Gear List

Kindle. Thanks Laura!

My laptops. Going north I used an Asus Eee PC 901 netbook computer. Going south I used an 11" Macbook air (the full keyboard was nice compared to the Asus). I didn’t use either much on the trail, but it was nice to have whenever I got to town. Both weighed about 2 pounds.

Darn Tough socks. The SmartWool socks I started with didn’t last very long. Never had an issue with Darn Tough. I finally wore out both pairs of Darn Tough on my southbound hike, and had them both replaced for free with no hassle under Darn Tough’s warranty by an outfitter in Franklin, NC.

Pocketrocket Stove. Small, light, easy, works.

The Outdoor Research ‘Backcountry Organizer’ that Sarah gave me. I kept everything important in it: credit card, passport, Kindle, trail guide, notebook and pens, iPod…

The Outdoor Research dry bag Sarah gave me. I kept my computer stuff in it until I outgrew the too-small food bag I started with; at that point this took over as the official food bag and I bought a cheap and heavy but very waterproof bag at Wal-Mart for my electronics.

My Mountain Hardware backpack rain cover.

Mammut headlamp (used for my northbound hike)

Leatherman Style CS Multitool - Basically a lightweight pair of scissors with a small blade and tweezers. After I lost my second pair, I replaced it with the Leatherman Micra, which is a bit heavier, but the scissors feel sturdier and I like it even better.

3-liter Platypus hydration system. I also had a 0.5-liter bottle. Platypus water bottles are light and durable (I also started with a 1-liter Nalgene ‘Canteen’ which started leaking the first day on the trail). I like the hydration system, where you can drink through a hose while walking, but in later hikes I have reverted to using the much less expensive and in some ways more convenient solution of two Powerade bottles.

My Crocs. I walked the entire northern half (about 1,200 miles) in a single pair of brown holey Crocs. I also walked the southern half (~1,000 miles) in Crocs, but I started in a used pair and the left one developed a hole in the heel. Luckily I was able to replace it with a discarded left Croc I found on the side of the trail.

My blue Macabi skirt. I walked almost every day in it during my northbound trek (except for two days on the Presidential Ridge in New Hampshire because it was so windy that my skirt kept getting itself confused with a parasail). I would have liked it better if I got a medium instead of a large and if I got a lighter color so I could spot ticks on it.

My nylon zip-off pants from REI which I hiked my entire southbound trek in.

Mountain hardware pull-over fleece. It was never cold enough to hike in it, but I put it on at night (and sometimes slept in it). Comfortable and warm.

Mountain Hardware rain jacket. Impressively breathable while keeping water out — though my running shirt and skirt both dried out so fast that I usually didn’t bother putting this on while I was hiking, even in heavy rain, unless it was very cold.

My Black Diamond Tripod Bivy tent. Small, not too heavy, mostly water proof (though not exactly condensation free on humid rainy nights). It would be nice to have room to stick my pack inside with me sometimes. Thanks Sisters!

My Black Diamond trekking poles. They got bent enough that it is now hard to un-telescope them, and a tip is broken off of one, and a rodent chewed the foam off of one side of both hand grips one night when I left them laying on the ground. But they did the job. Thanks Sarah!

REI Crestrail 70 backpack. Big enough for all my stuff, comfortable enough, good number of pockets. The right strap did break just south of Caratunk, ME, but I stitched it back and didn’t have a problem for the remaining 150 miles (or sense I got home). It now costs $50 less than when I bought it.

Lafuma X950pro sleeping bag. It’s a light and comfortable 30-degree bag (though I think I would be very cold in it at 30 degrees) with synthetic fill. Thanks Dad!

My green foam sleeping mat I got at the Army surplus store. On my southbound hike I replaced this with a yellow Therm-A-Rest Z 3/4-length foam pad. Both worked equally well, although I think I prefer the full-length pad because it does a better job of protecting my sleeping bag from the shelter floors.

Aquamira chlorine drops are easy and as far as I know are effective at treating water. Thanks Sarah (the ones you gave me lasted all the way into Maine)!

99.98% deet. (Never had to use it going south!)

Garmin Forerunner 201 GPS wristwatch. I use this for running at home, but it was fun to have on the trial too. My solar panel could charge it up pretty quickly even in indirect light. I didn’t bring this on my southbound hike, and didn’t miss it.

Timex WR50M wrist watch. I got this at a K-Mart in Front Royal, VA, because I realized I didn’t have anyway to know what time it was or how long I’d been hiking (I used my GPS as a clock in 2011). I threw away the instructions with the packaging after I bought it, and it took me forever to figure out how to set it.

Sunlinq 25W portable solar panel. This weighed 2 pounds and I couldn’t use it so much because of all the trees and the walking. But it was fun to have! It charged my Kindle very well once I started listening to audiobooks with it. I didn’t carry this with me for the southbound half of my hike.

My GoLite Poncho Tarp. I really like the idea of using a lightweigh bivy and tarp as a shelter system, but in practice the tarp takes longer to set up than a tent, weights about the same (counting a bivy/ground cloth and stakes), and offers less protection and privacy. It is very adaptable, though, and I had fun setting it up in various configurations.

My first backpack made by High Sierra. I slipped in the mud in Massachusetts (500 miles in), and the metal stays punctured through the bottom. It was too small and uncomfortable anyway, so I’m happy I replaced it with the REI pack.

My Black Diamond Gizmo Headlamp which I used on the southbound hike. Instead of having several pre-set brightness levels, the Gizmo can be continuously dimmed by holding down the button. That is nice, but it doesn’t remember the level it was set at and always starts up in the brightest setting — so every time I turned it on I had to hold the button down to dim it to a more reasonable brightness level.

My MSR Sweetwater water filter. It worked fine when it worked, but I’m lazy and don’t like pumping or cleaning the filter. And then in Maine, in the middle of nowhere, when I was out of Aquamira, the plastic plunger snapped for no apparent reason as I was filtering water. MSR repaired it for me under warranty when I got home… I broke it again on my southbound hike.

My heavy Minus 33 Merino wool long-sleeve shirt and tights. It never got that cold. I did sometimes wear these when I was washing my other clothes. That was hot and itchy. I’m glad I have these, though, it will get cold at some point in Colorado.

Hats and gloves (gave these away to Curmudgeon in NH because his Lyme antibiotics were making his hands super-sensitive to the sun). (I carried gloves again going south, and did actually use them a couple of times in the Smokey Mountains.)