Gear Nerd Time: My CDT Pack
Gear Junkies, rejoice! Today is the day I share my gear list and the start of my tale as I venture out into the mountains during this crazy time in our worlds history (more on my debates, struggles, and ultimate decision to continue with my hike coming in a few days).
The most common question on any hike is about gear. What are you working with, what could you do better, and what makes you HAPPY. For example, I shake off all scoffs from ultralight backpackers when they see I add a bone breaking 3 ounces for my pillow. Yes, a pillow. I don’t care what it weighs, my sleeping comfort makes for a happy hiker! When out there for up to six months, mental stability is key. A few ounces to make the brain rest well, even if the back feels a hair more — well worth it (in my humble opinion, of course).
The big boys:
Pack: Fjallraven Friluft 45L pack. A streamlined pack with full face opening for easy access of goods (with full length zippers on either side). A webbed back creates a nicely ventilated frame. I’ve used the 35L counterpart for years on day hikes and working on my expeditions. Has served me well time and time again, so looking forward to seeing the larger brother perform well.
Tent: NEMO Equipment Hornet Elite. This tent is a mostly freestanding 2P tent that comes in under 2 lbs. I enjoy having an extra “person” worth of space even when I’m solo hiking to give me enough space to setup in during foul weather, throw my pack, and have some extra room if I have a friend or family member join me for a few days (or a stranded hiker in need of emergency care).
Sleeping Bag: Feathered Friends Flicker UL 20 Degree Wide. I’ve never been a huge fan of quilts. Hard to wrap yourself up and really keep the draft out. However, for better or worse, I run quite warm and a lot of heat escapes from my feet, and in normal sleeping bags that means trapping in condensation. The Flicker is a quilt, but with a full length zipper allowing to be fully closed up, and the bottom remains open (can be tightened with a draw string) to allow escaping moisture.
My water system is simple. For the most part, I tend not to filter my water (with intelligence). A lot of the time the places we end up hiking have some of the safest water to drink. I’ve been able to learn the tell tale signs of safe drinking water (and frankly, have had a few lost rolls of the dice with the Russian Roulette game there). However, due to the fact that I will be alone for a majority of this trail, and the water options in New Mexico are far from ideal, I’m bringing in a Sawyer Mini to purify my life juice. I’ve fitted my water bladder with a quick disconnect tube from the shoulder, so I can fill up one of my Platypus bottles and just push the filtered water straight into the pack without removing the bladder or unpacking it (**note to any interested in this method, care must be maintained during this process, as its not impossible for the connectors to grow weak or have too push pressure pop them off — and any long distance hiker knows a leaking bladder in the pack is no fun). I also have a reverse flow connector, which will allow me to clean and maintain the water purifier, in theory allowing for an endless amount of clean water at less than 2 ounces of weight.
Yes, that is a drone you see there. No, I’m not filming a movie. The CDT is wild, and remote. A lot of times there is no trail and you just have to scan the horizon for a trail marker or maintain proper orienteering practices. Being alone out there doesn’t help much. There are times I won’t know where I am, and may not be able to get to an elevated spot to get a large view of my surroundings; enter the drone. I can pop that lil guy up and find the nearest valley, river, road, or any type of reference point on a map to help orient me properly and keep me headed in the right direction. I’ll have a satellite device for emergencies, but having the ability to get attention from any/road nearby if I’m injured by throwing up my drone and zipping over to a road with a little note hanging from it, definitely makes me feel more safe being out there all alone! And yes, it will definitely make some cool videos for me to tinker with while I’m in camp counting the leaves around me… ahh solitude. That’s going to be the interesting aspect to this journey.
Yeah yeah, I know, where’s the gear nerd stuff? How will I know exactly how much all your stuff weighs? Don’t worry friend, I’ve got you covered.
Four days of food, and a days worth of water. Fully loaded up, looking like my pack will be just over 34 lbs, with a 19.7 lb base weight, which includes my camera gear as well as my drone gear, and without further adieu:
