The Neel Gap Test: Which Team Survived

My first driving destination on the way was Neel Gap. I spent my first few days blessed with great weather, and then had a foggy, misty day for the hike to Blood Mountain. Others around me complained, but I felt like it provided the perfect terror for climbing a haunted mountain.

After reaching the summit shelter and meeting some campers there with a beautiful black dog, I walked down the other side very carefully, nursing a tender knee, but eventually reached the road at Neel Gap and crossed to Mountain Crossing, the famous first stop on the trail.

I never did a pre-trail gear post because, honestly, not much of my gear had been field-tested, so I didn’t want to seem like I was recommending anything on my list yet. But now that these items have some miles on them, some have been lost, and some have been replaced, I think I’m starting to get an idea of ​​how they work for me.

mountain crossing

I hiked to Mountain Crossing and passed under the infamous shoe tree where dropout hikers throw their shoes. Several of my fellow travelers were hanging around under the store, eating whole pizzas, according to tradition. I walked into the bathroom and allowed myself a moment to marvel at the plumbing fixtures, which I hadn’t seen in days. After spending a few minutes under the eaves, I went up to the tent where I met a tall man with a booming voice like Sam Elliott, a long, thick beard, and brown eyes that looked in different directions: Bill was his name.

Bill showed me the pipe with filtered water and allowed me to leave my backpack outside before entering. He stopped me and said, «This is the first time I’ve seen a Montbell backpack.»

I explained that I had been living in Japan for the past six years and that Montbell was the best supplier I had access to, pointing to my shirt, pants, and fanny pack. While we were talking about it, I noticed that he was wearing a Montbell jacket.

«The backpack is his Alpine 50. I threw away my brain, but I really like it.» Later, he tried to order one but found out they didn’t ship to the US.

“You have something unique there,” he said. «You might be the only one on the whole trail who has that package.»

Gear Talk

My Big Three have been pretty reliable so far. As I mentioned, I carry everything on a Montbell Alpine 50. I considered ordering a different package online, but I needed to try on something I was going to use for 2000+ miles ahead of time. I remember walking into the Montbell store in the Rycom mall in Okinawa City and looking at the packages they had. When I saw it, I thought, “That’s the one,” like a bride trying on a wedding dress. I took it off the rack, loaded it with sandbags, and started adjusting the straps. One of the store employees spoke some limited English, but was helpful and asked me how I was feeling.

«Good,» I said. It was a euphemism; The pack already felt like a part of me. It had perfect weight distribution and certainly didn’t look like it had 40kg of sandbags inside.

At first, I didn’t like the exterior pocket configuration, because there were two openings. I couldn’t reach one and the other seemed too shallow to hold my water bottle safely, so I was afraid I’d have to take off my backpack to get water. Later, I realized that it includes an elastic band in the accessible opening to wrap around the neck of the bottle and prevent it from falling out, so I can access the water easily without taking off my backpack.

I took the risk of ordering a Durston XMid 2 Pro+, which came highly recommended by my LLM and TrailBot. It’s huge inside, big enough for my wife, I, and the dog to sleep comfortably. Since it’s just me, I don’t even use the double vestibules, because everything fits inside. It’s good to keep my backpack and other gear off the ground while camping. My only complaint is that it takes up a lot of space in the camps, but luckily I’ve stayed ahead of the main bubble and haven’t had to deal with the crowding of the camps.

For my sleep system, I have one of the ubiquitous Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite pads with a Hammock Gear 20° Burrow Top quilt, which I ordered online. After returning to the States, I hit up an REI to purchase a COCOON Silk Mummy Liner and a NEMO Fillo Elite Pillow. At first I slept with the quilt attached like a sleeping bag, but it was too hot, especially with the liner. Now I use it as a blanket and I’m still quite warm. The pad is comfortable, but I hate that it makes so much noise every time I turn. Every time I walk through a clothing store, I look at different sleeping mats, but it seems like they are all noisy.

My filtration and cooking tools are boring and typical: Sawyer Squeeze with a Smart Water bottle and Cnoc Vecto collection bag, and MSR Pocket Rocket with a Toaks 750ml pot. From what I’ve seen, this setup is a standard, tried and true issue. I carry an extra 20oz bottle to mix electrolytes. It rinses very well after each use and also doubles as a backup water while traveling and as a bidet bottle at camp. I don’t recommend the latter usage as a best practice.

My trekking poles are an Amazon special. I heard that good trekking poles break just as often as cheap ones, so I bought some cheap ones and opted for a Z-fold set that can be broken to easily fit in my backpack. On my previous backpacking trips I used a simple wooden walking stick, to which I had a sentimental attachment, but unfortunately it got lost in a move. Trekking poles, however, have been a game changer. There are many times where I slipped or tripped and would have fallen on my face if I hadn’t been using the poles. Check out vch1. They have also been a major savior of knees.

Another useful item is the Frogg Toggs rain suit. I’ve heard recommendations to buy this for cheap and I’m actually happy with the value of this suit. I’ve used it several times to do laundry and while it doesn’t keep me completely dry in the rain (show me a rain set that does), it insulates to keep me warm while wet.

The last piece of gear I want to highlight: my Montbell Delta Gusset Pouch, i.e. a fanny pack (or the “fanny pack”, which sounds less profane if you’re a UK reader). This item has been with me on many trips through Japan and other parts of East Asia, and at first I wasn’t sure whether to take it, but I ultimately decided it would come with me on this adventure as well. Not a single regret.

One of my favorite things is that it easily fits into a 20oz bottle, making it great for packing a bottle of water, tea, etc. I’ve been using it to keep my hygiene kit accessible in the exterior pocket, my water filter and snacks accessible in the larger interior pocket, and I keep my glasses cleaning cloth in an interior pocket. It is also useful as a city bag.

Items I discarded or replaced: I replaced the battery on my Anker in Mountain Crossing. It was one of the older ones that only output through USB A ports and required a micro USB cable to recharge, which took forever. I replaced it with a Nitecore NB20000, which only has USB C ports. It’s lighter and I was able to get rid of two extra cables with the old one.

While I was sad to lose it, I was already thinking about sending home my Montbell Travel Sunblock umbrella. The hat protects the rain from my glasses quite well, which was my main concern when I brought the umbrella. It was nice to have for intermittent rain, but it wasn’t necessary and I hadn’t quite perfected the art of mounting it on my backpack. Unfortunately, it must have gotten caught on a tree or something while walking. I had it at one stop, and then when I picked it up again, it was gone. I like to think there’s a dancing bear using it as an umbrella.

And that’s it for my first gear upgrade. I’m sure I’ll tweak and adjust it as time goes on. I look forward to another turn after passing the Smokies and discovering how over-prepared I am for cold weather.

The best frozen pizza and brewed coffee

I ended up staying in Mountain Crossing that night for my first hostel stay. Washing my clothes and taking a shower was great, and I only destroyed a Red Baron pizza, which my friend the General bought me.

Many people received feedback from Bill and other Mountain Crossing staff, and the staff also helped with backpack adjustments. Several people walked out with their backpacks feeling much lighter, either because they had gotten rid of some weight or because they carried it better. No one offered to adjust my backpack or shake me down, so I assumed I was doing it right.

While I heard Above the Clouds is a much better lodge, I appreciated that Mountain Crossing was conveniently on the trail, so I didn’t need a shuttle to get back to the trail the next day. I met a lot of people there and made many new traveling companions. It was nice to rest a bit and enjoy the views, and I felt completely refreshed when it was time to move on in the morning, but not before having a cup of brewed coffee. Objectively, it was terrible, but compared to the Folgers instant coffee I’d been drinking, it was a huge improvement.

With a warm stomach and a mild caffeine buzz, I returned to the forest.

My entire gear list is linked above or on my author page. If you’re a gearhead, feel free to check it out and ask me any questions in the comments below.