The Appalachian Trail attracts people from all walks of life, from penniless college graduates to retired millionaires. Consequently, thruhikers have finished their hikes having spent very little, quite a lot, or somewhere in between. Some thruhikers have to quit because they don't have enough money to finish.
When Nepsis and I decided we wanted to thruhike the Appalachian Trail we had almost two years to make as much money as we could. We worked at Target, part-time, for a payment not too far beyond minimum wage. We took every extra hour we could to work as close to forty hours each week and lived frugally. If you want to know how frugally we lived in order to save money, you can check out my blog post about it here. By the time we set foot on the Trail we had saved about $14,000 and since we decided not to defer student loan payments or stop sponsoring a child in poverty, we had about $12,000 we could use. That made our budget easy. We could spend $1,000 per person per month, assuming we finished in six months. We realized pretty quickly we'd never be able to spend that much even if we tried. Here is the breakdown of what we actually spent:
Total Money Spent During Thru-hike: $7,705.89
Food to eat while hiking and small gear items like denatured alcohol/wet wipes: $1,282.44
Stays at hostels, motels, and hotels and Great Smoky Mountain permits: $1,861.21
Meals at restaurants, snacks purchased to eat/drink while on a break from hiking for a significant length of time: $3,286.64
Gear purchased during the thruhike: $698.33
Non-essential items purchased for the purpose of entertainment or non-Trail travel: $187.27
ATM cash withdraws spent on all of the above with no trace of what it was specifically spent on: $390
When I look at this data I am astonished by how little we spent. During the first month of our hike we were a lot more careful, and didn't satisfy every whim, but the last two months we certainly spent a lot of money at restaurants and on yummy treats along the way. We also spent quite a bit of money on motel/hotel rooms since we were a couple and wanted more privacy than the hostels offered. We didn't spent a lot of money on alcohol though, which can obviously drain money fast. Food for the Trail is mostly very cheap and the only really necessary expense so anyone can hike for cheap as long as they can resist temptations when in town, which is no small feat. At the very least you should expect to have to purchase a second pair of shoes, but we also had to buy trekking poles since we didn't begin with them. The non-essential purchases we made during the hike included books and round-trip train tickets to Washington D.C. and New York City, and even an umbrella when we were caught in rain in D.C. We spent five days in NYC with friends who lived there, but we did eat out for many meals which drastically increased our restaurant expenses. I felt like we ate at restaurants every chance we got and after the first and a half, stayed at a hostel, motel, or hotel once a week and yet we stayed way under budget. We were only on the Trail for five months and two days so that helped keep costs down as well, compared to other who were on the Trail a month or more longer. All in all, I think the take-away is that you one can thruhike on a couple thousand dollars quite comfortably, and even if you want to be able to spend more money in towns, a couple more thousand should be sufficient. I think it is best for anyone who is hiking to create a budget of how much money you can spend per mile hiked. If you're like us you'll find you can't spend nearly that much and will no longer have to worry about it anymore. If you're on a tighter budget, you will find lots of opportunities to save money by not staying overnight in a town or splurging on alcohol or a restaurant meal. You'll also find the best way to save money is when people give you a bunch of food, a hot meal, or even a place to stay the night!
Monday, December 15, 2014
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Post-Trail Gear Review
Most of you probably don't want to read this. The only people I can imagine who might want to continue reading are all those to-be-thruhikers who find their minds wandering every day to the adventure that is ahead of them when they first step foot on Springer or Katahdin or somewhere in between. I remember those days when I would read every blog and forum I could find about gear. Down vs synthetic sleeping bag? Gloves? What should be in my first-aid kit? I'm not going to debate anything here though, I am simply going to review how much we used each item and how well it seemed to work. This is the comprehensive review of all our gear!
Backpacks
Arrowhead 8.0 Backpack
This cheap, used, Walmart backpack held up surprisingly well. We knew it wouldn't last the entire trip, but it was light and we already owned it. The one problem with it was that the side pockets did not stretch so it was difficult to remove and replace water bottles. Eventually, the cheap fabric and stitching started breaking in various places and Nepsis finally purchased a new backpack in Daleville, VA. Still, it lasted quite long for what it was worth.
Golite Jam 50L Pack
I absolutely loved this backpack. It is the best backpack I've ever owned. It was very comfortable, but I've heard from other thruhikers that it wasn't comfortable for them. I believe this is because I carried mostly between 15-25 lbs of gear inside during the entire hike. It is designed for lighter loads and so if you have too much weight it can get quite uncomfortable. The pack is very simple and light. I love that it doesn't have a top pouch that always seemed to knock around and scratch my neck on all my other backpacks. It does have a pouch on the front which is perfect for small items and items that need to be removed often, like a guide book. Another great feature was the small pockets on the hip-belt which was perfect for our camera-phone and a small notebook with pen. The side pockets were stretchy, but firm and held two water bottles on each side well. The fabric held up well with no visible tearing anywhere. One of the side pockets did snag a tear on a thick branch toward the end of the hike, but it still worked. I think this is the best backpack for someone like me, who isn't carrying very much weight and appreciates simplicity and functionality.
Compactor or Contractor Bags
We bought compactor bags to use as backpack liners to keep our gear dry which was very cheap and effective. Actually, our compactor bags got holes in them pretty quickly, but we replaced them with contractor bags we found in a hiker box at the Blueberry Patch Hostel in Georgia and these bags lasted us a long time. The contractor bags seems to be a bit thicker and strong than the compactor bags, but I haven't actually compared the two side-by-side. However, our contractor bags never got holes in them. We replaced them twice during our entire hike and that was only because we found new ones in hiker boxes and decided just to replace them because of the dirt and leaves and other grime that can collect in them over the course of a thruhike. The most effective way to keep your gear dry with a contractor bag is to twist off the end before shutting your pack. Even in the most torrential rains that lasted hours, our gear always stayed perfectly dry using contractor bags. If you can't find contractor bags in the trash bag section or your store, you may find them with the hardware.
Gear Purchased on the Trail
Gregory Fury 40 Small
Nepsis bought this small backpack in Daleville, VA but it was plenty big at that point without all of our winter gear.
Mountainsmith Pyrite 7075 (not pictured)
When we first stepped out on the Trail we did not have trekking poles. We had never used them before and though I had read in many places they were extremely helpful, we decided not to buy them to save some money. We always knew we could buy them on the Trail if we felt like we should. I don't remember seeing a single thruhiker without trekking poles. One hiker had some sticks and promptly bought a pair of trekking poles at Neel Gap. As we started the long descent into the NOC in North Carolina, Nepsis' knees were absolutely killing her. We knew trekking poles would help and we just bought the cheapest pair there which were these Mountainsmith poles. They performed their function. Nepsis' knees instantly felt better and never hurt like that again. I was a bit skeptical if trekking poles would really be necessary for someone like me who didn't ever have any ankle or knee problems. Still, when we weren't making a descent, I used one pole and Nepsis the other. I noticed it did make it a bit easier to hike. As I hiked with the pole I thought that I'd write in this review that I couldn't fully recommend that everyone should get trekking poles. But then I got to Rocksylvania. The trekking pole saved me from many nasty falls and I began to see how essential hiking poles are even if you only use one. I would definitely recommend all thruhikers to buy trekking poles, but definitely not a cheap pair like these. Since you're using them all day everyday it is essential to obtain a pair of trekking poles that are well-built and can last that long. In Pennsylvania one of our poles got stuck so that it could not collapse which isn't terrible, but annoying. The other pole, though, broke beyond repair. The entire handle came off and we saw that it was just glued to the pole. Using it so much worked it loose. Fortunate for us, the next day we found another pole someone had discarded in a hiker box because one of the parts that could extend was also stuck at a certain length. I used this one until we finally bought a nice pair.
Leki Thermolite Antishock Trekking Poles
These trekking poles were definitely expensive, but definitely worth it. They are so light, but so sturdy and I could feel the difference when holding these right away. They felt great, the handle is sturdy, and instead of twisting-locks they have lever-lock mechanism which work a lot better. Trekking poles are a real lifesaver so make sure you buy a nice pair. I prefer just using one, but most people go with the pair.
Sleeping Gear
ZPacks 20 Degree 900 Fill Power Down Twin Size Quilt
A great way to save on weight and spend a lot of money at the same time is to buy a ZPacks sleeping quilt. It is super light and since our main goal was to reduce pack weight as much as possible, this was a great buy. Weight was cut down even further because we got the twin size quilt which only makes sense to buy if you are hiking as a couple. It worked well because we could also share body heat. It was super warm, but on some of the coldest nights we did have to wear all our clothes to cut the rest of the cold out. We also, depending on how we were positioned for the night, couldn't always fit the quilt snugly and warmly around us. We are both 5'6'' so we thought the medium size quilt at 5'8'' would work, but it probably would have been better to get an even larger size just so we fit a little better. Unlike most people, we did not swap out our winter bag for a summer bag. It was nice to not spend more money on another bag and deal with having it sent to us. Since this is a quilt there is a lot more room to open it up and let cool air flow in. There were only a few mornings we woke up drenched in sweat because of the heat, but this never impaired our ability to sleep since our bodies were so tired each night from hiking all day long.
Therm-a-rest Neoair Xlite Air Mattress
I really loved these because they were light, very packable, very warm, and supportive. Honestly, to me it was like sleeping on a regular mattress. Somehow before we even left for the Trail one of them got a small hole, but it was easily fixed with one of the patches they come with for such repairs. Other than that, we never had to make any other additional repairs during the entire hike. They only take a minute or two to blow up, which was never a problem. The only downside was that they make noise when you turn on them, however, sleepers on the Trail are used to noises and are extremely tired so I don't think anyone ever couldn't sleep because of the noise.
Stick on Loops with Elastic Straps from ZPacks (not pictured)
These are only necessary for couples who are sharing a quilt like we were. The sleeping pads/air mattresses will not stay together during the night when sharing a quilt. They will slide far apart so something is needed to hold them together. We got these loops connected to an adhesive strip to do the job. They didn't work though. They didn't keep the pads cinched tight together so they still slipped apart some every night and the adhesive started to peel off only after a couple of weeks on the Trail. In Virginia one of the loops peeled completely off rendering the entire system useless. These simply did not work, but ZPacks also has a velcro solution that might work better.
Therm-a-rest Universal Couple Kit (not pictured)
Fortunately, we found this solution for connecting our pads at the outfitter in Daleville, VA. These worked very well since they are basically just two long straps that could wrap around both sleeping pads easily. The sleeping pads still did slide apart a little some nights though.
Hilleberg Anjan 2 Tent
This is a solid two-person tent. There are many other lighter options, especially if you only need a one-person tent or want to use trekking poles to hold up one's tent. However, we didn't begin our hike with trekking poles. The best characteristics of this tent for us was that it was simple to set up, stood strong, and was very warm. It did great at keeping cold and wind out and we used the tent more often at the beginning of our hike when it was colder to keep us warm. Some nice small features of the tent is a line across the top where one can hang wet clothes, a couple of pockets for various sundries, and the inside of it is yellow which is a nice, cozy color for one's little home away from home. The tent withstood rain quite well, though some splash-back should be expected especially if the tent is set up where rainwater flows as it builds up. Of course, sleeping on sleeping pads effectively places the sleepers inside out of reach of any water that may get in. Perhaps the biggest letdown of the tent was the terrible condensation that formed inside the tent during the night when the humidity was high. Most days the tent was dry, but toward the end of summer in the northern states the condensation was quite bad. I understand every tent has issues with this, but this tent has two layers (it basically is a tent inside a tent) that is supposed to prevent this from happening. the condensation didn't ever fall on us, but it soaked the tent so when we packed it up wet we had to carry it heavier. All in all, we were happy with this tent and it definitely served its purpose as a three-season tent, keeping us warm and dry.
Clothes
Cabela's E.C.W.C.S. Watch Cap
This hat kept my head warm on many a cold hike and while sleeping in cold conditions. As I hiked it would get to hot and so I'd pop it off until we stopped for a break or at the shelter at the end of the day. My wife had a balaclava and a hat like this, but she never used her hat so if you are bringing a balaclava you probably don't need a hat. I sent my hat home after the first several cold weeks and never felt like I needed it again.
Bandana
I barely used this so I sent it home and never missed it. Some people like them though and it is almost weightless so not such a big deal.
Columbia Cool Creek Long-sleeve Crew Shirt
I loved this shirt because it kept me warm, but also wasn't too warm when I used it on cooler evenings in the summer months. Probably my favorite thing about this shirt was thumbholes in the sleeves to keep the sleeves from bunching down under my jacket.
C9 by Champion Men's Ventilating Pieced Tee
I brought this shirt to wear around camp and it was especially useful to wear in town when my hiking shirt was getting laundered. Unfortunately, I accidentally forgot it in a hotel room after a couple of months. Since I am so frugal I never bought a replacement and wore my down jacket or long-sleeve when laundering my hiking shirt which was bearable, but hot in the summer months while walking around trail towns.
Asics Favorite Short Sleeve
This shirt was perfect for hiking. It was a nice bright color, light, and apparently didn't smell as bad as some other shirts do, though I cannot conform this myself since all thruhikers noses adapt to the hiker stench pretty quickly.
Taramar Men's Military Fleece 3.0 Long Sleeve Crew Shirt
This was great for the colder months, especially when at a shelter and sleeping in the frigid air. Some nights we wore every piece of clothing to keep warm and it seemed to be just enough to keep the cold out. This certainly helped a lot in the first months, but sent it home after that and never felt like I needed it after. In the Whites, the down jacket was enough to keep us warm.
Montbell Frost Smoke Down Parka
This parka was great for being so light. It is very warm and always kept out the cold for us. The hood was great for keeping the ole' noggin warm and the jacket also had velcro straps to cinch off the wrists and cinch cords in the pockets to cinch off the waist. We never sent these jackets home and after it got warm we used them as pillows since they come with their own stuff sack. I only used it twice after the first few weeks up in southern Maine when it got quite cold. We also used these jackets to survive a Michigan winter before our hike and we are still using them as our main winter jackets. This is simply a wonderful piece of gear.
Craft Performance Run Shorts
These shorts were basically my underwear during winter and my underwear and shorts when it warmed up. They have a mesh inner lining that take over the function of underwear so that I didn't have to bring underwear which, of course, helped save on weight, cost and created more room in the backpack. I never wished I had any underwear because of these fantastic shorts. They were stretchy so that my weight loss over the course of the five-month journey didn't make them fit any less. Though they were a bit tight on me at the beginning.
The North Face Paramount Peak Convertible Pants
These pants had everything I was looking for. First, I wanted them to be convertible so I had an extra pair of shorts for the summer. The zippers are color-coded so you know which leg goes on what side. Secondly, I wanted a built-in belt so I could adjust the size as I lost weight. This was extremely helpful so I didn't have to have an additional belt. The built-in built works well and is very light. The unbuckle button is a little sensitive so sometimes the belt would accidentally come undone while hiking which isn't that bad of a problem. There are plenty of pockets. They were durable and lasted the entire hike with some noticeable wear on one of the knees.
Glide Series Baselayer Bottoms
I have owned these for many years and they've always kept me warm. Again, I mostly used them in the first few weeks at shelters and while sleeping. I sent them home after the cold was completely gone.
Grand Sierra Micro-Fleece Convertible Mittens
Although I only used these a few times, I was very glad I had these when I did. A couple of other thruhikers lamented not having mittens like us because mittens are simply warmer than gloves no matter how fancy the gloves are. These mittens are convertible for when we needed to use our fingers like when setting up our tent and they were pretty cheap too. I bought a pair of expensive fancy gloves at an outfitter, but my wife talked me into returning them. I'm very glad she did. Not only did these work better for a fraction of the cost, but I only needed to use them the first few weeks of the journey so they weren't terribly important. These we sent back home in Virginia and never needed them again.
Kelty Adult Rain Poncho
I was a bit nervous about using these since I've only used rain jackets and rain pants before, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well they worked. This poncho is not a cheap Walmart poncho. It is more expensive and more durable than those. Now, there are several pros and cons of using either a poncho or a rain jacket, but I think we made the right choice. The poncho could go over our backpack giving the backpack and our gear more protection from the rain. The ponchos were also way more breathable and we heard a lot of thruhikers complaining about being drenched in sweat in their rain suits. Of course, either way one should be prepared to get wet. Nothing can protect you perfectly. The only real problem we faced with our ponchos was when it was real windy in the White Mountains. On Mt. Moosilauke it was so bad that my poncho almost flew right off of me. However,my wife figured out that we could tie the corners together and the wind no longer blew them around. These ponchos packed down so small that we could put them in Nepsis' top pouch so we could quickly grab them when it began to rain.
Foam Clogs
These are great for wearing around camp. The first thing I did after arriving at a shelter or setting up my tent was take off my shoes and socks (when it was warm) and put on my clogs. After hiking all day, my feet needed to breathe, especially those times when I had to hike in soggy shoes and socks for four days straight my feet got all white and wrinkly. Foam clogs work great because they are so cheap and so light. They also work well for river crossings up in Maine. I loved my pink foam clogs! I used them every day.
The North Face Hedgehog III GTX XCR Hiking Shoes
I loved these shoes. They wore a little warm, but that was perfectly fine with me. Otherwise, they were as waterproof as can be expected and very durable. I started wearing them regularly for a couple of months before we even started thruhiking and they lasted all the way up to New York. With these shoes I never experienced any feet or ankle problems. They were also pretty light which is great because carrying extra weight on your feet can really slow you down. I highly recommend these shoes.
Smartwool Hike Medium Crew Socks (x2) and Gander Mountain Medium Weight Merino Wool Hiking Socks
It was good to have three pairs of socks at the beginning because it was cold enough to wear socks around camp. One of these pairs was designated camp socks, but after it warmed up I no longer needed them so I sent them home. Two pairs worked well for me. I always made sure one of the pairs was dry so if it was going to be another rainy day I'd slip on the wet pair in the morning. When the sun was out I'd hang the wet socks on my backpack so they'd dry during the day. This system seemed to work well enough. I only ever had to swap out socks once when one pair was developing holes in Massachusetts. Thankfully, Nepsis' father and brother were visiting us around then so they just brought me another pair I had. Otherwise, all the outfitters will have hiking socks. We used medium weight wool socks the entire way and never felt they were too hot. They worked best to protect the feet from all the hiking.
Cooking Gear
Evernew Titanium Non-stick Pot w/ Handle 1.3 L
The best thing about titanium is it is so darn light. One drawback is that food can stick so make sure you stir your oatmeal! Its size was just about perfect for being able to cook for two people at one time. If, however, we wanted to cook a big meal it wasn't big enough. We'd have to do two wounds of cooking which was only a handful of times. Cleaning it was easy using water an leaves to scrub it down.
Evernew Titanium Cup- 400 FD
We brought this cup for tea, but making tea wasn't quite worth the effort for us after a long day. We used it a few times, but ultimately sent it home as soon as we could. Others would make tea or coffee every day though, so it could be useful for those who can't part from their favorite hot beverage for a few months.
Bottle of Denatured Alcohol w/ Duct Tape
Denatured alcohol worked very well with our stove and we never had a problem finding any for resupply. All the outfitters carry it and sell it by the ounce and in a pinch one can find it in a hardware store. The stove we used didn't take a whole to cook a meal though and we really only had to refill our bottle once every few weeks. Our one mistake though, was putting it in a thin plastic water bottle to begin with. Somehow on one of our first few days out on the Trail it cracked and got all over our gear. Thankfully, we had just received trail magic earlier that day and had a small, empty Gatorade bottle with us we could transfer the alcohol into that. The Gatorade bottle, which much thicker plastic, lasted the rest of the trip, but we kept it in a side pocket from then on anyway just in case. The duct tape we used only a couple of times for unnecessary uses, but it was still good to have in case we needed it.
MSR 4L Dromlite Bag
This water reservoir was completely unnecessary. We never needed to carry more than our two 1-liter bottles each. Water is plentiful on the Appalachian Trail. It might be necessary on the Pacific Crest Trail to carry so much water in some sections, but definitely not on the AT.
Aluminum Foil Windscreen
This homemade wind screen worked well to keep out most wind and allow our stove to do its work effectively. It got pretty beat up over the course of the journey, but we never replaced it even though it would have been easy enough.
Binder Clips
These helped to attach the ends of the windscreen when wrapped around our pot and stove, and added some height to the windscreen allowing more oxygen to get to the flames. They weren't completely necessary so it was no loss when we misplaced one and then another over the course of our trek.
Fancy Feast DIY Alcohol Stove
This stove worked very well for our preferences. It was obviously extremely cheap and easy to make. You can't adjust how hot the flame burns so you can't cook anything too complicated, but we never needed to cook anything like that on the Trail. It did its job: it cooked ramen, rice and pasta sides, and oatmeal in a few minutes.
Bic Mini Lighter
This worked as well as can be expected. It's the smallest/lightest lighter out there and it lasted the entire trip for us.
Snow Peak Titanium Spork
This also served its perfect as well as can be expected. It was light and functional.
MRE Plastic Spoon
This spoon lasted for quite awhile before breaking. We kept replacing it with other free plastic spoons from other fine eateries and grocery stores, but none lasted very long until the one, I think, from Kroger. That was a good spoon and lasted the rest of the trip.
Aquamira Chlorine Dioxide Water Treatment Drops
Honestly, we used this at most five times during our entire trip. We always picked out the best water spots we could find and drank the water without treating it. If the only water available was questionable, we treated it. We never got giardia. These drops are the lightest option, I believe, that actually kills all the little things that could be in water. Filters, which were a popular water treatment choice, don't get rid of everything, but give people a peace of mind anyway, I suppose. These drops could get a little expensive if you do plan on treating all your water and have to keep buying it.
Gatorade Bottles (x4)
I never understood why anyone would bring their own reusable bottle on the Trail since it probably weighs more and costs more than Gatorade or Powerade bottles. We each carried two which was quite enough for us. After awhile the lips and necks of the bottles can get a little funky, but when they did we just bought ourselves a little treat of Gatorade or Powerade!
50' Tan 550 Paracord
We brought this in case we ever wanted to hang a bear bag, but we didn't use it a single time. In Georgia and in the Smokies there are cables so you can hang your food and we sometimes utilized those, but we really didn't worry about bears. The only real threat we ever encountered was mice so we always hung our food up in the shelter when we slept in them.
Plastic Bag
This we used for our food. Again, I never understood why anyone would purchase a sack, but most do. We used plastic grocery bags to keep our food stored together and easily accessible and when we hing them we tied the handles in a not, protecting the food inside from any invaders and from rain. We never had anything get into our food during the night. And every time we were in town we could replace our bags for free!
Ziploc Bag
Ziplocs are the ultimate trash can on the Trail. We used so many, but never found ourselves buying any. We kept reusing ours until we found more in hiker boxes which was frequently. We also used Ziplocs to store other food we bought more easily like pretzels or cookies. Ziplocs were never so handy as on the Trail!
Toiletries and Medical Aid Kit
Toiletry Bag
MRE Toilet Paper Pack
We just used these to begin with because we had them. Otherwise, we just took some from public establishments when we were in town. We kept it in a Ziploc bag so that we could store it in our side pockets so we could access it quickly and easily.
Shortened Colgate Toothbrush
Every ounce counts, right? Cutting off half the handle of the toothbrush didn't make it any more difficult to brush our teeth.
2 Fl. Oz. Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap
This was the perfect all-purpose soap we could use as toothpaste, shampoo, and body soap. This small body was plenty; we barely used any of it. One or two drops is enough for each brushing and we barely used it to wash ourselves. Most hostels have soap and shampoo so we only needed it at the few shelters that had showers and for bathing in ponds up in Maine.
Vaseline Lip Therapy
I don't ever get chapped lips, but Nepsis used this a lot. This kind is great because it doesn't have a flavorful aroma to attract mice. We heard a story of some thruhiker who used grape-flavored lip balm and woke up one night in a shelter to a mouse gnawing on her lips. True or not, it's a truly frightening image. Also, since it is Vaseline, it also helped a few times with some chafing issues.
Up & Up Dental Floss
Great for oral hygiene and as thread for fixing any garment issues! Of course, don't be like us, and make sure you bring a needle with an eye the floss can actually fit through.
50 Multivitamin/Multimineral Dietary Supplements each
We're not sure how helpful these were, but I suppose they're better to take than not. Of course we ran out about halfway through our hike and never got any more.
Needle (x2)
Our needles were too small, but we ended up finding thread for the few times Nepsis repaired her old backpack before buying her new one.
Nepsis' Retainers (not pictured)
You gotta bring what you gotta bring! Since this item was fragile they got crushed a bit before realizing we could keep them safe by always carrying them in our pot. When we brought fruit with us we would also keep them in the pot to preserve them.
Medical Aid Kit
Up & Up Bandaids
We only took a few with us and Nepsis used them to help secure moleskin over hot spots on her toes to prevent blisters from forming.
Mucinex Fast-Max Tablets
Again, we only took a few, but we never used any of these. If we ever felt like we needed any more medicine we could just buy it in town. If we were to hike again I wouldn't bring any allergy medicine.
Ibuprofen
Some thruhikers pop these like candy, but we wanted to be able to feel any pain so we could take measures to solve the problem, not just get rid of the pain. However, Nepsis did take these when she got the norovirus (as almost every thruhiker does) and was in so much pain she could not sleep. Otherwise, we didn't use these.
Equate Antidiarrheal
Nepsis didn't end up having diarrhea when she had the norovirus, but I sure did! Good times! Fortunately though, both Nepsis and I were both in trail towns when we contracted the infamous virus. However, I was anxious to get back on the Trail and the first two days after I got better, I still had this symptom. At one point, I had to dash into the woods as fast as I could as a family of dayhikers approached from a ways down the Trail. I wasn't completely unseen from the path, but I couldn't take another step and pulled down my shorts just in time for the liquid explosion. Thankfully, I finished before the family got too near, but after about five minutes I had to dash into the woods again. That's when I was very glad I had this antidiarrheal medicine and it worked like magic instantly. They were a real life saver.
Razor Head
Nepsis' found the razor head to be quite enough for the few times she wanted to clean up a bit while in town.
Antiseptic Spray
We used this on all the little scrapes and cuts we endured in the harsh environment of the Trail.
Diva Cup
My wife already used this anyway, but if you don't it is especially useful on the Trail. I won't go into the details, but if you're a woman who doesn't want to have to deal with pads and tampons on the Trail look into this alternative method of care.
Dr. Scholl's Molefoam
Molefoam was WAY too thick for us to ever use and we got rid of it as quickly as possible. Mole skin was the way to go.
Moleskin
I never had to use this, but Nepsis did on occasion when hot spots appeared on her feet, especially after walking several days in wet socks and shoes because of consistent, heavy rain. Using moleskin as soon as any spot on her feet began to feel pain ensured that no blister ever formed. Luckily, Nepsis and I never got a single blister on the Trail. I wish you the same fortune.
Up & Up Wipes
We bought a small pack of wipes once every month when Nepsis needed to use and clean her diva cup. Wipes were also helpful to use when TP just wasn't cutting it. We also sometimes used wet wipes to take quick Trail showers.
Miscellaneous/Luxury Items
Pipe and Tobacco
I wished I used my luxury item more than I did, but once it was warm we often hiked from sun-up to sun-down and went to sleep very soon after setting up our sleeping gear, cooking, and eating. The few times I did use this it was difficult to light since I needed to use matches and it was hard to find a spot where the wind was blocked. I sent this home with our winter gear.
The A.T. Guide
This is simply the best! Despite trying to cut weight I did not divide up my guide into sections as many do. I wanted to keep it all together as a memento, but we used it so much the cover fell off anyway. The Ziploc it comes with is great too, but we did have to replace it at one point.
Phone Chargers
We brought a really short cord for our Smartphone which I do not recommend. We saved very little weight that way and on many, many occasions it would have been nice to both charge the phone and charge it at the same time.
Samsung Captivate Glide
This Smartphone worked great as a camera, taking awesome photos without the extra weight of another actual camera. At first I didn't use it too much for anything else, but to listen to music from time time. A little later though I listened to podcasts a lot on it while hiking. Also, it was great to have to access the Internet in towns. Most of the hostels have Wifi.
Tracfone
This phone got reception most of the time and it was handy to have a phone that just made calls so we always had it charged it we needed it. Some places we couldn't get reception, but never at any real critical point.
Watch
I didn't really want to bring this and I never wore it. I kept it in my hip-belt pocket and probably looked at it way too much. However, it was useful to know the time to gauge how fast we could hike and how many hours we had until sundown. Also, it was good to be able to use the little alarm on days we wanted an early start.
Bible
We didn't read this as much as we should have, but worth the weight if you're a reader. You can find a lot of light Bible actually.
Pocket Notebook
It was good to have a notebook small enough to fit in one of hip-belt pockets. That way, we could jot down anything on a whim.
Journal
At the beginning I wrote in this a lot, but then did most of my writing on this blog when we were in town. The smaller notebook was sufficient for my on Trail writing so I sent this home.
Victorinox Swiss Army Classic SD Knife
This is the smallest/lightest option that met all our needs. We used the knife for cutting cheese and summer sausage and opening packets of food. We used the scissors to cut moleskin and our fingernails. It also comes with tweezers in case we had a difficult time removing ticks, though we always were able to just use our fingers. Nepsis didn't really like the way the scissors cut nails so she purchased some nail-clippers while we were on the Trail.
Yurbuds Inspire Female In-Ear Sport Headphones
I usually use big headphones at home, especially since ear buds always seem to fall out of my ears. However, these sport ear buds have little rubber attachments that help keep them in your ears. They worked pretty good except the rubber attachments would often fall off when hey were stowed away so I'd often have to put them back on when I wanted to use them again.
Black Diamond Spot Headlamp
I bought this a long time ago for biking in the city at night and decided to save some money by bringing it. I'm sure there are lighter models, but I can't see how much lighter they could get. I forgot to put new batteries in before we left on our journey, but still they lasted almost all the way to the finish. Ultimately, we did have to replace them in New Hampshire. We didn't do too much night hiking, but when we did, we were surprised by how much natural light there was. There were a couple times, however, when it was very dark and the headlamp was very much needed to light the way. If we did any more night hiking it would have been nice to have headlamps for both of us since it is difficult to just hike behind someone with a headlamp even if they are turning around every few steps to help you out.
Microfiber Towel (x2)
We stored one of these extremely light towels in our pot to wipe it down after we cleaned it after every meal. The other towel we didn't use as much as I thought we would. If our tent was wet we'd let it air-dry when it wasn't raining. Most of the hostels had towels. We did use the second towel when we bathed in places without towels and on a couple of days when we hiked in the rain into the darkness and it was too cold to let ourselves air-dry.
IDs/Debit Card w/ Waterproof Bag
Again, I don't quite understand why anyone would spend money on a sack or a waterproof wallet when Ziploc bags are extremely cheap and waterproof. In the Marine Corps we would always use the little plastic beverage bag that comes with every MRE.
Pen (x3)
If you lose any, you can probably find another one in town. Once I was so desperate for a pen in Damascus that I asked Food City's manger if I could have one and she gave me a real fancy one. Also, don't ever steal the trail register pen!
Backpacks
Arrowhead 8.0 Backpack
This cheap, used, Walmart backpack held up surprisingly well. We knew it wouldn't last the entire trip, but it was light and we already owned it. The one problem with it was that the side pockets did not stretch so it was difficult to remove and replace water bottles. Eventually, the cheap fabric and stitching started breaking in various places and Nepsis finally purchased a new backpack in Daleville, VA. Still, it lasted quite long for what it was worth.
Golite Jam 50L Pack
I absolutely loved this backpack. It is the best backpack I've ever owned. It was very comfortable, but I've heard from other thruhikers that it wasn't comfortable for them. I believe this is because I carried mostly between 15-25 lbs of gear inside during the entire hike. It is designed for lighter loads and so if you have too much weight it can get quite uncomfortable. The pack is very simple and light. I love that it doesn't have a top pouch that always seemed to knock around and scratch my neck on all my other backpacks. It does have a pouch on the front which is perfect for small items and items that need to be removed often, like a guide book. Another great feature was the small pockets on the hip-belt which was perfect for our camera-phone and a small notebook with pen. The side pockets were stretchy, but firm and held two water bottles on each side well. The fabric held up well with no visible tearing anywhere. One of the side pockets did snag a tear on a thick branch toward the end of the hike, but it still worked. I think this is the best backpack for someone like me, who isn't carrying very much weight and appreciates simplicity and functionality.
Compactor or Contractor Bags
We bought compactor bags to use as backpack liners to keep our gear dry which was very cheap and effective. Actually, our compactor bags got holes in them pretty quickly, but we replaced them with contractor bags we found in a hiker box at the Blueberry Patch Hostel in Georgia and these bags lasted us a long time. The contractor bags seems to be a bit thicker and strong than the compactor bags, but I haven't actually compared the two side-by-side. However, our contractor bags never got holes in them. We replaced them twice during our entire hike and that was only because we found new ones in hiker boxes and decided just to replace them because of the dirt and leaves and other grime that can collect in them over the course of a thruhike. The most effective way to keep your gear dry with a contractor bag is to twist off the end before shutting your pack. Even in the most torrential rains that lasted hours, our gear always stayed perfectly dry using contractor bags. If you can't find contractor bags in the trash bag section or your store, you may find them with the hardware.
Gear Purchased on the Trail
Gregory Fury 40 Small
Nepsis bought this small backpack in Daleville, VA but it was plenty big at that point without all of our winter gear.
Mountainsmith Pyrite 7075 (not pictured)
When we first stepped out on the Trail we did not have trekking poles. We had never used them before and though I had read in many places they were extremely helpful, we decided not to buy them to save some money. We always knew we could buy them on the Trail if we felt like we should. I don't remember seeing a single thruhiker without trekking poles. One hiker had some sticks and promptly bought a pair of trekking poles at Neel Gap. As we started the long descent into the NOC in North Carolina, Nepsis' knees were absolutely killing her. We knew trekking poles would help and we just bought the cheapest pair there which were these Mountainsmith poles. They performed their function. Nepsis' knees instantly felt better and never hurt like that again. I was a bit skeptical if trekking poles would really be necessary for someone like me who didn't ever have any ankle or knee problems. Still, when we weren't making a descent, I used one pole and Nepsis the other. I noticed it did make it a bit easier to hike. As I hiked with the pole I thought that I'd write in this review that I couldn't fully recommend that everyone should get trekking poles. But then I got to Rocksylvania. The trekking pole saved me from many nasty falls and I began to see how essential hiking poles are even if you only use one. I would definitely recommend all thruhikers to buy trekking poles, but definitely not a cheap pair like these. Since you're using them all day everyday it is essential to obtain a pair of trekking poles that are well-built and can last that long. In Pennsylvania one of our poles got stuck so that it could not collapse which isn't terrible, but annoying. The other pole, though, broke beyond repair. The entire handle came off and we saw that it was just glued to the pole. Using it so much worked it loose. Fortunate for us, the next day we found another pole someone had discarded in a hiker box because one of the parts that could extend was also stuck at a certain length. I used this one until we finally bought a nice pair.
Leki Thermolite Antishock Trekking Poles
These trekking poles were definitely expensive, but definitely worth it. They are so light, but so sturdy and I could feel the difference when holding these right away. They felt great, the handle is sturdy, and instead of twisting-locks they have lever-lock mechanism which work a lot better. Trekking poles are a real lifesaver so make sure you buy a nice pair. I prefer just using one, but most people go with the pair.
Sleeping Gear
ZPacks 20 Degree 900 Fill Power Down Twin Size Quilt
A great way to save on weight and spend a lot of money at the same time is to buy a ZPacks sleeping quilt. It is super light and since our main goal was to reduce pack weight as much as possible, this was a great buy. Weight was cut down even further because we got the twin size quilt which only makes sense to buy if you are hiking as a couple. It worked well because we could also share body heat. It was super warm, but on some of the coldest nights we did have to wear all our clothes to cut the rest of the cold out. We also, depending on how we were positioned for the night, couldn't always fit the quilt snugly and warmly around us. We are both 5'6'' so we thought the medium size quilt at 5'8'' would work, but it probably would have been better to get an even larger size just so we fit a little better. Unlike most people, we did not swap out our winter bag for a summer bag. It was nice to not spend more money on another bag and deal with having it sent to us. Since this is a quilt there is a lot more room to open it up and let cool air flow in. There were only a few mornings we woke up drenched in sweat because of the heat, but this never impaired our ability to sleep since our bodies were so tired each night from hiking all day long.
Therm-a-rest Neoair Xlite Air Mattress
I really loved these because they were light, very packable, very warm, and supportive. Honestly, to me it was like sleeping on a regular mattress. Somehow before we even left for the Trail one of them got a small hole, but it was easily fixed with one of the patches they come with for such repairs. Other than that, we never had to make any other additional repairs during the entire hike. They only take a minute or two to blow up, which was never a problem. The only downside was that they make noise when you turn on them, however, sleepers on the Trail are used to noises and are extremely tired so I don't think anyone ever couldn't sleep because of the noise.
Stick on Loops with Elastic Straps from ZPacks (not pictured)
These are only necessary for couples who are sharing a quilt like we were. The sleeping pads/air mattresses will not stay together during the night when sharing a quilt. They will slide far apart so something is needed to hold them together. We got these loops connected to an adhesive strip to do the job. They didn't work though. They didn't keep the pads cinched tight together so they still slipped apart some every night and the adhesive started to peel off only after a couple of weeks on the Trail. In Virginia one of the loops peeled completely off rendering the entire system useless. These simply did not work, but ZPacks also has a velcro solution that might work better.
Therm-a-rest Universal Couple Kit (not pictured)
Fortunately, we found this solution for connecting our pads at the outfitter in Daleville, VA. These worked very well since they are basically just two long straps that could wrap around both sleeping pads easily. The sleeping pads still did slide apart a little some nights though.
Hilleberg Anjan 2 Tent
This is a solid two-person tent. There are many other lighter options, especially if you only need a one-person tent or want to use trekking poles to hold up one's tent. However, we didn't begin our hike with trekking poles. The best characteristics of this tent for us was that it was simple to set up, stood strong, and was very warm. It did great at keeping cold and wind out and we used the tent more often at the beginning of our hike when it was colder to keep us warm. Some nice small features of the tent is a line across the top where one can hang wet clothes, a couple of pockets for various sundries, and the inside of it is yellow which is a nice, cozy color for one's little home away from home. The tent withstood rain quite well, though some splash-back should be expected especially if the tent is set up where rainwater flows as it builds up. Of course, sleeping on sleeping pads effectively places the sleepers inside out of reach of any water that may get in. Perhaps the biggest letdown of the tent was the terrible condensation that formed inside the tent during the night when the humidity was high. Most days the tent was dry, but toward the end of summer in the northern states the condensation was quite bad. I understand every tent has issues with this, but this tent has two layers (it basically is a tent inside a tent) that is supposed to prevent this from happening. the condensation didn't ever fall on us, but it soaked the tent so when we packed it up wet we had to carry it heavier. All in all, we were happy with this tent and it definitely served its purpose as a three-season tent, keeping us warm and dry.
Clothes
Cabela's E.C.W.C.S. Watch Cap
This hat kept my head warm on many a cold hike and while sleeping in cold conditions. As I hiked it would get to hot and so I'd pop it off until we stopped for a break or at the shelter at the end of the day. My wife had a balaclava and a hat like this, but she never used her hat so if you are bringing a balaclava you probably don't need a hat. I sent my hat home after the first several cold weeks and never felt like I needed it again.
Bandana
I barely used this so I sent it home and never missed it. Some people like them though and it is almost weightless so not such a big deal.
Columbia Cool Creek Long-sleeve Crew Shirt
I loved this shirt because it kept me warm, but also wasn't too warm when I used it on cooler evenings in the summer months. Probably my favorite thing about this shirt was thumbholes in the sleeves to keep the sleeves from bunching down under my jacket.
C9 by Champion Men's Ventilating Pieced Tee
I brought this shirt to wear around camp and it was especially useful to wear in town when my hiking shirt was getting laundered. Unfortunately, I accidentally forgot it in a hotel room after a couple of months. Since I am so frugal I never bought a replacement and wore my down jacket or long-sleeve when laundering my hiking shirt which was bearable, but hot in the summer months while walking around trail towns.
Asics Favorite Short Sleeve
This shirt was perfect for hiking. It was a nice bright color, light, and apparently didn't smell as bad as some other shirts do, though I cannot conform this myself since all thruhikers noses adapt to the hiker stench pretty quickly.
Taramar Men's Military Fleece 3.0 Long Sleeve Crew Shirt
This was great for the colder months, especially when at a shelter and sleeping in the frigid air. Some nights we wore every piece of clothing to keep warm and it seemed to be just enough to keep the cold out. This certainly helped a lot in the first months, but sent it home after that and never felt like I needed it after. In the Whites, the down jacket was enough to keep us warm.
Montbell Frost Smoke Down Parka
This parka was great for being so light. It is very warm and always kept out the cold for us. The hood was great for keeping the ole' noggin warm and the jacket also had velcro straps to cinch off the wrists and cinch cords in the pockets to cinch off the waist. We never sent these jackets home and after it got warm we used them as pillows since they come with their own stuff sack. I only used it twice after the first few weeks up in southern Maine when it got quite cold. We also used these jackets to survive a Michigan winter before our hike and we are still using them as our main winter jackets. This is simply a wonderful piece of gear.
Craft Performance Run Shorts
These shorts were basically my underwear during winter and my underwear and shorts when it warmed up. They have a mesh inner lining that take over the function of underwear so that I didn't have to bring underwear which, of course, helped save on weight, cost and created more room in the backpack. I never wished I had any underwear because of these fantastic shorts. They were stretchy so that my weight loss over the course of the five-month journey didn't make them fit any less. Though they were a bit tight on me at the beginning.
The North Face Paramount Peak Convertible Pants
These pants had everything I was looking for. First, I wanted them to be convertible so I had an extra pair of shorts for the summer. The zippers are color-coded so you know which leg goes on what side. Secondly, I wanted a built-in belt so I could adjust the size as I lost weight. This was extremely helpful so I didn't have to have an additional belt. The built-in built works well and is very light. The unbuckle button is a little sensitive so sometimes the belt would accidentally come undone while hiking which isn't that bad of a problem. There are plenty of pockets. They were durable and lasted the entire hike with some noticeable wear on one of the knees.
Glide Series Baselayer Bottoms
I have owned these for many years and they've always kept me warm. Again, I mostly used them in the first few weeks at shelters and while sleeping. I sent them home after the cold was completely gone.
Grand Sierra Micro-Fleece Convertible Mittens
Although I only used these a few times, I was very glad I had these when I did. A couple of other thruhikers lamented not having mittens like us because mittens are simply warmer than gloves no matter how fancy the gloves are. These mittens are convertible for when we needed to use our fingers like when setting up our tent and they were pretty cheap too. I bought a pair of expensive fancy gloves at an outfitter, but my wife talked me into returning them. I'm very glad she did. Not only did these work better for a fraction of the cost, but I only needed to use them the first few weeks of the journey so they weren't terribly important. These we sent back home in Virginia and never needed them again.
Kelty Adult Rain Poncho
I was a bit nervous about using these since I've only used rain jackets and rain pants before, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well they worked. This poncho is not a cheap Walmart poncho. It is more expensive and more durable than those. Now, there are several pros and cons of using either a poncho or a rain jacket, but I think we made the right choice. The poncho could go over our backpack giving the backpack and our gear more protection from the rain. The ponchos were also way more breathable and we heard a lot of thruhikers complaining about being drenched in sweat in their rain suits. Of course, either way one should be prepared to get wet. Nothing can protect you perfectly. The only real problem we faced with our ponchos was when it was real windy in the White Mountains. On Mt. Moosilauke it was so bad that my poncho almost flew right off of me. However,my wife figured out that we could tie the corners together and the wind no longer blew them around. These ponchos packed down so small that we could put them in Nepsis' top pouch so we could quickly grab them when it began to rain.
Foam Clogs
These are great for wearing around camp. The first thing I did after arriving at a shelter or setting up my tent was take off my shoes and socks (when it was warm) and put on my clogs. After hiking all day, my feet needed to breathe, especially those times when I had to hike in soggy shoes and socks for four days straight my feet got all white and wrinkly. Foam clogs work great because they are so cheap and so light. They also work well for river crossings up in Maine. I loved my pink foam clogs! I used them every day.
The North Face Hedgehog III GTX XCR Hiking Shoes
I loved these shoes. They wore a little warm, but that was perfectly fine with me. Otherwise, they were as waterproof as can be expected and very durable. I started wearing them regularly for a couple of months before we even started thruhiking and they lasted all the way up to New York. With these shoes I never experienced any feet or ankle problems. They were also pretty light which is great because carrying extra weight on your feet can really slow you down. I highly recommend these shoes.
Smartwool Hike Medium Crew Socks (x2) and Gander Mountain Medium Weight Merino Wool Hiking Socks
It was good to have three pairs of socks at the beginning because it was cold enough to wear socks around camp. One of these pairs was designated camp socks, but after it warmed up I no longer needed them so I sent them home. Two pairs worked well for me. I always made sure one of the pairs was dry so if it was going to be another rainy day I'd slip on the wet pair in the morning. When the sun was out I'd hang the wet socks on my backpack so they'd dry during the day. This system seemed to work well enough. I only ever had to swap out socks once when one pair was developing holes in Massachusetts. Thankfully, Nepsis' father and brother were visiting us around then so they just brought me another pair I had. Otherwise, all the outfitters will have hiking socks. We used medium weight wool socks the entire way and never felt they were too hot. They worked best to protect the feet from all the hiking.
Cooking Gear
Evernew Titanium Non-stick Pot w/ Handle 1.3 L
The best thing about titanium is it is so darn light. One drawback is that food can stick so make sure you stir your oatmeal! Its size was just about perfect for being able to cook for two people at one time. If, however, we wanted to cook a big meal it wasn't big enough. We'd have to do two wounds of cooking which was only a handful of times. Cleaning it was easy using water an leaves to scrub it down.
Evernew Titanium Cup- 400 FD
We brought this cup for tea, but making tea wasn't quite worth the effort for us after a long day. We used it a few times, but ultimately sent it home as soon as we could. Others would make tea or coffee every day though, so it could be useful for those who can't part from their favorite hot beverage for a few months.
Bottle of Denatured Alcohol w/ Duct Tape
Denatured alcohol worked very well with our stove and we never had a problem finding any for resupply. All the outfitters carry it and sell it by the ounce and in a pinch one can find it in a hardware store. The stove we used didn't take a whole to cook a meal though and we really only had to refill our bottle once every few weeks. Our one mistake though, was putting it in a thin plastic water bottle to begin with. Somehow on one of our first few days out on the Trail it cracked and got all over our gear. Thankfully, we had just received trail magic earlier that day and had a small, empty Gatorade bottle with us we could transfer the alcohol into that. The Gatorade bottle, which much thicker plastic, lasted the rest of the trip, but we kept it in a side pocket from then on anyway just in case. The duct tape we used only a couple of times for unnecessary uses, but it was still good to have in case we needed it.
MSR 4L Dromlite Bag
This water reservoir was completely unnecessary. We never needed to carry more than our two 1-liter bottles each. Water is plentiful on the Appalachian Trail. It might be necessary on the Pacific Crest Trail to carry so much water in some sections, but definitely not on the AT.
Aluminum Foil Windscreen
This homemade wind screen worked well to keep out most wind and allow our stove to do its work effectively. It got pretty beat up over the course of the journey, but we never replaced it even though it would have been easy enough.
Binder Clips
These helped to attach the ends of the windscreen when wrapped around our pot and stove, and added some height to the windscreen allowing more oxygen to get to the flames. They weren't completely necessary so it was no loss when we misplaced one and then another over the course of our trek.
Fancy Feast DIY Alcohol Stove
This stove worked very well for our preferences. It was obviously extremely cheap and easy to make. You can't adjust how hot the flame burns so you can't cook anything too complicated, but we never needed to cook anything like that on the Trail. It did its job: it cooked ramen, rice and pasta sides, and oatmeal in a few minutes.
Bic Mini Lighter
This worked as well as can be expected. It's the smallest/lightest lighter out there and it lasted the entire trip for us.
Snow Peak Titanium Spork
This also served its perfect as well as can be expected. It was light and functional.
MRE Plastic Spoon
This spoon lasted for quite awhile before breaking. We kept replacing it with other free plastic spoons from other fine eateries and grocery stores, but none lasted very long until the one, I think, from Kroger. That was a good spoon and lasted the rest of the trip.
Aquamira Chlorine Dioxide Water Treatment Drops
Honestly, we used this at most five times during our entire trip. We always picked out the best water spots we could find and drank the water without treating it. If the only water available was questionable, we treated it. We never got giardia. These drops are the lightest option, I believe, that actually kills all the little things that could be in water. Filters, which were a popular water treatment choice, don't get rid of everything, but give people a peace of mind anyway, I suppose. These drops could get a little expensive if you do plan on treating all your water and have to keep buying it.
Gatorade Bottles (x4)
I never understood why anyone would bring their own reusable bottle on the Trail since it probably weighs more and costs more than Gatorade or Powerade bottles. We each carried two which was quite enough for us. After awhile the lips and necks of the bottles can get a little funky, but when they did we just bought ourselves a little treat of Gatorade or Powerade!
50' Tan 550 Paracord
We brought this in case we ever wanted to hang a bear bag, but we didn't use it a single time. In Georgia and in the Smokies there are cables so you can hang your food and we sometimes utilized those, but we really didn't worry about bears. The only real threat we ever encountered was mice so we always hung our food up in the shelter when we slept in them.
Plastic Bag
This we used for our food. Again, I never understood why anyone would purchase a sack, but most do. We used plastic grocery bags to keep our food stored together and easily accessible and when we hing them we tied the handles in a not, protecting the food inside from any invaders and from rain. We never had anything get into our food during the night. And every time we were in town we could replace our bags for free!
Ziploc Bag
Ziplocs are the ultimate trash can on the Trail. We used so many, but never found ourselves buying any. We kept reusing ours until we found more in hiker boxes which was frequently. We also used Ziplocs to store other food we bought more easily like pretzels or cookies. Ziplocs were never so handy as on the Trail!
Toiletries and Medical Aid Kit
MRE Toilet Paper Pack
We just used these to begin with because we had them. Otherwise, we just took some from public establishments when we were in town. We kept it in a Ziploc bag so that we could store it in our side pockets so we could access it quickly and easily.
Shortened Colgate Toothbrush
Every ounce counts, right? Cutting off half the handle of the toothbrush didn't make it any more difficult to brush our teeth.
2 Fl. Oz. Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap
This was the perfect all-purpose soap we could use as toothpaste, shampoo, and body soap. This small body was plenty; we barely used any of it. One or two drops is enough for each brushing and we barely used it to wash ourselves. Most hostels have soap and shampoo so we only needed it at the few shelters that had showers and for bathing in ponds up in Maine.
Vaseline Lip Therapy
I don't ever get chapped lips, but Nepsis used this a lot. This kind is great because it doesn't have a flavorful aroma to attract mice. We heard a story of some thruhiker who used grape-flavored lip balm and woke up one night in a shelter to a mouse gnawing on her lips. True or not, it's a truly frightening image. Also, since it is Vaseline, it also helped a few times with some chafing issues.
Up & Up Dental Floss
Great for oral hygiene and as thread for fixing any garment issues! Of course, don't be like us, and make sure you bring a needle with an eye the floss can actually fit through.
50 Multivitamin/Multimineral Dietary Supplements each
We're not sure how helpful these were, but I suppose they're better to take than not. Of course we ran out about halfway through our hike and never got any more.
Needle (x2)
Our needles were too small, but we ended up finding thread for the few times Nepsis repaired her old backpack before buying her new one.
Nepsis' Retainers (not pictured)
You gotta bring what you gotta bring! Since this item was fragile they got crushed a bit before realizing we could keep them safe by always carrying them in our pot. When we brought fruit with us we would also keep them in the pot to preserve them.
Medical Aid Kit
Up & Up Bandaids
We only took a few with us and Nepsis used them to help secure moleskin over hot spots on her toes to prevent blisters from forming.
Mucinex Fast-Max Tablets
Again, we only took a few, but we never used any of these. If we ever felt like we needed any more medicine we could just buy it in town. If we were to hike again I wouldn't bring any allergy medicine.
Ibuprofen
Some thruhikers pop these like candy, but we wanted to be able to feel any pain so we could take measures to solve the problem, not just get rid of the pain. However, Nepsis did take these when she got the norovirus (as almost every thruhiker does) and was in so much pain she could not sleep. Otherwise, we didn't use these.
Equate Antidiarrheal
Nepsis didn't end up having diarrhea when she had the norovirus, but I sure did! Good times! Fortunately though, both Nepsis and I were both in trail towns when we contracted the infamous virus. However, I was anxious to get back on the Trail and the first two days after I got better, I still had this symptom. At one point, I had to dash into the woods as fast as I could as a family of dayhikers approached from a ways down the Trail. I wasn't completely unseen from the path, but I couldn't take another step and pulled down my shorts just in time for the liquid explosion. Thankfully, I finished before the family got too near, but after about five minutes I had to dash into the woods again. That's when I was very glad I had this antidiarrheal medicine and it worked like magic instantly. They were a real life saver.
Razor Head
Nepsis' found the razor head to be quite enough for the few times she wanted to clean up a bit while in town.
Antiseptic Spray
We used this on all the little scrapes and cuts we endured in the harsh environment of the Trail.
Diva Cup
My wife already used this anyway, but if you don't it is especially useful on the Trail. I won't go into the details, but if you're a woman who doesn't want to have to deal with pads and tampons on the Trail look into this alternative method of care.
Dr. Scholl's Molefoam
Molefoam was WAY too thick for us to ever use and we got rid of it as quickly as possible. Mole skin was the way to go.
Moleskin
I never had to use this, but Nepsis did on occasion when hot spots appeared on her feet, especially after walking several days in wet socks and shoes because of consistent, heavy rain. Using moleskin as soon as any spot on her feet began to feel pain ensured that no blister ever formed. Luckily, Nepsis and I never got a single blister on the Trail. I wish you the same fortune.
Up & Up Wipes
We bought a small pack of wipes once every month when Nepsis needed to use and clean her diva cup. Wipes were also helpful to use when TP just wasn't cutting it. We also sometimes used wet wipes to take quick Trail showers.
Miscellaneous/Luxury Items
Pipe and Tobacco
I wished I used my luxury item more than I did, but once it was warm we often hiked from sun-up to sun-down and went to sleep very soon after setting up our sleeping gear, cooking, and eating. The few times I did use this it was difficult to light since I needed to use matches and it was hard to find a spot where the wind was blocked. I sent this home with our winter gear.
The A.T. Guide
This is simply the best! Despite trying to cut weight I did not divide up my guide into sections as many do. I wanted to keep it all together as a memento, but we used it so much the cover fell off anyway. The Ziploc it comes with is great too, but we did have to replace it at one point.
Phone Chargers
We brought a really short cord for our Smartphone which I do not recommend. We saved very little weight that way and on many, many occasions it would have been nice to both charge the phone and charge it at the same time.
Samsung Captivate Glide
This Smartphone worked great as a camera, taking awesome photos without the extra weight of another actual camera. At first I didn't use it too much for anything else, but to listen to music from time time. A little later though I listened to podcasts a lot on it while hiking. Also, it was great to have to access the Internet in towns. Most of the hostels have Wifi.
Tracfone
This phone got reception most of the time and it was handy to have a phone that just made calls so we always had it charged it we needed it. Some places we couldn't get reception, but never at any real critical point.
Watch
I didn't really want to bring this and I never wore it. I kept it in my hip-belt pocket and probably looked at it way too much. However, it was useful to know the time to gauge how fast we could hike and how many hours we had until sundown. Also, it was good to be able to use the little alarm on days we wanted an early start.
Bible
We didn't read this as much as we should have, but worth the weight if you're a reader. You can find a lot of light Bible actually.
Pocket Notebook
It was good to have a notebook small enough to fit in one of hip-belt pockets. That way, we could jot down anything on a whim.
Journal
At the beginning I wrote in this a lot, but then did most of my writing on this blog when we were in town. The smaller notebook was sufficient for my on Trail writing so I sent this home.
Victorinox Swiss Army Classic SD Knife
This is the smallest/lightest option that met all our needs. We used the knife for cutting cheese and summer sausage and opening packets of food. We used the scissors to cut moleskin and our fingernails. It also comes with tweezers in case we had a difficult time removing ticks, though we always were able to just use our fingers. Nepsis didn't really like the way the scissors cut nails so she purchased some nail-clippers while we were on the Trail.
Yurbuds Inspire Female In-Ear Sport Headphones
I usually use big headphones at home, especially since ear buds always seem to fall out of my ears. However, these sport ear buds have little rubber attachments that help keep them in your ears. They worked pretty good except the rubber attachments would often fall off when hey were stowed away so I'd often have to put them back on when I wanted to use them again.
Black Diamond Spot Headlamp
I bought this a long time ago for biking in the city at night and decided to save some money by bringing it. I'm sure there are lighter models, but I can't see how much lighter they could get. I forgot to put new batteries in before we left on our journey, but still they lasted almost all the way to the finish. Ultimately, we did have to replace them in New Hampshire. We didn't do too much night hiking, but when we did, we were surprised by how much natural light there was. There were a couple times, however, when it was very dark and the headlamp was very much needed to light the way. If we did any more night hiking it would have been nice to have headlamps for both of us since it is difficult to just hike behind someone with a headlamp even if they are turning around every few steps to help you out.
Microfiber Towel (x2)
We stored one of these extremely light towels in our pot to wipe it down after we cleaned it after every meal. The other towel we didn't use as much as I thought we would. If our tent was wet we'd let it air-dry when it wasn't raining. Most of the hostels had towels. We did use the second towel when we bathed in places without towels and on a couple of days when we hiked in the rain into the darkness and it was too cold to let ourselves air-dry.
IDs/Debit Card w/ Waterproof Bag
Again, I don't quite understand why anyone would spend money on a sack or a waterproof wallet when Ziploc bags are extremely cheap and waterproof. In the Marine Corps we would always use the little plastic beverage bag that comes with every MRE.
Pen (x3)
If you lose any, you can probably find another one in town. Once I was so desperate for a pen in Damascus that I asked Food City's manger if I could have one and she gave me a real fancy one. Also, don't ever steal the trail register pen!
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