Okay, we will get a little bit personal here talking about personal goods we had on the trail. We’ll start with the mundane and work our way up to parts some people will want to skip.
Identification, money, keys – We each kept our own driver’s licenses, some cash, a credit and a debit card. We also had a key to access our boat tucked deep into a safe place in Sondra’s backpack.
Contact solution, contacts – Jimmy brought more than enough spares for the entire hike, and still had more contacts at a family member’s house to mail to us in case extras were needed.
Sunscreen, lip balm, insect repellent, head net – Both of us carried small quantities of each of these items. After a bottle of DEET opened in Jimmy’s backpack, we switched to using Picaridin spray, lotion or wipes. When we could not find Picaridin, we picked up DEET only in wipe form. Note: we had several articles of clothing infused with Permethrin before beginning the hike which reduced the amount of insect repellent we needed on trail. Head nets were necessary during our 2019 hike, but we did not use them on this hike. Some hikers used them to deal with all of the little flying insects that swarmed our heads. We felt that as long as the bugs were not biting, we would just push on through and kept the nets in our packs.
Toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss – We did not cut off the handles on our toothbrushes, but did discover that one can get by using free floss often found in hostels. With the two of us on trail together, we aimed for a 2 to 3 ounce tube of toothpaste, basically one step up from travel size.
Brush /comb, hair bands, beard trim kit – Replaced the brush with a comb, taking up less volume. Purchased a tiny men’s grooming kit to tame Jimmy’s beard.
Nail clippers, tweezers, mirror – While our phone cameras were used when a mirror was needed, we still carried a mirror since it is listed as an item to bring for signaling in case of emergency and it was stored in an out of the way location.
Wipes, soap, hand sanitizer – We started out with a giant quantity of dehydrated body wipes. Once they were gone, we found small, scentless packs of wipes along the way. These were used for “taking a bath” each night. Both of us had a bottle of hand sanitizer hanging on our packs for easy access. We also had tiny bottles of soap in our pack pockets to use when needed.
Privy bag – One small bag was kept handy that contained a trowel, toilet paper, soap and a bottle bidet. It may be worth upgrading from the Deuce of spades trowel to a longer one with serrated edges, better for cutting through roots. Several people that we hiked with regularly carried a backcountry bidet, and after they explained the increase in cleanliness and reduction of toilet paper use, we obtained a bidet system (consisting of a special cap and a squeezable bottle) for our privy bag. Note, toilet paper can be dropped into a privy or cathole, but wipes must be packed out, making them less than desirable in post-toilet use.
Pee cloth, FUD, feminine supplies – In order to maximize cleanliness on this hike, Sondra bought a cloth designed for women to wipe with after urinating, commonly called a “pee cloth”. During the hike, the majority of women we hiked with used a female urinary director, or device (FUD) and eventually talked Sondra into purchasing one. This unit allows women to empty their bladders with an incredible amount of modesty and reducing the time needed for the task. When Sondra lost her cloth and FUD one day, she immediately ordered replacements. She used a Wander Woman Gear cloth and the PStyle FUD. The Trek has an article that goes into a lot more detail.
Hopefully nobody took offense to the TMI information in this section, but this may be helpful to some hikers. The next, and last, equipment discussion will cover clothing (24-52).
24-51
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