John Muir Trail Gear List

Holy moly batman... we leave to hike the John Muir Trail today. We have been planning for this trip for 6 long months. Honestly, when we decided to do this trip I had no idea how much planning and research was going to be involved. I will confess thought that I'm an over-researcher. I spend entirely too much time reading about items I want to purchase. However, what you can know is that all of this gear listed here is was heavily researched. When our trip is over, I will report back with how we felt about it all after we used it for a month.

When I was doing research I was looking for gear that was lightweight and comfortable. We are definitely not doing this thru-hike as ultralight backpackers. In the backpacking community there is a lot of debate about the weight of your pack because there is a balance between comfort and weight. Some people feel like having the lightest pack is the best way to comfort but others will carry more weight in order to have things with them that help them to be more comfortable. Another factor is the cost of ultralight gear. The lighter the gear is the more expensive it is. So we did our very best to choose gear that we could afford and that was lightweight and comfortable.

I want to take this time to give a big shout out to our local retailer Cumberland Transit. Those guys there have been a HUGE help in helping us pick out gear and making sure we had everything we needed. They were also kind enough to make us Cumberland Transit ambassadors which allowed us to get some free gear and discounts. I can say that without their help we would not have been able to take this trip.

For those of you who don't have access to local retailers like Cumberland Transit, we have linked all of our gear below. These are affiliate links and when you make a purchase through one of these links, we receive a teeny tiny portion. Your use of affiliate links helps keeps this blog alive. With that said, again, we highly encourage you to try out your local outfitter and test out gear, ask questions, and figure out what is best for you. And if you are in Nashville, definitely check out Cumberland Transit.

Packs
Osprey Aura 65

Sleep
20 degree sleeping bag
Sleeping Mat
Pillow
Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL3

Eat
Bear Canister
Cook Pot
Long Spoon
Camp mug
Stove

Wear
Puffy Down Jacket
Hiking Shorts
Hiking Pants
Short Sleeve Tee
Long Sleeve Tee
Altra Lone Peak 4 trail runners
Topo Ultraventure Trail Running Shoe
Camp Shoes
Rain Jacket
Rain Pants
Underwear

Electronics
Solar charger
Power Bank
Canon G7xiii
Tripod
Garmin inReach Explorer
Microphone

Misc
Homemade First Aid Kit (more info to come)
Gloves
Female Urinal
Pee rag
Towel
Trekking poles
Carhartt Beanie
Stuff Sacks
Wallet
Chair
Collapsible Bucket
Headlamp

We can't wait to come back and tell you all about how our gear worked out. Of course, we will have so many pictures and videos!! See you later!

Read More

How To Plan For A John Muir Trail Thru-Hike

This post is sponsored by Sahale Snacks but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

Guys, our John Muir Trail trip is coming up so soon! It's one of those things that you plan for so long, that it feels like it's always going to be so far away. BUT, we are less than a month away. Needless to say, we are in crunch mode which means we are in full on planning mode. We have partnered with Sahale Snacks to share with you 5 ways we are getting prepared for living on the trail!

In case you didn't already know, we've been planning to hike the John Muir Trail in California for about 6 months now. The JMT is one of the most beautiful trails in the world which is named after the John Muir who is consider to be the Father of National Parks. Have you ever heard the saying, "The mountains are calling and I must go"? That is a John Muir quote.

The JMT starts at the summit of Mt. Whitney and ends in Yosemite Valley, but we will be hiking it in reverse/Southbound- so starting in Yosemite National Park and ending at Mt. Whitney. The trail is 211 miles long, and we will be hiking about 10 miles per day. This means we will be hiking for about 3 weeks! We will be in the wilderness with few options to get supplies which means preparation is very important for this journey. So let's get to talking about what we've been doing and are working on to be prepared to hike the JMT.

1. Stocking up on delicious snacks. When you are thru-hiking, you have to eat a lot of ordinary freeze dried and dehydrated meals. You do what you gotta do on trail, but it's important to have something more elevated to snack on. You want something to excite your tastebuds and help keep the morale up. Sahale Snacks make these tasty glaze mixes and snack mixes that are thoughtfully sourced and carefully crafted combination of nuts, dried fruits, and exotic spices. I seriously can't wait to try more flavors and take these on our trip! So far we have loved the Sahale Snacks Honey Almond Glazed Mix, the Maple Pecan Glazed Mix, and the Pomegranate Vanilla Glazed Mix. The glazed mixes are this sweet and salty goodness with the perfect crunch- I'm confident that it's going to be a favorite snack on trail.

2. Mailing our food to ourselves. Once we've gathered all of our meals and delicious snacks, we have to mail them to ourselves! Most of the JMT is very remote and we won't be passing any towns or stores along the way. Everything has to be planned out way in advance and shipped to different locations that we will be at along the trail. Some of the locations we will have to hike off trail (sometimes even 15 miles round trip) to get to. Seems a little exhausting, but when you are hiking 211 miles, what are 15 more miles? But really, it is just part of the deal. You hike in the wilderness and have to go a little out of your way to make sure you can eat.

3. Training with our packs on. And hiking. And strength training. We've upped our hiking game since getting our JMT permit, but honestly we could've done more. I hear that people are never really ready- I've even heard this from athletes. But we started hiking with our weighted packs and even completed a 16 mile hike in the Smokies with 25 lbs in our packs. It was pretty hard, but we did it!

4. Planning our route. Okay so yes, the John Muir Trail route is already set. But we have to plan exactly how many miles we will do each day and where we will camp. Those things are not set. We will have to schedule when we pick up our packages and when we will stay in a hotel, and what transportation we will be taking. There are a lot of logistics to figure out about each day. Thank goodness this can actually be one of the last things we do before we leave because there are a lot of things we still have to consider.

5. Finalizing our gear. You'd think by now we would have everything we need, but you'd be wrong. We have most of our main things, but we have a bunch of little things to get and organize. We have to weigh every single thing we are taking with us and make sure that our pack doesn't weigh too much. We are trying to keep our base weight (base weight is how much your pack weighs without the ever changing weight of food and water) low to help keep the hike easier on our bodies.

As you can see there is a lot to do to prepare for a thru hike! We are excited to tackle this challenge and spend so much time in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Thank you to Sahale Snacks for sponsoring this post. And for real, their snack mixes are delicious so definitely give them a try!

Read More

Hiking at Long Hunter State Park

Casey and I have been hiking a little more lately because it is a form of physical activity that we enjoy. Also, we probably won't be camping anymore this year because of the colder weather. This is the same vibe as camping, but only takes a couple hours! Anyway, last weekend we went to Long Hunter State Park to do the 4 mile Day Loop hike.

I would say we did this hike in the prime time of the leaves changing. Thank goodness they actually changed this year!

This was our first hike in our new hiking boots. Usually we just hike in whatever tennis shoes we have, but we decided it was time to get the real deal. We both got the same boots (these), classic us, and so far we love them! I just felt like my feet and ankles were more supported (because they were) and I'll never hike in a tennis shoe ever again.

My favorite part of this hike was this lookout you can go down to see over the lake. You are as high as the tree tops, so it's a pretty cool little section.

We are thinking about doing a bigger hike in the Azores when we are there for my 30th birthday trip next year. It would be a trip where we would hike up and camp overnight, but we are still working out all the details on that! Over time we are going to do more mileage on our hikes, but for now we are just hiking around Nashville and getting comfortable.

Favorites from this hike:

- Sweater

- Hiking Boots

- Leather Backpack/Purse

xo, Savannah

Read More