The First Thing Thru-Hikers Ditch!

*Gear in the Video:*

*Ghosttown's Gear:*

*Merica's Gear:*

*Laura's Gear:*

*Huckleberry's Pack:*

*Hambergler's Gear:*

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[MyLifeOutdoors]

*Gear in the Video:*

*Ghosttown's Gear:*

*Merica's Gear:*

*Laura's Gear:*

*Huckleberry's Pack:*

*Hambergler's Gear:*

[iceman]

The highlight for me is you walking through the camp area fixing people's setups. That's the thru hiker spirit!

[NoNamesLeft]

Ghosttown is lovely, and maybe a little high.

[shadeiland]

I remember I was hiking a section of the A.T. several years ago. Came across a guy that was obviously very frustrated, arms flailing around walking back and forth. I asked if he was okay and if need any help. He went off on how he didn’t know if he could do it or how so many people do. His shoulders just couldn’t handle the weight of what he was carrying. So I asked him to show me how he wears his pack. New hiker issue of loose belt and everything on the shoulders. Walked him through how to wear his pack. Ran into him just next to mountain crossings at neel gap a few days later. He couldn’t help but tell everyone how I saved his hike. I’ve never like praise or the spotlight like that, so I didn’t stay too long, but I was happy to know he was able to keep going and got something from my advice. Though my dog wasn’t happy about not getting all the attention after we left.

[oskargustafsson]

Actually helping people like this is so nice, kudos. If it's sustainable then I'd love to see more of those kind of things

[vincentvega]

Very generous of you to gift those items to your interviewees, especially the Canadian who got a new pack!

[chrismoore]

The fact you do this kind of stuff is why I love you channel. Cheers

[keithmeyers]

Loved it. No long boring chat, quick and fun, real people. Gonna check out more of your

[Calidastas]

For us anti-social people who hike to escape people this scene is terrifying.

[iac]

3:45 "Just walking through ? Keep your money !".
That was pretty cool of that lady !

[rkatrails]

I agree with the guy who said a 2L fanny pack is too small. The biggest one I've found is the same one that was gifted to him, the 3L Hyperlite. It's not only spacious and very light, but it has a mesh organizer pocket inside the main compartment and a key leash, a very essential feature, and an outer zip pocket. Comes in white or black. I love mine.

[themodularmodular]

Ooh I can almost smell this whole thing through my computer screen

[drbonzonew]

Legit microphone holder, I love it :)

[expatadventureturkey]

Your are truly amazing, and a true gift to the hiking community thanks for all you do. 🤙🏽 Really enjoyed your trail magic for those in need…

[benoitbourque]

As a person with collector and compulsive buying tendencies, I am starting to notice a patern of my consumption of thru-hike influencer videos which leads into purchases of ultra light gears. Seeing this gear oriented event on the PCT is really opening my eyes on my behavior. It is even more troubling to admit that I own a lot of gears that I have yet to use since I have a family and a 9 to 5.

[memathews]

Nice view of PCT Days! You're so kind with the thru-hikers. And I was very pleased to meet you at the food truck area. You're very approachable, I just walked up and said hi, thanks for taking s moment for a fan to say how much i enjoy your videos. atb Mike

[destinypirate]

When is less gear more?
'92 to '93 Oregon to Oaxaca with no tent, no pad, no stove, no phone, no boots, no GPS.
Go Light. Then you can move swiftly, gracefully - both enjoying the journey and being safer. My pack list:
Durable daypack, Canteen (metal - for boiling too), strong rubber sandals w/my own velcro strap system (Tevas/Chacos weren't big yet), 2x shorts (surfer/dryable/durable), 2x tshirts, 1 long shirt. Ultra-light sleeping bag. A sarang/light wrap (for hot weather. Tarp 8 x 6. Cord (100ftish, losing some along the way). Small Mosquito net (about 2.5ft2 to cover my head when sleeping. Trowel. Dive Knife. Hook and Line kit. Trident spearhead (doubles as a spit). 6-8ft of surgical tubing (learn to make a slingshot and Hawaiian sling (you have time). Small goggles. Started with a visor, then found a cloth frisbee with a hole in the middle to fit my large head - also sunblocked my ears & neck.

Fanny pack: Passport, Swiss Army knife, mini stone, cash (I did the whole trip on about $400 cash + barter).
First Aid kit w/sailmakers needle, floss, toothbrush/paste, lighter/matches, 4 band aids, 2 oz. tea trea oil. 2oz. clove oil. Map (a good local topographical for each new region). Small scissors - trim beard & hair a bit neat. Keep a clean shirt. Make more friends.

Food: Oats were primary, jar soaked in the sun. Raisins. Nuts. Seeds. Dried fruit. Seaweed. - Spirulina algae as a supplement (usually 1 months worth) Ginseng & Rosehips to suck on. Then A LOT of foraging for plants/fruits, fishing, occasional snare catches (rabbit-squirrel). Local plants will up your immunity and lower your 'outside' odor to animals and bugs. KNOW your water sources.

Luxury: Mini flashlight (rarely used). 1 Novel at a time. Small journal/pen. Walkman w/about 5 mix tapes.

Plastic bags - Garbage bag as a poncho, another as pack cover. Ziplocks for most items.

I learned that Light is Freedom.
On long treks I limited gear to 30 pounds. Considering the clothes/sandles on me I would pack under 25lbs (depending on extra water).
Staying very light, it's much more natural to go 30-50 miles in a day. For mileage days it would usually be pre-dawn to noon, cover 12 to 30 miles. Siesta. Up about 4pm and hike until midnight. Two 3 - 4 hour sleep shifts beats the solar heat and decreases heavy camping down time. DO NOT FIGHT THE SUN - this is key to water retention/heat safety.
Learn to ''see'' at night. Learn what a trail FEELS like, so if you hit pitch dark (cloudy/under trees), you know if you go off trail. This is also why being light on your feet it key.

People ask, ''How did you do it?" Well this video kind of explains it. First, stay light, learn to survive on less and then on what the environment is providing, which is a lot...
First, people are throwing away/deserting WAY more than anyone could need - whether amongst journiers or locals.
Frequented camp sites offer endless goods. There are always people ready to learn more camping/fire-cooking/outdoor craft. They discard everything, but most all of it is a burdern. By far the #1 useful thing was replenishing cord.
I would often stay days by a creek or river. Being able to swim and fish is replenishing.
On the ocean I would stay by a beach for weeks, constructing a palapa & sometimes using a discarded tent. Learn to fish/crab and also seaweeds.
Rest. Repair. Replace.

I accustomed myself to sleeping on hard ground, yet it is easy to find grass/moss/needles/leaves in the north and sand/fronds on the coast. It's often safer to weather a storm with a tarp (more mobile than a tent) as the key is to find some leeward protection. But you MUST be smart not to place yourself in a flashflood/rockslide/falling branch location.

Hiking with the seasons helps for weather/safety/ease and food- The northern fruit ripening makes for great repasts. OF course staying warm, but not too hot increases your efficiency. Learn storm/flood patterns. Know that banks and beaches disappear.
Most streams have prawn, forests have small game. - I almost never traveled with (dried) meat though (too much health risk and animal attraction). On the coast are crabs and small fish. Fisherman often discard nets. I repaired one and for 3 months in Mexico caught sardines by the bushel - they dry well too. (I would trade/gift extra to other travelers and locals at the market).
Then there are coconut trees. People always want coconuts and their trees cleaned. Climbing for cocos, other fruit, and tree pruning is a quick way to barter or make cash. - You may have another way to engage value from the environment.
Keep it simple.

When entering a new ecosystem and especially when establishing a base camp - find a book on local flora and fauna (for food & safety). Find a library. Find a local market. Pick up a pot - beans/rice. You can live for weeks for just dollars. If you are short on cash - walk up to a construction sight, offer to clean/clear. Usually an easy 50 bucks or more back then. Learn a few skills and cash is no problem: mechanical, landscaping, animal care, marine repair/opertation, construction, cleaning. I would often stay on farms/communes/at homes - doing so much that people wouldn't want me to go. But I couldn't stay.

Be fit. Get the most fit you can, before the journey. Be serious. Really. This means building serious uphill run + mile swim cardio and being tone and limber all over (not by another's standards, but you need to know yourself.) Start your spartan diet at home. Learn to eat 1 thing as a meal, like oats, or a bag of almonds. Your taste buds will become focused. Your body will clean up. Also - fruit is your best friend. The original electrolytes and slow release hydration. North to South I'd load up on blackberries, peaches, apples, plums, oranges, grapefruits, mangos, lychees. If hiking I would start with about 10 pounds, going through 3 lbs a day. Dried fruit is great - in moderation to water volume, chewed thoroughly.
Get as light as possible, really. I generally hiked and journeyed at my fighting weight. Practice your walk - how to step long, efficient, gentle on your joints and in balance. Years later, even letting myself gain 10 pounds I noticed a BIG difference in my lightness, agility, and endurance. Being light and building your cardio you will be more efficient, lowering heartrate, sweat less, able to go further with ease. But it won't all be easy...

Discomfort tolerance should become an enjoyable meditation. I would generally move faster than mosquitos, but insects, heat, cold, hunger, hardship are all a part of it. Embrace them all. There will be a hornets nest at the top of some coconut trees. Be cool. If they need to sting you, let 'em. It's worth it.

People skills are your most vital ones. Relate with people. Learn the jokes, local music, heroes, stars...so as to compliment local culture (do this for every state and region).
You need people- no matter how light you are.
If you are journeying right, you won't avoid all missteps, mistakes, foul weather, foul people, or even calamities. But you have the adaptive mindset, you will know what to do.

Go slow enough (in new environments) to allow for good decision making, yet train yourself to make quick decisions. Part of this training should be physical (the fitness, martial arts, swimming, knowledge of environment, water skills), part should be learning from others - mistakes. Talk with other journiers, learn the local pitfalls and clear paths. Read accounts. Youtube stories are available.

You will end up in trouble. On my journeys I've faced big northern thunderstorms & bigger tropical storms, sandstorms, falling in a bog, machete extortion, gun threats, mean police, avoiding abduction by jumping from a moving vehicle, major concussion (car accident), marine injury (200 sea urchin quills), lacerations (hidden glass in sand), an angry bee hive (solution- Run, far, find a river, jump under, or decrease scent with dirt), fire - cocampers blowing up a hot pit with wet wood - embers catching my tarp, fanny pack w/passport and sleeping bag on fire, being broke (ended up hopping trains & being saved from the conductor by my new Mexican friends who then took me to hop the border), hunger and sunburn.
It was all fine.
I also helped sick & (leg) injured hikers on the trails, down from a volcanic mountaintop & up from the Grand Canyon. (Since I traveled light, I was able to carry their pack and shoulder them to safety), a kid & his drunk uncle in the VW he rolled in the ditch, more than a few sad people, sang songs, introduced kids to hiking/foraging craft, fishing, coconuts, and met a few women. - But not too many. The most memorable times are the alone times, in the raw beauty of nature. Having
Wandering an endless grove of mangos. Sleeping in the arms of the giant redwoods. Freediving northern rivers and discovering the crawdads playground. Having orange sword fights. Being caught in a sandstorm on Oaxaca coastline - Wrapping the tarp around, just trying to breathe. The wind stops, I shake off to find myself surrounded by a new planet of perfect sand drifts leading to a beach of grapefruit sized stones. I'm all alone, the dolphins jump, herding the sardines my way.

Take a basic First Aid/CPR course, then learn a bit more. Practice first aid applications, tourniquet and stitching. Really, get your kit out, look at some example emergy videos, then practice on yourself and your friends too. You are not only your own doctor, yet possibly for others as well.
Learn about local poison sources.

Urban travel through survival is a whole other skill set, but mostly it's advisable to find/take a ride around dense urban centers. There are few places for you there. If you are going urban, look urban. Clean up, clean shirt, direct your attitude.
When you find a special place - stay. Recharge. Embrace what the local environment and culture is. Take your time.

[gman]

I would never hike without TP. Some people have embraced the bidet, but there are some situations that require more firepower.

[mtadams]

I really enjoyed this video and your kindness. I am sure all of those hikers are really going to appreciate their new gear. Take care

[sanjeevchauhan]

what a nice video... talk politely to people, respect their opinion and really help people who need help with gear without making a huge issue about it. Awesome..