{"id":36,"date":"2016-03-03T23:35:27","date_gmt":"2016-03-04T07:35:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.calumjohnson.org\/?p=36"},"modified":"2016-03-03T23:58:12","modified_gmt":"2016-03-04T07:58:12","slug":"the-gear-i-will-take","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.calumjohnson.org\/?p=36","title":{"rendered":"The Gear I Will Take"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some people have asked me what kind of things I will be taking with me on my thru-hike, so I thought I’d make this to\u00a0show you all.<\/p>\n

First I’ll start with my clothing.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0939\"<\/p>\n

On the top I have my base\u00a0layers, both merino wool, two pairs of synthetic underwear, camp socks, two pairs of hiking socks, gloves, and a beanie. Both of my merino base layers will be what I sleep in, and I will also use them to keep warm on the colder days. Next on the left is my outerwear. I’ll have both a down jacket and a lightweight fleece, as well as a rain jacket and rain pants. I may send one of the thermal layers\u00a0back once it gets hotter, but I’m expecting lots of cold weather in March. There is also a lightweight long sleeve shirt that I find very nice to keep the sun and ticks off me. Then, to the right there are my two synthetic shirts, my hat, some synthetic hiking pants, and some lightweight shorts.<\/p>\n

Next is my sleep system.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0883\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Because it is so wet on the AT, I will be using a dry down sleeping bag. Hopefully I won’t have to put its hydrophobic properties to the test, but it is a last resort. This bag is rated down to 20 degrees and my thermarest has an R value of 5.7 (the measure of thermal resistance) I think I will be plenty warm with this.\u00a0I opted for the Neoair Xtherm rather than my foam pad\u00a0just to get the extra comfort and warmth, and it wasn’t too many more ounces. There’s also an inflatable pillow. I’ve never used one before, but I wanted to be as comfortable as possible and it’s pretty small.<\/p>\n

And this is what my home will be for the next 6 months!<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0940\"<\/p>\n

I know it’s not very impressive, but it’s a nice light tent. I’m not at the point where I can go with just a tarp, there’s just something about having a piece of mesh between me in the bugs, even if it is a tad more heavy. That being said, this is a very lightweight tent. It’s a Tarptent Notch, and weighs in at just\u00a027 ounces. Most of the weight is saved due to the fact that it doesn’t have any poles. I use trekking poles to pitch it. Here it is setup:<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1032\"<\/p>\n

Probably the most common question people have is how I’m going to get all of my food. Unlike the PCT or CDT, the AT doesn’t require prepared food drops. I’ll be stoping at different stores along the way that are either in towns that the AT goes through or ones that I can hitchhike to nearby. Here’s where my food goes:\u00a0\"DSC_0945\"<\/p>\n

I’ve opted to hang my food the whole time. This both saves weight and precious space\u00a0in my pack, but that’s where the advantages end. It’s not resistant to any animal that would really want to get in it, so that’s why I have rope and carabiner, to hang it up.<\/p>\n

Next is my kitchen<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0943\"<\/p>\n

There are people who don’t even bring a stove on the AT, but that just wasn’t an option for me. I’m the type of person who needs at least one warm meal per day. I’ll be using the MSR Microrocket, a canister stove. My pot is the perfect size for\u00a0one person, and I’ve got my coffee mug, also very important. Other than that, I’ll have\u00a0a small sponge, some camp suds, some lighters, and my trusty spoon. It might be surprising, but all of this\u00a0minus the fuel canister fits\u00a0inside the pot!<\/p>\n

Next up, water purification.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0952\"<\/p>\n

I’ll be using the Sawyer Squeeze for most of my filtering. The purification tablets on the left are handy if I need to purify lots of water and don’t need it soon, like at\u00a0camp. The syringe is for backlashing the filter, and on the right is my reservoir for water sources. I’ll be drinking out of Smartwater bottles, a thru hiker staple apparently. They’re just lighter than a Nalgene bottle, also they have the same thread as the Sawyer Squeeze.<\/p>\n

Here’s some of the other things I’m bringing:<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0882\"<\/p>\n

There’s my knife, an emergency blanket, my sunnies, a journal and pencil, a compass, my wallet, and last but by far not least, my guidebook. Without that thing I’d be dead in the water. In case something does happen, I do have a PDF copy on my phone. One thing I forgot to include in this photo was my pack cover,\u00a0it should get some good use.<\/p>\n

In case you’re interested, here’s my toiletries:<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0950\"<\/p>\n

I have lots of blister treatments, hopefully I’ll never have to use them. Other than the obvious things there’s a tick remover key, ear plugs, a camp towel, sunscreen and bug repellent, and my drugs. I’ll be bringing ibuprofen, Benadryl, and 10 Doxycycline (take two after a tick bight to avoid a case of Lyme Disease). I wouldn’t normally bring\u00a0Doxycycline, but after looking at\u00a0a map of Lyme Disease prevalence in the US (which overlaps the AT), I thought it would be a good idea to ask my doctor, he was onboard.<\/p>\n

Here’s all of the electronics I’ll bring:<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0880\"<\/p>\n

Here you have my phone, a nook, charging cables, a 5200 mAh battery, all my cables, a headlamp, and some headphones. I don’t plan on listening to any music on the trail, but it can be a good mood booster when rain is pouring down your tent. Don’t ask about the sim card, it’s a long story. My phone is going to serve as a camera as well as my way to blog, so sorry if the quality diminishes once I start.<\/p>\n

And finally, the whole ensemble:<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0948\"<\/p>\n

Everything fits sparing hardly any\u00a0room inside a \u00dcla Circuit. This is a great backpack and I’m really happy with it so far, it should be a comfy ride. For shoes I’m using Brooks Cascadia 11’s, trail runners. These won’t make it close to finishing the whole trail, but will get me a good ways there. Also, I don’t think I ever mentioned it, but those crocs are my camp shoes. And lastly, my trekking poles.\u00a0They are Komperdells and have lasted me a while so\u00a0far, overall a good pair.<\/p>\n

So that’s just about it then. If you have any other kinds of questions feel free to leave a reply.<\/p>\n

-Orion<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some people have asked me what kind of things I will be taking with me on my thru-hike, so I thought I’d make this to\u00a0show you all. First I’ll start with my clothing. On the top I have my base\u00a0layers, both merino wool, two pairs of synthetic underwear, camp socks, two pairs of hiking socks, … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “The Gear I Will Take”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.calumjohnson.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.calumjohnson.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.calumjohnson.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.calumjohnson.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.calumjohnson.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.calumjohnson.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68,"href":"https:\/\/www.calumjohnson.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36\/revisions\/68"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.calumjohnson.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.calumjohnson.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.calumjohnson.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}