Gear+winter - Appalachian Trail

imported
#1

MY GEAR LIST For a mid Feburary start date on the AT NOBO
(can you improve on this?)

Gegory makalu pack:
cover, jet boil, gortex bivy, o degree GDown bag, Marino bag liner, heavy thermal shirt, medium thermal pant, 3 pr socks w/liners/ gortex boot, convertable pants, fleece cap, fleece gloves, waterproof mittens, gortex rain jacket /snow pants(lightweight), those things for ice that you strap to your boots, poles,

Please add your thoughts. I am open to new ideas, but I remember some cold days I spent before. and I will treat my water (if) with Aquamira, and I will have a 3literwater pouch and a lexan container.
hmm… what am I missing?

jack bailey

#2

You can leave the crampons at home(those things for ice that you strap to your boots). The trails in the south are not very steep and any snow that may fall will likely be soft during the day and melt just a few days after falling. you may want a pair of short gaitors to keep any snow out of your boots.

Condor

#3

I’d say take a look at the long gaitors, too. They’ll help if you encounter deeper snow. And what’s up with the bivvy? As opposed to a tent? If that’s the case, you may want to rethink that.

A down vest is nice to have. You’ll appreciate it when it gets bitter. It’s light, cozy & makes a great pillow.

Orangeman

#4

yes I have some old gaitors.

and I meant “yak traks” not crampons. I wished I had them before on my last trip.

Bivy is a pound+ lighter than my tent and I wanted to shed the weight but I am still not sure if I want Bivy (great to have in the shelter with no complaints from fellow hikers) maybe a tarp tent??

and I was thinking in the way of a hoodie instead of the down vest (non cotton)

jack bailey

#5

I understand your point about the bivvy, but I’d suggest erring on the side of caution, taking the tent & accepting the weight penalty.

I guess I always like to plan for a worst case scenario, and with a mid-Feb start at Springer, you’re likely to hit a couple of “worst cases”. A tent (even a 3-season) will protect you & your gear from foul weather if you get in trouble. You may want to wait for warmer conditions before switching to the bivvy or tarp.

Enjoy the planning!

Orangeman

#6

(okay…my last post here didn’t show up…so i’ll try again…)…i also vote for gaiters and yak trax…(you can fly over the ice with yak trax…we attached laces to ours though so we wouldn’t lose them…lightweight layers are good…i like smartwool instead of synthetic thermals…we home-made a lot of simple clothing (nylon, not gortex)…paw-ee made me a simple “poofy” vest that i loved because i could put it on while we packed up and then store it on the outside of my pack when hiking to have it handy for breaks…we had two february starts (which are compared side by side on this site …“maw-ee and paw-ee 2006” if you wanna check it out)and travelled very lightly, but very warmly…we carried a tarp (which is also nice to be able to hang over the front of a shelter in really bad weather and “share” with other hikers)…we wore running shoes (lightweight and they dry/thaw-out quickly…easier to sleep with, too)…we slept under a quilt and in '06 were given some of those hand-warmer thing-ys (which became derriere warmers for me!) and i would definitely carry those again!..staying DRY, i think, is the key to staying warm…you’ll probably rarely be cold while you’re hiking, but always reserve something dry down in your pack to put on FIRST THING when you get into camp!..dry, clean socks!..what a treat!

maw-ee

#7

I have to admit I only skimmed this thread, so sorry if I’m repetitive or off topic. Just wanted to say I thru hiked beginning in Feb. and brought only a bivy. It was rated 4- season (Bibler), but I’d planned to stay in shelters whenever they were available. It served me fine. I brought long gaiters to start. Snow was deep in the Smokies and they kept my legs warm. I only needed traction on ice once for that I brought machine screws and screwed them into my boot bottoms for an icy descend to 19E. (forget the name of that shelter, at the moment; the highest on the trail). I think Yak Trax will be fine, and they are light. I also hand a pack of hand warmers in my first aid/emergency pack. The other thing I had was a 10oz Golite down jacket. I loved that thing. Good luck!

Early Bird