HOW MUCH TO CARRY IN YOUR PACK?

There is no easy answer to this question––the amount of weight you carry (within reason) is a matter of personal preference. Usually people new to hiking take far more than they need; as they gain experience, they figure out quickly what is needed on the trail and what they can do without. This is illustrated each spring on the approach trail from Amicalola State Park to the A.T.’s southern terminus on Springer Mountain, where one can sometimes follow jettisoned clothes, food, and equipment as hikers realize they packed too much.

Historically, the advice has been to carry no more than one-third of your body weight. This guideline is probably more appropriate on trails like the Continental Divide Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail, where supply points are few and far between. On most sections of the A.T., though, you won’t go more than three to five days before hitting a town, a store, or a highway within easy reach of either. The only exception to this occurs in the Smokies, where it is 70 miles between re-supply points (unless you want to hitch to Gatlinburg) and the “100-Mile Wilderness” in Maine, which, though no longer living up to its moniker, still requires a 62-mile hike before reaching a paved road with access to supplies (at White House Landing).

With this in mind, carrying one-quarter of your weight is reasonable along the A.T. Some hikers swear that you should carry only one-fifth of your body weight, but that can be challenging, especially during winter when the need for warm clothes can add significant weight. It is very important to make sure you carry enough clothing for the worst possible weather (layering will be discussed later) and enough food and water to get you by in case of emergency.

One bit of advice: If you are the organized type, keep a list of what you take each outing. When you return, consult your checklist and consider keeping those items you used over and over again for the next trip and getting rid of those things you used only once or not at all. You can do the same thing if you are thru-hiking: just mail unused or no longer needed stuff back home.

What if you have organized all your gear and food and packed it up, but the pack weighs more than one-quarter of your weight? Unpack and look at everything very carefully. Items like your stove, tent, and sleeping bag are obviously essential, though if money is no object, buying lighter-weight versions of any of these will decrease weight. What about your clothes? You don’t have to wear something different every day. And if you must shave, deodorize, shampoo, etc., take along sample-size containers. A radio adds weight too; if you can’t do without it, make sure you have the compact “Walkman” type. Flashlights that are “hiker-friendly” can be purchased readily these days; a small flashlight that uses AA batteries will serve you just as well as one that uses C or D batteries, and won’t weigh as much. Some thru-hikers go to such extremes as cutting down their toothbrushes, snipping off the edges of topo maps or tearing out sections of guidebooks that won’t be used.

These are just a few examples of how much to take. Subsequent chapters also provide suggestions on what to pack. Look objectively at what you’ve packed: Are you sure you can’t live without it?

PACKING YOUR PACK

Once you’ve bought a pack, where do you put what? You’re going to want certain items to be handy. Any system that you come up with will work as long as you know how to get at those necessary items quickly.

Rain gear, for example, will be something that you’ll want to be able to lay your hands on immediately. It is not unusual to be caught in a sudden downpour, and if you have to drop your pack and dig through it to get at your raingear, you and all your gear may be soaked by the time you find it.

You will also need a means to carry water so you can get at it without taking off your pack. Some hikers use holsters for their water bottles while others keep their bottles within easy reach in a side pocket on their packs.

Within the pack, it is important to distribute the weight as equally as possible. For example, don’t put all your food on one side and all your clothes on the other. Believe it or not, food will be a good third of the weight you are carrying.

Packing the heavier stuff toward the top of your pack will keep the load centered over your hips, particularly in an external-frame pack. On the other hand, don’t follow this rule to its furthest possible conclusion, because an overly top-heavy pack is unwieldy.

Sleeping bags are usually secured at the bottom of an external-frame pack, strapped to the frame just below the pack sack. With internal frame packs, the sleeping-bag compartment is usually the bottom third of the pack.

Another suggestion: You will probably want your food more readily available than your clothes and cooking gear, particularly at lunch time. Nothing is more aggravating than digging through your clothes just so you can satisfy a craving for gorp.

Snow and solitude on the A.T.

LOADING TIPS

• On gentle terrain, pack the heaviest items high and close to the back. Because the pack’s center of gravity is about at shoulder level, it will take only a slight bend at the waist while hiking to align the weight over your hips.
• If balance is crucial (climbing, off-trail travel, rough terrain), pack heavy items in the center, close to your back. You may have to lean over more to offset the pack’s weight, but balance is better because the pack’s top-heaviness is reduced.
• If you are carrying anything sharp in your pack, pad it well. The last thing you want is to be stabbed in the back.
• Women have a lower center of gravity and do well to pack dense items lower and closer to the back.
• Color-coded stuff sacks are a great backpacking tool for organizing gear and food.
• Make sure that all fitting points are properly adjusted to your torso.
• Long items should be lashed to the pack frame.

A NOTE ON HUNTING SEASONS

If you will be passing through a hunting area (the A.T. passes through numerous Wildlife Management Areas, where hunting seasons usually range from November through February) while hiking along the Appalachian Trail, you might want to take some precautions. Your best bet is to attach something blaze orange to your pack. If you are really concerned, you can always cover your pack with a blaze orange pack cover (sold by the ATC) or even a big orange leaf bag. You could also wear an orange cap. This color is the hunter’s signal that something human is approaching, as blaze orange is a color rarely found in the natural world and particularly not moving about two miles per hour through the woods.

For those who are unused to the idea of hunting, the sport is allowed along many parts of the A.T. The regulations for each particular area of the Trail are determined by the land-management agency in that area, of which there are more than 40 along the Trail.

The Trail actually passes through a number of state lands that are managed specifically for hunting, such as the G. Richard Thompson Wildlife Area in northern Virginia or the Pennsylvania State Game Lands.

Check the regulations in each state before hiking. You can find up-to-date information on hunting season posted at the ATC Web site: www.appalachiantrail.org.

If your pack is not in your tent with you, leave the pack pockets open at night. Mice, chipmunks, and other rodents have a way of finding packs, particularly at frequently used campsites. If the pockets are open, rodents won’t have to chew their way into your pack to search for food.