Packing my pack for the first time before avoiding a shakedown hike!
Rachel is an outdoor industry professional with over 15 years of experience — she started as a ski instructor in 2009 and hasn't really stopped moving since. She's completed a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, spent a year living and traveling full-time out of a van, and has logged years of sport climbing, bouldering, skiing, and backpacking across the U.S..
She writes about all of it here: gear that actually works, lessons that took miles to learn, and the kind of practical trail knowledge that doesn't talk down to you. This blog is built on the belief that getting outside is for everyone — not just the people who go hardest, fastest, or have the most expensive kit. You'll find AT journals, gear reviews, trip logs, and honest advice across all of it. No gatekeeping.
So this week my pack finally arrived, after being detoured in the mail due to hurricane Irma, and I love it! You can see all of my base gear here. I realized when I got my pack cover in the mail the week before this that I had accidentally bought the wrong size.
So I did end up finding one on a gear forum on Facebook for $10 that had only been used once. I had originally planned to go camping this weekend at Baldface Shelter in Evan's Notch. This plan was derailed by a surprise visit from thunderstorms. Welcome to New England!
Without a pack cover or a plastic liner inside my pack I didn't want to risk getting my sleeping bag or down jacket wet. Instead, I decided to test out some of the gear I have anyway by packing my bag up a few different ways to see what I liked best (will do a separate post once I have my gear in order), weighing my pack (25.6 lbs with 2 days of food and water), buying some trail food, and taking an inventory of what I still would like to get.
Here's what I had packed for the weekend:
The first aid kit will definitely be edited before I leave. I love my HydraPak and really want to bring it. But I am concerned with its many parts that something will most likely break. I may take it and just use it until it breaks! I will probably get a compression sack for my sleeping bag.
My clothes bag just contained extra clothing for sleeping in and a warm layer:
Not pictured here: a Nike quarter zip longsleeve light weight running top; Rain coat. Also not pictured here my Chacos (post to come about why I won't leave them at home).
My cook kit, which I will be doing a separate post on later, consists of:
I will most likely be switching out my Light My Fire Spork for a long handled spork of the metal variety. The Bic will be switched out with a Bic mini. I found that pot scraper lying around from a stoneware kit my mom had so I may replace it, we'll see. I love my pot so far, my only qualm is I can't use it over a campfire. But, there are sticks for that! I have been keeping my cook kit inside the mesh bag that the pot came in but I may ditch that later.
My food bag contained two days' worth of food. Varying slightly but they essentially looked something like this:
I would like to add more starch for lunch, maybe some pita, and possibly one or two more snacks. I will also be adding some BCAAs for muscle recovery. I will not be buying nuts in shells again but these were on sale. They're hard to eat with sweaty hands and while walking. I will definitely have to experiment with calories and possibly add more.
My toiletries bag contained:
I will probably add more to this, but this was enough for a weekend.
In conclusion, I will definitely be changing some things up. But this is major progress!
Things I still NEED to get:
- Water Filter + Dirty Water Bag
- Trail Runners + Insoles
- Bear Kit of some sort
- Compression Sack
- Head Lamp
- Trekking Poles
- Underwear
- Waterproof Phone Case
- External Battery
- Summer bag liner (might buy on the trail), I sleep hot and will not need a down bag all summer.
- Light Wallet
- New Headphones (probably Yurbuds)
- Gaiters (Dirty Girl)
Things I still WANT to get:
- Butt pad
- Pillow
- X-Mug
- Bandanas
- Snow Peak Hot Lips
Things I MIGHT bring:
- Kindle
- small notepad, pen, mini sharpie
- B12 supplements
- Guthook's App (need $$)
That is all for now in the world of my progress! Keep trekking,
Rachel (trail name TBD)
Bonnie, the sleep expert, added food aficionado to her résumé:
Bonus:
Update from 2026:
If you want to see how my gear evolved from this to the end of the trail (spoiler: I don’t have most of this gear anymore), here’s the full breakdown:
How My Appalachian Trail Thru-hiking Gear Changed from Georgia to Maine →
