As I sarcastically alluded to in my first post, I am not a gear person. Gear is a common topic of conversation among thru-hikers and I really don’t have much to contribute. But I’ll tell you what, I’ve learned a heck of a lot from those around me in these first few weeks of hiking.

But after a costume change in Lincoln, NH from my WalMart joggers and tank to shorts and a Patagonia sun hoodie, I’m feeling it. I’m feeling the gear conversation, just this once.

The descent from Mount Moosilauke marks the end of the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire. From there, it’s an easy breezy hike into Hanover, New Hampshire, a quaint college town.

But the hike through the rest of the Whites was anything but easy breezy, albeit beautiful. It was throughout this section that I made a mental list of items to ditch when I arrived at a post office in Hanover, New Hampshire. I’m learning that any weight off your back when you spend all day every day hiking is a huge advantage.

A self-imposed shakedown in Stratton, Maine with a fellow thru-hiker and further mental shakedowns have led to the following items being shipped home or disposed of or added to the pile of items in a hostel’s hiker box.

Hey, I’m here to learn. After lots of conversations with fellow hikers, I made the below gear swaps to “dial-in” my pack. I think that means to make it weight less and only carry the bare necessities. The simple bear necessities.

These swaps and omissions have certainly made my pack lighter, now weighing in under 20lbs, instead of 23lbs. What’s 3lbs? A lot. It feels great. That said, I’ve also been known to carry out a pound and a half of peanut butter on three-day sections of trail, so how effective have these changes really been? Couldn’t tell you.

Leaving the hostel in Hanover, an older gentleman looked at me carrying my fully loaded Osprey Eja 48. He said “That looks like a heavy pack”. I looked at him back and said “Yup, but I can carry it”. You can check my gear list here on The Trek, what would you get rid of next? Maybe by the mountains of Virginia, I’ll be more dialed in, but for now, I’m still working on it.

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Hey y'all! I'm Jana (she/her), a first-time Appalachian Trail thru-hiker from New Brunswick, Canada. I grew up just 4 hours from Millinocket, Maine and just graduated university. I'm a regular weekend warrior backpacker with a passion for a big scoop of PB in my morning oatmeal. I like organizing my Spotify playlists by genre and waking up before sunrise. Follow my adventure @jana.v.world on Instagram!

I enjoy learning of a hikers experience in order to minimize my errors

I leave my worries behind, They weigh too much.