Here are some thoughts and experiences about the gear I used on the trail. I won’t add any links, but some brand and item names are mentioned so you can find them if you want.

First some general thoughts – not only about gear, but buying things in general. You may not agree, and that’s absolutely ok for me. But I still want to raise some awareness at this point. These were some rules that I tried to apply when buying gear:

• Try and get gear from manufacturers in your region. That may be the US/Canada, or – in my case, Europe.
• Try and avoid „made in China“. I have full respect for the people and culture, but I don’t want to support this dictatorship. No country is perfect on earth, but I love the idea of democracy, free speech etc.
• Try and avoid Amazon. Check out your local dealers if available, or find smaller web shops. I don’t want to feed ultra billionaires more than necessary. And in most cases we don’t need a piece of gear or anything to be delivered next day.

And yes, I did not always meet my standards or there was no other choice, but to be aware and choose a better option when possible is important to me.

Ok. If you’re still here after my little rant, here we go with my gear.

Backpack

I had an Exped Thunder 70. The size was perfect (using a bear canister). It was not really lightweight, but also not too heavy. For the lighter rains it kept everything inside dry. For heavy rain I used my poncho which was shaped to also cover the backpack. What I didn’t like was the squeaking sound it made with every step. Some days more, some days less, but I never found out what made the difference…

So for another thru-hike I might go for a lighter backpack, otherwise this was a good choice.

Tent

I had a Hilleberg Enan, a tunnel/double walled tent. Although again not an ultralite piece of gear, that thing rocked. The inner wall was great especially in mosquito areas. It was sturdy and kept me safe and dry during a night of thunderstorm and strong wind/rain on Snow Mesa.

I also got an inexpensive footprint (not from Hilleberg), which protected the floor of the tent from sharp rocks or piece of wood. Probably also helped a bit as a an extra insulation layer.

Sleeping

I used a down sleeping bag with an additional silk liner. For comfort I had an inflatable pillow with me. Additionally I had a very thin and lightweight mat to place inside of the tent. That was a bit of insulation, and it also helped that my inflatable mattress (by Exped) wouldn’t move too much on the slippery tent floor.

I was happy with these items. Maybe that extra mat would be something to drop for reducing the base pack weight a bit…

Footwear

I walked with Brooks Cascadia 17. Worked very well for me and I would use them again. One thing I don’t know if other shoes are better:

When walking downhill or sidewards when the trail was gravelly I slipped every now and then (didn’t trip thankfully). But I think one would need really sturdy mountain hiking boots to improve that.

There was a short stretch along Cochetopa Creek (a bit before entering the La Garita Wilderness) on a steep slope with very loose rock. The trail was maybe one foot wide, tilted and the poles could hardly be used for that stretch. That was maybe the most uncomfortable part on the trail for me, as I was really hoping and trying my best not to slip and fall down the steep slope.

I had two pairs Darn Tough hiking socks and one pair for the night, also hiking socks of that brand.

Additionally I had a pair of psychedelic Dirty Girl Gaiters. I actually can’t say how much they helped – as I always wore them while hiking. But of course, hiking in style is important as well 😉

Trekking poles

I used Black Diamond poles. I lost the rubber tips after two days – so much for LNT…, sorry ‚bout that.

Would definitely recommend using poles on the Colorado Trail. They give stability on some rocky sections, help you push yourself up on the long climbs, and make the long downhill stretches more knee friendly. One thing is that in the large talus fields they tend to get stuck between the rocks.

Clothing

I used merino underwear (2 shorts, 1 pair of long underwear for the night) and two merino t-shirts. All from Kaipara, a German brand. Worked very well, I would buy/use them again.

I think I would take another t-shirt next time. Two for hiking, one for entering civilization to have something a bit more fresh.

I had an Ortovox mid layer with merino wool, which was absolutely fantastic, and a down puffy jacket for the evenings and mornings.

I had gloves and a hat (from Fjällräven) and hiking pants also from Fjällräven. I was a bit annoyed that this Swedish brand items were produced in China, didn’t check before buying. I had a mosquito net for the hat/head, but never used it…

For rain I had a rain poncho which was big enough to also cover my backpack. It worked very well, but it was an art to put that on. I’m glad that nobody saw me, I think it would have been a nice episode for a thru-hiking comedy…

Also I had rain pants that I never used. So that’s one item I would not take with me next time.

Sunglasses plus case.

Containers

I chose the Bear Vault as my food container. A bit heavy and big in the backpack, but easy to stow away in the evening. Also I heard a story on the trail about a chewed up Ursack. The bear didn’t get the food, but everything inside was messed up, and the hiker had to do an extra resupply trip.

I also had some extra stuff sacks with me, and big sturdy trash bags to definitely keep the important things dry in my backpack.

For my camera and some quick snacks I used a Wandrd fanny bag. It was a great protection for the cam and very useful, but it’s a bit heavy for a thru-hike.

Water

I got myself a Katadyn Befree to filter the water. And an extra 5 l water bag that I could fill with unfiltered water as needed for some dry stretches on the trail. I sometimes washed socks, t-shirt or the underwear in one of the water proof stuff sacks with a bit of soap.

For the supply while hiking I had two simple plastic water bottles from the grocery store with me and two bottle holders connected to the shoulder straps of my backpack. This worked very well for me!

I was very happy with the Katadyn, but it did clog and I used the spare filter (sent to Monarch Pass) after the Cochetopa Hills section with a lot of muddy waters.

Hygiene

I used a regular toothbrush, and tooth tabs from German brand „Terrorists of beauty“, also a piece of soap from them. A small bottle of hand sanitizer and a few alcohol wipes. Dental floss for teeth and also for repairs.

I also took a plastic razor with me. No need to shave each day, but I just didn’t want to grow a messy beard…

For peeing at night I had a plastic bottle with a big opening with me. Worked great, except that one night when I missed the opening half asleep. I leave the rest to your imagination… 😉

Also – although considering myself as a male version of a human being, I used a Kula Cloth during the day. As I need to pee quite often I felt more comfortable using this regularly.

For the poop I used a shovel, but was often not very successful in digging a hole that was deep enough – how do other hikers get through the rocks and roots in the ground? For cleaning I used a little shower called „Happy Po“ available here in Germany (Europe?) which was really great. Would definitely recommend that, no toilet paper needed, and it feels really clean.

First aid

Various kinds of band aids, Ibuprofen and also pain reliever with caffeine, acetaminophen, aspirin (in case of one of my bad headaches). Sewing needle, sun protection. An emergency blanket.

Electronics

My iPhone with a GPS app (Maps 3D) and the Colorado Trail route added from GPX file. I didn’t want to use one of the social hiking apps, keeping the iPhone turned off as much as possible during the hike. I had downloaded some music and brought small headphone to listen to some music in the tent. Actually I only did that for two or three times – my system somehow wanted to be connected to the outdoor sounds (or silence) even in the tent.

Garmin inReach – it was great for my family to see my progress with the regular waypoints that it would send. And of course there is the emergency button, which I thankfully didn’t need to use.

A Suunto GPS watch. I just recently found out that this „Finnish“ company actually has been sold to a Chinese enterprise some years ago. I didn’t pay attention to this before buying 🙁 Although I was and am very happy with the watch itself.

An Anker solar panel (one of the few things I ordered at Amazon).

A Panasonic Lumix DC-TZ202D as a camera plus spare batteries for photos and videos. This worked great, but I really had some problems with focussing with my (sun) glasses. Also there was a correction for videos by default that messed up my panning videos pretty bad.

Note to myself: spend more time with the camera features before going out for a trip!

Cables and adapters. A headlight. An Anker Power Bank (half the capacity/less weight would have been enough since I also had the solar panel with me).

Tools and extras

A tiny Swiss army knife with a pair of scissors. A lighter with some duct tape wrapped around it. A couple of cable ties and some cord.

A Rite in the rain book as diary, and a simple ball pen. A zip lock bag for money, credit card and passport.

Navigation

I mainly used the Colorado Trail Data Book to plan the next two or three days, and also checked often during the day for the next water or the distance to the next place to sleep. That was perfect for most of the time. A few times I checked my GPS app on the iPhone, but most of the time that was turned off.

I had the Colorado Trail maps from National Geographic with me. I didn’t use them during the day, but it was nice to spend some time in the evening checking all the names and topography of the mountains, creeks, passes etc., or get a better feeling of the ups and downs of the next day.

Bird

I wanted to have one little friend with me, although I planned to stay by myself most of the time. This was „Bird“, a little white eagle that shared the trail with me. That one has been with me for some years, and now it was time for bird to see some of the big world out there 🙂