Equipment

Packed Up and Ready for the Trail

I've long believed that there are two types of people who engage in any type of activity:  those who are interested in the activity, and those who are interested in the equipment.  I tend to fall into the former category even though I can geek out at times; my geekiness has a hard limit beyond which I just want to get on with what I'm there to do.  I also tend to keep equipment for a long time if it works and feel no need to "keep up with the Joneses," unless there is a performance difference that is important to me.

Dad, Steve, and I tromped around on The Appalachian Trail in Virginia and North Carolina when I was a kid, and I've been on many of the trails of the southeastern U.S. since then.  Dad acquired his wilderness skills in survival school as a Naval Aviator, so I learned to be a hiker who stopped occasionally to sleep and NOT a camper who occasionally moved.  More recently I found the Ultralight movement, and that fit snugly into my approach.  As a bonus, Ultralight brought with it trimmed-down gear and a suite of new ideas.

Getting ready for this trip, though, I understood that a three-day trip is very different from a more extended trek.  I'll have to deal with winter weather, and will be stuck with any storms and conditions that come my way.  So some changes to my gear were in order.  Also, nutrition and hygiene demands increase after a couple of days of movement, so those must be anticipated and managed carefully.

The Pack

It's a six-ish-year-old very simple "sack" design manufactured by GoLite; less than a pound and rated to carry 30 lbs.  It has a main container, an interior compartment against the back (for padding... extra clothes), an external pocket, and two side pockets.  The side pockets will contain a Nalgene bottle for food/fluids and a pair of Keen sandals for water / camp shoes.  I adapted the pack with strap attachments so I could sling the sleep system underneath, extending my internal space (and, thus, range) for 5 days of food storage to (in a pinch) 8.  I also added safety pins to the mesh pockets for drying socks or other just-washed items on the move.  The sleeping pad is lashed to the back with shock cord due to its bulk; it takes up the same room as three days of food.  I also strap the stove's fuel bottle next to the pad since a leak inside the pack could be dangerous.

So, what am I carrying in this pack?  I'll break this up into categories:

Eating

My "kitchen" consists of a small alcohol stove, a stand to hold the pot, and a 750ml titanium cook pot.  The stove has a simmer aperture and I added an aluminum foil wind shield, 2" pot scrubber and a home-made sylnylon packing sack.  The fuel bottle holds 11 oz and the stove holds 3.  I burn about 1 oz of fuel either boiling two cups of water or boiling one cup of water then simmering it for 10 minutes.  At two cooked meals per day, this gives me 7 days of range.  The small Nalgene bottle is for making tea and for soaking food while I hike.  The bags of food pictured weigh about 2.3 lbs each and represent one day of food, or about 4000 calories.  That requirement will likely increase at times, and my longest planned time between resupply is 7 days.

Food is typically oats and grape nuts with powdered milk, granola, nuts, snack bars, jerky, noodles or flaked potatoes, chips / tortillas, peanut butter and/or Nutella, pop tarts, and I'll be carrying a small amount of a meal-replacement powder called Soylent.  (Yes, like Soylent Green.)  Since my diet will be so crap, I'm going to be taking multi-vitamins.

All "Kitchen" Components	Set Up for Cooking	Packed Up for Movement
Five Days of Food	One day of food, unpacked

Water / Movement / Personal

Water is a key resource, and on the trail it is obtained from multiple sources.  Streams, wells, and (in a pinch) lakes and puddles can provide water.  Purification method depends on the source of the water.  Really dirty water is filtered through a mesh to remove particulates, then run through a filter that blocks spores and bacteria.  For particularly bad water, iodine is used to kill anything that remains, like viruses.  I will typically fill a 2-liter bag with "dirty" water, attach a filter and feed hose, and let gravity work for me to fill the "clean" bag.  The filter uncouples from the feed line and a bite valve allows me to drink directly from the bag while it is packed.

In rain, I have a home-made sylnylon poncho in hunters-please-don't-shoot-me orange and a rain hat with a wide brim.  When the bugs are bad, I have a home-made no-see-um head net that works with both the hat and the poncho.  The flashlight runs for six hours on a AAA battery and clips onto the hat to form a "head lamp."

Personal items that I may need quickly include my GoPro (in protective scuba case) and five batteries (good for seven hours of recording at high fidelity), Leatherman multitool, emergency whistle, compass, and carry case.  The case slides onto the pack belt.  Maps will be stuffed in a pack side pocket in a ziplock bag.

Remaining items include spare "space blanket," emergency matches, hexamine cubes; gauze, surgical tape, band-aids, moleskin, needle (large enough to thread dental floss) and duct tape; a mirror for tick inspection/removal; dental care, ear plugs (for public shelters), chapstick, and handy wipes; deet (insect repellent), biodegradable soap, sun screen, and hand sanitizer; multivitamins, ibuprophen, and Excedrin, and spare glasses.

Two 2-Liter Bags, Gravity Feed, Filter, Bite Valve	Ready Access Items	Ready Access Pouch Unpacked
Rain and Bug Wear	Emergency, Hygiene, and Medical Items

Sleeping

Since I'll be starting in the late winter, I have to be ready to handle temperatures into the teens and maybe even below.  And wind.  My sleep system will keep me warm and dry in these conditions.  I've tested it to 24 degrees with wind.  I can feel the cold around 4 a.m., but I can sleep fine.  It's a toasty setup, and I'll probably send the quilt home in a few weeks.

First (not pictured) is a 5' x 8' sylnylon tarp that I pitch with the down-wind side open and the rest pinned to the ground.  This keeps moisture off of me while allowing the rest of the system to breathe.

The mylar space blanket wraps around the Thermarest pad to improve its R value, and that goes inside the bivy.  (Note:  the bivy sits on the ground without a plastic sheet because the bottom is made of cuben -- NOT Cuban -- fiber, which is waterproof and extraordinarily light.)  The sleeping bag goes inside the quilt, and that slides into the bivy on top of the pad.  I take the water filter in with me (if it freezes, it will crack) along with the water bag, flashlight, and electronics.  Once I slide into the sleeping bag, I zip the bivy closed and go to sleep.

Sleeping Pad and Mylar Wrap	Sleeping Pad and Mylar Wrap	Assembled Pad in Bivy
System Assembled	Bivy Zipped Up

Clothing

The rule with clothing while hiking is "synthetics in layers."  I usually wear triathlon shorts under running shorts because ticks can't get under the elastic bands of the tri shorts.  Also tri shorts eliminate chaffing completely, as important as good shoes when you're doing big miles.  Running shorts fill in when I wash the tri shorts and want to move while they're drying.  Cycling tights will provide full coverage if it gets really cold or I'm not moving.

Synthetic short-sleeve shirt under a long-sleeved zippered running shirt forms the winter foundation.  Fleece vest and quilted jacket with synthetic "down" form the warm layers.  In a pinch, I can use the poncho as a wind break, though it tends to "flow" if it's not belted.  I'll have polypropylene long underwear (tops and bottoms), too, but hopefully that will only be needed at night.

I've decided to not take boots.  They are ideal in snow, but they are so heavy that I think I'll be better off with vapor barriers and heavy socks.  My primary hiking shoe is the same shoe I run in:  Saucony Omni.  Yes, one must be careful about rolling an ankle, but I've been doing this for almost ten years without injury.  As long as the pack is 30 lbs or less, I'll just need to be careful going down hill.  The good thing about this approach -- besides being light and fast -- is that I already have three pairs of shoes ready to go, and a new pair is almost "broken in."  (Process takes about four days... no problem.)
 
Again, I'm planning to be on the move most of the time.  I stop to sleep and maybe to cook a meal, not for much else.

Conclusion

My overall winter pack weight is 14 lbs without food or water, summer pack weight is 11 lbs, and total load (called "skin out") for my longest segment of 7 days in the 100-mile Wilderness bumps 33 lbs.  (But that's in Maine, so I should be in good physical condition by then.  Or dead.  I could be dead by then.)  The incredible lightness of the very warm quilt, tarp, and bivy have really kept the winter weight down.

The first few weeks will be the toughest from a weather perspective.  They also will be when I'm in my least fit condition, so that's what I'm most concerned about.  This could all change once I get going.  Who knows.  Flexibility is a wonderful thing... almost as wonderful as planning and preparation and testing.