***** If you have questions or comments about the A.T., please visit my new blog here!

Sil Shelter: 14 oz. Kept me dry every night, and worked perfectly early in the hike and very well along with my Bug Bivy from New Jersey on. I used aluminum gutter-nails for stakes. My next long hike I'll probably use Henry Shire's Tarptent with the optional sewn-in floor. I used a Tarptent on my traverse of Alaska and really liked it. Here's a great site for ultralight shelters and other lightweight backpacking gear including tarps, tents, ponchos, hammocks, bivy bags and sleeping bags, pads, and packs. Contains dozens of great links on stoves and the like, too. You MUST visit this site!: Biker Dave's Ultralight Tent and Tarp Guide

Bug Bivy: 1 lb. Worked fine, but a bit small for my tastes. I only slept in it when it was buggy, but often slept on it for its waterproof floor. Next time, I'd want the bug net and floor built into my shelter and won't carry the Bug Bivy at all. (See above.)

Therm-a-rest, UltraLite 3/4: 1 lb. You need a good ground pad for those hard shelter floors, and for me, it is really hard to beat this pad. I used a Z-Rest early on, but it got flat fast.

Rock Wren Down Bag: 1 lb. 13 oz. I got mine with overfill and 800 fill down and PTFE for the shell. PTFE is a laminate that is more or less waterproof and breathable. PTFE seemed to work, but I don't think I really needed it. I believe the bag was rated for about 25 degrees with those options, and was warm enough for me on the coldest nights of my hike. I sleep fairly warm, and wear warm clothes in my bag if I need to. This was a great bag. Next time, for warmer weather, I'll use a lightweight down blanket or buy another quality down bag that zips all the way down to the foot. I lined the stuff sack with a Mylar turkey roasting bag, which kept the bag dry the whole time.

G4 Backpack: 11 oz. Very light, and a good pack as long as you stay under about 25 pounds, although it rode a little low for my tastes. I added a sternum strap, which I highly recommend. This pack easily made it the whole trail with proper care. Although I was happy with this pack, I may shop for one that weighs a few more ounces and that will still carry 30 pounds more comfortably if I need to.

Shoes: I used New Balance 803 AT shoes first, and they worked fine. I next used regular Nike running shoes, which worked fine until I got into the rocks in PA. Then a stiffer hiking shoe like I ended up with worked better. I went through three pairs of footwear. Each time I needed a half size bigger! (My feet didn't shrink back all the way, either.) I'm a firm believer in lightweight footwear, as long as you have good ankles. Few folks need heavy, stiff, leather hiking boots on the AT. Make sure your footwear fits and is broken in properly.

Hiking Poles: Leki Super Makulu. You want hiking poles! Many start without them, but nearly every hiker finishes the trail with poles. They will make your hike safer and easier. Poles help prevent falls and make descents easier on your knees. I also used one of my poles every night to hold up my tarp. My poles had shock absorbers, which I think they are a gimmick, and are noisier than necessary. Use rubber tips to prevent trail damage. Superglue them in place.

Rain Parka: Red Ledge Thunderlight, 13 oz. A great value.

Rain Pants: Red Ledge Thunderlight, 10 oz. Full side-zip. A great value. Use for rain, warmth, wind protection, and wear when you're doing your laundry.

Fleece Jacket: Patagonia R2, 17 oz. A truly great jacket. Light, warm, and stayed looking like new the whole time. Your insulation layer should zip all the way down so you can cool off easily.

Convertible Pants: Convertible pants were a good choice for the AT. Make sure they have zips at the ankles so the bottoms will slide over your shoes.

Shorts: Patagonia Baggies. Great for hiking, swimming, etc.

Long Underwear Top: Patagonia Capilene Zip-T Medium Weight, but I don't think the brand is critical. I like a long underwear top that zips down as far as possible for venting. I sent this home once I was sure it was summer.

Long Underwear Bottoms: Patagonia Capilene Light Weight. Sent these home once I was sure it was summer.

Balaclava: Fleece. A balaclava is the most warmth for weight of any clothing item you can carry. Wear it when it's cold at night.

Mitten Shells: Goretex. Lightweight, one layer. Great when it's cold and wet.

Capilene gloves: Medium weight. Sent home later.

T-Shirts, 2: One CoolMax and one cotton. I used the cotton one for a towel, cleaning my glasses, etc.

Underwear bottoms: 3 pair

Socks: 3 pair. I started out with quality wool socks with liner socks, but switched to cotton socks (no liners) to give my feet some more room in my shoes. Ended up staying with them for lighter weight.

Ball Cap: Keep the sun off your head and out of your eyes, etc.

Bandana: Cotton. Washcloth, etc.

Wristwatch: Casio Databank 150. All my phone #s, alarm, calculator, stop watch, etc.

Flashlight: Pocket Bright. 1/2 oz. Had a dot of velcro on it, and a dot of velcro on the bill of my ballcap so I could use it as a headlamp, hands-free. Usually when it was dark, I was sleeping!

Parachute Cord: 20 ft. Hanging up laundry, guying your tent, shoelaces, etc. You can "gut" the cord and use the inner cords too, for thread, dental floss, etc.

Swiss Army Knife: A tiny one with scissors, can opener, knife, and tweezers.

Pen and Pencil: Ballpoint pen (felt-tip bleeds)

Thru-Hiker's Handbook: This is the only guidebook I needed. I also used the margins as a diary. Worked great.

Camera: Started out with a disposable, but wasn't happy with it. Got a Stylus Epic Zoom. A decent, lightweight camera. Ease of use is great, Picture quality only OK.

Duct tape: 10 feet wrapped around your water bottle.

Needle: Repairing your stuff

Ziplock Bags: Keep your stuff dry and organized

Mirror/Compass: I had a lightweight combo of the two.

Credit/ATM Cards: I didn't need any Traveler's checks.

Driver's License: For ID

Address/Email/Phone # list: Printed out on one sheet of paper.

Toothbrush/Paste: A small tube of paste.

Razor: I brought one disposable, and shaved without shaving cream after showering.

Floss: Works good for thread, too.

Blistex: Your lips WILL get chapped.

Sunblock: Small tube, high block factor.

Blister Fixer: Compeed/Band-Aid Blister Block Bandages are good. PREVENT BLISTERS!! Use comfortable shoes, and stop to dry your feet and adjust your socks as needed BEFORE you get a blister.

Ibuprofen: To help with the inevitable pain and inflammation in your knees, etc.

Antacid

Prescription drugs: If you take any

Toilet Paper

Stove: Trangia alcohol stove with cover. I used and MSR windscreen, and pierced it with two tent stakes to make a stand for my cooking pot. From my research, I plan to use a Brasslite stove next long hike. Brasslite Stoves

Fuel: I carried it in a MARKED empty plastic drink bottle. I used a combination of alcohol fuels. As often as not it ended up being a mixture of HEET (a gas-line de-icer, burns hottest, get the yellow bottle), rubbing alcohol (burns the coolest, I'd get the highest "%" I could find), and denatured alcohol.

Lexan Spoon

Pot Gripper

Cooking Pot: Aluminum with cover. According to my research, aluminum appears safe.

Water Bag: Ultra-lite model, 2 1/2 liters. I used this mainly for toting water to my evening camp.

Lighter

Food: Some of my common foods were Poptarts, cold cereal, granola bars, Snickers, those Lipton's pasta/rice meals (around 5.5 oz.), Ramen, nuts, crackers, peanut M&Ms, cheese etc. Just about anything without water in it!

Water Bottle Water-Filter: I used a couple types, (the first a Safe water) both were fine. I think they are a good combination of ease-of-use and light weight.

Extra Water Bottle: The Platypus type of water carrier is the wave of the future, though.

Garbage bags: For keeping clothing and gear dry inside my pack. I used no pack cover with my pack, and had no trouble keeping my stuff dry.

My total pack weight when I started out was 20 lbs., including 1 quart of water and about 3 days worth of food. My pack weight probably averaged around 23 lbs., because I began carrying more food later on.

Gear and clothing choices are highly subjective. No matter what you decide to bring, you'll be making some changes along the way. Try out all your stuff BEFORE you hit the trail!