Simply replaced this item with the Mini BIC Lighter for convenience of being able to store the Mini BIC Lighter in my JetBoil stove kit.
Ecoart Silicone Collapsible Bowl
Removed item at the shake down I received before I started the AT at Amicalola Falls by one of the park rangers. The reasoning was that I would be able to eat out my Jet Boil since it has a cozy on it for that purpose.
Gatorade Bottle (32 oz.)
I do not remember when I got rid of this item. It must have been early on when I realized that the shape of smart/life water bottles worked and fit better. I believe I originally brought this item to collect water since it had a bigger opening than the sawyer bags, but with the lack of trouble I had, I discarded this item.
Odor Proof OPSAK for Ursack Bear Bag
The majority of my food had been already packed in freezer bags, so this bag became redundant at some point early on. Also, I was not able to fit more than 3 days of food in this bag.
Olive Oil
I got rid of this item not because it was not useful, but because I would always forget to use it. I don’t remember where I got rid of this item, but I do remember talking to a fellow hiker that took it off my hands. Olive Oil is very high calorie.
Funnel
This item was removed at mile 31.1 by the shake down performed at the outfitter, Mountain Crossings at Neel’s Gap. I don’t remember why I thought I needed this item.
Ziploc Storage Bag (Gallon) for Trash
Since I packed all of my food in gallon sized storage bags, I thought it was redundant over time to carry a designated bag for trash. I don’t remember where I broke this system, but it was defiantly in the first hundred miles, early on.
Clothing:
Fleece Sweeter
This item was removed at mile 31.1 by the shake down performed at the outfitter, Mountain Crossings at Neel’s Gap. This was not only too heavy for what it was, but redundant as well for I had another piece of gear, lighter in weight with long sleeves. I over packed in the clothing department because I did not know the amount of body heat I would produce backpacking all day.
Levi’s Men’s Bandana
I had carried this with the intention of multiple purposes, which included wiping my sweat, blocking the sun, my nose, as a bag, water filter, as a signal, and some other purposes. I don’t remember where, but I shedded this item in the first 100 miles, when looking for items to shed weight off my pack. In reality, I didn’t use this item and often forgot about it in my pack.
Light Fleece Pajama Pants
This item was removed at mile 31.1 by the shake down performed at the outfitter, Mountain Crossings at Neel’s Gap. This item was also heavy for what it was and redundant at the time since I had those Under Armour Leggings in my pack. This was more of a personal choice. What I should have done was found something lighter in weight to wear at night. I had some cold nights. Nothing unbearable, but some to the point of discomfort affecting my sleep. These cold nights were towards the end of my trip so I just sucked it up and continued onward.
Poncho
This item was removed at mile 104.6 at the Nantahala Outdoor Center and replaced with the Patagonia Houdini Zip-Front Jacket after some rainy days on the trail. I learned, early on the trail that on the trail, containing your heat is more important than staying dry. Fortunately, due to the stock of the Nantahala Outdoor Center, I found something very reasonable, even lighter (3.3 oz.) than my Poncho (4.4 oz.), saving me 1.1 ounces.
Sunglasses
This item was removed at mile 31.1 by the shake down performed at the outfitter, Mountain Crossings at Neel’s Gap. The Appalachian Trail is commonly known as the green tunnel. If you get sun, it will be briefly. So briefly that in my opinion, post trail, it’s not worth the weight.
Wool Socks
This item was removed at mile 31.1 by the shake down performed at the outfitter, Mountain Crossings at Neel’s Gap. Do not quote me on this, but I am pretty sure my shake downer voiced to me that ‘after the second pair of wool socks, it would become a luxury item.’ That being said, with the intention of shedding more weight, sent this home. I did not regret not having a third pair. The idea when backpacking is to always have at least one pair dry.
The weight of 8 ounces for me outweighed its usefulness. I stuck with Guthook as my resource as well as word of mouth.
StickPic + Phone Attachment
The idea behind this item was to use my trekking poles as a selfie stick to take photos of the Appalachian Trail with me in them, though as time went by I cared less and wanted to take the time to set it up. I removed this item at mile 31.1.
Sawyer Permethrin Clothing Insect Repellent
I carried this with the intension of warding off ticks from my body, but what I should have done was treated my clothes prior to hiking. I did not know of this option until I had started hiking, but fortunately did not have too much issue with ticks. I carried this item for a long while without thinking to use it. I don’t remember when I got rid of this item.
Paracord (50’)
I started off with the intention of hanging my bear bag (ursack), but since I didn’t have to, never did. I ended up giving this item away to I think Mountain Man towards the end of the Smoky Mountains, last time I saw him.
This item was removed at mile 31.1 by the shake down performed at the outfitter, Mountain Crossings at Neel’s Gap. This was a neat lightweight tool and would have helped if I kept it, but while shedding weight the first 100 miles, it in my mind at the time became more of a comfort item then an actual need.
Map of current section
Normally this would be deemed as unacceptable to get rid of, but with how populated the Appalachian Trail was, a paper map in addition to my phone with the app I had on my phone, “GutHook,” I personally with my current mentality did not need a physical copy. I believe I got rid of this item before the Appalachian Trail with the shake down I received at Amicalola Falls by one of the park rangers.
Lint in Ziploc Sandwich Bag
This item was removed at mile 31.1 by the shake down performed at the outfitter, Mountain Crossings at Neel’s Gap. I was never going to need a fire on the Appalachian Trail. It would have been nice to have, but with the mentality I had in the beginning of the trail to shed of the unnecessary, I parted ways with this item.
Journal
This item was removed at mile 37.1 off trail in a hiker box after realizing I could just record my blog on my phone. Plus, I would be able to record my day at any hour of the day without bothering my fellow hikers (with a headlamp).
Eno Sub7 Hammock + Eno Helios Hammock Suspension System
This item was removed at mile 31.1 by the shake down performed at the outfitter, Mountain Crossings at Neel’s Gap. Originally, I got rid of this hammock for the extra weight, but after requesting this hammock again in Virginia, I sent it home again, but instead because I did not have time in the day to want to hang up my hammock and relax. After I finished with a day, all I wanted to do was eat quickly and then go pass out in my tent.
Clear Waterproof Pack Liner
The one I had purchases broke easily and was replaced by the trash bag I had used to cover my pack from the rain when I slept at night. I no longer used the trash bag as a pack cover because after time, I started to sleep with it.
Bear Spray + Bear Spray Holster
This item was removed at mile 31.1 by the shake down performed at the outfitter, Mountain Crossings at Neel’s Gap. The majority of the bears will run away from you on the trail. There are three types of bears I will elaborate on later, but the most common of the three are the kind that run away from you. I am surprised I carried it long as I did because the park ranger at Amicalola Falls had made quite the convincing argument. To be honest, I carried it because of the innate fear I had of them likely because of the innate fear my father also has of them.
Bear Bell
This item was removed before the Appalachian Trail with the shake down I received at Amicalola Falls by one of the park rangers. He made the told me that the bears will smell you before they will hear you and with a pack you will be heard from pretty far away. Though, this was not the thing that made me decide to get rid of this item. It was the fact he said it was very likely, I’d acquire the trail name “bear bell.” I still find it funny I made the decision based over the social aspect, over the logical argument.
3M Scotch Multi-Use Duck Tape
I learned after using the Leukotape that it was redundant to carry both.
Pen
I got rid of my journal, hence no reason to carry a pen.
Electronic:
Headphones
I did not carry the same headphones I had started out with. That being said, I probably went 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, which is how the majority of them broke. 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 when my music randomly would automatically decrease in volume. 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 or vice versa, 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.
Headlamp
I had a total of three pairs of headlamps; all if I am going to be honest, broke due water damage due to fault of my own. To elaborate, I stored my headlamp in my chest pouch on my backpack and when it had rained, that very pouch would fill up with water, zipped up or not. The first time my headlamp broke, I failed to recognize why, leading to the breakage of the second pair.
Anker 15W Dual USB Solar Charger
This item was removed before the Appalachian Trail with the shake down I received at Amicalola Falls by one of the park rangers. Same argument was used for my sunglasses. The Appalachian Trail is commonly known as the green tunnel. If you get sun, it will be briefly.
Medical:
Sunscreen
This item was removed before the Appalachian Trail with the shake down I received at Amicalola Falls by one of the park rangers. Same argument was used for my sunglasses and the solar charger I had been carrying. The Appalachian Trail is commonly known as the green tunnel. If you get sun, it will be briefly.
Safety Pin
I honestly lost this item. I never got a blister during my through-hike, so I never needed a replacement. I did not even notice it was missing from my pack until I had made my post Appalachian Trail pack list to be honest.
Pepto Bismol Tablets
I used these once, on the third day. Personally, after carrying them for maybe more than half of the trail I decided to part from them. For how infrequently I used these, it only made sense to part from them.
Melatonin
I parted from these at mile 37.1. I did not have any issue falling asleep at night.
Hydrocortisone Anti-Itch Cream
This item was removed at mile 31.1 by the shake down performed at the outfitter, Mountain Crossings at Neel’s Gap. The argument for this item was that it was apart of the trail. You genuinely stop caring to itch after a certain point.
Hemorrhoid Wipes
I parted from these in Virginia. I used them early on, but was replaced with my Beeswax lip balm.
Gauze
I parted from these at mile 37.1. The mentality I had was that I could just use an article of clothing if I really needed to temporarily until I got into town.
First Aid Kit Bag
I parted from this I believe at the 1st shake down in Amicalola Falls. I learned from the park ranger there, that it was nice I had everything organized in different bags, but each one of those bags added up in weight. I ended up putting all my medical stuff into a freezer gallon bag along with some of my Toiletries and Miscellaneous stuff, originally kept together nice with a rubber band to avoid deterioration.
Eye Drops
I don’t remember where I parted ways with this, but I do remember not using this once.
Bronner’s All Purpose Soap
This item was removed at mile 31.1 by the shake down performed at the outfitter, Mountain Crossings at Neel’s Gap. While very handy, all of the hostels and motels I stayed at had provided soap. I did intend to use this as toothpaste as well, but I personally couldn’t stand the taste.
Deet
While necessary, you will sweat this off while you are hiking, at least in my experience. I don’t remember where I parted ways with this, but it was likely in the first 100 miles.
Cough drops
The ones I started out with ended up melting in my medical bag. I did at one point need cough drops due to strep, but I just picked them up the next town I was in.
Copy of Passport/ID/Medical Information/etc.
I brought this with intention of having a back up, but this backup got wet and I ended up throwing this away. May be better to just keep the copy at home or with a trusted friend.
Band-Aids – Sport Strip
I kept these for more than half the trail and never used them so eventually I took them out. I always made sure to clean myself up when I got into town next. If I really needed to cover up myself, I could just use some Leukotape.
Analgesic Cream
These were amazing early on, but after I had become acclimated to the trail, they became unnecessary. I recommend carrying more than just two like I did, for the first three weeks.
Toiletries:
Ziploc Storage Bags (Gallon) – Used TP/Wet wipes/H-wipes
There was not really a good reason to keep these all separated, so I put these items along with my other trash. I did this to save weight in the first 100 miles even if only slightly. You will have this mentality of shedding all the unnecessary weight you can in the beginning, even the slight.
Hard Case for Sunglasses
This item was removed at mile 31.1 by the shake down performed at the outfitter, Mountain Crossings at Neel’s Gap. This item went along with my sunglasses.
Floss with out case (pre-cut)
These were in a small bag that I misplaced and didn’t bother to replace. Floss is not only good for hygiene, but also good for repairing clothing.
