Hiking the Bicentennial National Trail - The bare essentials
The table below* lists my meagre possessions for the next 12 months. A bit of effort (and more money than I care to think about, and much more money than my wife cares to think about) has gone into getting this list trimmed to the bare necessities and keeping the weight down as much as possible.
I've read lots of stories about people setting out on long distance hikes only to ditch or send home stuff that they don't need to make precious weight savings when the reality of trail life sets in. I wanted to benefit from their experience but I hope I haven't been too heavy handed; if I find that there's something I really need that I don't have when I'm in the middle of nowhere... well, let' s hope it doesn't come to that. I've also been lucky to have had a good practice run of 30 days on the trail that gave me the opportunity to fine tune my gear (ie replacing with lighter gear). I know I'll possibly need warmer clothes again at some point, but I figure I can get them sent to me on the trail if the need arises.
Excluding the clothes items I'll actually be wearing, and adding in an 8-day food ration, my total pack weight between resupply points will vary: sometimes as high as 21kgs, sometimes down to 15kgs. This will assume I'm carrying 2 litres of water at all times. It may well be overkill but I'll have the capacity to expand the water I carry to 4.5 litres. So in theory, the maximum pack weight could be up to 25.5kgs
* when viewing from a phone the weight column will display after the the text items.
I've read lots of stories about people setting out on long distance hikes only to ditch or send home stuff that they don't need to make precious weight savings when the reality of trail life sets in. I wanted to benefit from their experience but I hope I haven't been too heavy handed; if I find that there's something I really need that I don't have when I'm in the middle of nowhere... well, let' s hope it doesn't come to that. I've also been lucky to have had a good practice run of 30 days on the trail that gave me the opportunity to fine tune my gear (ie replacing with lighter gear). I know I'll possibly need warmer clothes again at some point, but I figure I can get them sent to me on the trail if the need arises.
Excluding the clothes items I'll actually be wearing, and adding in an 8-day food ration, my total pack weight between resupply points will vary: sometimes as high as 21kgs, sometimes down to 15kgs. This will assume I'm carrying 2 litres of water at all times. It may well be overkill but I'll have the capacity to expand the water I carry to 4.5 litres. So in theory, the maximum pack weight could be up to 25.5kgs
* when viewing from a phone the weight column will display after the the text items.
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Item Bags Back Pack - Kathmandu Vardo, 75Ltr Dry Sac - Sea2Summit UltraSil 20Ltr (x 2) Dry Sac - Sea2Summit UltraSil 13Ltr Dry Sac - Sea2Summit UltraSil 4Ltr (x2) Shelter & Sleeping Gear Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL1 Sleeping bag - Kathmandu Pacesetter Sleeping mat - Sea2Summit UltraLight Insulated SeaToSummit Pillow Clothing 1 pair of quick dry hiking pants - Salomon Wayfarer 1 quick dry insect repellent long sleeve shirt - Craghoppers 1 zip up quick dry fleece hoodie - Kathmandu Contender 1 quick dry t-shirt - Kathmandu Pulau Rain Jacket - Rainbird Stowaway 2 pairs hiking socks - Merino wool 2 pairs of jocks Sunnies Hiking boots - Solomon Quest 4D 2 GTX Water shoes - Salomon CrossAmphibian Hat - NorthFace Thermals (Sleep-ware & cleanish camp clothes) Hydration/Cooking Hydration bladder (2L) Water Purifier - SteriPen Sawyer Squeeze water filter system Evernew foldable water bottles 1.5L (x 3) Titanium Backpacker stove 2 gas canisters Cooking pot (1.2L) with lid (doubles as my bowl) Spork - plastic 2 cigarette lighters Maintenance & Repair First-aid kit Patch repair kit (sleeping mat & tent) nylon rope (5m) Knife Duct tape Navigation & Emergency Compass Maps.me (iPhone app) KTI GPS PLB Toiletries Micro towel Soap Toothbrush and paste Sunscreen & insect repellent razor Toilet paper roll Electronics Solar charger - GoalZero Nomad 14 Plus Power Bank - Comsol 20300ma Headtorch (Custom) iPhone6 iPad Charging cables Headphones |
Weight (kg) 2.48 0.10 0.04 0.05 1.10 1.06 0.47 0.08 0.32 0.23 0.48 0.12 0.48 0.08 0.11 0.01 1.30 0.23 0.07 0.40 2kg (full) 0.13 0.12 0.11 (empty) 0.05 0.46 0.29 bugger all 0.04 0.20 0.05 0.03 0.14 0.10 0.05 nil 0.18 0.07 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.01 0.10 0.61 0.46 0.06 0.23 0.81 0.19 0.03 |
In kitting myself out for this trip the following suppliers have been very helpful.
All of the gear choices and acquisitions I've made have been mine. I made them after some research (Google is my friend), speaking with people, and through trial and error. This process has been expensive, time consuming, and at times frustrating, but mostly a rewarding learning experience. No matter how far I get along the trail (hopefully the whole length), I will always be able look back knowing the result is all mine, and what it takes to complete this beast of a trail entirely solo and unsupported. I'm entirely free to discuss my experiences and share my opinions. Like my facebook page (icon below) and IM me if you'd like more info on my gear and supplier choices and experiences.