newbie spring/summer gear list

[Steph Kurin]

I’m a very new beginner working on a gear list… I’ve been backpacking one whole night, but am planning another trip at the end of March and a 3-6 day trip on the AT at the end of May. I’ll have to carry all my own gear. In Indiana, it could still be quite cold at the end of March.

I don’t want to spend a lot of money on new supplies, but am looking for ways to pare this down a bit. I already have all of the gear listed here. My clothes seem very heavy, but I’m not sure how I can get along with less, especially in March/May in the mountains. I do need an extra set because if I get wet I get cold VERY quickly and don’t want to risk hypothermia, so I’ll be wearing the extra set (and possibly long johns). I know my tent is 2-person, but I’d have to sell it to buy another, and I do like the flexibility of having a 2-person tent.

I’m trying to find out if I could use something else as a lid for my cookpot to save a few ounces besides the lid that came with it (that can also double as a smaller pot), but I know I can’t use a smaller size (which I also own because they nest). I also might not take my mug, but… well, not sure just how light I want to go, and it does fit perfectly inside my cookpot. I need to be able to drink my morning tea without burning my lips. :) I’m sure some of knowing what I can toss will come with experience.

There are a few items whose weight I don’t know, so I left those blank …and I can’t find my Aquamira, so couldn’t weigh it.

Okay, enough yakking and on to the list.

THE BIG FOUR
Lightheart duo 32
Go lite jam L 30
sleeping bag (kelty 20 cosmic down) 31
therma rest z-lite 14
total: 107oz 6.68 lb

KITCHEN
stove and fuel (pocket rocket, canister) 17
Pot (wal-mart find- holds 32 oz) 8.8
Spoon (LMF spork) 0.5
bandana
scrubber 0.1
water bottle(s) (Gatorade) 2
Mug? 2
Bic mini lighter 0.4
platypus bladder 1.2
Aquamira
total: 32oz 2 lb

CLOTHES

1 t-shirt 4.6
1 pr shorts 5.6
fleece 8
1 set underwear 1.8
1 pr socks 2
rain jacket 8.8
hat (rain) 3
long underwear
8.8
Fleece hat 2.2
44.8oz 2.8 lb

LIBRARY
Book?
compass 1
Maps, guidebook 7
total: 8oz, 0.5 lb

MISC.
headlamp 2.8
stuffsacks 6
rope 2
orange shovel 3.4
duct tape 1
knife (sm swiss army) 0.8
pillow (exped L) 3.5
cell phone
total: 19.5oz 1.21 lb

TOILETRIES
(not sure on the weights on some of these yet)
first-aid kit 1.6
towel (quarter of a lightweight backpacking towel)
TP 1.2
soap 3
blister gel 3
chapstick 1
bug spray 2
brush
toothbrush 2
total: 1 lb

final weight: 14.19ish

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