Summer 2019 VT Long Trail

  • Category Weight
  • Pack
    1.5 lb
  • Shelter
    1.68 lb
  • Sleep
    2.95 lb
  • Water Filtration & Carry
    0.35 lb
  • Cooking
    1.15 lb
  • Bear Bag
    0.15 lb
  • Hiking Clothing
    3.32 lb
  • Outer Layer
    0.46 lb
  • Mid Layer
    0.33 lb
  • Base / Sleeping Layer
    0.75 lb
  • First Aid & Hygiene
    1.06 lb
  • Navigation
    0.45 lb
  • Electronics
    1.02 lb
  • Misc
    2.66 lb
  • Consumables
    9.7 lb
  • Total 27.53
    lb
    • oz
    • lb
    • g
    • kg
  • Consumable 10.7 lb
  • Worn 5.03 lb
  • Base Weight 11.79 lb

Description

[TL:DR] Hiking the LT in July and into August. Could be hot. Could drop into low 40s up north. Could be dry. With a base weight of 11.79 lbs, and with 10.7 lbs of consumables, my full pack should weigh 22.5 lbs packed for 4 days between resupply. That should be within this pack's comfort range ...

"Worn" weight, which includes everything I wear, stuff in my pockets, and carry in my hands, adds up to 5 lbs. Add full pack weight to worn weight, and you get "Total," or "Full Skin Out" weight. That's 27.5 lbs. That number is very important to some people.

I currently weigh 182. Any fat reserves I carry around my middle will be consumed as necessary.

[/TL:DR]

I adopted the UL concepts years ago while planning an AT thru hike. While I appreciate the concepts and mindset, I don't base my sense of self worth on arbitrary base weight numbers. I pack the minimum I need to stay warm, dry, and healthy. I look at total pack weight for a particular trip, and choose the smallest, lightest pack that can best handle that load. So ...

I'm planning to hike the LT northbound, "End-to-End" as they say. That's 272 miles from Vermont's southern border with Massachusetts, to her northern border with Canada. The kids do that in 2-3 weeks. I'll take closer to a month ... The Long Trail is every bit as tough as the toughest sections of the Appalachian Trail. Especially in the North. So I'm motivated to go light. But ...

Overnight lows around the northern terminus in early August average around 54°, with the 10 yr record low at 43°. Subtract 3.5° for each 1000' of elevation, and the lows at 3000' are likely to be the in mid 40's, with a slight possibility of dipping down into the low 30s. Otoh, NWS Burlington is expecting this to be a warmer than average summer. So while I think about my clothing, sleep and shelter stuff working together to keep me warm and dry, I don't have to go nuts with heavy base layers and extra insulation layers. Probably won't be settled till days before I leave for the trail, when I can get a more precise mid-range forecast.

If I get cold in camp, I can always wrap a sleeping quilt around me.

The LT is a great place for hammock camping. Lots of trees, and few flat spots for tents! This hammock/tarp shelter Is lighter than a whole lot of solo tents out there. But the sleep system is heavier than what I'd carry for a summer tent camping load.

I am planning to take a new Superior Wilderness Designs, Superior 35 HB - Frameless. a 35L frameless pack with a fairly robust hip belt. I expect it to weigh in somewhere around 610g. That's 209g/.46lbs lighter than my ULA Ohm2. It should be shipping soon ... When Mr UPS delivers it, I'll pack it all up and go for a two night hike to see how she handles the weight.

I replaced my fairly light, mid-height Asolo Piuma boots with La Sportiva Akasha mountain runners. That's almost a half pound off my feet.

When I dry camp I like to have about 3L of water so I can cook dinner, breakfast, and start out the next morning with a full 1L bottle. I replaced Sawyer's older Mini with their new Micro. The new adaptor allows me to leave the old backflush syringe at home. I'll carry Sawyer's 32 oz Squeeze Bag for dirty water, I'll carry a 900 ml Evernew Water Bag for clean water. I'll drink from a 1L Smartwater bottle. With all that, I'll have improved my flow rate, my water carry capacity will be a hair over 2.8 liters, I cut my water system weight by 2.4 ozs, and I can do a gravity feed if so inclined.

I'm pretty happy with this. I'll keep looking for ways to make it lighter ... Without sacrificing safety, too much comfort, or too much of my life's savings...

You'll see items with a shirt logo. That identifies them as "Worn Weight" to the software. The software underlaying this web site is smart enough to know that if I list an item as worn, with a qty greater than 1, that I probably don't wear more than 1 at a time. So it adds the weight of the remainder to the pack's base weight. (I.e. I carry 2 pairs of socks and flag them them as "worn." The software adds the weight of one pair to worn weight, and the other to base weight.

Things with yellow stars are "Big Four" Items.

I have no personal interest in any companies on this list. Linked for informational purposes only. I swear.