I first learned of the Benton MacKaye Trail in 2016 while hiking the Appalachian Trail. After I returned home from my AT thru-hike, I decided I was going to hike it, at some point in the future. It became one of the trails I was considering hiking in 2017, and in January of that year, I got a guidebook and maps from the Benton MacKaye Trail Association.
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Since no thru-hike is complete without a gear list, this is the list of equipment I’m taking with me on my hike of the Benton MacKaye Trail. This is largely an evolution of my gear from my Appalachian Trail, Long Trail, and Pacific Crest Trail thru-hikes. I’ve also written on the details of what gear changed, and why.
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Although my gear worked well for my Appalachian Trail and Long Trail thru-hikes, by the end of my Pacific Crest Trail hike, some of it was quite worn down, and some clearly defective and in need of replacement for the Benton MacKaye Trail.
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Three years ago, I traveled to Georgia to begin hiking the Appalachian Trail, my first long-distance trail. In 2017, I returned to Vermont to hike the Long Trail, which shares 105 miles with the AT. And in 2018, I took a detour to the west to hike the Pacific Crest Trail.
Now, time to once again return to familiar ground. In just a few weeks, I’ll be back at Springer Mountain to begin a new hike: the Benton MacKaye Trail.
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