Cook:
- Mini BIC Lighter (2)
- The mini BIC lighter fit perfectly in my jet boil, while the normal sized BIC lighters did not. I only used this lighter for lighting my Jetboil so if you don’t smoke, one of these would be enough for the entirety of the trial. I carried two for the same reason I carried two fuel canisters.
Clothing:
- Patagonia Houdini Zip-Front Jacket (Windbreaker)
- I learned very early on the trail due to the weather, that on the trail, containing your heat is more important than staying dry so I ditched my poncho and picked up this water resistant windbreaker at mile 104.6 at the Nantahala Outdoor Center.
Miscellaneous:
- Scissor Clamps
- In my opinion, this was an unnecessary addition to my pack. On occasion, as in maybe three total times on the trail, I managed to tighten my NeoAir Sleeping Pad too tight to the point where I needed to pull the lock out completely just to deflate it in the morning. The first occasion, I ran into someone who was carrying a multi-tool with pliers and the second time, I used a set of pliers hanging in a store in the next town. I added these to my pack at mile 1219.2 from Cabela’s. Cabela’s gives free shuttles to town, well rather to their store, so I felt obligated to give back the generosity at the time for the ride. The idea behind this purchase was not only an obligation, but to avoid the inconvenience of having to barrow clamps, while I could have easily avoided the issue by being more careful. Also, these lightweight clamps, doubled as a pair of scissors so I could eventually could have gotten rid of my scissors, which I didn’t end up doing because the clamps could not replace my ability of opening avocados so I just ended up carrying them both until the end of the trail.
Electronic:
- Headphones
- I may have gone through a total of four or five pairs of headphones. All of them were under $15, all wired, and none of them were water resistant. I like the ones with the controller to change the song without having to touch my phone, however if they get wet, they start to malfunction. The most common (and annoying) malfunction I had was my music randomly would automatically turn down the sound. I did get one pair without the controller, but it ended up being more of an inconvenience because if someone wanted to talk to me passing by I needed to pull out my phone to pause my content. I will admit, I could have put more effort into getting reliable headphones, but I didn’t want to worry about being rough with a possibly more expensive pair.
- Black Diamond Spot – 200 lumens
- These were my third pair on the trail due water damage, likely to do with the chest pouch I had put them that would fill up with water when it had rained. I didn’t do any research on these. I simply asked other people on the trail and this was the most common one suggested. I ordered these on Amazon and retrieved them at mile 1345.2 in Unionville, NY.
Medical:
- Aveda (Travel Sized) Foot Relief Moisturizing Creme
- This item was sent to me as a gift from my Mom. I had used this only in town, for it was scented.
Toiletries:
- Toilet Paper
- TP is a must and you don’t need to pack it out. From several park rangers on trail, I learned that the biodegradable wet wipes I had with me were not 100% biodegradable as advertised. Supposedly there is a thin layer holding the fabric wet wipe together that is not biodegradable and if you want to use wet wipes, you will need to pack them out. I did not buy a single roll. I simply just picked them out of hiker boxes and the motels I stayed in.