1) I used a Kelty 4500 Shadow backpack...borrowed from my son and that piece of gear was great. No complaints at all, except that I wished it could hold more food, and had an anti-gravity function.
2) Slumberjack sleeping bag...borrowed from my son. This kept me warm on the cold nights. When I buy one, I will make sure that I get the longer version so I can stretch all the way out at night....that part of the night when I still have hopes of falling asleep. I will also bring some kind of sleeping aid...either tea or Advil Nighttime.
3) Eureka! Solitaire Tent: This was a great idea. It doesn't weigh much, and it doesn't cost too much. Unfortunately, It needs stakes everywhere to stand up, and most of the time there were roots and rocks in the way. Next time I go shopping, I will look for a tent that I can sit up in and read, instead of lying there like I'm trapped in a coffin while trying not to freeze to death. By the way, any short people in the market for a almost new backpacking bivvy (mummy) tent...see me!
4) Suunto Traverse Alpha...smart hiking watch. This gadet is way cool, and once I understood that all it takes is a drop in barometric pressure for it to go into alarm mode, I was much more relaxed. Before that, I thought it was somehow hooked into NORAD and knew when doom was impending for us. This watch can easily go for a number of days without needing a charge, plus it looks VERY cool.
5) UnderArmour Compression shirt...this was the best idea that didn't work. This very tight shortsleeve t-shirt had me sweating in 40 degrees. Next time I'm packing a normal workout shirt just in case the temp rises above freezing during the trip!
6) Pam's homemade trail mix. This stuff was packed in small baggies for each day of the trip, and it became like Crack for me. I was told that the ingredients were so expensive that nobody could afford to sell it in a store, and this food is what kept me going. When I was feeling really generous, I let Paul and Chase have a little taste of it. Near the end of the trip, we were adding the crumbs to our oatmeal...best oatmeal ever...
7) Junkfood treats. Bad idea. Somehow, I was told that we would be burning so many calories that we could eat Snickers bars all day long and lose weight. Instead, I gained weight on the trip...still trying to figure that out.
8) Ramen Noodles....believe it or not, I've never had them before. These things are great with a pack of soup mix added. We mostly ate Mountain House freeze-dried food, which is apparently too expensive for true hikers to eat, so we looked like city-slickers, while REAL men ate Ramen.
9) UnderArmour Cold Gear Storm Beanie....the best friend a bald head ever had in the cold hiking weather!
10) Jackery Mini Premium portable charger...a little bit larger than a lipstick and kept my watch charged when I needed it. This would be great for charging up a cell phone as well.
11) Petzl Tikka XP Headlamp. I already had a good headlamp at home, but this thing was super lightweight and as we found out later, was as bright as a car headlight in the woods. I had a little bit of trouble figuring how to get the functions to work with only the one button, but once I did...I was very happy to have this item on the trail!
12) Silicone Collapsible cups...we loved these. You can buy them just about anywhere in the camping section. they fold up almost flat, weight very little and we used them for coffee, food, everything. The price for larger bowl-sized containers were a lot more expensive, but we may invest in that for the next trip.
12) Toilet paper....all I can say is bring more than you think you need. Somehow my brother convinced me all I needed a little pack of tissues that you give to kids in elementary school, just one for each day....maybe that would have worked if I skipped all of the junk food on the trail....just remember, when you run out of this, you get to use leaves....
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