When you go on a long hike – what is the essential gear you take? When I say long hike I mean when you plan on hiking for longer than a day.
My regular long hike gear includes – backpack, Ozark dome tent (3 person capacity), 3lb sleeping bag, Garmin GPS, CaseXX hunting knife, small binoculars, small two-way radio, camping cookware, and a camera. You might think a camera is not essential but for me it is. Without it, I may as well stay at home. I don’t take a cell phone because that just takes something away from the solitude. I do take the two-way just in case I have trouble.
You could probably say I take the long hike to the extreme in that no one knows where I go. In hiking West Virginia’s backwoods extra care has to be taken for some of the wildlife – bobcat, coyote, bear, rattlesnake and copperhead. With that in mind, when I intend to go deep into the WV backwoods I also carry a single action .22 revolver. It has a couple of uses. First and foremost is protection. Just as importantly – if I were to get lost or in an accident I could survive on small game until I either found my way back out or someone found me. A country boy can survive.
This weeks hike is going to be one of those long hikes. The dome tent is new and should make the experience a little more enjoyable. Having a large tent forces me to have to stop hiking earlier than I would like in order to set up camp. Either that or set up camp in the dark and I have yet to find that an enjoyable experience. With the new tent – it takes up very little area, sets up in five minutes, and is light to carry.
I intend to hike all or a very big part of the Appalachian Trail this year and these first few long hikes are going to prepare me for that adventure. In one way is the gear I need to take. I hope to be able to take a few long hikes now and weed out all non-essential or add any essential gear before the AT. The biggest problem I can see right now is the sleeping bag. Although it is the lightest one I could find it is still bulky and consumes much needed pack space.
At any rate – my trip to the mountains starts Thursday morning and I intend to be gone until Saturday afternoon. That gives me about two and a half days in the mountains to start this years hiking season. I’ll tell you all about it when I get back.
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9 users responded in this post
I got a pack a few years ago, but sadly, i have never used it.. I have a tent small enough for hiking and a water purifier. Have a sleeping bag light enough to suffice. Just no time to go.
Do u have a small cookstove or do you gather wood and build a fire every night?
On another note, where did the forum link go on top of the Stop MTR site?
I build a small fire if I need it.
The link has been temporarily removed if you want to go there and add stuff or whatever you can it is still there just not linked to. I need to resolve some privacy issues with the forum platform.
http://endmtr.com/forum
What do you do for food while hiking? I guess I assumed I would need a cookstove to be a hiker.. I read quite a bit about it a couple years ago and have a buddy who hikes, so I thought the “light” food was reconstituted or something that needed heated. I mean there is the obvious trail mix and such, but I think I would need something resembling a “real” dinner at least 1 night.
I knew where the forum was… just wasn’t sure if you were aware the link was gone.. I’m sure you were suffering from burnout before this weekend
On hikes like the one coming up I’ll take trail bologna, energy bars, deer jerky, and simple stuff like that – not a lot of weight in the pack. I may take something for a hot meal and if I do I just cook it over an open flame – on camping cookware. This hike will most likely be just something quick for energy – I plan to go quite a ways in a short period of time. As far as the AT – not sure about that yet.
A lot of what a person takes on a long hike to sustain themselves really depends on the person. I’m a little guy so it doesn’t take much to keep me going. Whereas my brother is about 270 and he would have to take the refrigerator with him.
Have fun and stay safe. I’ll look forward to some posts about your adventures when you come back.
Thanks Kristine – I’m sure to bring back an interesting post or two.
Have a great time Denny. That is something I would like to do when I come down there next.
Of course, Ill have to figure out how to strap a refrigerator on my back….you know me.
Sounds like my cousin when he goes camping with his 3 room tent and pickup truck full of stuff, incuding a dish drainer. Oh well, at least he doesn’t take the kitchen sink…. yet….