What should I bring?

Or perhaps more importantly, what should I leave behind?

As a lifelong camper and Appalachian Trail thru-hiker, my gear setup has looked drastically different depending on what kind of trip I am taking.

This post is won’t have any checklists for what gear you need… This post is about adopting the right mindset around gear.

It’s all about being comfortable

The question is: where do you want to be comfortable? On the trail or at camp?

In the world of backpacking gear, there is almost always an inverse relationship between comfort at camp and comfort while hiking.

Take a camp chair for example. Some of the simpler lightweight options weigh around a pound to a pound and a half. If you’ve backpacked enough, you will know that a pound of extra gear will definitely be felt while hiking a 2,000 foot ascent in midday heat. However, having that camp chair sure will be nice while you’re around the fire later that evening enjoying a well-earned meal.

With this principle in mind, you can do a simple cost-benefit analysis of each gear item you are considering to take with you on your trip, outside of the essentials.

If I’m hiking 5 miles a day with plenty of time at camp – you can bet I’m bringing my camp chair, my cook set, and maybe even a hammock to really enjoy myself. If hiking 15 miles a day…. That crap can stay at home. I’d much rather have the comfort of a lighter pack weight and actually enjoy my hiking rather than favor the brief time at camp with some added luxuries.

Tailor your gear to your trip

I learned this lesson while thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail. At the beginning of my thru-hike, I treated it like a big camping trip. I had a camp chair, extra clothes, heavy food items, hefty sandals for camp… All these things are great if you’re hanging around camp for half of the day. But I wasn’t… I was thru-hiking the frickin’ Appalachian Trail!

That means I hiked ALL day and just about collapsed on my face by the time I made it to camp. I didn’t need a fire, a chair, some nice sandals… I needed to eat, set up my tent, and SLEEP. Day in and day out.

When I started to take stock of my gear setup (with some serious help from other thru-hikers), I realized how much gear I had that, while great for a camping trip, were useless on a thru-hike.

Now, say I get back from the Appalachian Trail and I am riding high and mighty on my ultralight, minimalist backpacking vibe. I then go on a car camping trip with some friends and I only bring the bare essentials while everyone else is cracking open beers and relaxing in camp chairs. That would be stupid! Who cares what I do or don’t bring on a trip like that? The car is doing all the heavy lifting!

This may sound obvious, but really take stock of what you plan to bring and how much time you will spend at camp vs. on trail. If you’re pounding out miles, leave it at home. If you’re taking it slow and easy, bring it with. Enjoy your trip with the right setup.

Sermon over.

Happy hiking!

 Kris