Shakedown for 4 night section hike of the AT/Long Trail

Shakedown

Hi All, looking for some help. Doing my first backpacking trip ever and looking to take advantage of the Memorial Day sales going on to get myself ready to go. I'm doing a 4-night section hike of the Long Trail/AT, starting near Brattleboro, VT in late June / early July. I've got some stuff purchased for car camping that I'll use, not the lightest but serviceable for now, and I have access to a friend tent to help save some $$.

I'm 6ft 185lbs male, so I'm hoping to keep my total weight below 35lbs. Ideally below 30lbs, but I think that will be challenged w/ my budget and existing gear.

I know my sleeping setup and tent are not that light, but I don't think I have the money for something lighter while I still need to buy a bunch of other stuff.

Total to spend ~$1,000

Need to buy: Pillow, backpack, Trekking poles, stove, pot, hat, bug net, lighter headlamp (I currently own BD Storm), trail running shoes (I have heavy GTX Boots I've hiked in for day hikes), water filtration, bear canister/ursak

https://lighterpack.com/r/qd0ghk (I don't have food yet on here, looking for feedback on base weight).

Thanks for your help and let me know if I'm missing anything major or should buy anything different.

in Ultralightby golfhacker22

40%

13d

sheep_food

13d

You likely don't need a bear canister on the AT, it shouldn't be hard to get a proper hang.

I'd spend some (read: almost all) of that money on a tent, quilt, pad, and bag. Check out the ultralight ultra cheap link on the sidebar. After that figure out your new budget to fill the gaps. Light cooksets are pretty affordable, as is filtration.

What's the bug net for? I feel like it's overkill unless you're in a hammock or bivy.

You're in the ultralight sub, I think most folks are going to tell you bring your base weight down.

https://macon.me/shoestring

Edit - I took a look at your lighterpack after typing this and you are gonna give some users here trauma lol. I'd prioritize (in order) pack, tent, sleeping pad, quilt. Your gear as listed is very heavy. If you can't grab them all id buy in this order leaving enough funds for a cooksets and filtration, unless you're going in a group and can bum a filter and some hot water at camp for food.

golfhacker22

13d

Thanks for the feedback. Poles ($150) + trail runners ($150) + pack ($250) + the rest (~$400) came to $950, without new tent, pad, or bag. So that’s what I thought I could work with.

Given this is late June/ early July, I wanted to get 40F EE revolution APEX but it’s special order and might not be here in time. Do you think I should go with 40F HG burrows? That’s $200 after 20% off

I’ll look more at other tents. I didn’t see any for less than $300 that were <40oz

And I could definitely do better on the pack. That was just a quick one to pencil in and see where I stood with my total weights.

sheep_food

13d

Definitely don't need to spend that kind of dough on poles! Not unless you're set on a pretty sick full carbon pair. Even then, you can get poles cheaper than that.

Any of usually recommended quilts will be fine, and 20% off is especially nice. I'd recommend picking the temp rating on when you will be using it, for example if you go late fall/early spring you may regret getting the 40F, or higher altitudes.

Depending on what you want in a tent, the Protrail is on sale and $200 for 24oz. But yeah to your point maybe it makes more sense to save cash and spend in other areas if need be. But I have this tent and love it.

REI also has a big sale going on and the nemo tensor is 25% off

This setup gets you poles(50) + shoes (150) + pack (250) + pad (134) + tent (200) + quilt (200) = 984

Close to your budget and you need other things, but you get the idea.

For 250 you can get a super light pack too, the prophet 48L by Mountain Laurel is 245 and weighs 17.5oz. The one in the shoestring guide is 200 and weighs 25

golfhacker22

13d

Yeah, I was thinking a sick set of poles. Probably don’t need them though and could find something cheaper. I’ve usually hiked with my BD ski touring poles, baskets on and all!

Yeah, I’ve struggled with the bag issue. It’ll probably be mid 50s at night in Vermont for this hike, and I typically car camp between memorial and labor days. This is my first backpacking trip and would love to get into it more, especially with my oldest kid. So my main plan was to get a 20F down bag in the future, and then have a 40F APEX, and thought the combo of those 2 could cover 99% of my future use cases. 40F APEX is 4 weeks away at EE, and 20F seems to be too hot for 50F temps.

I’ll take a look at that pad and tent. Thanks for the suggestions! And appreciate the help here.

dogpownd

13d

If your pack works, I'd keep that, it's a good pack. I also wouldn't switch out shoes if you're good with your boots unless you're thinking of just ditching boots all together, but that becomes a really personal thing. I'm an ultra trail runner and I strill hike in boots.

golfhacker22

13d

Thanks. I was thinking new shoes because mine are GTX and I’ve heard that the long trail is really wet, so I don’t want to end up with water logged boots that destroy my feet.

BellowsHikes

12d

I've thru hiked the LT. It is very wet, you are smart to not underestimate it.

Johnnyrotten781512

13d

If you’re a golfer as your handle states, I’m surprised you’re not simply stuffing your backpack full of beer and fireball along with a 6 iron and 3 Pro V1’s. Maybe adding a few packs of peanut butter crackers just in case.

golfhacker22

13d

Hell yeah. But wait, does that mean I have to also carry my own glizzys?? Sheeeeeiiit

Johnnyrotten781512

13d

Made my day there.

dancier

13d

Here is your answer from a guy that's walking the AT for the third time with a 1k budget. I wouldn't want to pack anymore than 20-22lbs with four days of food, but a lot on the AT would be around 30lbs or more. https://www.couchtotrail.com/blog/thru-hiking-appalachian-trail-with-383-of-gear-full-gear-list

usethisoneforgear

13d

In general, my advice is: Your $1000 will probably go a lot further if you wait until after your first (or even third) backpacking trip to spend it.

There will be bear boxes at many of the shelters along your route: https://www.greenmountainclub.org/bear-boxes/ You could plan around these. Or if you think the challenge of setting up a bear hang each night sounds fun, you can bring some rope (I use #36 bank line) - it will always be possible, but might involve 30+ minutes and a bit of frustration. If you really want to bring a bear canister, I suggest renting one rather than buying. Not many hikers in the northeast feel the need to own a bear canister.

Your current sleeping bag is fine. You could spend $65 on a cheap down blanket to save 10 oz, or $250 on an MLD quilt to save 16 oz, but you probably shouldn't buy either until you have some sense of how warm/cold you sleep.

For the pad, start with foam (e.g. the Z-lite, $40, or knockoffs for $15). They are lighter, more durable, and comfortable enough for many people. The ground in VT is generally pretty soft. If you like the hobby and hate the pad, you can always spend $200 on a fancier pad for next time.

You don't need poles at all. Most people can go faster with poles, but I assume you're not pushing the pace for your first trip. (If you were planning on pushing your daily mileage, let me encourage you to rethink that.) Pick up a good stick for stream crossings or other tricky spots.

The tent is also fine for starters. After you've used this tent for a trip, you'll know if you want larger/smaller, more sheltered/more airflow, easier setup/sturdier structure etc... for buying something of your own.

Pack: Can you borrow or rent a pack for your first time? REI rents Flash 55s, for example. I would not advise buying any pack yet if you can help it, but especially not the Exos.

Shoes: Yeah, probably makes sense to buy shoes. I don't think you'd get any important new information about what kind of shoes you want by using your old boots for this trip.

Stove: BRS stove is lighter and cheaper than Pocket Rocket.

Water filtration: I've been using Aquatabs lately. Takes longer than a filter, but I rarely mind resting by a stream for a few minutes. And they're cheaper and lighter and don't break.

Headlamp: I have a Sunless H11, it's great.

golfhacker22

12d

Thanks for the feedback. I think this is where I am leaning. I have a few follow up questions.

What are your thoughts on an Ursak? Thinking about it more, I don’t want a canister but I’m not sure if I want to deal with a bear hang. The person I’m going with likes to stealth camp so not sure if we will stay in shelters or not so I don’t think I can plan on bear lockers.

Is anything wrong with my BA Qcore pad, other than it being 27oz? I’m a side sleeper and I like the 4” thickness when car camping with it.

Unfortunately it looks like REI has stopped rentals at most of its stores (and all stores within a 4hr drive of me). I honestly haven’t looked at packs much yet, wanted to focus on gear and then see if I need a 45 or 60L pack. But finding a decent pack for a decent price is not easy.

usethisoneforgear

12d

Have you done any bear hanging? If you're on a budget, I would at least try it and find out if it's fun for you before you go out and buy an Ursak.

27 oz is indeed the only problem with the pad. If you want to carry less weight, it's a very obvious place to start, but you can certainly wait till later to try a different pad. Soft ground is pretty easy to find in Vermont, though, I'm often happy with no pad at all. You might be surprised what you can get used to.

I believe EMS also rents packs, as may other outdoor gear stores. Or there are online backpack rental places that will ship to you, e.g. https://www.lowergear.com/backpack-medium-capacity , or you could still try borrowing. But if you are gonna buy one, figuring everything else out as much as possible first makes sense.