Gear: What Hikers Want

After the hike itself–the trail, the breeze, the views, the trees–what serious hikers really want often comes to gear–or, to steal a phrase: the things they carried. What are those things? The Appalachian Mountain Club put that question to dozens of AT thru-hikers, then winnowed the list of most wanted stuff down to nine things. Here are the first five:
1. Light is right: “The lighter the pack is, the
happier the hiker is,” says Kris Hauman, who thru-hiked in 2005. Time
and time again, thru-hikers responded that the most important element
of gear selection was weight-and the less of it the better. As one
thru-hiker put it: “An extra pound, ounce, or even gram might not sound
like much…until you multiply it by a couple thousand miles.”
2. Injinji Toe Socks: “I
used these socks on a supported ‘thru-run’ of the AT in 2005 and rarely
got blisters because the toes are separated from each other by a soft
fabric inside the sock. I wore five pairs of these synthetic,
quick-drying ‘tsoks’ on the AT and they barely look used. They should
last me for hundreds, if not thousands, more miles. – Sue “Runtrails”
Norwood, 56, 2005 thru-hiker.
3. Led on the head: “For
night light we each took a LEDHedz micro hat lamp. The device is the
size of two quarters placed side by side and weighs a mere half ounce,
including the long-lasting battery! Each light lasted about 700 miles,
and was more than adequate for setting up camp, reading, and hiking at
night. We got by on three for the whole trip.” – B. “Otter” Townes and
William “Tadpole” Townes, 52 and 20, 2005 father-and-son thru-hikers.
4. My Pennywhistle: “My
music bounces back to the mountains, an expression of what I’ve seen
and felt. It’s not particularly good (according to my hiking partners)
but I love it. My pennywhistle has been to the bottom of Lake Michigan,
was rescued by scuba divers, and has tootled from Georgia to Maine.”
-Laura “GypsyLuLu” Cavender, 2005 thru-hiker.
5. A book in the hand:“I cherished my copy of The Thruhiker’s Handbook
by Dan “Wingfoot” Bruce. It had all the information I needed, from
water sources to post offices. I enjoyed using it as part of my journal
by writing the dates and times beside the places I slept each night.
Now that my thru-hike is over, I relish looking at my handbook and
seeing when I went through a certain place.” – Kris “Slaphappy” Hauman,
30, 2005 thru-hiker.
For the final four things that serious hikers want most, read the AMC Outdoors magazine.