Hello everyone. I'm be no means new to backpacking, I backpacked my entire childhood, worked a few summers at Philmont as a young man. I've spent more time in my adult life with a pack on my back than without most likely. I just finished up a 10 year career in the Marine Corps, which ended prematurely, because I broke both of my feet parachuting. I want to get back on the trail, more specifically the AT, as kinda of a theraputic thing, before I have to return to the world of the working. Problem is that I have been out of the civilian backpacking loop for quite some time, and have no idea whats available gear wise. I want to go light or even ultra light because of my feet, and I have no qualms about surviving of the bear minimum. Does anyone have thier current gear list for a extended weekender they could email me?
Registered: 10/30/03
Posts: 4963
Loc: Marina del Rey,CA
Go to the Home Page (not the forum home page) and look down the left column. There are links for several lists.
Also, search under "gear list" or "gear lists" using the search engine and if you set "newer than" for a couple of years, you will find list that members have posted in various forums.
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Don't get me started, you know how I get.
Don't know if this helps or not. I hike in the Ohio-Indiana-Kentucky area, with occasional trips to Isle Royale National Park, and various Virginia sections of the AT. This gear is perfect for me, but there's a lot of very similar gear out there that works great for others (Big Agnes, Snow Peak, Marmot, Montbell, and Osprey leap to mind.) The part of my list that you may find least suitable for you are the clothing (definitely not up to mountain travel or temperatures below freezing) and food (I eat fairly light - my most frequent hiking buddy eats about twice as much as I do, and is sometimes still hungry. I can get by with a lighter food load because I'm rarely out for more than 3 or 4 liesurely days, not long enough for my metabolism to kick into high gear.)
Granite Gear Virga Pack MSR Hubba tent Western Mountaineering Megalite 30* down sleeping bag Thermarest Prolite 3 three-quarter-length self-inflating pad Thermarest 20" Trekker chair kit (sometimes) MSR Pocket Rocket stove, MSR Titan kettle and spoon, Brunton Firestorm lighter MSR Packtowl UL small MSR Hyperflow water filter (Miniworks, for more than a weekend) Granite Gear medium Slurpin' Bowl (for dipping water to filter) 1-quart Nalgene Cantene with MSR Hyperflow filter adapter cap 2-quart Dromlite water bladder Red Ledge Storm Backpacker Poncho (Long) Patagonia Capilene midweight hiking socks First Aid kit, Gerber LST ultralight pocket knife License, cash, and credit cards in Granite Gear Hiker wallet; car key Map and Brunton Trailbuster compass; Brunton Echo pocket scope Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, MSR Blizzard stake, 50' MSR cord Petzl E+Lite headlamp, spare batteries Total summer base weight in pack: 10.5 - 11 pounds
MSR Hubba tent, fast-pitch (fly, poles, groundcloth only) - saves a pound Thermarest Prolite 4 three-quarter-length self-inflating pad, Lite Seat (replaces Prolite 3; seat gives me a place to sit at breaks and in camp, and extends pad to full length when I put it under my legs - pack straps hold it in place.) Patagonia Dragonfly windbreaker Red Ledge Thunderlight rain suit, Granite Gear Cloud pack cover (replaces poncho) Patagonia Down Sweater Patagonia R1 balaclava Patagonia R1 gloves Patagonia Digitshell gloves Net total additional cool-weather gear weight in pack: 2 - 3 pounds
110g. or 220g. MSR Isopro fuel cylinder Food for 2 days (see menu below) 1 quart of water Total expendable supply weight: 4.5 - 5 pounds
Tracks Sherlite staff or MSR Overland Carbon hiking poles (carried, not in pack)
Clothing worn: Vasque Breeze GoreTex trail shoes Midweight Capilene hiking socks Airius T-shirt (long or short sleeve) Baggies shorts Airius bucket hat
Additional clothing worn in cool weather: Patagonia R.5 zip-neck top and pants Patagonia R.5 beanie Patagonia R.5 liner gloves
Breakfast: 1 Clif bar 1 tea bag (optional)
Lunch and snacks: 6 oz. trail mix 1 oz. beef jerky 2 crunchy granola bars 2 chewy granola bars
Supper: 1 freeze-dried entrée 1 tea bag (optional)
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