This is a phrase that passes through my head incessantly when preparing for a walk. It is also what my hiking partner has repeated after 100th It is time for him to ask if he should bring that little mixer bag or leave it at home. That bag of nutrition and decadent chocolate, dried blueberries and pistachios really is worth the additional ounces? Will I regret not bringing them when everything you want at the end of the day is the poetic experience of eating m & m of peanuts? For whatever the community of hikers, this conversation would be of grade A banana, but it is a common and important conversation, right? Each piece of equipment has to have purpose, meaning and value. After all, I have to take it and it could be the difference between completing the walk or not. Talk about prioritization at your end! Errors and thoughts are going to be made like «I brought too much food …» or «Why don’t you make that jacket?» I will fill my head as they always do. All I can do is learn more about me over time and do my best, right?
New additions
As I aged and continued with long distance walks, the only thing I have noticed is that my cold tolerance has lowered a lot. Obviously, that has led me to change my team since my first walk in the CT in 2018 to address those needs. I have been able to find a team that not only keeps me warm and comfortable, but also kill my base weight. It really is a mutual benefit!
Fruit and wet in the Colorado Trail in 2018. Laughing on the outside, dying inside.
- ZPACKS LOTUS UL PARAGUAS
In the CT, I pushed a lot of pain for cold and humid days … days I wouldn’t really want to relive again. I just brought a single rain jacket and during those unexpected hail storms, it was quite soaked from the waist down, which was not fun. A piece of team that had some hikers was the umbols ul zpacks umbrella. Here they were in their shorts and long -sleeved shirts with this incredible umbrella, dry and with smiles on the face. They sold me.
- Montbell Versalitos Pants
I rarely bring rain pants on a walk. I have always been able to use my outdoor research Helium II Rain Jacket. The only time I remember bringing rain pants on any trip was when I got back in Alaska and suit them because yes, it was Wild Alaska. Sufficient said. Anyway, at 2.9 Oz I felt that it was about having a great addition to have another heat layer when necessary and more comfort during rainy and summary conditions.
- Zpacks down
Who on this planet cannot sleep if your feet freeze? SAME. I can’t sleep if my feet are cold, so something had to be done and then these beauties entered my life. These bad guys total up to 1.3 oz and have given me the best dream on the way. Simply throwing it, I always keep my descending team unpacked so that they can breathe and maintain their heat capacity. I have discovered that this has greatly increased its longevity.
My current top 5: the traditional … and No so traditional
Throughout the years along the way, I have learned a lot about me and I have learned a lot about what team it works and what not. For me, I feel that I base a good team how well it remains on the road, as well as how long it endures over time. I don’t want him to work well in that through a walk … I want him to work well many Through the daughters. I want gifts that continue giving my friends! On the contrary, some of my favorite team pieces can come from the left garden. They are on this list because they have proven to be so consistently useful along the way that they do in my equipment list every time for each walk.
- Cressida Trekking poles
When I walked through the CT, I originally bought the Trekking posts from Outdoor CNOC folding vertices, which were defective before I even put my way and then defect again while I was on the way. It was a disaster, to say at least. I knew I needed to change my trekking pole game and I recommended Leki from some hikers. Let me tell you this once and only once … Flip Locks for Life. These trekking posts have been with me since 2018 after the CT and have not even begun to break in quality. Cork mango is also a game change. My hands remain dry and the material is not rubbed in my hands. I am the type of person that when I find a team that I like, it is weird that I change it. These posts are durable and have lasted through multiple trips through and backpacking trips without fail.

Look at the two different trekking posts. One broke completely early on the path when walking through the CT in 2018.

Monte Whitney hiking with my new Trekking posts by Leki Cressida in 2019. All smiles.
- Leukotyp
I never knew what this magical tape was until 3 days on my 28 -day walk of the CT. I had decided to wear knee straps, which finally changed my hiking march and led to terrible blisters in all feet. My experience with toppo skin and other products was that they fell easily. A fellow hiker gave me a little of his leukotape stash, which magically remained adhered to my feet during the duration of the walk. This never came out and ended up completing the path. Look … my feet were not pretty and I had to keep them dry and minimize washing them, but long distance hiking is hard, right? If you have followed my previous publications, it was these feet that gave me the Gollum nickname for a while.

The ugly scene that is Blister City while walking through the CT in 2018. LeucoTape for victory!
- Garbage bag
Very good … now don’t laugh. This is serious! One day, when I stayed at a random hotel with my hiking companions when I was in the CT, they gave me a garbage bag. I don’t even remember what it was … The clothes maybe? Well, for some reason that the garbage bag came with me along the way. During this walk, I had an inflatable air mattress and everyone else had a Term-A-Rest Z Lite sleeping pad that they could take with them anywhere to sit and socialize. This garbage bag began as my pad to be able to join the group. Then it was updated to my store’s welcome carpet, where I placed my shoes and backpack to keep things clean and prevent dirt from climbing to my Plexamid tent. It also served as a powerful very fine dry bag for my store exposed under my rain cover in my package during those unexpected hail storms. Now this garbage bag comes with me on each walk. It is the first piece of equipment that comes out when I take my backpack or reach the camp. I own a Zpacks Arc Warl Ultra 60L backpack and is expensive and delicate, so the garbage bag is a safe space to place it, as well as the rest of my equipment when unpacked.
I try to really take care of my team along the way because for me, buying equipment is like buying a sofa. I want it to last.

The famous versatile garbage bag in the CT in 2018.

A beautiful welcome carpet in the JMT in 2020.
- ZPACKS 10F Classic Sleeping Backs
I have only bought a sleeping bag since I started long distance hiking in 2018 and this is all. I always have cold and this sleeping bag provides upper heat for 20.5 oz. It has a cord closure at the top to block the wind and also a zip ¾ in the front if I wish for some ventilation. I keep this sleeping bag hanging and unpacked to keep heat from the casualty. This team is an excellent example of the mentality of «Buying a sofa.» It is expensive, yes, but it is also of high quality, and hopefully with love and care both inside and outside the way, it will last me a lifetime.

Kissing my sleeping bag good night in Red’s Meadow while walking through the JMT in 2020.
- Bearikade Scout Bear Canista
«What the hell is that? A space ship on your back?» – Multiple hikers along the years
To this day, I have only seen another person on the road to have this bear boat. It is expensive, but for a light container, this team has shown that it is worth it. I usually carry 4 to 5 days because I want to keep the light to walk faster and cover more miles. This boat contains a solid transport of 4-5 days, it is incredibly durable and very light for a container that reaches 28 oz! In addition, a great victory is that it is easy to open with a coin, so in those cold mornings my hands are not dying trying to reach my food. As a comparison, the popular Bear 500 Journey Bear boat is 40 0Z, but it is much cheaper. It seemed much more difficult to open. If you ask my hiking partner, she loves her bear vault. I even lava clothes. Hey, we all have our reasons!

My bearikade explorer boat fits perfectly into my Zpacks Arc Haul 60l backpack while walking through the JMT in 2020.

A close -up of my Bearikade Scout Bear container in the JMT in 2020 perfectly disguised.
My official team for the Wonderland Path

Everything I will carry with me on the path of the Wonderland.
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