CDT Thru-Hike Gear Retrospective: 12 Things I Changed During My Hike

[@SetTheWild]

I hope i never have to go the inflatable pad route. I like my $200+ products to work for more than a couple of months. Foam pads don’t fail.

[@Ethesis]

Thermarest has replaced my pads too. So I now have four (replaced them on trail).

[@michaelskidmore2006]

thanks

[@mtadams2009]

I use a bag my wife purchased for me from Hyperlite and I think Zpacks also makes one for my pillow. It’s a DCF bag with fleece on side. It weighs next to nothing. I also use it as a storage bag. It’s worked well for me. I have two of those pad that failed you, the yellow one. Mine have worked great. I have a full length one and a short one for summer use. The Uber lite has had bad reviews, that is the reason I have stayed away from it. Closed cell never fails but my body needs a little more than a closed cell can give. Seems like your gear pretty much worked out for you. Congratulations on your hike. Take care

[@UnfetteredFootsteps]

That fleece lined bag sounds nice! Glad you are enjoying the videos and hope 2023 has some backpacking adventures in your sights!

[@mtadams2009]

@@UnfetteredFootsteps I retired this past year and my dog Maggie and I did the Long Trail in Vermont. Next summer we plan on doing the Colorado trail. I would love to do the PCT but I think we will do the AT since it’s more friendly for my good friend Maggie. No desert and less restrictive. I went all in on DCF this year and my pack weight is about eight pounds. It’s completely changed backpacking for me I a positive way. Take care

[@turkeywalker7046]

I had the same problem on the AT with thermarest that started sometime before Duncannon. I tried the pads but didn’t like the comfort, then got a Nemo Tensor in CT and used it from there. So far, so good, no issues with it at all. I did the same thing with the quilt in the bottom of the contractor bag instead of the stuff sack, and lost the pillow too.

[@UnfetteredFootsteps]

Awesome! Gear evolution is part of the fun.

[@ktsevens]

Thanks for your insight, It will really help us future CDT hikers alot!!

[@UnfetteredFootsteps]

My pleasure!

[@genelucky4002]

Congratulations. I just wanted to say going to a foam pad for sleeping will be moving from R4 to an R2. Personally I find I melt snow under me when using only an R2 pad. YMMV.

[@UnfetteredFootsteps]

Yep! Definitely colder and the conditions will have to be right for me to use it, especially since I use a quilt (though I can always switch back to my sleeping bag). There’s no silver bullet and while this year on the CDT I could have made my foam pad work, in 2019 on my first attempt I would have been way too cold. The CDT is one of those trails where any given year can be totally different! That’s why it’s exciting though :-)

[@Alaskaborn]

Nice gear choices.

[@lungs2919]

Love the music at the end! Is it urs?

[@UnfetteredFootsteps]

Nope. It was just some royalty free music I found years ago when I made the outro for the channel. Glad you like it! I like a good slide guitar from time to time. Used to play a lot of blues back in the day…

[@20Hikecdt23]

ice axe is a great cat hole digger

[@UnfetteredFootsteps]

Good point!

[@LynxOutdoors686]

Thanks for making this. What are your thoughts on food storage? Did you mostly keep food in your vestibule? Did you, or others you met, have issues with rodents or other critters messing with food bags that weren't off the ground? Some folks I've read had issues finding good trees for hanging food regularly. What was your experience? I'm debating bringing my dcf food bag and bear hang kit vs just going for an Ursack for simplicity.

[@UnfetteredFootsteps]

I used my dcf food bag without hanging until the Wyoming basin, where I switched to ursack. I did it in the basin because it was easy to ship a box to Rawlins. I slept with my food in my tent every night until I was into grizzly country in Wyoming and never had an issue. Many other hikers did the same. It’s dispersed camping and 99% of the time I camped alone and away from water. I try to choose campsites where wildlife interactions are less likely. If I am in a state or National park I always hang the food. But in grizzly country I didn’t want to take any chances. I also used opsacks with my ursack and never had anything mess with my food when I tied the bag to a tree.

[@LynxOutdoors686]

@@UnfetteredFootsteps awesome info, ty. I'm so used to hiking on the AT and LT where the mice are everywhere. It makes sense now that you point out the sites are less defined and heavily used. Thanks!

[@UnfetteredFootsteps]

@@LynxOutdoors686 yep! I hung my food on the AT and used DCF. CDT is really bad for hanging. Even when there are trees it’s nearly impossible to get a good hang. They don’t have the right branches. Better to focus on minimizing odors (opsacks are great for this).

[@tedinohio3981]

I always carry an extra SD card. It weighs practically nothing, and is hardly bulky.

[@daven.7685]

Back in the day (45 years ago), no one had an inflatable pillow. The puffy (didn’t call it that) stuffed into a stuff sack was the go to for me and most others. I am really beginning to wonder how much new or extra gear has come on the scene as a result of getting away from the traditional goose down mummy bag and going to quilts, which seem to require people wearing more clothes to bed, high R-value (and expensive!) inflatable sleeping pads, tents, etc. I don’t know how I lived so long “cowboy camping” with a mummy bag on an open celled pad, using a tube tent (a what?) as a ground cloth.

[@UnfetteredFootsteps]

Everything changes and develops over time. I think it is up to each person to figure out what works for them and whether a new take on, or combination of, gear works for them. My quilt setup, even with a few extras, still weighs less and is more comfortable than my mummy bag (I find it easier to regulate my temp with the quilt). But that’s just me, and I do still like my mummy bag for deep shoulder seasons and always for anything in the winter. There’s almost an endless combination of setups for us to try, but if you’re happy with where you’re at there’s also no need to change unless you just want to. One person’s optimization is another’s suffering, and vice versa. I expect my kit to continue to change over time, but I tend to hold onto big investment pieces for as long as they continue to work for me. Gear has changed so much over the last decade. Soon I’ll have to navigate getting a new pack, as mine is falling apart. That’s going to be interesting! I will probably change it up, but will have to navigate all of the cottage gear variations and the fact that many are made to order so there is no way to try them out. I’m considering a trip to Trail Days to look at packs, but don’t know if I’ll have the time away from work to do so. Maybe in 2024.

[@vinoto]

I agree with everything except leaving the ice axe. Reports can only tell you so much and there have been too many injuries and deaths with hikers without proper equipment or the knowledge of how to properly use an ice ax

[@UnfetteredFootsteps]

Yes. It was a personal decision specifically for me to hike without it, one that I felt comfortable with at my experience level and given my late arrival in the San Juans on a low snow year. Stark contrast to 2019 when I used my ice axe heavily in that same area. People have to make the decision that is right for them based on many factors with safety as a top priority, for sure.