The main section of the pack was divided into a top and a bottom pouch, and the top pouch had a small mesh separator that formed an extra internal pouch. The mesh pouch held small, loose gear and paper goods. I had my wallet, the book I was currently reading, my journal, the Data Book (Chazin 1994)(a mile by mile breakdown of the trail including reliable water sources, shelters, roads, etc.), the Thru-hiker's Handbook (Bruce 1995)(a more descriptive guide which we mainly used for planning town activities, and which I didn't pick up until I had been hiking for a while), a couple of pens, my pocket knife, maps of the area I was in, my headlamp, my sun glasses, and by the end, my mask and a set of juggling balls. The paper items were in large ziploc bags. The books grew lighter as we progressed on the trail since we would tear out the pages describing areas behind us.

     The main top pouch held my stove, cooking gear, and food. I carried a Coleman Feather 400 stove which is bulky, but only because the fuel container is attached to the bottom. It also gave me more control over the size of the flame than most stoves, allowing me to simmer dishes. It sat on the left in a small padded sack. Next to the stove were my pot and its lid which also served as my plate (though I often ate straight from the pot). Inside the pot were my pot handle (for the pot or the lid), my spoon (the only necessary piece of silverware, carried in my pocket when in towns for ice cream), my lighter (which also lived in my pocket sometimes), a sponge, and biodegradable liquid soap. The rest of the top pouch was entirely for food (plus multi-vitamins and extra ziploc bags), all kept in a large stuff-sac I picked up in Hot Springs, NC. Food was the heaviest thing in the pack and the most fluctuating in weight as it was eaten over periods of three to ten days between towns.

     The bottom pouch was for clothes. The clothes I carried changed more than any other equipment. I usually had about three pairs of heavy padded socks, two pairs of sock liners, a pair of polypro long johns(a synthetic material which is warm and dries very fast), two pairs of spandex bike shorts (which were necessary for me to avoid chaffing, a terrible hiking problem), two pairs of shorts, one polypro shirt with the long sleeves cut off, one with them left on, a heavy polarfleece pullover (which also acted as my pillow and was substituted for a lighter one in the summer), gloves, several bandannas (for towels, cleaning, tying things, head covering, and bandages), rain pants, a Goretex rain jacket, my pack rain-cover, and a pair of short gaiters which kept rain and debris out of my boots. There was also a clean cotton T-shirt and boxer shorts in a ziploc bag for clean days off in town. Normally I wore my boots, socks, liner socks, gaiters, bike shorts, shorts, the short sleeve polypro shirt, my hiking stick (which shortened by about six inches over the months but never broke), and a hat (later replaced by a bandanna). Only when we were stopped or it was very cold did anything else get worn. In the hot summer I sent my rain gear back home and carried an ultralight jacket in its place, then switched back at the end of Vermont before heading into the high altitudes of the White Mountains.

     Under the pack, in another "L" shaped nook in the frame, my sleeping bag was strapped in its waterproof stuff-sac which I bought in Damascus, VA. Before that I had used a normal stuff-sac with garbage bags inside it for water proofing. The sleeping bag was rated at 20 degrees (meaning you would be comfortable at 20 degrees Fahrenheit). When it was colder, I wore my clothes inside the bag.

     The right side pouch had emergency and repair items: a-stove repair kit, a sewing kit, patches for every kind of gear, duct tape (which I never needed, but was glad to have since other people always needed it), extra batteries, an extra lighter, extra fuel (the tank on the stove was a bit small to rely on solely), and my first aid kit. My first aid kit was larger than most, and I almost never needed it, but my fellow hikers did, and even the items I never used, I was glad to have. I had antibiotics, gauze, medical tape, Tylenol, Band-Aids, large bandages, sterile wipes, antibiotic ointment, tweezers, a razor blade, a safety pin, second skin for burns and serious blisters, and moleskin for blisters (which I thankfully never needed but passed around frequently).

     The left side pouch held my water filter, nylon cord, toilet paper in a ziploc bag, small plastic trowel, tooth brush, dental floss, compass, whistle, and mirror (for signaling rescue aircraft and fixing hair). This was the least full pouch, so overflow from elsewhere was likely to go in the left side pouch.

     The mesh pouches below the side pouches held my one-quart water bottles (called Nalgenes because this is the most common brand). The mesh pouches were low enough to be reached without taking the pack off, and the ideal size for Nalgenes. I carried a third Nalgene in the front on the hip belt of my pack. There was also a small, waterproof watch attached to the right shoulder strap of the pack.

     In Erwin, TN I bought a pair of rafting sandals to wear around camp when my feet were ready to be out of my boots. There was no room for them in the pack, and they dangled for a while from a strap on the back but ended up stuffed under the tent and sleeping pad. In New Hampshire I bought an extra knapsack for day hikes and extra gear. The school-type pack strapped to my sleeping pad and tent roll, keeping the weight up high and out of the way of the pouches. When we had to carry ten days of food through the Hundred Mile Wilderness, even the knapsack was filled with food.

     The pack weight changed considerably over the course of the hike, How much food was in it, how much water I was carrying, what clothes were in it, and what clothes I was wearing all affected the weight. When I weighed it in Virginia, it was sixty five pounds. It was probably seventy-five going into the Hundred Mile Wilderness, and about forty going into towns in the summer, when I was out of food and carried fewer clothes.     For the most part, my gear was the same when I finished as when I began, if a bit worn. In truth, there are a few essentials, but how people handled most of their gear choices was a matter of taste and necessity. Just about any style/brand/model of any equipment will do the trick. I could carry more since I weighed more, but most people had to be more selective. The rule of thumb is to not carry more than a third of your own weight. At 225 pounds, this rule allows me about 75 pounds of pack weight, but restricts most people to 40-60 pounds. Actually a more accurate formula taking into account a less than perfect athlete is (ideal wieght/3) - the amount you are overwieght since you are already carrying that additional weight. So actually I should stick to about 65 pounds, though on the trail, achieving your ideal weight isn't difficult.

     After assembling my gear I went on two overnight hikes to test everything and see if I was forgetting anything. I ordered the maps and guide books that I couldn't find in stores from the Appalachian Trail Conference, though they didn't arrive until after I had left (I had the first few already). I bought several foods in bulk including candy bars, nuts, and macaroni and cheese to be sent in packages to post offices before I reached them (these packages of food, mail, and gear supplements were called "mail drops"). In planning these mail drops I could also give friends and family places and dates to mail letters to me. I only planed the first six weeks of these before leaving, though, saving the rest of the planning for when I had a better feeling of how fast I moved and how much food I needed. My mother volunteered to send me the packages, and by the end she had sent a great deal more than what I had pre-purchased. She also bought a dehydrator to specially prepare foods so that they could be carried and cooked easily on the trail (thanks, mom). In truth, if I had had to eat the food I pre-bought for six months, I might have lost my mind. Variety in meals is invaluable. My father also gave me his phone card, offering to pick up the bill and asking that I call when I could (thanks, dad). Obviously it never hurts to have supportive parents.

     That was it. I had my gear. I had a plan. All that was left was to hike 2168 miles. People say different things about physical preparation. I think the only thing that would have prepared me for long distance hiking was long distance hiking. One way or another, if you stick to it, you'll get into perfect shape; its just a matter of how painful the process wiII be. I'm a long time practitioner of the martial arts, and the conditioning of my body (especially my feet) and mind gave me a definite advantage, but they weren't necessary. In the end, the most important ingredients for completing the trail I found once I was on the trail, and all the preparation in the world would not have carried me through without them.