A traditional, minimalist load-out for your Appalachian Trail thru-hike

mnblade

mnblade

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You're packing for a thru-hike along the entire Appalachian Trail. We're talking months on the trail, here. In the spirit of jackknife's maximum minimalism thread, what traditional knife or knives and EDC-type gear would you carry along?

I'm thinking Opinel 6, SAK Classic, and a P-38 can opener. You?

-- Mark
 
jackknife said:
I'd try to find out what knife Granny Gatewood carried!:D

Carl.
Click to expand...

I remember reading that she carried a Classic. But she's a bigger man than me. ;)

For those who don't know, Granny Gatewood hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1955 at the age of 67, wearing Keds sneakers and carrying an army blanket, a raincoat, and a plastic shower curtain which she carried in a homemade bag slung over one shoulder, thus making her a pioneer of Ultralight backpacking. She hiked it again in 1960 and then again at age 75 in 1963, making her the first person to hike the trail three times (though her final hike was completed in sections).

In addition, she walked 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of the Oregon Trail from Independence, Missouri, to Portland, Oregon, averaging 22 miles (35 km) a day. She traveled to every state of the continental United States.


-- Mark
 
Granny Gatewood would have just borrowed *your* knife. :rolleyes:


You might get more (non-traditional) feedback in the Wilderness sub-forum.

But to answer your traditional oriented question, for 3 season hiking in the Whites of NH (and Greens in VT) I carry an Opinel #9 in my shorts pocket with a Leatherman PS-4 Squirt in my 1st aid kit.

I prefer having a slightly larger blade for reaching deep in peanut butter (or Nutella, yum) jars and prefer a slightly larger knife if I want to start a fire. I forgo carrying a plastic knife for food and use the larger #9 as a table knife. A #8 would be quite reasonable too.

I carry a Micra for EDC use but prefer the Squirt for backpacking. The pliers are useful for pushing a large needle through tough fabric for on-trail repairs and the scissors are useful for bandage and moleskin preparation.

If you want to go really minimalist and if you will never start a fire (rely entirely on a stove) and can get by with a spoon for all food prep (very realistic), you can get by with just the (non-traditional) Squirt.

Winter ski touring up here is another matter.
 
I would have a small fixed blade such as a mora and a folder like an opinel no.8 or a sak for the can opener.
A lighter would be in my pocket as well even though I don't smoke.
 
This would be one of the very few times you could get me to carry a multi-tool... maybe. But I've got a little packet that has just about everything the MT does but made up of actual tools albeit small ones. I might opt for that.

Knife wise it would be one of my normal knives. Nothing special. I chose them for comfort and utility and they ride well when I'm on the move. But I'd also have my little pocket stone in my pack. No idea where it came from... I think it was in a kit that came with a knife my pop bought years and years ago. Anyway it is a fine arkansas that would almost be called translucent today and does a fine job. I have a nice fixed blade that may find its way into my pack but I am not sure. Mostly it would not be of that much use on a long hike unless I was building shelters and that is a no-no on the AT unless I am mistaken. Probably just be extra weight.

I never go out of the woods without my clip watch which has actual hands as a compass backup. Although to be honest once you are in the eastern mountain chains it is pretty hard to get turned around or maybe just being raised in them makes it seem that way. It also has a tiny light on it so it has multiple functions. Speaking of lights I'd have my mini-mag and my head lamp... and extra batteries.

One piece of EDC gear... well it really isn't EDC but I keep one in my desk at work and at home is a little sewing kit. An assortment of needles and some pretty strong string. Might not be real manly but it is something I consider useful and seem to keep one around me most of the time.

Will
 
I guess at my age, I quality for the tittle of Grandpa Gatwood.:eek:

If I were going to do this, I'd make full use of modern technology and light weight materials for tarp and pancho. Since campfires are strictly forbidden on most of the A.T., I won't be making any fires. That leaves out all the husky broad swords the survivalists swear by. I'd maybe bring the smallest alcohol stove I could find just for boiling water for morning oatmeal and evening freeze dried whatever.

Knives. Since it's mostly just walking up and down hills, on a well marked trail that by mid summer is more like a suburban park than a real wilderness, I'd go with what my normal suburban edc is. My peanut, a Pattadese, or an Opinel. Probably the most use for a knife on the A.T. is very similar to suburban use, opening packages and dealing with food. With no campfires, there's no chopping or other wood processing to do. For all those years I packed a Randall number 14, and used it to open a pouch of Mountain house Chicken Al La King to pour in some boiling water, was a total waste.

Well known back packer and author Colin Fletcher, who wrote the many versions of "The Complete Walker" used a Victorinox classic on many of his adventures. This is the guy who back packed the length of the Grand Canyon, so he's no rube of fake. Other times he carried a larger SAK, like a tinker. With modern light weight gear, there's really no need for much knife when back packing. By virtue of the sport, you already have shelter and sleeping already taken care of. I'd be going the Granny Gatewood route with as ultra light as I could. At my stage of life, a 20 pound load seems about it. Pass the big trash bags please!

Carl.
 
I carry a vic farmer hiking, I guess if I didn't need the saw I may just take an Opinel No.6 maybe 7. An Opinel will open a can a lot faster than the can opener on a SAK!
 
For really minimal gear a Puukko and a small axe. Maybe one knife with stainless steel for cooking.
 
Based on my experience of backpacking with modern equipment and on hiking on portions of the AT in the north-east (and numerous place out west), I don't think either a fixed blade nor a hatchet are needed at all; not compared to the need of dropping pounds (not ounces, pounds) of the packing list.

Regarding the OP's request about other EDC stuff, I'm afraid that that part of the question really begs to be discussed over in the Outdoor Gear forum (and probably better on one of the many dedicated AT forums).
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/865-Outdoor-Gear-Survival-Equipment-amp-More
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?56-Appalachian-Trail-Forums

The common term popularized by Harvey Manning (contemporary of Colin Fletcher) and the Seattle Mountaineers is "the 10 essentials".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10_Essentials

The place I see the notion of EDC intersecting with the notion of the 10 essentials is in the decision of what goes in my pockets and always on my person and what goes in the pack. In my pockets I carry a knife and reading glasses and a map. If I head off trail, the compass goes in my pocket too. Otherwise, stuff goes in the pack. More on my own thoughts here. Note, my system is tuned towards weekend trips, usually with a partner or two or three. For solo thru hiking, there are some things I would ditch.

http://home.comcast.net/~pinnah/DirtbagPinner/essentials-list.txt
 
DrPenguin said:
One piece of EDC gear... well it really isn't EDC but I keep one in my desk at work and at home is a little sewing kit. An assortment of needles and some pretty strong string. Might not be real manly but it is something I consider useful and seem to keep one around me most of the time.
Click to expand...

I never go into the woods without a spool of heavy weight polyester thread, a large needle and mini pliers to drive the need through heavy pack cloth and webbing. Along the same lines, I always carry a spare hip belt buckle. Manly? Who cares. For the sake of a nail...
 
I have in the past walked many miles on the AT and the Green Trail
I carried a SAK Tourist with the awl and cork screw
And that was plenty of knife
And a Classic for hygine in my first aid kit

If you feel a need for a sheath knife
Then a Mora #2/0 is plenty at 50 gm!

For a detailed discussion of gear, go to the Outdoor Gear forum here
 
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The reason I'd take a fixed blade is because it is easier to keep clean. Other than that some sort of SAK will do the trick nicely.
 
For me, this is the key:

jackknife said:
... campfires are strictly forbidden on most of the A.T., I won't be making any fires. That leaves out all the husky broad swords the survivalists swear by. I'd maybe bring the smallest alcohol stove I could find just for boiling water for morning oatmeal and evening freeze dried whatever.

Knives. Since it's mostly just walking up and down hills, on a well marked trail that by mid summer is more like a suburban park than a real wilderness, I'd go with what my normal suburban edc is. My peanut, a Pattadese, or an Opinel. Probably the most use for a knife on the A.T. is very similar to suburban use, opening packages and dealing with food. With no campfires, there's no chopping or other wood processing to do.
Click to expand...

Going light would be no problem.

-- Mark
 
Done a lot of long-distance backpacking in the past with no more than a Victorinox Hunter or my Victorinox Mauser Officers Knife (plus a pair of folding scissors in my first-aid kit). The long blades work well for splitting baguettes and such, but I think I could manage with something smaller. I used to travel a lot with a Wenger World Scout Knife and only ever used half the tools on that. I like having a blade, scissors, can opener, cap lifter, and corkscrew, and a wood saw is sometimes handy, tweezers, and a couple of small screwdrivers too.
 
When I was trekking in South America I was into modern folders and used a Spyderco Native for everything. So looking back on that... I would go with a traditional small fixed blade now... Bark river liten bror or something. Maybe one of my sgian dubhs.
 
Maybe it's my Western mindset, but I'm uncomfortable with the idea of only bringing a slip joint or SAK along. I always bring a fixed blade outdoors, a puukko at the very minimum. It probably has to do with the fact that there are still large predators to be found in my state, namely bears and mountain lions. Even the regional parks around here advise patrons to bring knives.

- Christian
 
Small neck knife, probably my small Kephart (3" blade). My Victorinox farmer. Other than that, maybe a knife stashed in my pack as a backup, and that would probably be a Mora.
 
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