I completed the JMT three weeks ago. Most of my gear was old so I used this as an opportunity to upgrade. I got lots of good ideas from these forums. I’m not including a gear list, just a few comments on stuff I thought might be interesting to others.
I’m 60 years old and have had back surgery, so I had to go with a more supportive pack and sleeping pad than others might. But my overall kit was still light and worked well on my solo hike.
Pack – I’ve had an old Mountain Smith Mountanlight for 20+ years and used it on the JMT 10 years ago. Long story short – I kept ordering packs and not being happy with them for various reasons – my living room looked like a store. I had a ULA Catalyst, REI 62 Flash, Granite Gear Escape AC 60, Granite Gear Nimbus Meridian, and Osprey Exos 58. For several weeks I walked around the house with each pack and just couldn’t decide. Common sense told me that I should have picked something at least a month in advance and hike with it a number of times, so the night before leaving I packed everything in my old Mountain Smith which has always served me well. The next morning I changed my mind and repacked into the Granite Gear Escape AC. It worked out perfect – a great pack. Very comfortable and everything fit in the pack, nothing strapped or tied to the outside.
Tent – I have one of the original Tarptents and upgraded to the Notch. I really liked this. Vestibules on both sides provided lots of storage when it rained and it pitches really tight with only 4 stakes. The bathtub floor gave me great confidence that my down bag and I would stay dry in the worst of rains – which we did.
Trekking poles – I’ve never used trekking poles on trails, only for off trail desert hikes while peak bagging. I decided to try them on my hike – using them for my Tarptent Notch and also thought they would be helpful for stream crossings. I thought they were a pain on the flats and slight uphills/downhills, but liked having them on the steeper uphills/downhills. I saw many people using gloves, but I think that’s overkill – a little leucotape on the inside of the thumbs worked well after about a week. I used Gossamear Gear LT4s and would probably take them again.
Windshirt – I learned about these on this wonderful site. I got the Patagonia Houdini and wore it off and on everyday. I hiked through most of the light rain and hail with this and it worked perfect. I’m a fan.
Rain gear – I’ve got a number of heavy-duty shells for climbing/mountaineering and was a little worried about Frogg Toggs, but they were perfect for the JMT. I only pulled them out a few times when it rained hard. If you don’t need a piece of gear very often, like on the JMT, then get something cheap and light, but works very well.
Sleeping pad – I was a little skeptical at first, but the Thermarest NeoAir XLite was very comfortable.
Sleeping bag – I took a Western Mountaineering Alpinlite, a 20 degree bag. Last time I did the trail it was much colder and my 32 degree bag was not warm enough. This year it was much warmer and my 20 degree bag was too warm. Oh well… it was very easy to regulate with the full length zipper.
Warm jacket – Western Mountaineering Flash was absolutely decadent compared to my old pile jacket.
Not much I would change in my gear selection, it worked out well.
