My first Summer Gear List

[Millette Jones]

It's in my profile. Comments and suggestions appreciated.

This is for a 4 day trip to the Smokies in late July. The same gear will also be used for a 3 day trip again to the Smokies over Labor Day.

I may go no cook just because it will be so hot. Not sure if I need the sleeping bag again because of heat. Also undecided about taking any long pants/long sleeve jacket or shirt. I'm just not sure if the temps will dip that much in the evening but I am a COLD sleeper.

We will be hiking around Clingman's Dome area so the elevation of the shelters/camps will be about 3,500ft.

Thanks for any input. I got back into backpacking Jan. 08 and started with all my old gear, circa 1990's, that weighed in around 35lbs on an overnight. I've been making purchases to drop my gear weight ever since and finally feel like I'm almost where I want to be.

EDIT- night 1 will be at 3,000ft, night 2 at 3,200ft, and night 3 at 4,000ft.

[Henry Blake]

I don't know why you need the 7.7 oz. poncho for rain and extra Tarptent coverage. The tarptent doesn't need extra coverage, and the DriDucks works as your rain gear. Then you wouldn't have to leave the 7.7 oz. camera home and lose the photo memories of your trip (unless a friend is taking pictures they will share with you. then you'll end up saving nearly a pound. Have fun, and good luck.

[J B]

Take your sunglasses. :-)

If you're looking for ultralight t-shirts, GoLite Silk is really stupid light, I love them.

[Mike Clelland]

My insights:
=========

Upper Nylon SS T-shirt 8 – want to find something lighter but still nylon
extra synthetic T-shirt 4.9 – want to find something lighter but still nylon
– – – – – – – – – Two SS T-Shirts? Why? NIX one of 'em. It doesn't matter about the weight, because its a worn item.

dri ducks rain jacket 5.6 – not for rain but as long sleeve layer, needed?
– – – – – – – – – These are great. Totally NON-durable, but super light and very breathable – Be careful, they shred EASY.

– – – – – – – – – No long sleeve layers except the Dri-DUcks jacket? Wow, I would advise SOMETHING a long sleeve synthetic top of some sort.

equinox poncho 7.7 – as rain gear and extra rain coverage for tent
– – – – – – – – – Poncho AND Rain Coat AND a tent? Not all three. Nix something.

Lower Zip-leg pants 6.4 –
legs of pants 4.1 – not sure if pant legs are needed
– – – – – – – – – Use the dopey pants that come with the Dri-Ducks jacket. THese are fine. Light, and very breathable.

underwear x2 2.2oz
– – – – – – – – – Two of 'em? For a two night trip? One is fine.

slumberjack pillow 7.5 – modified from 12.5…LUXURY ITEM!
– – – – – – – – – THe BPL 1.1 ounce Flex-Air PILLOW is a LOT lighter.

tarp-tent rainbow 34.7 – plan to get tarp-tent sublite sil in the fall
– – – – – – – – – That's a lot for a SOLO tent. Just use your PONCH as a rain cover. Add a mosquito head net if you NIX the tent.

pack liner – trash compactor bag
– – – – – – – – – Go to the grocery store and get a trash COMPACTOR bag. THey sell 'em in a box of 5. This will waterproof EVERYTHING inside your pack.

stuff sacks 3.7 – for sleeping bag, toiletries and food
– – – – – – – – – Too many. If your pack is lined, you won't need any of these. Just food. Use a zip-loc plastic baggy for toiletries.

sunscreen 2 –
– – – – – – – – – 2 ounces it TOO much, go down to under an ounce. Re packaged into a tiny bottle.

bpl folding razor 0.27 P B need to buy
– – – – – – – – – Just get a single edge razor from the hardware store. Make a little folded cardboard holder.

1 liter bottle 1.6 –
Water 4 liter platy tank 3.8 – only used in summer
– – – – – – – – – What??!?!? a FIVE LITER capacity??? No WAY! That's almost too much for the Mojave desert! Just take a second soda bottle.

[Matt Lutz]

1. Take the sunglasses – your hat is not enough. Your eyes will thank you later in life.

2. Lose the poncho. It's overkill.

3. I like Patagonia Capilene 1 shirts, long- and short-sleeve. My LS is 4.9 oz; my SS is 4.06 oz (men's S).

4. If you trust your packliner, you can drop the stuff sack for sleeping bag. Just stuff it in the bottom of your pack, inside the liner and put stuff on top. Make sure not to put anything sharp near the shell.

5. What are you going to use the bandannas for? You already have the Headsweats hat. I carried a bandanna for years, and eventually realized I never, ever used it.

6. I love the water-carrying capacity. But do you need the 1L bottle?

Good luck – looks likes you're well-prepared. Bring back good pictures!

edit: Mike C. has great suggestions!

[Tom Caldwell]

Why not take an extra shirt and pair of underwear? It is the southeast in July! It is going to be hot and humid. Sleeping in a dry shirt is nice.

[Jared Cook]

"Why not take an extra shirt and pair of underwear? It is the southeast in July! It is going to be hot and humid. Sleeping in a dry shirt is nice."

Which is the miracle of synthetics and merino wool… One spare pair of boxers can easily be rinsed or washed in a plastic bag, rung out and they'll be dry shortly after.

Matt L. and Mike C. have some good suggestions. Especially with just using the poncho as the tarp.

[Mike Clelland]

Q:
"Why not take an extra shirt and pair of underwear?"

Because this is a forum on LIGHTWEIGHT backpacking. The goal is to travel safely with as light a pack as possible, allowing for safety and comfort. A synthetic shirt will dry very quickly.

[W I S N E R !]

"Why not take an extra shirt and pair of underwear?"

I agree- no need for extra shirts, underwear, or shorts. As for a dry sleep shirt, why is one even needed in summer?

I also love the Patagonia Cap 1 long sleeve. Wear your t-shirt, use this for sleep if you must.

Definitely go with the Driducks too. I love them- they also make pretty mosquito protection and wind shells.

[Tom Caldwell]

"Q:
"Why not take an extra shirt and pair of underwear?"

Because this is a forum on LIGHTWEIGHT backpacking. The goal is to travel safely with as light a pack as possible, allowing for safety and comfort. A synthetic shirt will dry very quickly."

Well, she is a woman, backpacking with a group, I would suspect that having a change of clean clothing would allow for more comfort. She is going backpacking in the humid southeast, not the arid northwest.

This 7.5 oz pillow could be subtracted, and this would make up for most of the difference. Then the spare shirt could go in a stuffsack for a pillow.

[Jack Scheckton]

Sleep in your baselayer, it should be clean and dry… and it'll help with the cold sleeping.

I usually switch into my baselayer when the sun goes down… it's good to be dressed warmer for a latenight bathroom run, or chilly morning oatmeal.

[Roger Caffin]

> Why not take an extra shirt and pair of underwear?

I don't see the need for an extra shirt – that's just excess weight. But a dry pair of underpants can be rather nice at the end of a wet day. Of course, if you are definitely not expecting rain …

For a female walker, a spare pair of undies may not weight very much …

Cheers

[Rick Cheehy]

I took an xxl driducks ( I wear a large) jacket on a 5 day in the smokies about a week and a half ago. The jacket weighs 6.5oz and covered my pack but didn't zip. My chest got a little wet but I was wearing a nylon shirt so no big wup. The driducks was my only insulation/wind/hood/rain layer and my pillow. Here I sit alive and well.
I used a trash compactor bag liner for extra safe keep my down quilt dry paranoia. Worked great, and you better believe we got some rain. Biblical porportions, Zeus vs Thor type action.

[Tom Caldwell]

What's so bad about using a Tarptent Rainbow when you're in a hot, humid bug and snake infested part of the country?

My hammock weighs 31 oz by itself. That's before the tarp and underquilt. There's no way I'm sleeping under a poncho tarp in the southeast summer. I also sleep better in a clean poison ivy, chigger, spider, and tick-free change of shorts and shirt. I'd rather carry a little extra weight than be utterly miserable. If I had to be that miserable just to save weight so I wouldn't get ridiculed on this forum, I would find a new hobby.

[Matt Lutz]

I hear you Tom. I have a Double Rainbow here in the Midwest and when the bugs are aweddil up north, I won't hesitate to take it. Even if it means taking my Vapor Trail to carry it.

[Miguel Arboleda]

Tom, I know where you're coming from. It's hot and humid just like that here in Japan (the southeast of the Asian continent, right around the same latitude as Georgia). When it gets humid like that nothing dries out because you never stop sweating. Synthetics stink to high heaven and close-fitting merino wool retains that moisture and feels clammy and miserably hot. Merino wool is not popular here during the summer months unless you climb high, where it is not humid. Lower down I would recommend wearing a loose wool/ synthetic blend shirt which will dry somewhat and allow some ventilation. Nylon shirts and pants tend to be stiflingly hot because the air does not move about easily. ALL the women who hike whom I know here will carry two shirts because of the sweat and humidity. If you're going to stay at sea level and not go very high I would actually go against the common grain and recommend taking one cotton shirt which cools because it does not dry out. Seersucker shirts are great for this. Cotton also takes a long time to start stinking up.

I have a feeling few people on BPL have actually spent much time in really muggy conditions, in jungles, so the differences in what are needed are not well known.

I also agree with you about insects and stinging plants, which are much more prevalent in sub-tropical and tropical places. Here in Japan in the lower levels you get three kinds of mosquitoes, black flies, no-see-ums, huge horseflies, giant bald-faced hornets that nest in the ground and every year kill people, foot-long venom-fanged centipedes that crawl into your shoes and under any loose net, leeches that loop across the ground towards you (you don't want to deal with them!), ticks, fleas, even super-heated acid-shooting bombardier beetles that hurt like all heck if you happen to put your hand on one of them… So yes, having protection from insects is a good thing in these places, though in most cases I have been fine (Scotland was the place I thought I'd lose my mind from the midges!).

[Millette Jones]

Great tips guys! I made the changes to the PDF.

Rick- Yes, I was hoping I could use the Dri Ducks as a long sleeve layer. Sounds like this worked well for you in the Smokies. How were the night time temps? Do you think the 35 degree quilt will be too hot?

Johann- I'll check into the shirts they look like a good option.

Mike- Dri Ducks pants rear end blew out on the first use but I have a pair of Brooks w/b pants that weigh the same as the DD jacket. I'll do these and a second pair of running shorts instead of the zip leg pants and seperate underwear. I'll drop part of the sunscreen and take a smaller water tank.

Matt- Yep, sunglasses will stay.

Tom- Yep, extra shirt is still coming…I really enjoy being able to change into something clean and dry when I sleep. It will be worth a few ounces!

After reading through the suggestions I've decided to drop the following…

pants 10.5
underwear 2.2
one bandana 1.1
part of the sunscreen 1.0
stuff sacks 3.7
folding razor (since I havent bought it yet) .27
4 liter water tank 3.8
poncho 7.7

and add these…

rain pants 5.6
plain razor .2
2 liter tank 2.0
running shorts 4.0

total weight savings 18.47 ounces
total worn from 3.01 pounds to 2-lbs 9.8oz
total base weight from 9.79 pounds to 8-lbs. 13oz.

[Rick Cheehy]

It never got below the 50's or or least felt like it. It was really muggy, even up high. I brought my JrB no sniv quilt and it was perfect. Coulda' brought something lighter if I had a lighter quilt. It don't matter if it's too hot with a quilt since you can vent it easily.

[Rick Cheehy]

Oh by the way, you're gonna have a blast. The climb up to the top of clingman's is great. What's your route?
Look out for bears at Mt. Collins shelter.

[Millette Jones]

I'm still waiting for my first bear sighting! We were at LeConte shelter over Memorial Day weekend and were told there was aggressive bear activity but no bear showed itself. Even a week on the AT in April and I never even saw any bear scat. I'm not hoping for an up close encounter of course but I would like to see one eventually.

Our route will be…
Day 1- Nashville to GSMNP then 5.1 miles. Fork Ridge to Deep Creek Trail to camp #53.

Day 2- Deep Creek Trail to Pole Road Creek Trail to Noland Creek Trail to camp #62. 9.3 miles

Day 3- Camp #62 to Springhouse Branch Trail to Forney Ridge Trail (at 3,900ft). On Forney Ridge Trail to Forney Creek Trail to campsite #68. 12.5 miles

Day 4- Camp #68 to Forney Ridge Trail to Clingman’s Dome lot and up to the Dome, 4.6 miles (31.5 total) then back to Nashville.

It's not too many miles but I think enough for late July.

BTW…did you have much trouble with bugs?

[CW]

Here's my report from a Smokies trip in July last year. There's a link to our gear lists on there as well.

[Millette Jones]

Chris…nice report! I'm looking forward to my time in the Smokies. Good gear list too. I've got the GG Vapor Ki for my cooler season pack when I need to take my bulkier wool and down clothes it's a very comfortable pack. This will be my first trip with the GoLite Jam so I'm hoping I fare well with a frameless set up.

[Rick Cheehy]

It's steep gettin down to 62, it's a nice site. Many, many, many bugs. Still itchy. But soooo worth it.

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