Shelters/tents

For my shelter setup on my thru-hike I decided to go with a light weight, 3-season, freestanding tent and for the footprint of the tent I am using a sheet of Tyvek. The tent itself is the Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2 and as it is pictured in the left, weighs in at 2lbs 13oz. 

Sleeping gear

Having a good nights sleep on long distance hikes is probably the most important part so you are rested well to log in big miles the next day. For me it is just as important as having a nice hot meal at the end of a long day. For my sleep setup I used two different sleeping bags during my thru-hike. I used a Mont-Bell Super Spiral 15 degree 850 fill down bag during the winter months and for the warmer months I used a Mountain Hardwear 45 degree bag. With both of these I also used two different Sea to Summit bag liners, one for my winter bag which increased the warmth and for my summer bag I used a lighter weight liner mainly to help keep my bag clean and when it was super hot out I would just sleep in it on top of my bag.

Now I don’t just layout my bag, the liner, and then crawl into it. I also had a sleeping pad that I would use under my bag. This does a couple of things. It creates a barrier between you and the ground to help keep you warm and it adds some comfort depending on what kind of sleeping pad you choose. I have been using a Therma-rest Neo-Air Xlite for many years and that did not change when I decided to go on the AT again. It has proven itself time and time again for me.