I will be on the AT from March 25th-April 3rd, hiking north from the northern terminus to the Smokys. This is my current gear list for what I plan to bring. I'm expecting lows to be in the mid 20s (that's realistic, right?), hopefully warmer though. Looking for some feedback and suggestions on what changes you would make.


Packing:
Gossamer Gear Gorilla 20.5oz
GG Sitpad 1.09oz
GG Pack Liner 1.36oz
22.95oz

Shelter:
Tarptent Contrail w/stakes and front pole 30.7oz
GG 3/8 Thinlight 3.81oz
Neo Air 12.33oz
Golite Ultra 20 quilt 21.13oz
67.97oz

Packed Clothing:
Montbell UL Down Inner Jacket 7.65oz
Capilene 3 top 7.13
Capilene 3 bottom 6.62
Sleep socks 3.89oz
extra lightweight running socks 1.4oz
Balaclava 2oz
DriDucks Jacket 5.75oz
Golite Reed pants 5.8oz
Lightweight wool gloves 1.98oz
42.35oz

Cooking:
Starlyte Stove w/accessories 1.25oz
Spork .64oz
Pot w/lid 4.2oz
Fuel Bottle 1.17oz
7.24oz

Accessories:
Aquamira 2oz
Ziplock Bag .13
Headlamp 2.71oz
Duct Tape 0.27
First Aid 1oz
Maps .5oz
Toilet Paper .5oz
Toothbrush/paste 1oz
Lighter .4oz
Bear Line/Food bag 3.4oz
Cash/Credit Cards .5oz
Bandanas 3oz
Water Bottles 3.07oz
Camera w/accessories 5.73oz
24.21oz

Total Base Weight
164.72oz
10.3lbs

Clothing Worn:
150 merino SS tee 6oz
light running shorts 3oz
Inov-8 Roclite 295 24.54oz
lightweight running socks 1.5oz
35.04oz


Edit: I decided to sell my R1, as it's too big for me anyway.

Some things I'm already planning on changing sometime soon, but not before this trip are:
Tarptent for tarp/bivy combo. Probably MLD Superlight Bivy or Meteor-style bivy and a two-person cuben tarp. Should save 10-12oz.
Sleeping pad from KookaBay, hoping to add comfort and lose 2-3oz.

Comments? Suggestions?

Thanks,
Dan


Edit: bought a scale. Weights are exact, assuming my scale is correct. Also switched out some gear.

Edited by dbriggs9 on 03/12/2011 20:30:13 MST.

I know you already addressed dropping the R1 depending on weather but I'd also take a look at axing the Cap 3s if its going to be mild/nice. And if it were me I'd get rid of the knife, first aid, map, and bear line. If your taking rain pants you won't need OR pants.

Matthew, I will be dropping the R1 hoody, as long as the lows are above 25F or so. I don't think I can drop the Capilene, though. I spent a night really cold at 28 degrees with my Golite Ultra 20, silk weight base layers, nice socks, Montbell Down UL jacket, and my 3/4 Prolite Plus. I didn't have the GG thinlight that night, however. I just think the upgrade from silkweight to cap 3 is necessary for me and my optimistically rated quilt.
I am switching the knife for a much lighter straight blade, and I am going to cut down my first aid to basically some moleskin and some benadryl. Can't drop the maps, well, not maps-but 3-4 pages from an AT data book. Bear line is a necessity too, would hate to lose my food to mice or bears. But since you don't hang your food, do you just leave it on the ground? In your tent?
And about the pants, living in Florida, I don't do much cool weather hiking. But I suppose I'd be fine just wearing the running shorts while moving and I can throw on the Golite Reeds during breaks if it's chilly and wear the Cap 3s around camp. Sound feasible?

By summer I plan to have a Kookbay pad, a 7x9 cat cut tarp from Z-Packs and a meteor-style bivy. Those plus a groundsheet and stakes should come in at about 16oz, saving me 14oz on my shelter and 2-3oz on my sleeping pad. After factoring those in and dropping my colder weather clothing I have a summer base weight of 122oz or 7.6lbs and a 3-season weight of 8.9lbs.
Gonna be rad. Even though the weight savings will be about a days worth of food or a liter of water, I think I'll really enjoy the flexibility of a tarp/bivy combo.

Yes, I will typically sleep with my food. This varies from place to place with the local rules and/or bear situation. Ive noticed that the mice don't really have much interest in my refried beans and energy bars. If you carry things like trail mix you will probably have some show up. And I find the rain pants + shorts to be plenty, the Cap3s should be enough if cold legs bother you (cold arms and hands are my weakness).

I would think you would most likely see temps in the 30’s but temps in the mid twenties (lower 20’s even) are possible.

Packing:

Looks good, no comments.

Shelter:

That’s a lot more weight than I would carry for a sleeping pad, but you may need the extra warmth. I assume that the Golite Ultra 20 is a long as my regular is 18.95oz. Overall, no real comments here.

Packed Clothing:
This is where your weight is. The Mont-Bell UL Down inner jacket is a classic, in fact, it is probably my single favorite piece of clothing, however, if you need the extra warmth of the Cap 3 you could always go to a lighter sleeping baselayer and ditch the balaclava and get a warmer down jacket with a hood. I would look for something in the 4oz fill range (MB Alpine Light Parka, Rab Microlight Parka, FA Hooded Pullover, etc…). That would give you more warmth at around the same weight.

Instead of the Cap 3 bottoms you could go with a set of down pats for more warmth at about the same weight.

That is a lot of weight for sleeping socks, but I understand as I tend to have cold feet as well. You might look at down socks like goosefeet instead.

Cooking:

Looks good, no comments, well maybe that spork is a little heavy, but that is getting nit-picky.

Accessories:

I would ditch the pillow and use your stuff sack filled with any clothing you are not wearing as a pillow.

Contrary to what others have said, I would hang your food anywhere along the AT. There are active bears around here all winter and they know hikers mean food. That bear bag line/bag seems a bit heavy though, you should be able to get that in the 2-2.5oz range.


Overall that is a great list and a beautiful area. I hope you have a great hike!

Yeah, I'm going to continue to hang my food.
I know my sleeping pad is heavy, but I'm 6'2 175lb and pretty skinny, and an exclusive side sleeper. This pad setup is the best I can do. My hips and shoulders keep me awake in pain from being on such hard ground. I'm considering a pad from Kooka Bay, but my trip is in two weeks and the wait time is 4-6 weeks. I might get a Neo-Air, but it's still 13 ounces. Though, every time I get on the trail I tell myself I'm switching to a hammock set up so I can finally get some solid sleep on the trail. A Warbonnet Blackbird with Whoopie Slings is about 21oz, the tarp could be about 6oz for cuben, or 9-12 for spinnaker and sil-nylon. An underquilt is 11-14oz. ~44oz total for a hammock setup, which is about the same as my current setup and 8-12oz heavier than switching to a tarp/bivy with a Neo-Air or KookaBay pad. I'm more confident in the hammock setup bringing me more comfort as opposed to a 2.5"-3" thick air pad. I need to think about this some more. Maybe I'll finally decide after this trip.
Yes, my Ultra 20 is a long.
I like the idea of a warmer down jacket for colder weather trips, that way I could just wear microweight merino wool baselayers in all conditions other than summer. I would like a Nunatak Skaha Plus, but I can't afford that right now, so I think I'll bring the Cap 3s for this trip, but I do plan do make the switch in the future.
Socks are heavy I know, but that's also a money thing right now, too.
The pillow I bring to elevate my head which brings weight off my shoulder. Plus I usually wear almost all my clothes to sleep.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Really appreciated.
Dan

Edited by dbriggs9 on 03/07/2011 20:55:45 MST.