8 Pound Summer List | Shenandoah to Harpers Ferry

[Karple T]

NM

[Scott S]

When are you going? That seems like an awful lot of clothing for summer in the mid-Atlantic. When I hiked through there on the AT in June, the only extra clothes I carried were my rain jacket and a spare t-shirt/shorts for town. Also, you might consider a real rain jacket because you can get all-day rains, and a trash bag will get uncomfortable after a while.

[Karple T]

Anyone out there have feedback.

I am not sure about needing the layers for nighttime and I am trying out Benders MYOG lightweight silk/apex quit that I have not tested out yet but should be good down to 55 degrees. I made it wider the he did.

Any help would be appreciated in picking through my gear list.

Craig

Link to the quilt info:
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=47983&skip_to_post=408004#408004

[Seth Brewer]

I'd say go with the Driducks and not the Houdini. Overall your gear looks great. When it rains it pours and the houdini will be useless in a serious rain storm (and for a couple more ounces at least the DD will make an attempt to help you out). I brought a Driducks jacket and carried a MLD Burn for my A.T thru last year and they worked out just fine. Assuming some of the supply stores are open in the park — you can get pints of Ice Cream and $2 beers along the way….the rest of the food is expensive, but the blackberry milkshake is a legend and was worth checking out when I did it (everyone needs to splurge sometimes). Doing that distance in 5-6 days should be no problem with your load and the time of year, assuming you are in decent shape and don't mind hiking for much of the day (I actually preferred to hike for much of the day). Didn't check to see if you included a bear rope but you'll need it as much for the critters as the bears. Make sure to have earplugs if you're a light sleeper and choose to camp near the shelters or in them. Sometimes the "snorechstra" can be a bit overwhelming for a light sleeper like myself. Have fun !

[Karple T]

I will be getting up early and hiking untill dark so It should be easy to make some good miles.

I am going to stealth camp as much as I can but the ear plugs will be with me.

Thanks for the suggestions I was thinking along thoes lines but I am not sure how warm it will be at night.

[Seth Brewer]

You could try this:

wait until your nearing your departure date and go to:http://www.sophiaknows.com/atdb/index.html

and look up some of the shelters, trail interest points (Summits, etc.) or towns listed in the A.T database – and it will give you
PIN-POINT FORECAST as to the current weather that location is expected to have for the next week. I've used it and its been pretty dang reliable.

Then just bring whatever combo of quilts / clothing works best for the ACTUAL temps during the time you're hiking. Cheers !

[Karple T]

That's a great resource.

Thanks a lot for the info.

I also had not thought about how many resupply places there are in the park so I can carry less food.

I know there are restaurants too.

[Phillip Colelli]

I'd say that's a pretty good list. Not too far off from what I'm planning to thru with. Of course some areas are different. I'd say it really comes down to certain things you may decide are comforts worth carrying. For example even though their kind of light, the sunglasses, gloves, maybe you don't need the merino bottoms but maybe you do with that quilt. Also wondering, your caldera setup 8oz? Maybe decide on using wood or alcohol because you could cut out a fair amount of weight either way.

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