Well, it’s getting close to June and northbound thru-hikers still on the Appalachian Trail are probably somewhere in Virginia by now. I took a look at the Applachian Trail Conservancy’s 2000-miler data for the year, and they’re showing a slight dip in thru-hikers starting out this year. According to folks at Amicola State Park, 1,350 [...]]]>

Appalachian Trail

Well, it’s getting close to June and northbound thru-hikers still on the Appalachian Trail are probably somewhere in Virginia by now. I took a look at the Applachian Trail Conservancy’s 2000-miler data for the year, and they’re showing a slight dip in thru-hikers starting out this year. According to folks at Amicola State Park, 1,350 hikers started from Georgia heading north to Maine. This is a tad under last year’s number (1,425) by still well over the numbers in 2006 (1,150) and 2007 (1,125). You can be a numbers dork too by checking out the stats on their site!

Lightweight Backpacking and Camping: A Field Guide to Wilderness Equipment, Technique, and Style – Ryan Jordan Ryan Jordan really, really knows his stuff, and this book gets into the [...]]]> Here are a few of my favorite Ultralight Backpacking Books. Equipment changes all the time, but the best gear is what you have between your ears.

Lightweight Backpacking and Camping: A Field Guide to Wilderness Equipment, Technique, and Style – Ryan Jordan Ryan Jordan really, really knows his stuff, and this book gets into the thick of things in a hurry. Think of it as an update to Beyond Backpacking. Overall, its probably the best book out on ultralight backpacking right now. Highly recommended if you want to learn the latest and greatest in ultralight backpacking gear and techniques.

The Backpacker’s Handbook -Chris Townsend Probably my favorite book for straight-up backpacking information. Chris is a great writer, and this book covers almost everything you’ll need to know about camping short of a full-blown mountaineering trip. Love this book.

Lighten Up!: A Complete Handbook for Light and Ultralight Backpacking – Dan Lagidin and Mike Clelland Dan and Mike were NOLS instructors from way back, and this little book hits the highlights without getting too deep into things. A very quick read, and a little thin if you’re a real gearhead, but it’s good for getting to the point. I’d give this to a scout group in a heartbeat.

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First let’s take a look at the Packs by Brand graph. Bear [...]]]> Just following up on my post from last week on Thru-hiker Backpacks. This was part of a large study I bagan in 2007 on Appalachian Trail Thru-hikers. Over 540 long-distance hikers, with more than a million collective trail miles were part of this study.

First let’s take a look at the Packs by Brand graph. Bear in mind that about 84% of the responses were from folks hiking from 2000 or later. I’ll get into that in a bit…

Let me explain how these numbers were broken down. This graph includes all responses to the question “What model and brand of pack did you carry?” There were 439 completed responses, many of which needed to be cleaned up before they could be sorted and analyzed (misspellings, etc.) Many responses only listed the manufacturer of the pack, but not the model, so I analyzed the data with this in mind.

I sorted all brands, then filtered for all brands with less than 5 responses. These filtered responses make up the “Other” (34 responses) category, which includes brands like Jack Wolfskin(2), Coleman (1), and the venerable US military ALICE pack (2.) The “Switchers” category (27 responses) is composed of all the folks that started with one type/brand of pack, then switched packs during their thru-hike. These responses had no real pattern (external to internal, bought a Gregory, etc), so I’ve split these responses from the others in order to keep the data as clean as possible.

I’d like to further break down some of the numbers concerning type of packs while getting into more into brand specifics and preferences. As I mentioned before, all the packs in this dataset prior to 1982 were external frame packs. This shouldn’t be all that surprising, as internal frame packs were not commonly available commercially until the mid-late 70’s. Fifteen thru-hikers in this study completed their hikes from 1969-1982. All of these hikers used external frame packs, and of these, seven used a pack made by Kelty. It’s been said by more experienced hikers than I (*ahem*) that you couldn’t swing a cat on the Appalachian Trail in the seventies without hitting a Kelty Tioga, and this data seems to bear that out.

The shift toward internal frame packs starts in the mid-eighties, and continues rapidly from there. Overall, about 73% of all thru-hikers used and internal frame pack, with internals (43) doubling the number of externals (20) from 1985-1999. Kelty was still the largest manufacturer of external frames, with a smattering of Jansport, Camp Trails, and other external frame packs filling in.

From 1985-1999, internal frame packs came from a number of manufacturers. Dana Design’s (12 packs) Terraplane, Glacier, and humongous Astralplane were joined by Gregory’s (10 packs) Palisade, Reality, and Shasta packs. Lowe Alpine brought some of the first internal frame packs to market, and five thru-hikers from this timeframe used their packs.

A number of new companies came onto the market around 2000 with newer pack designs. There’s been a decided trend toward lighter packs, and in many cases, smaller capacities. Packs made by ULA-Equipment, GoLite, Osprey, Arc’Teryx, Granite Gear, and Gregory either came on the market during this time period or shifted their efforts toward the nebulous direction of “ultralight.” A popular pack in the early nineties was Dana Design Terraplane, weighing in around seven pounds and 5,800 cubic inches of capacity. By comparison, in 2005 many thru-hikers were carrying a Gregory Z Pack (3,300 cubic inches, 3.25 pounds.) One thing I want to look into is whether or not hikers are actually carrying overall lighter loads, and if so, has their daily mileage increased as a result. I’ll get more into that as I process the numbers.

The Most Popular Pack on the Appalachian Trail

I started my data collection for this study at Trail Days (May, 2007) and continued to collect responses through September 2007. As such, the last year for completed thru-hikes in this study was 2006, although many 2007 hikers submitted their surveys during their thru-hikes. Pack preferences come and go, but the Granite Gear Vapor Trail was the most popular pack among Appalachian Trail thru-hikers based on the 2006 and 2007 data. About 15% of the hikers (14) in the 2006-2007 cohort group reported using the Vapor Trail model specifically, although a majority of the hikers just submitted the brand of pack they were using.

Rather than concentrate on the specific model of pack, I believe what is more telling is the overall trend toward lighter, smaller packs. ULA Equipment’s P1 and P2 packs, Osprey’s Atmos series, Gregory’s Z and G packs, and GoLite’s offerings were all strongly represented. The Appalachian Trail’s first thru-hiker,  Earl Schaffer, used a small, frameless army rucksack back in 1948 and carried a light load by anyone’s standards. Maybe the more things change, the more they stay the same?

What kind of pack do you carry? What’s your “perfect” pack? I love to hear from ya’ll, and feel free to contact me with any questions.

I started my data collection for the Appalachian Trail Thru-hiker Study at Trail Days (May, 2007) and continued to collect responses through September 2007. As such, the last year for completed thru-hikes in this study was 2006, although many 2007 hikers submitted their surveys during their thru-hikes. Pack preferences come and go, but the Granite [...]]]>

I started my data collection for the Appalachian Trail Thru-hiker Study at Trail Days (May, 2007) and continued to collect responses through September 2007. As such, the last year for completed thru-hikes in this study was 2006, although many 2007 hikers submitted their surveys during their thru-hikes. Pack preferences come and go, but the Granite Gear Vapor Trail was the most popular pack among Appalachian Trail thru-hikers based on the 2006 and 2007 data. About 15% of the hikers (14) in the 2006-2007 cohort group reported using the Vapor Trail model specifically, although a majority of the hikers just submitted the brand of pack they were using.

Here’s the chart of the 434 responses.

Let’s dig into the numbers a little bit and see what we find.

As you can tell, internal frame packs were by far the most-used by thru-hikers (72.6%), followed [...]]]> Just wading through some more data from my AT Thru-hiker Study today and wanted to share some info on pack types.

Here’s the chart of the 434 responses.

Let’s dig into the numbers a little bit and see what we find.

As you can tell, internal frame packs were by far the most-used by thru-hikers (72.6%), followed by external frame users (13.1%), frameless packs (8.1%), and the ubiquitous “Other” category. In looking at the data, “Other” users were typically hikers that started with one style of pack, then switched to one or more styles before completing their thru-hike. There was no real pattern to this switching, as some switched to internal frames from external or vice-versa.

Some interesting tidbits:

• Prior to 1982, ALL thru-hikers in this sample used external frame packs.
• 32 out of the 35 frameless pack users thru-hiked since 2000
• From 2000 on, internal frame use constituted 78.2% of all users

Satisfaction Ratings

I’m always interested in seeing how satisfied people are with their gear selections. There are as many ways to hike the trail as there are hikers, and there is more selection now then there has ever been. Let’s take a look at the satisfaction ratings for backpacks.

Well, it looks like thru-hikers were almost universally satisfied with their backpack selection, regardless of type. 90.9% of all thru-hikers sampled reported either being Very Satisfied (68.8%) or Somewhat Satisfied (22.1%.)

Looking into things a little closer, there was a weak relationship between Very Disatisfied and the “Other” category, suggesting that hikers found some sort of replacement pack during their trip. Anecdotally, it isn’t entirely uncommon for thru-hikers to replace gear along the way as they find other approaches that may work better for them.

I’m digging through the Brand and Model numbers now, and will try to report the results shortly. From just a quick eye-balling of the data, there is a definite trend towards smaller, lighter packs, with Granite Gear and Gregory being two of the most popular pack manufacturers.

UPDATE:  Make sure to check out Part II of this section on Thru-hiker Backpacks. I get more into differences by decade, weights, and present The Most Popular Pack on the Appalachian Trail!

I used a MSR Whisperlight International [...]]]> Backpacking stoves change and evolve, as do gear preferences. People can spend hours wading through mountains of information about burn times, fuel delivery, treehugging-ness, and of course, price. I know people who change stoves more than they change underwear. To each his own, but here’s where I ended up.

I used a MSR Whisperlight International for years, but it was way overkill for 95% of what I end up doing. Still, that thing was a blowtorch if you kept the fuel clean and jet unclogged. It was the first stove I used when I really got back into backpacking during college. Many meals were cooked, and many eyebrows singed, using that stove over about ten years.

I started a southbound thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2000 with another person, using solid fuel esbit stove. Slow and simple, but barely usable for a couple. I hacked out an alcohol stove from a refried bean can in North Woodstock, NH and carried it for the next 4 months for some 1,300 miles or so till I reached Georgia. The stove lasted longer than the partnership I’m afraid.

Went back to grad school, led a bunch of wilderness trips, and used either that same alcohol stove, a MSR Pocketrocket, or one of the school’s MSR Whisperlights. I think I’m about done with Whisperlights now, mainly because it’s too much weight and hassle just to boil a few cups of water at a time. The Pocketrocket is a simple, light canister stove and worked fine, but I’ve never spilled more meals off any stove. It’s a little top-heavy with a quart of water for my tastes, but man it’s very controllable. Great little stove for the most part, but not for my clumsy self.

We went down the Mississippi River with a cheap single-burner propane stove, and I developed an irrational hatred to it on several different levels. Man that was a mistake. Very top heavy, bulky, and horrible in the wind. The picture of misery sometimes. Missed my little alky stove almost everyday on the river, but was too pig-headed to change.

Now, I’m back to using that same little homemade stove I made some eight years ago. It’s a little beat up, but that just gives it character. I know it’s quirks, and have hiked probably 1,700 miles with it by now. It’s slow, but completely silent. I mix up my dinner with some water, put a splash of fuel in the stove, light it, then let it do it’s thing while putting up the tarp or putzing around.

He’s been a good buddy, and I especially like using it with a homemade pot cozy now. In short, I love this little guy, and it’s the perfect stove for me.

Reams of recipes, tips, and dietary guidelines are spelled out over 280 pages. [...]]]> You’ve got to eat when backpacking and paddling, and one of our favorite outdoor cookbooks is Simple Foods for the Pack. Our copy of this Sierra Club classic is dog-earred, food-stained, and used more and more each time we head out.

Reams of recipes, tips, and dietary guidelines are spelled out over 280 pages. I like the simple layout of the book, with just enough black and white line drawings to break up things. We usually concentrate on the faster-cooking foods when tramping around, but there are also a large selections of breads and other camp foods for the slow-down set. We’ve particularly enjoyed the Chili (p. 176,) Pumpkin Pie Cake (p. 63,) and Alpine Spaghetti (p. 188.)

I’ve eaten more then my fair share of processed rice and noodle meals and just can’t choke them down any more. When I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail, my diet consisted of Little Debbie snack cakes, Lipton meals, and peppermint patties. Eating that kind of crap day-in and day-out didn’t cut it, and I felt horrible by the end of the trip. We’ve gone to trying out healthier meals while out on the trail, and I feel 100% better at the end of the day. Simple Foods for the Pack has been a great addition to our outdoor bookshelf.

For more selected Books for Backpackers, check out our Amazon AStore at http://astore.amazon.com/sourctoseapad-20. Proceeds from our Amazon links help defer the cost of this website and are used to further the efforts of the Source to Sea Expedition. Thanks again for your support.