Part II: Clothing, Shelter & Packs

When planning for a thru-hike, my main goal is for everything to make sense, to be easily accessible, and easily packable. Like many other hikers, I pack these things separately, like different rooms in a house.

1. Hygiene
2. First Aid
3. Other Emergencies
4. Food
5. Clothing
6. Shelter
7. Hiking

Thru-Hiking Part IV: Clothing Complex

The Clothing Complex anything I wear while hiking, as well as my thru-hike “closet”.

These items take up the most space and are the heaviest. And they’re such a gamble for how much they weigh! Sometimes you don’t use them; other times you wish you had more.

Equipment

This is what I INITIALLY packed for a two-week, summertime trip where I knew it could get very cold, windy, and rainy:

1. Down jacket: short (doubled as a pillow)
2. Waterproof jacket: short, waterproof, with a hood
3. Fleece sweater: short, with a hood
4. Cotton shirt: zip up, with a hood
5. 2 t-shirts: white, cotton
6. 1 pair of hiking pants: waterproof, zippered to double as shorts, LOVED these
7. 1 pair of biking shorts: black, spandex/cotton blend
8. 1 bra: cotton
9. 2 pairs underwear: cotton
10. 2 pairs of socks: cotton
11. 1 pair of hiking boots: semi-waterproof
12. 1 pair of vibrams: lightweight

Troubleshooting

Material Selection

Error: Cotton.I was going for inexpensive, lightweight, and reflective material. But packing so much cotton was a mistake for several reasons:

1. Just a few days in it started to smell horribly;
2. It picked up dirt so easily;
3. It was not easy to wash and did not dry quickly;
4. I was damp and uncomfortable.

Fix: Wool. I didn't have a lot of faith in wool at the start. It can be itchy and hot right? Plus, it's very expensive. But halfway through my hike, buying ACTIVEWEAR wool-blend t-shirts, socks, and underwear was a GAME CHANGER. They never smelled, they were easy to wash and quick-drying, and I wasn't itchy or hot. What an amazing technological advance!

Footwear

Error: Lightweight Vibrams & "Semi" Waterproof Boots. I love minimalist footwear so it was hard for me to accept that bringing along lightweight Vibrams maybe wasn't the best idea. The terrain was rocky, wet, and challenging, so the fact that they had no cushion became almost painful, they were soaked most of the time, and with their fabric blend, they wore through very quickly. Walking on rocks is great natural reflexology, but even I have my limits.

So then I turned to my semi-waterproof boots. When it comes to hikes with ankle deep mud, these hiking boots were key. However, they were only "semi" waterproof, which meant that mud and water seeped in. Then they got stinky, very stinky.

Fix: Hiking Sandals. Personally, I'm not a fan of their aesthetic but I fell in love with my hiking sandals. They had a sturdy covered toe, holes for air circulation, they dried quickly, I could wear them with socks to stop blisters, and they had a bit of a bounce to them which gave my foot extra help across long distances. They were a great alternative to my Vibrams and boots.

There is so much room for improvement even after I fixed my miscalculations. But after troubleshooting at the local outdoors store, I gained a solid foundation of things I'll use for years to come.

Thru-Hiking Part V: Shelter Complex

On a thru-hike, I camp on the trail using the Sleep Complex. It's everything needed to create a safe space to rest and recharge.

Equipment

1. Tent
2. Sleeping Bag
3. 8L Compression Pack
4. Mattress
5. Mattress Inflation Sack

Optimizing the Sleep Complex

One of the best things I could do to make the hike more pleasant is reducing the size, weight, and complexity of the sleep complex. Here are some tips for a 12 day, summertime hike:

• Easy To Assemble After hiking 20km each day, the last thing I had brainpower for was assembling my tent. Luckily, it's poles snap together with little effort. And often, my fly was unnecessary because the weather was so mild.
• Compression Five days in, I felt my sleeping bag was too bulky and strained the seams of my pack. When I visited the Outdoors Store to repack and refuel, I invested in a compression sack. While it didn't reduce weight, it reduced the size of my sleeping bag by half so it was much easier to transport.
• Be Cuthroat! I had to coach myself that just because something comes with "extras" doesn't mean they're necessary, like tent pegs. I didn't pack them because my body weight was enough to keep my 1-person tent fixed.
• Multi-Purpose Items Why pack a camping pillow when a puffy jacket will do?

Thru-Hiking Part VI: Hiking Complex

The Hiking Complex includes everything to get up and go - including my backpack and a smaller front pack with everything in it. Whereas my backpack contains everything listed in previous articles (food, shelter, clothes), my frontpack contains everything I need easily on hand.

Equipment

• 70L backpack: regular
• 8-10L frontpack: lightweight
• Water Bottle
• Waterproof Trail Map - these can be pricy but they're worth it!!!
• Snacks
• Sunscreen
• Chapstick - doubles as face cream
• Phone
• Sunglasses

Troubleshooting

One thing I learned was how important it is to have a sturdy, smartly designed front back. Initially, I was using a small lightweight backpack. But it fell apart very quickly with the constant swinging - even duct tape couldn't hold it together by the end. Not only that, the zipper was inaccessible, and there was no water bottle holder. So I went out and selected my frontpack with greater care. I invested in a sturdy fanny pack and it was a game changer! It had several easily accessible pockets, elastic cords, and not one but two water bottle holders. This made accessing my water, maps, phone, chapstick, and more much easier. And because it was a fanny pack, it's secured around my hips instead of my chest, so I feel more ergonomic.