2014 AT NOBO gear list

[Allen Butts]

Kate I have been leaning towards just carrying the Circuit the whole way and I think you may have convinced me. As far as bugs go I'm leaning towards a tarptent possibly… I owned a contrail for years and absolutely loved it. I'm thinking the notch might be a good choice for this year. Has anyone tried out the goretex socks in trailruners combo? Its what I'm relying on if there is snow, but I'm just not so sure how well the combination actually works.

[Dan Quixote]

Goretex socks and trail runners is a wonderful combo. For more on cold weather shoe systems, check out this article BPL put out 6 years ago:

https://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/lightweight_footwear_systems_for_snow_travel_part_1.html

I used my rocky goretex socks over medium weight wool socks inside roclite 320s sunday/monday, and it worked really well for tromping through a bit of snow in higher elevations and then walking through an intermittently submerged trail. The socks can definitely wet out (mine are a couple years old, too), but they provide a wonderful buffer that keeps new, cold water from hitting your feet every time you submerge your shoe in an unavoidable puddle.

The only thing I'd do differently with them is get a larger pair/larger shoes for when it's really really cold out, and wear a thicker wool sock inside. Constricting your feet (or hands, for that matter) can make them get cold much faster. These have done right by me below freezing numerous time though, so by really really cold I'm talking <20f.

hope this helps!

[Brian Lewis]

I agree about sizing up goretex socks to fit decent wool socks under them. Goretex socks are okay in snow, but it's the wool socks that are critical in the equation. A pair of breadbags makes for a cheap backup VB sock system, and/or to allow wearing dry socks in wet shoes in camp.

We each have different takes on things; FWIW, my experience is different from what's expressed here:
"If you swap out your pack midway, you'll end up with TWO nasty, sweaty packs that you'll want to throw in a bonfire when you're done. I would just choose one to sacrifice and stick with it."

I've got a lot of miles on packs I've thru-hiked with; my current go-to pack (ULA Circuit) has perhaps 4000 miles of hiking and I expect to get quite a bit more out of it. At the end of a long trip I just wash it in the bathtub and then it's no longer nasty and sweaty. If you go with a really ultralite pack that doesn't wear well, then maybe that's a reason to throw it away after a couple of thousand miles.

The closest I've come to wearing out a pack is a Mariposa Plus that's gotten wonky from overwear in various ways, but even then — I brought it along on a 500 mile Camino hike in Spain that I just finished earlier this month, because I figured that with the light load I'd be carrying there it would hold up fine. And it did.

All that said, I just use my ULA Circuit for everything now, and am happy with it, but if you already own the packs and are swapping other gear anyway — I'd do it if it makes sense to you otherwise. Washing a pack isn't that big of a deal.

Shoes now — sometimes shoes do get a degree of funk and stink that's hard to truly eradicate. I'll agree on that one (sometimes).

[sco jo]

Sorry wrong thread.

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