JellyBean's Gear List for 2014 Thru Hike

I guess every newbie starts the trail with more than they need. It doesn’t take long for you to realize that you shouldn’t carry certain items, and maybe there are others you could simply do with out. When I started hiking my base weight was somewhere between 22-24 lbs, when I finished my base was roughly 13 lbs 8 oz. That is what my pack weighed without food & water when I left Harpers Ferry. Some of the weight loss was due to sending home my winter gear, but I also refined my luxury items(clothing & rain gear primarily) and carried pretty much just exactly what I needed. As for clean clothes and items that were only used in town. I bounced them forward through the post. This made it easy to have clean clothes in town so that I could do laundry and not have to carry their weight.

I know that you can go lighter but I didn’t want to spend any more money or sacrifice any more of my luxury items or stove. The way that I viewed it was, the lighter my pack the more food I can carry. After loosing almost 30lbs I decided I needed to up my diet. I wanted to eat good so I would carry between 12-17lbs of food. I tried to eat 4000-5000 calories every day. Food weight dwindles quickly so everyday your pack gets lighter :) I’ll write another post on the food that I carried later though I did make a video on my 3 day resupply through the 100 mile wilderness. I believe that was day 93.

Below is the gear that I ended with. I did carry a tent, pad, and pillow from Springer to Waynesboro. I really liked that set up but felt like it would be too warm for the upcoming heat. I did not carry any type of jacket or warm gear. People asked me “What happens when you get cold?” My response was “I freeze!” Luckily, I timed the sending of my winter gear home pretty good so there were only a few cold nights.

Packed Gear List

• Osprey Exos 58 (2 lbs 10 oz) – Was a little too big for my gear and I carried it without the brain so it was lighter than the listed weight.
• Sierra Designs 30* Arrow Rock Sleeping Bag (2 lbs 7 oz)
• Hennesey Hammock Explorer Ultralite Asym Zip (2 lbs 4 oz)
• Jetboil SolTI (8.6 oz) – Quite possibly my favorite piece of gear
• 3.53 fl oz Fuel Can (6.8 oz) – Lasted about 14 boils, so 2 weeks for me
• Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter (3 oz) on Smart Water Plastic Bottle
• 2L Sawyer Bag (Dirty Water for Cooking)
• 1L GSI Bladder (Clean Water for Gatorade & Electrolytes)
• 3 Sea to Summit Dry Bags – 13L for food, 13 L for sleeping bag, 8 L for specialty items
• First Aid – Vaseline, 3-5 Band Aids, Advil, 25ft Para-Cord
• Emergency Poncho (2 oz) – The cheap plastic kind
• SOL Emergency Bivvy (3.8 oz) – An under layer for cold nights in hammock
• Petzl Tikka Headlamp (3 oz)
• Ettowah Gear Rain Cover (2.4 oz)
• Oakley Flak Glasses – My first trail magic :D
• Toiletries – Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Charmin Quilted TP :), Hand Sanitizer – The weight varied a little here
• Technology – iPhone 5S, Standard iPhone Headphones, LifeProof Case, 2 USB Cables, Wall Charger with 2 USB Outs
• Bushnell Mini SolarWrap (3.1 oz)
• 1/3 of AWOL’s 2014 AT Guide Book & a Pen
• 6-8 ZipLock Bags – This was for food, toiletries, and guidebook
• Bug Spray, Bug Head Net – Carried when needed

Clothing & Accessories

• Leki Cristallo Speed Lock Trekking Poles – These are an essential piece of gear. You will fall, but you will fall a lot more without them.
• Terramar Body-Sensors T-Shirt – I loved this shirt, it dried so fast
• Outdoor Research Equinox Short – Lots of pockets and fast drying
• ExOfficio Underwear – 17days No Wash…Still Comfy…Enough Said
• Buff
• Gerber EVO Pocket Knife
• Bertucci DX3 Field Watch – 5 miles = 2 hours great for setting & keeping a pace
• 3 Pair Socks – Buy Darn Toughs, they are the best
• Dirty Girls Gaiters – An essential $20 piece of gear, that is unless you like dirt in your shoes
• Salomon Synapse M – This shoe got me from Delaware Water Gap, PA to Katahdin, ME. I think it’s a pretty good shoe.

Cold Weather Set Up

This isn’t really a set up for sub-freezing temperatures but if I were doing it over again this is the additional gear I would carry for the first month of the trail. The tent would replace the hammock. I really enjoyed my tent set up but the hammock allowed me to lose some weight and keep cooler in the heat. Sorry guys, I’m a bit of a Patagonia snob. I just like how their clothes fit. Great for the tall, skinny, and lanky. You could lose some weight if you went with a different brand on the rain gear for sure. This is just what I own and would carry.

• TarpTent Contrail (2 lbs 2 oz)
• Cocoon Air-Core Pillow (3.5 oz)
• Big Agnes Q-Core SL Sleeping Pad (1 lbs 2 oz)
• Patagonia Nano Puff (12 oz) – This jacket is amazing
• Patagonia Capilene 2 Top (5.1 oz)
• Patagonia Capilene 2 Bottoms (5 oz)
• Patagonia Torrentshell Jacket (12.2 oz)
• Patagonia Torrentshell Pants (12.2 oz) – This is a big maybe as I said in the caption I would have to expect it to be really cold.