2025 Appalachian Trail Thru Hike Pack Shake Down What Is In My Pack?

[@impulsivewanderer]

Thanks for the gear video, I'm still shopping around for my gear so I enjoy seeing what everyone takes

[@gregmortonoutdoors]

I highly recommend taking a fuel transfer gadget for your canister. You will find tons of partial fuel canisters in hiker boxes and you could possibly not have to ever buy fuel during your entire hike. You could also hook up those you're hiking with, as well. Also, you might find your only option for fuel is the extra large Coleman canisters at Walmart. One of those could fill up several of the small ones for you and your tramily, saving a few bucks. Grab a small bottle of Dr. Bronner's. Personally, I like the peppermint. I don't recommend their small travel size because the flip cap leaks. I have a small screw top bottle about the same size. Hand sanitizer isn't going to protect you from noro, only washing your hands will. You will run into all sorts of nasty m-fers on the trail (both male and female) and you will want to constantly wash your hands before they have contact with your mouth or your food. Also, when it warms up, you'll enjoy taking a few minutes each day to wash off your "sensitive" areas (cuts down on chaffing) and the peppermint gives you a nice, fresh, feeling. You can also use the soap for some "trail laundry". Take a 1 quart ziploc, a few drops of soap, dirty socks, and water. Shove that in your front pocket of your pack and when you stop for lunch, rinse the socks and hang them off the pack to dry as you hike. Clean, dry socks by the time you camp for the night. I also found my pocket knife completely dull by Virginia but I was a gram weenie and left my small whetstone at home. I am going to take it on my FT hike this month. For editing, I brought a card reader about the size of a USB flash drive. I would transfer videos to my phone using it, edit them, upload, and then transfer the completed video and the individual segments/pictures to a 1TB SSD made by kingston using a USB C to USB C cable. It was very light and stored everything I shot. I also uploaded my entire music collection from my computer on it so I could swap out playlists/music on my phone. However, you will probably find most wifi connections slow AF and it take 2 hours to upload one video. Very frustrating at times. This is going to be an epic trip and I know you have wanted to do this for awhile. Good luck, you got this!

[@MetroOnTheMove]

Thank you for all of the tips! These will be very valuable as the hike continues. Have a few people that be out there with me state by state and really hoping to share this experience with friends along the way. Cheers brother!!

[@sharpironhikers1878]

Really like how you have everything packed and organized! Looks great👍🏼

[@MetroOnTheMove]

Organization is the name of the game! Cheers

[@BackpackingWithJason]

I’m so excited for you!! I know you will dominate the AT. I’ll be following your journey brother.

[@MetroOnTheMove]

Step by step and taking my time. Gotta enjoy the ride...and not get hurt. Whole year to do it.

[@BlazedNFused]

Great tips! I'm planning my first thru hike and heading to Amicolola on 1-25. I just wrote down your list to cross reference with my list when I get to grabbing those last minute items. Good Luck Metro! Congrats on Hiker #1!

[@MetroOnTheMove]

Might see you out there! Take your time and enjoy the ride. Thank you for the continued support!

[@UnlikelyHiker]

Awesome! I’m so stoked for you! I can’t wait to see your adventure! If you need anything in the MA/NY/VT area message me! If I’m available I’d love to help!

[@MetroOnTheMove]

Will do! Thank you and Happy New Year!

[@suecox8355]

Thanks🦋❤️

[@neptunerising493]

So pumped to follow you up the trail Metro!!!

[@MetroOnTheMove]

Thank you my friend. This is the year!

[@chaosncheckt9356]

Know you are pass Blood Mountain by now facing the challenging climbs from GA to NC. Nice shoes, I wore HOKAs on my 2023 through hike. Shoes can be hard to find - I replaced mine every 450-500 miles, so I bought five pairs and had my wife send them to be along the way. When you can, wrap some duct tape around the trekking poles for quick repairs. I also put a couple of strips of luminous tape on mine as well as wrote my Trail Name on them. I started with 2 large smart water bottles and used a Sawyer Mini to filter. So, one had dirty water that I filtered into the 2nd to drink from. This worked to just before I started into the Shenandoah National Park. For ease, I got a BeFree water filter bottle and two new large smart water bottles. Obviously, used the BeFree to filter into just one of the smart bottles. I rarely filled both unless I knew I was hitting a long dry section or I was going into camp and there were no nearby water sources. If you keep the Sawyer mini, stop at a hard ware store and get extra rubber O-Rings for the filter where it attaches to your bottle. Those are known to fall out. Fourteen lbs base weight isn't bad - I started in Feb and had about the same but the water bottles and then 4-5 days of food pushed it closer to 25lbs. Needed more food at the start because resupply options were not readily available. Later on my hike, I kept my food stock to just about 3-days. Not sure if you watched any of the videos Nahamsha Hiker but she had her gear dialed in perfectly. Had the pleasure of hiking with her a bit and not only was she very organized, fast, but her pack was very light weight. I know you are aware, but in these cold temps put the Sawyer and all of your electronics inside a bag in your sleeping bag at night. If the water in the Sawyer freezes, the filter will be damaged. Best of luck out there

[@ervinslens]

Looks like you are well prepared! I am not jealous at all 😄😄😄

[@MetroOnTheMove]

This is years of dialing it in. Take what you need. Less is more. Happy New Year!

[@suecox8355]

🦋❤️

[@Bibs123]

I have a suggestion from experience for anyone with an In Reach. My In Reach Mini came off the D-Ring at Red River Gorge when I sat my pack down one day. The likelihood of it happening is probably really small, but the feeling I had realizing I had lost a $399 piece of gear was awful. I don't know how in the world it happened, but it did. I was lucky because a guy from Cincinnati found it, opened it and called me so I could get it back. I didn't have it on that day because I have walked the particular trail I was on many times, so I didn't feel I needed it. Since I didn't have it turned on, I couldn't use my phone to find it. So, if it's not always on, or you don't want to go hunt it, you might buy one of those D ring's that have the locking mechanism; they screw shut. Anyway, awesome gear, smart gear and good luck.

[@MetroOnTheMove]

Thanks for the suggestion! It's good to be prepared, I'm definitely going to check those locking D-rings out!

[@impulsivewanderer]

I've often thought of placing it inside a pants zipper pocket incase I fall myself & get separated from my bag

[@FOLLOWINGWALKERSWORLD]

Great Gear! Love to see what changes over the trip! 👍

[@MetroOnTheMove]

When it gets warmer it will be time to go ultralight!

[@celenasherrill1455]

I'm looking forward to following your hike.

[@MetroOnTheMove]

Cheers! Thanks for joining us

[@micah6-8]

Looks like you’ve got it covered and more. One thing I was glad I had was a scoop for water. I would roll my filter in my bag like you and place that in a Smart Water bottle scoop. 👍🏼🙏🏼

[@MetroOnTheMove]

That's a great idea! I will add that to my gear list!

[@JoeyOutdoorz]

Looks like an awesome loadout! 👌

[@MetroOnTheMove]

Dialed in!! Happy New Year my friend!

[@jjhikespa3600]

Looks like you have everything covered. It’s a great list of thought out gear. If you are looking for more tips on how to document a thru-hike (data cards, batteries to carry, wall chargers to fast charge in town, etc.), Frozen from Outdoor Adventures and Lynx Outdoors on KZbin have videos up and they have some useful tips on that side of things that have helped me on my trips. Good luck on your thru-hike!

[@MetroOnTheMove]

Thank you! Will check those videos out. Hope to see you on trail!

[@NewsViewsAndTruth]

Hygrometer !!! my choice was purchasing the same unit, but three of them. This was so that I can measure the temperature inside the inner of my tent, versus just under the fly, versus outside. I wouldn't thru hike with all three, but this was to test if an inner provides warmth. There are also plans to test how well heating methods work, as well as testing if insulating an inner is possible or efficient I also dig that the battery in these units lasts for two years, and then we can change out the coin battery for another two.

[@NewsViewsAndTruth]

Have you considered a rechargeable hand warmer in place of the hot packs? Mine was ten dollars for a pair that warms for 12 hours on a charge. It was my choice to go with recharge, as the cost of the hot pads add up. then again, i've never weighed one of the warmers, and am not thru hiking.

[@MetroOnTheMove]

Will check that out. The hand warmers also add up weight if you take a few days worth.

[@adventuresofpineappleshort4600]

Nice!

[@MetroOnTheMove]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@Colby168]

That cap most likely has a pull tab/ seal thing you have to pull off before you open it. It’s small and right where you pull up to open. I’ve had the same struggle. Mien are from the shorter Smart Water bottles.

[@MetroOnTheMove]

Yep. That new cap got me.

[@glendabaghian1145]

Could 1 of the 3 jackets/vests stay home? Flextail, a headlamp, a flashlight, and cellphone...what other light sources are you bringing?

[@MetroOnTheMove]

I used each one, every day...and was still cold. The art of layering is key and these are lightweight, so it works out with this setup.

[@KrizAkoni]

Yeah, ditch that charger! I have an Anker Prime 67W USB C Charger, it’s a little dense, but smokin fast for charging stuff. Has 2 C and 1 A output. Keep the headlamp!

[@MetroOnTheMove]

On it! Got to upgrade this pos as it is good for three phone charges and that is it.

[@KrizAkoni]

@ I meant the 5W charging brick. The nitecore 10000 I find pretty good…for the weight, not much else comes close. Get a couple more…

[@kevinroberts781]

My pack normally weighs 50 lb+. Sometimes I put weights in my pack to make it 60-70#. Builds strength and endurance.

[@MetroOnTheMove]

That is awesome! It’s nice to be able to pack luxury items.

[@roberttrinies7698]

Adding weights is crazy,I'd much rather bring an assortment of cast iron cookware! ✌🏼

[@warecurtis]

What brand of wind pants are you using

[@kevinroberts781]

@warecurtis Insulated Carhartt overalls. Thermals under. It doesn't matter what I wear. What do you wear?

[@kevinroberts781]

@roberttrinies7698 That has been an option in the past

[@TheMccluref]

I might have missed it but do you have an extra cap in case you lose one

[@MetroOnTheMove]

Yep. Had a new one in the video.

[@SeniorHiker77]

That cap gave you a little problem, gear failure.Lol

[@MetroOnTheMove]

Hahaha busted.