Several people in the comments and texts have asked about my gear. I did about two years of research on what I needed in general and what I specifically decided to buy. Gear is the most popular topic of conversation on the trail. All hikers seem to be gear nerds and I am no different.

First a disclaimer. This list and selection of gear is not a recommendation for other people. It is just what I chose for me based on my own peccadilloes. Also I’m not putting in links for where to purchase things because I’m not promoting these things, not trying to talk you into buying anything at all. Just trying to share my experience.

The Big Three: Pack, Shelter, Sleeping Bag

Pack: Gossamer Gear Mariposa It was recommended to me that I wait to purchase a pack until I purchased all my other supplies. So I knew what size I needed. I didn’t do this because I know myself well enough to know that I will fill any pack to maximum capacity and I wanted a limitation. Even with that, my original pack weighed 50+ pounds when I loaded it with everything I thought I needed. Trust me you don’t need to carry it far before you figure out you don’t need all that stuff. Now it weighs closer to 30 pounds with 5 days of food. Depending on how much water I carrying, it might weigh a few pounds more.

Shelter: Warbonnet Blackbird Hammock with Becket suspension and a winter top, bug top, and super fly. This is one of my favorite pieces of gear. It is so comfy cozy and I sleep well in it. I went with a hammock instead of a tent because I liked the idea of not being on the ground (getting up and down and crawling on my knees is low on my list of fun things to do). It is designed for side sleepers, which I am. I can sit in it like a chair and I can spread my stuff out and organize in it like it’s a table. It has “shelves” sewn into it, really just big pockets, but when you are zipped up inside it gives you space to put your phone, glasses, etc. so they are inside with you but not under you when you are trying to sleep. The different tops (winter and bug) are not used at the same time. You have either one or the other on at any given time. The winter top acts like a wind breaker and sleeps warmer. The bug net lets in the breeze but not the bugs. The super fly is basically like a fancy tarp hung separately over the hammock and keeps the rain off of the hammock and also acts like a tent to give me privacy. The Becket suspension is some very lightweight cording I use to hang the hammock. It required me to learn how to tie some knots that are easy to untie but don’t let the hammock slip to the ground. They have other easier to use suspensions but they weigh more.

Sleeping Bag: Warbonnet Top Quilt and Wooki in yellow (of course) and black. (I didn’t order these because they came in yellow, I just took advantage of that option.) A wooki is the under quilt that hangs under your hammock to keep your backside warm. A top quilt is like a sleeping bag but not sewn into a tube. Both of these things are stuffed with goose down as the insulation. They are rated for zero degrees which means they will keep me alive down to zero degrees Fahrenheit and comfortable down to about 10 degrees. You need the under quilt to hang underneath your hammock because if you just slept inside the hammock inside a sleeping bag you compress all of the insulation and it doesn’t keep you warm. If you hang it under the hammock it doesn’t get compressed and is able to insulate the warmth generated by your body. The top quilt is just a very warm blanket that I can spread out in the hammock however I want. I also have a Sea-to-summit silk sleep sack that I use. It can add warmth, but mainly I use it because I am often filthy when I go to bed and the sleep sack is easy to wash; the sleeping bag is very difficult to wash. So the sleep sack protects the sleeping bag from my grime. I also use a Nemo Ultralight Tensor Insulated Sleeping Pad. I can use this to cushion the floor when I sleep in shelters and also put it in my hammock to insulate the bottom of the hammock.

Hiking Poles: Gossamer Gear LT5 Three Piece Hiking Poles. These are my number two favorite piece of gear. They are super lightweight at about 12 ounces. They collapse down to about 18 inches and can be attached to my pack. If one of the sections gets broken (saving me from a fall for instance) I can just replace that section and not have to buy a new set of poles. The hand gripes are made of cork and feel great on my hands. It is a soft but durable handgrip that hasn’t given me any blisters or calluses. They are one of my favorite pieces of gear because they keep me from falling! I would say if I’m moving I’m using these poles including at campsites not just when I am actually hiking on the trail. They help me keep my balance and establish a walking rhythm. They feel good in my hands and make me feel like I can climb mountains (which I am doing so I need all the mental fortitude I can get even if it comes from two little not so magic sticks!)

Cooking Setup: MSR Pocket Rocket 2 with cooking kit. This is the tiniest piece of gear I have except for my tick key (removes ticks and just the thought of using it grosses me out and I’m not going to describe or discuss it unless horror of horrors I actually have to use it!). The stove weighs less than 3 ounces and folds up to fit inside of the cook pot that came with it. I screw it onto a tiny gas canister and it basically creates a timer burner that I can use to balance a pot on and boil water. Some people actually cook their food in the little pot (holds two cups of water), but I usually boil water and pour that either into the MRE bag or into a freezer ziploc bag or drinking cup and add whatever I am making into it. I also have a lighter and a little metal pot holder to lift the pot off the burner with. I have a titanium cup for my tea and long handled titanium spoon that reaches down into peanut butter jars, MRE bags, and other various containers without getting food on my handsz I carry my food in smell proof ziploc bags (cost a small fortune) and an Ursak Bear Resistant Food bag. That is my “kitchen” and let’s face it pretty much the extent of any cooking I ever really want to do, I can do by boiling water. I haven’t tried baking with my little setup, but I have heard people do. I have no clue how that would work since it is just a super hot and very focused fire source, but people do amazing things every day so 🤷‍♀️

Water System: Katadyn BeFree Water Filtration Bladder. I started out with the Sawyer Water filter that you just screw on to the top of a water bottle and squeeze the water through. I found it to be incredibly slow and I hated how it made my water bottle so tall that it stuck out of my pack and caught on things. The Sawyer’s small and light enough that I carry it as a backup but I love the fast gravity filter system of the Katadyn and the soft flexible bladder that is easier to carry. I get almost all my water out of a creek or spring, so it has to be filtered for physical particles and bacteria and viruses before I can use it for drinking, cooking, or hygiene.

Clothing: I have 3 categories of clothes: rain gear, hiking gear, and sleeping gear. I already sent my rain pants home with the girls and probably won’t need them again unless it gets below 40 degrees. My rain coat is a REI Rainer Jacket big enough to fit over all of my other clothes. My rain pants are REI Rainer Fullzip Rainpants.

My hiking pants are REI Sahara Convertible Pants. They have lots of pockets and the bottoms can be zipped off to be shorts but I probably won’t do that because I see the legs of people hiking in shorts and they are scratched and covered in bug bites – no thank you! I wear a 32 degree T-shirts. They are lightweight and made of this great wicking fabric. I have one to hike in and one to sleep in. My socks are Darn Tough blister proof socks. I have two pair that I alternate. I wear Hoka Speedgoat trail runners as hiking shoes. They have a wide toe box that suits my feet, great grippy treads, and don’t have to be broken in like hiking boots. So far I have not had a single blister or hotspot! I wear an REI rash guard to over my tshirt to act as my sunscreen. Actual sunscreen is too heavy to carry but you need something! The rash guard is my solution. I have two Branwyn wool sports bras and three pairs of men’s ExOfficio or 24 degree boxers. The boxer shorts prevent chafing and can double as pajamas bottoms when it is hot. (Side rant here – why can men buy underwear for 3 pair for $12 and women’s costs $24-30 a pair?) The idea is that you wear one and have one washed and drying, so you are constantly washing and rotating. Which works great if you have water to wash with, but if you don’t 😱.

I sleep in one of the tshirts mentioned above and a pair of REI merino long johns. They are lightweight, warm, but breathable. I also sleep in a pair of Injinji toe socks. I don’t like to hike in them but I could. I like them for sleeping because each toe has its own warm little cozy home for the night and gets dry and separated from the other toes. I think it helps prevent blisters from forming. No idea if this is really true, just how I justify wearing weird little toes socks that feel weird but in a good way when I put them on each night. My camp shoes are a pair of bright yellow crocs. I think crocs are hideous but they let your feet air out in camp while still protecting your toes. For extra warmth at night I have a Senchi Designs Alpha 90 Hoodie that keeps me warm, but only weighs 5 ounces.

Last but not least I have a Rab Xenier Alpine Insulated Jacket. It is a goose down jacket that can scrunched down to almost nothing and only weighs 10 ounces but keeps you super warm. I wear it day or night if it is cold enough.

Technology: IPhone 14, Garmin InReach Mini 2, Nitecore NB 10000 Charging Bank (2), 3 charging cords, Ankar Dual Fasr charging wall charger. iPhone for obvious uses but I also have an app called Far Out that I use to navigate. One called WordPress that I use to blog, I have the AT Guide in interactive pdf form for information on stops along the trail. The Garmin Inreach mini is a satellite communicator that acts as an emergency beacon and maps my location every 30 minutes. It also allows me to text even when I don’t have a phone signal. I can press a button on it and call for search and rescue if needed. Then the chargers which are my heaviest gear but recharge the technology that is necessary if everyone who loves you wants to know where you are and that you are safe at all times.

First aid Kit: I have a homemade first aid kit with my prescription skin cream, lots of blister treatments, bandaids, gauze, suture kit, tick key, facemask, ktape and plenty of ibuprofen. Haven’t used anything in it yet except for a few Advil and the Ktape.

Bathroom Supplies: I have a Kula cloth for number one. A trowel to dig holes for number two (you have to dig a hole 6-9 inches deep and bury poo and toilet paper). Neither of these are my preferred solution and I usually try to make it to a place with a real bathroom whenever possible. Real bathrooms are few and far between so I rarely get my preferred solution.

Hygiene: I have soap, toothbrush/toothpaste, my contact lens, case, and small bottle of solution along with my glasses for evening. I have some wet wipes that I use to freshen ip every evening before I put on my pajamas.

Personal items: I carry a Fanny pack with a knife (used to open or cut anything and everything, mainly food), a headlamp (lets me do things with both hands in camp. I haven’t used it for night hiking yet, but I can and I might. A flashlight. A small hair brush. my credit cards and cash.

My favorite piece of hiking gear: my hat. A friend gave me the hat for Christmas stating that it was just what I needed to keep the hood of my raincoat or hoodie off my face (exactly correct and so needed) it also holds the bug net for my head off my face. What makes it my favorite piece of gear is the beautiful embroidery that Alisha did on it. It makes me smile every time I see it and everyone comments on it when they pass me on the trail. Photo above😀