During my senior spring semester, I sat down at the computer and Googled "Crest Trail," a search that drastically changed my summer plans. (You can read more about how forgetting to add the word "Tetons" to the search bar led to me hiking 273 miles through Vermont here). One year to the day earlier, I had an appointment to remove a Holter monitor that I had kept on for 24 hours to track my heartbeat. The cardiologist who initially ordered the test thought it would be just a precaution, but the results showed approximately 4500 PVCs (4.5% of my heartbeats). While everything eventually stabilized once I took iron supplements to counteract my severe anemia, limited my caffeine intake, and started sleeping more, that was a scary few months of my life. I'd spent 9 months feeling dizzy, light-headed, and fatigued (thank you, iron level of 3), which made exercise really challenging and meant that even the walk up the hill to get to campus felt like a workout. All of that to say, by the time March 2021 rolled around, I was grateful for good health, happy that vaccines were making adventures possible again, and looking for a stellar way to spend my last summer before entering the workforce. Cue: the Long Trail. In the space of about a week, I went from never having heard about it to deciding that I was all in, which also meant that I had some serious commitments to juggle while prepping for the LT :) The months before hopping on the trail looked something like this: March: decide I want to thru-hike, Google allllll the Long Trail things, read a bunch of blogs, go through midterms, start ramping up a photography business April: present at research conferences, interview for a job, balance classes, accept job offer, do several photo sessions, order the Long Trail map, set itinerary May: finals week, senior week, graduation, 8 photo sessions mixed throughout those events, order all remaining gear during REI Memorial Day sale, plan meals June: go home for brother's graduation, return to Ithaca, finish editing all photos, test all gear on a shakedown hike, have a friend from home visit, go to Maine for 9 days, finish grocery shopping, prep all food and resupplies, move out of my apartment, go back to PA, and drive up to Vermont the next day July: hop on the Long Trail on the 1st and be thrilled to be done planning ;) But actually, getting ready for the Long Trail was simultaneously one of the most stressful and exciting experiences of my life. If I had to do it again, I'd give myself more than 3 days between a vacation, moving out/deep-cleaning an apartment, and starting a thru-hike, but I think all the bouncing around made it hard to get too nervous about the trail itself! If you're someone looking at doing the LT (or just getting interested in backpacking in general), I really can't recommend reading blogs/recaps from others enough. Although I didn't have a lot of personal experience before hopping on the trail, I learned so much from reading what other people wished they hadn't brought on their hikes or what prevented them from finishing. I knew some of the mental challenges that lay ahead and had some sense of how challenging the trail would be. Obviously internet research can only take you so far; it's important to know how to use all your gear, to practice the principles of Leave No Trace, and to have a handle on your physical, mental, and emotional limits before starting the hike. However, reading how others have navigated their hikes, what gear they loved (or didn't), what meals they ate, and what they learned on the trail is a very beneficial piece of the puzzle. As a general disclaimer, I'm no expert and can only share what worked for me on the trail. I wasn't super ultralight with my gear because I didn't have a ton of financial resources to invest in new items and could borrow things from friends (and we all know free is the best price). But if you're curious to see what I carried, skim through the list below to see my gear and scroll a little farther to see what food options worked best for me on the LT :) ; Out of all the prep work that I did before the trail, gear research definitely took the most time and energy. I spent hours reading reviews on everything from hammocks to tents to water bladders, trying to decide what gear I could borrow from friends and what I needed to purchase. My biggest concerns were 1. how I would store my food 2. what I would use as my shelter and 3. how I would contact emergency services. I decided against a bear can or a typical bear hang in favor of the Ursack Major/Opsack liner combination, which gave me no issues during the trail. On the nights when I got to camp late or the mornings when it was pouring, it was awesome to be able to tie the Ursack to a tree using a figure-8 knot — although I'm a little spatially challenged, so this sometimes took a bit ;) — rather than having to chuck a rock at a tree for a bear hang or add extra weight/volume to my pack via a bear canister. While I HIGHLY recommend using the Ursack, make sure you know how to use it WELL. It should be tied about 5ft up on a tree, closed using a square knot and secured using a figure-8 knot. Additionally, you should be super careful to not get any food smells on the outside of the bag or odorproof liners. I was careful and had no issues with bears or mini-bears (squirrels, chipmunks, etc) while on the trail! One of my friends had a tent she was willing to let me borrow, which solved my hammock vs. tent dilemma. Although the hammock might have been more comfortable at times, I loved the privacy of a tent, the ability to keep all of my gear dry inside of it, and being away from the bugs. I did see many people on the trail hammocking, so if that's your method of choice, I'm sure you'd be fine! Finally, after researching communication devices, I purchased a Garmin inReach mini and am incredibly happy with my decision. I'll put out a full review soon, but the pros (communicating with family, preset messages, SOS button) outweighed the small cons (it could take a little while to lock onto a signal and the subscription plans can be pricey). Okay, onto the gear list! The Big 3
Clothing
Cooking & Hydration
Personal Care
Other Gear
Leading up to the trip, I was most concerned about figuring out what food options would sound good while hiking. On previous camping trips (which were never longer than a weekend, and often only an overnight), I wasn't hungry and food never sounded particularly stellar. While it was challenging to get enough calories over the first few days of the trip because of low hunger levels, hiker's hunger kicked in big time on day 13 and pretty much stuck around for the last 11 days of the trip. I was intentional about taking in at least 2700 calories a day, but probably was closer to 3000+ depending on the day/terrain/hunger level. Meals looked something like this:
Breakfast: Pop-Tarts and Quaker oatmeal packets (I personally love the fruit & cream flavors, especially peaches & cream, strawberries & cream, and blueberry-strawberry) Lunch: Tortillas with peanut butter and raisins for the first 5 days of the trip; hamburger rolls/buns with hard cheese (typically smoked gouda) for the rest of the trip Snacks:
Dinner: This was definitely my most-varied meal, but it almost always involved a noodle haha. Options included:
Note: I typically follow a vegetarian diet, but made exceptions for tuna packets. You could definitely exclude those from your meal plan and replace with another protein source, like PB or other nuts :) If you have any questions about preparing for the Long Trail, gear that I used, or anything else, please feel free to reach out to me!
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LizWriting, running, reading, and keeping it real along the way. Archives
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