If you've ever read a backpacking blog, this will be the boring part you skip because you already know what to carry. I feel obligated to do it, though, as it is part of the general backpacking milieu.

So, here is my gear for the AZT. Base weight is 17lb, which is just fine by me!

Leki Makalu trekking poles
Osprey Exos 58 pack
20L Sea to Summit Ultra Sil dry bag
8L and 4L stuff sacks
Garmin ETrex 20 GPS
Samsung Galaxy S7 Active (let's see how waterproof it really is)
Ursack
2 LocSak odor proof bags
Benchmade pocket knife
Outdoor Research Mosquito head net (from First Class of the PCT)
REI Quarter Dome 2 tent (yeah, a luxury item, but I like!)
Jack's R Better ultralight 40 degree backpacking quilt
Cocoon silk mummy liner (+15 degrees)
Thermarest NEOAir mattress
BOT stainless steel cookpot/1L screw top liquid container
Folding pot handle
Optimus Crux Lite stove
REI cooking towel thingy
Snow peak 4oz fuel
Sawyer filter & squeeze dirty bag
MSR 2L Dromedary water bag
My lucky Nalgene bottle
Tiny toiletries
Tiny first aid kit
10' paracord
Brunton compass w/mirror
Black Diamond headlamp
Tiny notebook, pen, some postage stamps
Exacto knife (for whittling, one of my favorite things to do)
TP and a bag for the used stuff, cuz we pack that out!
Titanium spork
Straw cowboy hat with paracord lanyard and a hatband made from a roadkill Southern Pacific rattlesnake that I tanned a few years ago

Columbia rain jacket
White Sierra rain pants (rain gear=town clothes)
New Balance 910 trail runners
REI Co-op down Jacket
Silk long underwear
Wool cap
Prana hiking pants
The SAME T SHIRT I wore on the whole PCT (I have no idea how it continues to live)
Columbia omni-shade long sleeve shirt
3 pairs socks
2 pairs sock liners (don't judge...it's the only way I can stop blisters)
Neoprene gloves
Sports bra and underwear
Bandanas

After finishing the PCT, I experienced some interesting re-integration symptoms. Physically, I was in the best shape I'd ever been in, though I weighed nearly the same as I had when I started the trail. I was a pile of muscle, but everything hurt all the time. Walking, which I seemed to need to do constantly, was excruciating every time I started it, and only became comfortable after a mile or two. My hammered second toe only grew more annoyingly bent, and the Morton's neuroma, which I'd had before I even started the trail, was noticeably unchanged in its persistent knife-jabbing-into-the-top-of-my-foot kind of pain. I couldn't sleep in soft beds; my back would spasm and cramp after a few hours. Hell, it still does after more than 8 hours in a soft bed.

Psychologically, I had to contend with the disappointment of not doing the final section of the trail. I had convinced myself that I was really alright with it, but as the months passed, I began kicking myself for it. I will probably just do the whole damned thing again someday. It nags me that much. There is little worse than not seeing something through to the end.

And then, well, I was pretty broke. I had managed my money very well on the trail; I was even able to rent a car and drive back to Vegas after doing some hiking and camping on the Olympic Peninsula, but, when I got back, I had to get a job with some immediacy. So, I did that. A job which seemed made for me fell in my lap, and I worked for a year and a half as a Designated Biologist on a solar site in southern California. It paid well, and I worked with old friends and quickly found new ones as well, which definitely helped me deal with the shock of not simply walking all day.

But now, with the end of the job, it's time to kick up some dust again. I've chosen my home state because I have such a grudging love for this arid country. There is no better way to understand this place better, for me, than to walk it. It's an indelible part of me, and I intend to know it better. My starting date will be 17 September, 2016.

Thanks in advance to Therese, David, and my dad for helping me resupply and do all the adult things that are hard to do on the trail, like pay bills and maintain stored stuff. I love you guys!

Inevitable Gear List

Prologue