What Do Thru Hikers Eat?!

Whenever I'm out on the trail, whether it's a short trip for work or a month long hike (or even longer!) people who have never done a backpacking trip often ask me how I eat on the trail when I'm staying in the woods.  I usually give them the short answer of "I carry food!" because many people just assume I forage or hunt or even carry tons of canned goods (yes, really!). Since I've been doing a lot of advice posts recently, this post is aimed at newer backpackers who are still confused as to what to bring to eat for longer distance hikes.  While there are so many wonderful options out there, here are the most common things people carry on thru hikes.  It should be noted that I dehydrated all our food from recipes for our hikes last summer, so more intensive backpacking "recipes" won't be covered here - stay tuned for future posts for people looking for recipe inspiration (as well as healthier options)!

Breakfast Ideas

Breakfast is a toughie because some people just don’t like breakfast.  If I don’t eat breakfast I crash and burn fairly quickly.  I also was never a coffee drinker until I hit the trail but once I really got into the routine, I found a warm cup of coffee was perfect for me most mornings. On hot summer mornings I often just made it with cold water for an "iced coffee"!  If you don’t think you’d like coffee, any warm liquid is often nice in the morning to get everything in your digestive tract “moving.”  Instead of hot chocolate, I really recommend Carnation Instant Breakfast packets.  They have a coffee flavor and two different chocolate flavors, as well as vanilla and strawberry.  There is at least SOME nutrition in this, as well as a LOT sugar to perk you up. My personal favorite for a breakfast drink is coffee with a pack of Carnation.  It’s like a hiker trash mocha, haha!  

-Two packets of instant oatmeal - two will at least give you calories. Interestingly enough if you look at a pack of instant oats you'll see something you probably never noticed before - a fill line. That's right, you can eat this stuff right out of the packs for easy clean up!  Just be careful with super hot water.  I often ate it cold on trail. 

-Two packets of instant grits or cream of wheat

-ProBars (340 calories - whole food energy)

-Little Debbie Cakes (sugar energy)

-Honey Buns (iced honey buns have the most caloric bang for your buck, often packing in close to 600 calories for only a few ounces of weight)

-Pop tarts

-Bagels with shelf-stable cheese (Laughing Cow will last up to 5 days in a pack) or peanut butter, cookie butter, or Nutella

-Peanut butter and granola bars (Nature Valley type)

Lunch Ideas:

I am a fan of stopping for a proper lunch.  I like to take breaks when I hike and I find a proper lunch break makes me feel better in the afternoon.  Lunch ideas are often the same as breakfast with a few tweaks. 

-Peanut butter and honey on a tortilla or the sandwich thin bread or bagels (I hate tortillas, so I opt for bread)

-Pepperoni/summer sausage and Laughing Cow Cheese (or regular cheese) on a bagel or bagel thin

-Pop tarts with peanut butter, eaten like a sandwich

-Tuna or salmon packets with tortillas or sandwich thins. I don't know if any of you have noticed, but they make so many flavors of tuna now and I even recently saw two different flavors of salmon!  Spam packets also are popular for lunches.

Dinner Ideas:

Dinner ideas can be crazy versatile.  There is really more food out there than you’d think, but if you don’t shop for processed food often it’s hard to figure this out.  Sometimes you just have to be creative and do without things and be good at improvising.  The only thing I recommend staying away from for trail dinners is quinoa - it takes 18 minutes to make and that’s active cooking time.  Fuel canisters can only last 60-75 minutes, so it burns up a lot of fuel on your stove!

-Near East CousCous (There are a TON of flavors and its fast!)

-Ramen - you can add peanut butter and dried veggies for a “pad thai”

-Mac and Cheese - even without butter and milk powder this works well!

-Knorr pasta sides or rice sides - these generally cook in 8-10 minutes, but can be done in as few as five active with 10 extra for sitting and soaking

-Instant mashed potatoes - they come in several different flavors

-Stovetop stuffing - surprisingly filling for a dinner or you can mix them with potatoes 

-El Paso Ready Rice - there are tons of precooked rice packs out there in lots of flavors. Unfortunately, these are heavy, but are great for a first day out of town

-Asia Kitchen makes Chinese food that is much like the ready rice - just heat for a few minutes and serve

-Taste of India makes Indian dishes that are heat and serve (and these make other hikers REALLY jealous when they smell them!)

Snacks: 

I usually eat three meals a day and two snacks when I am hiking. I have breakfast around 7:30 a.m., a snack at 10 a.m., lunch around 12-1 p.m., a snack around 4 p.m., and dinner at camp.  This is my magic recipe for not feeling “hangry” during the day!

-Nature Valley Granola Bars, Clif Bars, Kind Bars - any kind of bar really!  I would AVOID anything labeled as a protein bar or body builder bar.  These bars have sugar alcohols as an ingredient and sugar alcohols are notorious for making you need to poop VERY badly. I made this mistake a few times on trail and it’s HORRIFYING. 

-Goldfish Crackers, Cheeze Its, Triscuits - most crackers like this hold up for a few days pretty well

-Fruit snacks

-Trail mix - can be heavy as most bags are an entire pound, but if you make a good dent in it each day it should be okay

-Cheesy Popcorn - holds up surprisingly well in a gallon sized freezer bag and is a personal favorite of mine

and of course, CANDY!  The mini candy bars are what I always went for. The packs of 8-10 are the best because it’s just enough of a snack, plus you can usually eat two per day. Sometimes I would have one with lunch and one with dinner as a dessert. 

I should also note that for people who don't often eat a lot of processed food products, it can be really hard on your stomach and body to immediately begin consuming large amounts of this stuff.  For me, by the time I got to Hot Springs, I constantly felt kind of queasy.  I picked up a package of Flintstones Chewable kids vitamins and took two of them every night before I brushed my teeth and they really helped me feel better.  Several others who noticed me doing this also reported good results.  Since then, they've come out with adult gummy multivitamins and NoKey does really well chewing those up every night.  I personally cannot take regular adult multivitamins because I get stomachaches from the iron content.  So, in short, if you start feeling run down and crappy fairly early on, consider adding a multivitamin to your diet!

And yes, I know I may have forgotten (insert whatever it is you think I forgot here).  There are so many different food choices out there and so many different dietary needs. Some people prefer to not even carry a backpacking stove, so this article doesn't even begin to touch on all of those things!  I'm just covering the bases for any new or wanna-be hikers who are looking for ideas that are cheaper than Mountain House type meals and will be cooking. 

Well, there you have it!  A quick and dirty list of foods I commonly see on the trail that long-distance hikers are eating.  Are you horrified at what thru hikers consume?! What do you normally eat on the trail? Are there any foods you love or foods that you can't even bear to look at after eating them so often on a hike? I'd love to hear your favorites! Leave me a comment below or find me on Facebook or Twitter to get the conversation started!

Reasons I Love Long-Distance Hiking

As hard as it is to believe 2015 is drawing to a close. Like many people this time of year, I'm taking some time to reflect on all the amazing moments I had during the year.  I'm so fortunate to have hiked on three long-distance trails and completed two of them, as well as half of the third before being taken off by a MRSA infection.  Somehow I got incredibly lucky to land a job as a hiking guide in the mountains where I learned to hike.  Yeah, this hasn't been a bad year at all. While I've been so happy to lead multi-night trips, long-distance hiking is where I find my true happiness.  This post is all about why I love hiking long trails. 

The thing I love the most about doing a long hike is the one thing I thought I wouldn't like: The Community.  I've never been much of a social person, but like many hikers I find when I'm out on a trail I've never met a stranger.  It's a lot of fun for me to be leading a hike on the AT through the Smokies on a trip I'm leading and running into someone who knows many of the same people I know.  Since becoming a guide here, every overnight hike I've been on I have run into someone thru hiking or section hiking who shares something with me.  It's a lot of fun to talk to someone who understands what I've been through and just talk trail for a few minutes.  Having this built in support system is so helpful on those long days when everyone is exhausted, but who has conquered all the obstacles you did that day.  

Unfortunately, cell phone signals are beginning to reach to the furthest corners of the longest trails. While this is a great tool to have for a Search and Rescue situation, it means that we are becoming more and more reachable.  While I do journal on my phone every night while we're on trail, I try to avoid turning off the airplane mode setting.  I like living off the grid of social media and 24-hour news for a few months at a time.  It not only clears my head, I feel like my mental acuity become sharper and clearer when I'm hiking.  My critical thinking skills seem to skyrocket when I'm hiking and Google isn't just a click away on my phone.  Having real conversations with other hikers face-to-face is one of my favorite things to do. 

Human beings are incredibly fond of patterns and usually resistant to change. Change is hard and uncomfortable.  Change makes you push your limits and see what you are really capable of doing. While hiking for a few weeks can cause you to form patterns, change is a constant. Having to adapt to weather conditions on the fly, choosing whether or not to take a side trip, or even what you're going to buy on your resupply are all decisions you're going to have to make in a split second.  An example of this was when NoKey lost his rain cover on the Long Trail. We didn't need to go into town, but it was going to be a huge risk to hike without one. While we didn't get caught in any daytime downpours after we bought the cover, not having it would ensure all of his gear getting soaked in a rainstorm. We chose to go to town and not only somehow managed to hitchhike successfully from a guy riding a bicycle, we met a true trail angel and did an amazing 18.7 miles that day. 

Hiking has played such an important role in my life the past few years. Before I began hiking I was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, depression, and anxiety. I was 50 pounds overweight. I had no idea what I was going to do with my life. As I began hiking more and more the weight came off and being alone with my thoughts was no longer scary. I learned I could push my limits and quitting when I was tired just wasn't an option when the car was still 5 more miles away. While I still have a long way to go to work on myself, I know hiking a few short months on a few long trails is the best therapy I've ever had.  

What is your favorite thing about taking a long hike - be it a long day hike or a few months out in the wilderness? I'd love to talk with you about your experiences!  Leave me a comment below or find me over on Facebook to get the conversation started. 

Five Ways Running is Similar to Hiking

Many of you following me on Instagram know by now that when I'm not out hiking a trail I'm at home running and planning for my next race.  While I've got a few half marathons under my belt, I've taken the leap and decided to train for a full 26.2 mile marathon in the spring - The Covenant Half Marathon in April.  While I hated running before I was a thru hiker, after my 2012 hike I discovered that running is one of the few things short of doing another thru hike that can keep me sane.  I've noticed some similarities between the two in recent months.  Here's how I think running is like hiking. 

Time to Clear Your Head

Running is my "me" time.  Whether I'm running 3 miles or 13 miles, I can use this time during the day to walk off whatever is bothering me or think through some ideas.  In a world where we are increasingly dependent on electronic devices (yep, even when I run I'm tracking my progress!), taking the time to focus only on my breath and my thoughts helps me come up with more creative ideas, whether it's for suggesting new hikes at work or coming up with blog post ideas for you guys!  Just like when you find yourself wrapped up in your own thoughts on a long and quiet hike, running can provide peace for your mind. 

Runner Hunger

Just like when I'm on a long hike, when I'm training for a race my appetite hits out of control hungry girl mode.  I normally eat a lot of small "meals" throughout the day anyway, but when I'm in the middle of training I am eating around 8 times a day with legitimate hunger pangs. When I'm really in the thick of training, just like when I'm hiking I can tell you what time it is just by the growling of my stomach.  Second breakfast is REAL people!

The Internal Struggle

Something a lot of people don't know about me is that I'm mostly a pessimist.  When I was on any given long distance hike I never had the idea in my head that I would succeed and complete the hike - or any hike for that matter.  I had a blog follower ask me years ago when I knew I would finish the entire AT and I told them the minute I touched the sign on Baxter Peak of Katahdin was when I knew I would complete the trail.  The same is true for me and running. On any given run, especially on my longer days, I don't ever feel like I'm going to complete the entire length of the mileage I've planned until I'm back at the car stretching.  I have no idea why, but maybe it's a good way of keeping myself from getting disappointed on less-than-stellar runs. 

Exhaustion After a Long Session

No matter how fit I think I am or how good I'm feeling, a long run - just like a long hike - can drain me.  When I'm on a long-distance hike using the excuse of getting into town and getting some delicious and greasy food will make you do incredible distance.  When I'm training for a big race, the promise of getting extra brownies and a big serving of chocolate milk is enough to make me push harder.  Also just like when I'm on trail, that big push will zonk me out and render me useless on my recovery day.  On trail, we take zero days.  In the real world, I take binge watch a TV series days. 

The Sense of Accomplishment

When you finish a long hike you are on top of the world!  Exhausted and possibly swearing off hiking forever, but on top of the world nonetheless.  The same is true for running.  When I finished my first half marathon nine months ago I had trained all winter, sometimes getting up and running before the snowplows came and scraped away the layer of powder falling the night before.  Running by headlamp with flashing reflective clip-ons in the pre-dawn hours all to say I ran 13.1 miles without stopping.  When I finished the race I was jubilant and I ugly-cried after they gave me my finishing medal.  There is something about the hard work and dedication paying off that can make running and doing a long hike incredibly rewarding. 

These are just a few of the things I find running and long hikes have in common.  Do you run for fun?  Did you take up ultra running after a thru hike?  I'd love to chat with you about your experiences.  Please leave me a comment below or click on the Facebook post and get the conversation started!

Brushing Your Teeth in the Woods

Whether you're headed out for one night, one week, or even half of a year you're going to need your toothbrush and toothpaste.  While brushing your teeth at home isn't really something you have to even think about much, on the trail dental hygiene is crazy important.  This post is going to be dedicated to the one subject no one ever really talks about and most hikers skip - how to keep your teeth and gums healthy outdoors. 

Before delving into the "how to" section of this post, I'd like to mention common dental issues that hikers can face.  A friend of mine, despite all her brushing on trail, ended up with three cavities after a 6-month hike.  Considering the amount of high sugar and high fat foods, along with carbonated and sickeningly sweet drinks a hiker consumes, it's no surprise that even with regular brushing cavities are a common problem. Another thru hiker I know had a molar crack completely in half and fall out while consuming her dinner one night.  Thankfully, she was a short way from a town where she was able to be seen by a dentist on an emergency basis.  Commonly, plaque buildup can cause gingivitis - a swelling and bleeding condition of the gums.  Having a bloody mouth while you're trying to eat boiling hot and incredibly salty food is never a fun time!  If any of these scenarios don't sound like fun to you, you're not alone.

Saying that most hikers don't brush their teeth regularly is not a shock to many of us.  It's been a long day and all you can think about is eating your dinner and crawling into your bag.  If you aren't keeping your toothbrush in your food bag, chances are you've skipped this important action more than once on trail.  The number one way I advocate to remember to brush your teeth is exactly this: keep your toothbrush, toothpaste, and any other oral hygiene items in a Ziplock in your food bag.  If they're close at hand when you're cleaning up your dinner, you won't forget to brush!  Since your brush and toothpaste smell like foodstuff to mice and bears, leaving it in your food bag is an even better idea so it can go in your bear hang/bear can at night. 

Since we've talked about an easy way to remember to brush, let's talk about the toothbrush and paste you're carrying on trail.  Many hikers opt for a travel toothbrush because of its small size and weight.  Alternatively, if you have a brand or firmness of brush you prefer to use at home, you can cut the handle off to make it travel size yourself.  A tube of travel-sized toothpaste will last you easily 2-3 months in the backcountry.  Dental floss picks are also a popular item on trail due to their small size and disposability options.  These come in handy after a meal that just doesn't want to come out of your teeth!  Options I don't recommend on trail are single use disposable finger brushes, which are often expensive, heavier, and not so great at cleaning teeth.  

So you've picked out your brush and toothpaste of choice.  Is there really a proper way to brush in the woods?  Actually - there is.  For brushing in the backcountry, you're going to use a LOT less toothpaste than you normally would.  I recommend just a small dab in a thin layer on a dry brush.  This way, there won't be too much to spit out onto the ground.  After brushing as you normally would, the "spew" method is the most taught in Leave No Trace principles.  We recommend you spray it, blowing a wide area of toothpaste as to  not concentrate a large glob.  Also, if you're out in the woods, digging a cathole is an acceptable method of disposing your extra paste.  The final method taught by Leave No Trace is to swallow it.  Yes, I said to swallow your toothpaste.  Keep in mind that you aren't using even a quarter of what you're probably using at home.  I always use toothpaste without fluoride anyway, so that isn't a concern for me.  Tom's of Maine is a great non-fluoridated brand available here on minimus.biz. 

Did you experience any dental problems on your long-distance hike?  What is your method of keeping your teeth clean in the woods?  Leave me a comment here on the blog or over on my Facebook page and let me know!

"But How Can You Afford That?!" - Working Hard to Play Hard

It might look relaxing, but a TON of hard work went on behind the scenes before doing a hike!

The number one question asked to me upon finding out that I enjoy long-distance hiking is "how can you afford to do that?!"  Similarly, "you must be independently wealthy!" is a common followup.  The truth of the matter is if you find your passion, most of the time there is so much behind-the-scenes hard work involved in making your dream a reality that many people often don't see your struggle to reach your goal.  This post is brought to you by hard work, folks!

When I had decided I wanted to attempt a thru hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2012 it was July 2011.  I had a vague notion I'd want to thru hike one day, but I made a firm decision in July and immediately began planning.  When you plan for a long-distance hike there is a lot of research involved and the thing I noticed in many failed thru hike attempts was running out of money. This was back in the days before everyone and their brother ran a GoFundMe.  I knew immediately that if I wanted to up my chances of finishing a 2200-mile hike I would need to prepare financially.  

Saving money has never been hard for me.  I grew up in a family where if we wanted something, we saved up for it.  I bought my own cell phone and plan in the early 2000s from part job after school jobs.  I bought my first laptop computer when I was 17 through the same hard work.  Keep in mind these were the days when laptops were $1500 and cell phone plans were only 200 minutes a month with no text messaging options!  I've always been a saver, so this task wasn't hard for me at all.  Although, as an adult with a home mortgage and a fairly brand new car recently purchased, saving money wasn't as easy as it was in my teenage years! The first thing I would need to do is supplement my income with a second job. 

In 2011 I took a job with a temp agency.  The agency I was with specialized only in medical offices, my area of training.  I worked part time at night from home as my regular job, so that left me free for day shift jobs.  In the medical field I quickly found fairly regular work as a temp from 7:30-5 p.m. and still had time for my regular job.  Some weeks found me working as many as 65 hours, but I was okay with this as all that money from temp work was going into my savings and my trail fund.  By the time I left in 2012 I had expanded my network in the healthcare field and saved some money to thru hike. 

The same methodology applied to my summer 2015 thru hikes.  Although the medical field in Syracuse was much smaller, I had to get more creative.  I worked an early morning shift at FedEx and then worked a normal 8-5 job like any other person.  While doing these shifts I often found myself working 70-hour weeks in the Christmas season, but the result was still the same - I was able to funnel the extra cash into my savings for thru hiking.  For months I was often tired and I wasn't the most social person, but the end result allowed me to take off an entire summer to live my dreams.  I am personally not a fan of the GoFundMe campaigns for people to take the time to do a thru hike.  If you want to take the time off from life to do a hike, you should be willing to work just as hard for it as you would any other dream! Kickstarters, however, are different.  If you're a filmmaker or a writer I find this a viable option for production costs.  I have nothing against people who do use GoFundMe for trips, I have just found it's not something I could see myself doing for a trip I've chosen to do. 

Once again I've found myself back in the real world dreaming of my next adventure.  While my new job as a backpacking guide will help me live out my passion on a smaller scale for the next several months, I know that if I want to get back out and take a season away from my adulting hard work and little free time will be the key.  How did you save for your adventuring?  I'd love to hear some of the methods you use!  Please leave me a comment or connect with me on Facebook!

How to Train for a Long-Distance Hike: Advice from an AT Thru Hiker

You’ve planned to do a long-distance hike.  You’ve done your research and bought your gear.  Now all you need to do is get out on the trail, right?  What you may not have thought about is the fact that you might need to do a little more than just put all your gear on your back and start walking!  While some people actually do their first hike ever with all their gear on their backs and walk 2000+ miles, chances are many others who never hiked before quit before their first week is even over.  Having confidence in your abilities will greatly help your chance at success on a long-distance trip.

Start Walking-
While most people consider a long hike a vacation, it’s actually one of the hardest jobs you’ll have.  You will be walking most of your waking hours, covering upwards of 20 miles a day sometimes!  The first step to getting into shape for a hike is to walk.  Start slow and build up your miles gradually.  Once you can do a few miles, try to get out and hike on actual trails, as walking on pavement and walking on a trail are two totally different experiences for your body.  When I first started hiking I knew I could walk easily 2-3 miles, but get out on the trails and you’ll find that you might be hurting in places you didn’t know you had!

Add Some Weight-
Once you start getting in the miles, add some weight to your walk.  Put on a backpack and fill it with water bottles to give it some heft.  Try to take 5-10 pounds in the beginning, gradually getting to your full overnight backpack.  Then, start taking it on trails this way.  Again, you might find that the easy 8-10 mile day hike is totally different when you have 25 pounds on your back!

Don’t Forget to Stretch-
I encourage hikers to try and incorporate a few gentle stretches into their evening routines and post hike rituals.  While you may feel like a total weirdo doing stretches in camp at night or in the parking lot after a long hiker, an important part of keeping your muscles strengthened is helping them recover.  Try to learn a YouTube beginner’s yoga video and try to do it after each time you walk.  Yoga stretches can also help you build your core strength, which is a lot more important during hiking than most people realize.

Remember to Take it Easy-
You’ve learned how to hike with all the weight on your back and now it’s time to test out your skills.  Go out on a practice trip, called a “shakedown” by hikers.  Pack up your gear and do a backpacking trip for a night or two.  Testing out your gear and your trail legs is a great way to build up confidence for your long-distance trip.  Give yourself plenty of daylight hours to get to your destination and take as many breaks as you feel you need.  A steady pace will help you build your endurance for the longer days ahead.

Now that you're in hiking shape, make sure you're trail ready!  Check out my posts on how to pack your backpack, gear you should leave at home, and even how to avoid and treat common hiking injuries.  Of course, after you do all that, make sure you thank your support crew in advance for all the work they'll be doing for you while you're away!

Do you have a long hike coming up in the near future? I’d love to talk with you about it!  Find me on Facebook or Twitter and we can talk about it. 

Five Pieces of Gear You WON'T Need on an Appalachian Trail Thru Hike

With the holidays upon us, most of the 2015ers are getting their gear research finished and updating their wish lists with the gear they’d love to have on their AT thru hike.  As someone who was in your shoes a few short years ago (and who worked in a hostel doing pack shakedowns for a season in 2013), I’d like to give you some advice as to what gear you can skip adding to your list, as chances are you won’t need it anyway. 

A solar charger for your electronics

Doesn’t a solar charger sound cool? You can charge your phone up every day and keep the battery full for those Kodak moments you’ll be sure to have every single day!  In reality, the Appalachian Trail is called “The Green Tunnel” for a reason.  You’re actually  not going to be spending much time in direct sunlight, which is how these things get their charging power in the first place.  I would say more than half of the people on the trail in 2012 that had these chargers sent them home at Neel Gap (only 30 miles in).  I would say by Damascus, VA (mile 470ish) 99% of people had sent theirs back home.  In Maine if we hadn't convinced hikers to send them home in their initial pack shakedown in Millinocket, I would say most, if not 99% or so, had sent them home in Monson. If you’re turning off your phone at night and keeping it in airplane mode during the day, you can easily get 5-7 days on a full charge from going into town (I've done this on an iPhone 4S and an iPhone 6; NoKey has done this on a Galaxy S3 and S5).  Trust me, you don’t want to be the guy who is always on his phone in camp at night anyway. If you really think you need the extra power for your devices, consider getting an external battery pack that can hold a full 2 charges for your specific device. 

Rain pants

Rain pants are good for pretty much one thing on the AT - an extra layer to keep you warm, especially when it’s windy or chilly.  I know, I know, you’re probably thinking that warm and dry sound like a good thing… but the fact of the matter is if you hike in rain pants you’re going to sweat.  You’re going to sweat and that moisture you’re repelling from the rain is pretty much canceling itself out.  A good rain jacket will really be all you need most of the time.  Rain ponchos that also cover your pack are starting to become wildly popular due to their breathability and double usage (always a big plus with thru hikers) and can be found online with a simple google search. 

Bear “anything” - bell, canister, spray, etc.

The bears we have here on the east coast are black bears, which are normally very afraid of humans. While there are always exceptions to this, black bears are often smelling you and hiding from you before you even ever see them.  If a product has the word “bear” in front of it, chances are you aren’t going to need it on the Appalachian Trail.  Granted, a bear canister is required for camping in Georgia between Jerard Gap and Neel Gap, but this short stretch can easily be done in one day by even the most fresh-footed new thru hiker.  The ATC is also starting to recommend hikers carrying a bear canister from Springer to Damascus, but I honestly don't see this catching on for thru hiking.  Canisters are heavy, cumbersome, and often don't hold the amount of food you need it to on a long-distance hike.  Bear spray is just added weight and a bear bell is just annoying to all the other people around you.  The bear line, while useful, is seldom used correctly by hikers anyway.  If you’re planning to keep using your bear line to hang your food and toiletries, I highly recommend learning to use it and do a proper hang by watching videos on YouTube.  Otherwise, maybe look into getting an Ursack for your food bag if you’re really concerned about protection from animals.  I've found that on trail the most common animal "attack" on a food bag is a mouse or a squirrel in the middle of the night.  

Deodorant and most first aid items

If you’re going 5-7 days between a shower, you’re going to stink anyway -and everyone else stinks too. This is just a fact of doing a long-distance hike.  Trying to put on deodorant isn’t going to help that set-in hiker funk that comes from wearing the same clothing day in and day out.  Save yourself the melting stick and leave it at home.  While you’re at it, I’m pretty sure 90% of your first aid kit can go home too.  While when you’re first starting out some Second Skin for blisters could be great, but Band-Aids can all be left at home.  Duct tape/Gorilla Tape and Leuko tape will be the only thing that comes even remotely close to sticking to your skin during a long day of hiking.  Other than ibuprofen and the occasional emergency Benadryl, pretty much all other over-the-counter meds can stay home too.  Obviously, if you’re taking prescription meds you should always bring those.  If you've bought a pre-assembled first aid kit and there are items in there you don't know how to use, chuck them.  (And if you want to know how to treat a few common hiking injuries, check out a post I wrote back in November 2015 here.)

Extra clothes

This sort of goes along with the deodorant.  You think it’d be nice to have an extra set of clothes to hike in, but in reality extra weight on your back isn’t worth it.  For my thru hike, I wore the same outfit to hike in every single day with three pairs of socks rotated - right side out, the next day inside out. I’d leave the dirty ones inside out in my clothes bag and put on a clean pair for day three.  This way, I could get away with only doing laundry every 6 days at the minimum.  I had a dress I’d wear in town while I was washing my one set of clothes and three pairs of socks. Obviously, you’ll have a layer for cooler days at the beginning and possibly at the end of your hike, but an extra set of clothes, sleeping clothes, etc. can all be left at home. (If you want to see an example of the clothes I carry for a thru hike, please check out my gear list here). 

When it comes to long-distance hiking, the mantra “hike your own hike” is oft-repeated and the same goes for this blog post.  If you’re willing and able to carry the extra weight from some of the items listed above then by all means go ahead and carry them.  These are just some of the things I saw nearly all thru hikers ditching in the first 100 miles, both northbounders and southbounders.  Of course, every hiker will have their luxury item they just won’t part with, be it a pillow or a titanium trowel to dig cat holes.  I hope this list has helped you to narrow down your gear for your upcoming long distance hike. 

Special thanks goes out to 2012 Hiker Trash Anonymous for helping me to confirm the items listed in this post.