BPing experience do you have?
Are you familliar with any of the trail?
Have you studdied much about the tral?

Just trying to get a little background so we can give assistance here.”

“Go as light as you can but be prepared for anything! 2 yrs ago I did a 16 day trip, carrying 49 lbs/8 days (SnowDude had 57 lb/8 da). This year we did a 30 day trip and my heaviest weight was 38 lb/10 days (Dude was 43 lb/10 da). We were prepared for rain and snow.

Agree w/Walkindude. Need more background.”

“My advice: research each item first and solicit advice. Buy the lightest you can afford, but make sure it is functional. Go on weekend trips and TEST the gear as you buy it. Make mental notes of what you actually need, use and just carry. After a few trips, leave behind what you are just carrying and se if you really need it.

Most important, buy items that can do double duty or triple duty without sacrificing weight or cost. Examples: 1)A gore-tex shell jacket with a roll away hood. Works as a rain jacket, and a windbreaker. Over a fleece shirt and it'll keep you warm. 2) A hunter orange fleece shirt. Keeps you warm. Provides emergency flag. Good to wear in hunting season, and, rolled up and placed in a stuff sack, makes a great pillow. You'll also know where your fleece is in the morning when it's a bit chilly.

Remember, what works for some one else may not work for you, but there is a reason why it works for them, so consider carefully.”

“Go to www.backcountry.net and subscribe to at-l

There are past and future thruhikers, as well as answers, there. Don't be afraid to ask questions - and don't be afraid to ask the same questions in multiple places. Klimber is right - what works for someone else may or may not work for you.
For example, I don't use Goretex anymore - Frogg Toggs have served me well. But they might not suit you at all.

Keep an open mind - what doesn't work for you now, may work a year from now when you have more experience.

Finally, try reading trailwise.circumtech.com -- there's thruhiking information in the Page List as well as in the Thruhiking Papers.

Go for it - it's a fantastic life-changing experience.”

“congrats on the decesion. Lightweight is the way to go, On my first trip my pack was 45 lbs next spring for my second time its down to 23 lbs. get a good light backpack about 4000 ci. with a hipbelt, some lightweight packs don't have hipbelts to save weight.
If you like bugs use a tarp for tenting out if not get a tent or bivy, Do not plan on staying at shelters every night they get crowded at night and especially in bad weather there might not be any room.
I take a filter because I don't want to wait 20 min. for iodine tablets to work.
use gators all those leaves and twigs in your boots are real annoying.
And above all else HIKE YOU'RE OWN HIKE sounds like a cliche don't try to keep up with someone that does twice as many miles as you. or goes half as slow you might get hurt trying to keep up or get mad wainting around for them to show up.my plan is 8 miles a day for the first month to get in trail shape then go up according to how I feel' You're mileage may very. hope this helped a little, as for namebrand equipment everyone has his favorites. so get what you like and try to find it on sale discontinued items work just as well as the new fancy ones.”

“I have a pretty decent amount of backpacking experience, and I'm in very good shape physically. My goal is to thru hike by 2010, but preferably sooner. I do have some gear right now, but I don't think that any of it is really light enough. To jmz, I'm positive I can make more than 8 miles a day provided that the terrain isn't too rough. I'm also familiar with parts of the trail in North Carolina, as I worked at the Nantahala Outdoor Center. I've hiked from Wesser to Cheoah Bald, and less significant parts of the trail near Hot Springs. If you guys need any more information, just ask. Oh, and thank you for all of your help so far.”

“Go for it! The worst that can happen is that it doesn't work out and you don't complete it. A bad day hiking is better than a good day working!”

“I don't have a lot to add to what has been said before so let me just ramble on about my thoughts on the subject. 1.) plan on starting alone or rather don't plan on starting hiking with someone - IMO two people starting together reduces the probability that either will complete the trek. 2.) go as light weight as you possibly can - consider things like hiking in trail runners instead of boots, silnylon tarp instead of tent - use a bug net if needed at night - closely consider each item to see if you can do without it - for example consider if you could do without a stove as in just using a tupperware container to hydrate your food and consider if you can use iodine / bleach instead of a filter. 3.) do many practice hikes where you try various possibilities for combinations of equipment. 4.) get your head together - prepare ahead of time for things like the Virginia blues - role play in your head during your practice hikes how you would react to pain, lonelyness, missing friends at home, injury, cold, hot, wet, bugs, etc. - try to get a handle on how to work through these situations before they happen in real life. 5.) recruit a good ground control for your hike - someone reliable and as dedicated in their own way to your completing your trek as you are - makes it much easier to adjust maildrops (if you choose to use them) and emergency shipments (lost or stolen gear etc). 6.) don't be inflexible in your planning - whatever you plan will be adjusted while you are on the trail. 6.) carry a watch - very useful for estimating your position on the trail and for helping to decide when to push (ie get to the post office before it closes) and when to relax. 7.) have fun but don't get sucked into the vortex of town stops

and above all hike the way YOU want to - don't let others control what you do - listen to advice but consider all of it in the light of your own experience and how it fits in your hike - ignore anything that doesn't feel good for you.”

“Have any of you done the whole trail? If so, what do you think were the hardest parts, easiest parts, good places to stop, etc.? Also, what are some good weights/sizes for gear such as tents, sleeping bags, stoves, etc.?”

“I've thruhiked the AT twice. It was a great experience for me and led to a lot of life changes. Hard and easy are more in the head than on the trail. There are physically challenging sections (i.e. the Whites and Mahoosucs) and physically easy sections (i.e. parts of Virginia and the mid-Atlantic) but then there are the mentally challenging parts (after 5 days of rain, or when a partner quits the trail) and the mentally rewarding parts (getting to the top of a ridge or mountain on a beautiful clear day, or crossing a state border and knowing that you have managed to hike 100 or 500 or 1000 miles). Some of my best days were physically the hardest, some of my worst ones were the very easy cruising days that seemed endless. The secret to long distance hiking is less the gear that you carry (just about anything that keeps you dry and fed will work) but the mental baggage that you carry with you. How much do you really want to complete the hike? That is what will get you through the tough bits. As to the question about gear, current standard wisdom is that your five heaviest items, pack, tent, sleeping bag, stove and pot - should add up to about 10 lbs or less, if you can. Aim for a base weight (everything but food and water) that is 25 lbs or less. On a trail where you can resupply as often as you can on the AT, and where water is generally not a problem, that means you will be carrying 35 lbs or less, most of the time. That is reasonable, unless you are very very petite. 1/4 body weight is good, less is preferable, but there is a tradeoff in terms of comfort if you go a lot lighter. On my first thruhike, I regularly carried a 45 lb pack - it hurt, but it got me there. Good town stops vary by the year. This year's good hostel may be out of business by the time you get there. Everywhere I have hiked, I have run into good people and good places. Any place that has hot water and ice cream is a good stop. Expect to stop more often than you are planning right now. Getting a shower and 'real' food becomes more important after a while on the trail. But as HogonIce said, don't let yourself get too sucked into the town gravity wells. For me, after 2 or 3 days in town, I am usually desperate to get back on the trail, but some people can end up spending weeks at a time in town, because they have stopped enjoying the hiking. That may be time to rethink the plan. Good luck.”

“clap clap clap

Damn good words of wisdom!”

“wow. i really enjoyed reading that. thanks, ginny.”

“I did too. A two time thruhiker, wow. Ginny, I bet you've got a wealth of knowlege to be tapped.”

“Long distance hiking is my life - four long hikes now, and dreaming of the next one. It will be a few years (takes time to save money when you have a mortgage to pay) but we'll be out again. In the meantime, if I can't be hiking, I enjoy talking about hiking, especially long distance and thruhiking. It is different from going out for a weekend or a week.”

“But you must join us for a weekender sometimes so we can pick your brain around a campfire one night.”

“Check out these websites for some good advice. Definately see the gear sections for some home made light weight ideas. Also you might want to buy Ray Jardine's book "Beyond Backpacking" I'm looking to thru hike the PCT in a couple of years myself.

Light Weight Gear Ideas and Journals from Light Weight Hikers

Ray Jardine's Long Distance Hiking/Book

”

“Thru-hiker.com Gear and Resources for Long Distance Hikers

I hope these links can help you with your planning. I've used some of the gear ideas myself and find them rather usefull.”

“Sgt. R0ck's website is a good resource also for AT hiking ideas”