Julie "Stopwatch" Urbanski's CDT Gear List
Heading down to water on the portion north of Monarch Pass in CO
| Category | Gear Selection | Weight (oz) | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Packing | Gossamer Gear G4 Ultralight Backpack (Medium pack, Small waist belt) | 16.50 | Used for entire CDT with half of a Cascade Designs Therm-a-Rest Ridgerest folded for the backpad. I'm 5'6", 125 pounds pre-thru-hike and both the frame and belt fit well. |
| 20 Gallon Trash Compactor Bag | 2.20 | Packliner which has withstood all downpours thus far. | |
| 1 Sea to Summit Stuff Sack | 2.60 | The only stuff sack I'll allow myself, mainly to keep my food in one location while the rest of my items are loose in my pack. | |
| 2 gallon sized freezer bags | 1.00 | One used for daily rations of food and another for general loose items in pack; it kills me not to use tons of stuff sacks for organization so this is my comprimise. | |
| 5x4 in waterproof plastic bag | 0.60 | Weight of wallet including ziploc, ID, credit card and debit card. | |
| Gossamer Gear Shoulder Strap Pocket | 0.85 | Super useful because otherwise I never have my camera accessible for pictures. | |
| Loksack OpSack, 12.5x20 | 1.50 | Smellproof and leakproof bear bag liner. | |
| Sleeping | REI Sub Kilo +15 sleeping bag | 31.00 | Actually carried a 19 ounce, ~35 degree quilt on the CDT but was uncomfortably cold in CO and MT; carrying this heavier, warmer bag for first week in September in CO. |
| Cascade Designs Therm-a-Rest RidgeRest cut in half (36 inches long) | 7.00 | Cut a Regular sized RidgeRest in half and use it as the backpad in my G4 pack. | |
| Shelter | Six Moon Designs 1P Solo Trekker* (Total Weight = 24) | 12.00 | One person tarp tent shared with husband and hiking partner. Weight includes 5 stakes and tent bag; tent uses 2 trekking poles. |
| Packed Clothing | Stoic Thrive Luminous Wind Jacket | 4.00 | Bought online as a sale item; have been coveting the Patagonia Houdini but this windjacket has done the trick for many miles and still has life left in it. |
| Marmot Precip Rain Jacket | 10.60 | New Rain Jacket in 2014. I feel as if I'll never find the perfect rain jacket but this one is a tough contender. | |
| Dri-Fit Running shirt | 3.90 | Sleeping shirt/extra hiking shirt. One of the many running shirts I have that dries fast and doesn't feel "slimy" when I'm all sweaty. | |
| Running shorts | 3.00 | Sleeping shorts/extra hiking shorts. One of the many pairs of short running shorts I have with a liner in it, so no need for underwear. | |
| Bandini sports bra | 1.20 | Extra sports bra/town clothing. Only the ladies will really appreciate this. A simple, thin, seamless sports bra from Target that dries fast and doesn't feel like a cold, wet sponge on my skin after sweating all day. | |
| Patagonia Houdini pants | 3.10 | Favorite piece of gear in my entire pack. They're great in wind or cooler temps, easy to put on over my shoes, and I'll sleep in them on really cold nights. | |
| Marmot Dena Puffy | 12.50 | My newest puffy in the quest for the perfect puffy that's also not ridiculously expensive, but will keep me warm in addition to my sleeping bag. I'm always cold. | |
| Glove liners-fleecy running gloves | 2.00 | Nike running gloves for those chilly mornings when my hands are so cold that I can barely unwrap a Luna bar. | |
| MLD eVent Rain Mitts | 1.20 | Not my favorite purchase because I don't think I sealed them entirely correctly, but they keep my hands semi-dry in a cold downpour, especially in Colorado at high elevation. | |
| Buff | 1.30 | I've changed from a fleece hat to a Buff for the versatility to wear it on my ears, my head, and around my neck. When I'm hot and don't want to take off my pack to put it away, I wrap it around my wrist until I take off my pack. | |
| Bandana | 1.00 | Basic cotton bandana I hang on my shoulder strap to wipe sweat off my face. | |
| Dry Max running socks | 1.00 | Thin, lightweight running socks that are surprisingly durable, and thankfully so, because they aren't cheap. | |
| 20Gallon Trash Compactor Bag | 2.20 | Rain Skirt. Lighter than rain pants and just downright more fun. Doesn't keep the ankles or feet dry but keeps me from sweating like crazy, which tends to negate the need for rain pants. | |
| Hydration | Empty Gatorade bottles and 2L Platypus | 2.90 | Usually only need to carry 1-2 Liters but want a carrying capacity of 4 liters. Had a carrying capacity of 7 liters in the driest locations in New Mexico. |
| Bleach | 2.00 | Water purification kept in a 2 ounce capacity bottle with an eye dropper. | |
| Cooking | Empty peanut butter jar | 1.30 | Stoveless cooking. Hydrate refried beans, cous cous, tabouli, and lentil soup in the jar, and eat my morning granola with dehydrated soy milk. |
| 4 oz plastic bottles | 0.50 | For holding olive oil, an easy way to get extra calories. | |
| Lighter | 1.00 | Sort of a "just in case" item since I don't cook. | |
| REI Campware Soup Spoon | 0.50 | Only bad thing about this is that it's gray and impossible to find when I'm digging through my food bag. I'm jealous of my husband's bright orange spork. | |
| Small Essentials | Toothbrush, Floss, toothpaste* (Total = 2.7) | 1.35 | Yep, I share a toothbrush with my husband, and we carry the travel size toothpaste. |
| Baby Wipes* (Total = 4) | 2.00 | Average weight listed; carry 1-2 wipes per day, per person for general cleaning post-bathroom break and pre-bedtime. | |
| Sunscreen* (Total = 3) | 1.50 | I have the ability to burn to a crisp in the middle of winter. Absolute necessity for me. | |
| First aid kit: roll gauze, athletic tape, antibiotic ointment, vitamins, ibuprofren, tylenol, duct tape* (Total = 6.9) | 3.45 | Basic first aid items that would get us at least out of the mountains and to help; main item I deal with is blisters, which vaseline and bandaids remedy the best. | |
| Headlamp - Petzl Tikka | 2.20 | Good enough for night-hiking but mainly meant for camp time and nighttime bathroom breaks. | |
| Smart Phone* (Total = 4.6) | 2.30 | ||
| mp3 player - Sandisk Clip Zip | 0.80 | Not the most dependable player because sometimes it just randomly dies or turns off, but for $35 this little workhorse has given me a few hours of music a day for 4-5 days for most trail days and is amazingly light. | |
| GPS - Garmin eTrex 20* (Total = 4) | 2.00 | Dependable GPS and easy to use from the start. | |
| Charger cord* (Total = 2) | 1.00 | One cord for the phone, the mp3 player and camera. | |
| Extra batteries - AA and AAA | 3.00 | For GPS and headlamps. | |
| Bug Net | 1.00 | May not need in early September but will take the 1 ounce hit and still carry it. | |
| Maps* (Total = 4) | 2.00 | Only carry a section at a time of the Bear Creek Survey maps. | |
| Canon Powershot Camera | 4.40 | Only carried one camera last year but for this hike both me and my husband will each carry a camera to get more pics. | |
| Half rolls of toilet paper | 2.00 | ||
| Bear bagging rope* (Total = 2.8) | 1.40 | In need of updating but I've just never made the effort to do so because it's always worked well when we hang our food. | |
| Total base weight (oz) | (not including worn items or consumables) | 160.85 | |
| Total Base weight (lb) | (not including worn items or consumables) | 10.05 |
This gear list was contributed by Gossamer Gear Trail Ambassador Julie 'Stopwatch' Urbanski, a Triple Crowner who has traveled through much of the U.SA. Author of three books.