AT thru hike loadout

  •   Category Weight
  • Pack
    2.28 lb
  • Tent
    1.97 lb
  • Sleep
    2.8 lb
  • Food/Water System
    2.25 lb
  • Electronics
    1.59 lb
  • Clothing - Worn
    3.1 lb
  • Clothing - Packed
    4.34 lb
  • Hygiene/First Aid
    1.46 lb
  • Misc
    0.66 lb
  • Consumables
    0 lb
  • Reference
    0 lb
  • Removed on trail
    0 lb
  • Total 20.44
    lb
    • oz
    • lb
    • g
    • kg
  • Consumable 0.24 lb
  • Worn 3.7 lb
  • Base Weight 16.5 lb

Thru hike loadout for the Appalachian Trail. Start date late April 12 2024.

Follow-up: I started the AT on April 12 2024. It was my first multi-day backpacking trip. I had a great time, but I was a slow hiker. I made it about 300 miles - just past Hot Springs, NC - before getting off-trail due to foot overuse injuries that did not resolve after multiple days off. I attribute this to not doing any physical training prior to the hike, especially physical training that would stress my feet. My footwear was fine, I had no issues with blisters or shoe-related discomfort, it was just a lack of significant time on my feet. I have since taken up running and my feet have toughened up significantly, my calves have blown up and my ankles are much stronger. I run 12 to 16 miles per week in 4 mile increments.

Gear-wise, this loadout worked well. I really overprepared on the research front. Specific gear items:

Pack: No complaints about this pack. I was getting shoulder pain in my right shoulder with it, but this stopped when I stopped putting water bottles in my shoulder pocket, although it took an embarrasingly long time to figure out that was the issue. I have since gotten better at retrieving water bottles from the side pockets while moving. Despite liking this pack, I have lightened my load enough subsequent to this hike that I am moving to a lighter framed backpack, the KS Omega.

Camp shoes: I caved to peer pressure and picked up Teva sandals at The NOC. They were nice for taking showers in hostels and soaking feet in streams, but honestly, I could have done without, especially given their weight.

Pillow: I forgot my pillow at home, so for the first two weeks I used my puffy jacket with a buff around it and tied on each end with hair ties. This impromptu tootsie-roll of a pillow was comfortable but ended up feeling hot against my head. I splurged on a S2S pillow from Outdoor 76 in Franklin, NC. Worth it.

X-Mid 1P: No complaints. Easy set up, spacious, double-wall, sets up quickly, well-designed, and very competitively priced. I have since switched to a Tarptent Aeon Li that was $100 off for the 2024 holiday season.

Quilt: No complaints. The only nights where I was cold was due to user error (not understanding the importance of using the pad straps).

Knife: My comically tiny Opinel #3 was only used to cut cheese. Every other job one might have used a knife for, is better off being done with scissors. I have since stopped taking any cutting too at all other than my micro scissors.

Sleep shirt, sleep pants: Silly and I wish I hadn't taken them. If your hiking shirt is wet, sleep in fleece. If hiking pants are wet, sleep in undies. I can see an argument for fluffy sleep socks, though. I did like having sleep socks.

Sleeping pad: My Xlite survived 300 miles of the AT but began to slow leak on the hike after that. I have since switched to CCF (Nemo Switchback + GG Thinlight on top) and find that I sleep better on foam. I had been waking up with mild back pain using the Xlite, which stopped immediately when I switched to foam. My fitness tracker sleep scores were unchanged going from inflatable to foam as well.

Since this hike, I have thru hiked the Tahoe Rim Trail, a 175 mile loop around Lake Tahoe, in August 2024. I am now planning a thru hike of the PCT starting May 2025.