Santa Fe to Taos Packing List

I thru-hiked the Santa Fe to Taos (SF2T) trail in early October. This made it my first autumn hike in a very, very long time. The last one was the Uinta Highline Trail in September 2020, when a polar vortex and blizzard nearly spelled catastrophe for my physical safety. Consequently, I watched the weather like a hawk as I approached this hike. And I probably overpacked a little for the cold nights, where I’d be camping at an elevation of 11,000 feet. Below is the list my full list of gear I carried on this SF2T thru-hike.

Scroll to the end of this gear list to see what I named as my MVP piece of gear for the SF2T thru-hike, what gear choices I didn’t like, which items I lost on trail, and what I’d do differently if I were thru-hiking this route again.

(Note: I publish my packing list after each hike because I think there’s value in seeing what gear other hikers actually used, liked, or disliked on a particular thru-hike. Any item with an asterisk beside it indicates a deviation from my standard long-distance hiking gear setup. Also, NONE of the hyperlinks in this post are affiliate links. They are merely provided as a quick reference for the reader. )

BIG THREE

Backpack – ULA Circuit (68L/internal frame pack)
Pack Accessories – WEBO Shoulder Pouch
Pack Liner – Six Moon Designs Waterproof Bag
Tent – Nemo Hornet 2P tent
Quilt – EE Enigma down quilt (10-degree)
Air Mattress – Therm-a-rest NeoAir XLite (size: regular wide)
Pump* – Flextail Zero Pump (battery operated)

HIKING CLOTHING (WORN)

Hiking Bottoms* – Outdoor Research Ferrosi Pants
Hiking Shirt* – Voormi River Run sun hoodie
Undergarments – Branwyn merino bralette & Jockey seamless underwear
Hiking Socks – Smartwool hiking socks
Shoes – Altra Lone Peak trail shoes
Gaiters – Dirty Girl gaiters
Hat – Outdoor Research Swift Surplus cap
Sunglasses – Tifosi Swank sunglasses with polarized lenses
Watch* – Garmin Forerunner 165 watch
Trekking Poles – Leki Cressida Thermo poles
Wallet – Webo wallet (w/ ID, credit card, and cash)

OUTERWEAR

Puffy – Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer down hooded jacket
Rain Jacket – Patagonia Torrentshell 3L rain jacket
Rain Pants – REI Junction cycling rain pants
Wind Jacket – Patagonia Houdini wind jacket
Sun Gloves– REI sun gloves
Warm Hat – Smartwool beanie hat
Warm Gloves* – Inexpensive knit gloves & Outdoor Research Flurry Sensor gloves

EXTRA CLOTHES/CAMP ITEMS

Sleep Clothes* – REI wool 1/4 zip wool shirt & Smartwool wool leggings
Layering Shirt* – Icebreaker 150 short-sleeve base layer top
Underwear – Patagonia Barely underwear (3 extra pairs)
Socks – Smartwool socks (2 extra hiking pair, 1 sleep pair)
Headband* – Smartwool reversible merino 250 headband
Buff* – Lightweight Buff neck gaiter
Camp/water crossing shoes – Crocs Swiftwater sandals
Storage – Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil stuff sack (9L)
Pillow– Therm-a-Rest Trekker stuffable backpacking pillowcase
Extra warmth* – Hot Hands body/hand super warmer
Journal* – Field Notes 48-page notebook, felt tip pen
Repair Kit – Tenacious tape & repair kit for air mattress
Duffel Bag* – Travel duffel bag (for airline)

HYGIENE ITEMS

Toiletry Storage – Ikea ziploc bag
Dental Care – Kids bamboo toothbrush/toothpaste + floss
Vision – Daily wear disposable contacts & glasses
Cleaning – Wet Ones (travel size)
First Aid Kit – KT tape, bandaids, Lamb’s wool, Compeed anti-chafe stick
Knife – Swiss Army knife (w/ mini scissors)
Skincare – Chapstick and sunscreen
Toilet – Duece of Spades #2 trowel, TP, doggie poop bags, Kula cloth
Trash storage – Large ziplock bag

FOOD/COOKING ITEMS

Stove – MSR PocketRocket2 + 8 oz. fuel canister & mini lighter
Cook Pot – MSR Titan Kettle (0.85L) + homemade pot koozy
Spoon – Toaks long handle titanium spoon (w/ polished bowl)
Cup – Sea to Summit collapsable cup
Food Storage – OPSAK odor proof bag (12″ x 20″)
Food Cache* – Ursack and OPSAK odor proof bag
Water filter* – Platypus quick draw filter & CNOC Outdoor Vecto 2L bladder
Water storage – 1L plastic bottles (x2), plus 20 oz drink mixing bottle

ELECTRONICS

Phone/camera – iPhone 15
Earbuds – Apple Airpods
Satellite communicator – Garmin InReach mini
Power bank* – NiteCore Carbo 20000 mAh battery
Power* – 1-foot braided 3-in-1 cable, Anker dual port USB wall charger
Navigation* – Santa Fe to Taos Thru-Hike Guidebook + Gaia route on my iPhone
Headlamp – Nitecore NU25 headlamp (360 lumens)
Electronics Storage – small roll top bag

Post-Hike Thoughts

At the end of each hike, I always take a few moments to briefly review what gear worked for me and what didn’t (yes, old habits from the Army die hard). Every hike is different, and this one was no exception.

MVP Gear Item

Hiking Pants. I have a love-hate relationship with women’s hiking pants. Typically, I prefer to hike in shorts, but that wasn’t feasible on this autumn hike, where temperatures would drop to freezing on multiple days. I wanted something warmer and more durable than a pair of running leggings for this trek, so I dug in my closet for the pants I purchased for my recent Via Francigena and Camino Primitivo treks. This was the first time I wore them on a backcountry hike, and I loved them!! The four-way stretch material moves well with your body. The knees are gusseted, allowing them to bend well without stretching out. There is a drawstring inside the waistband, allowing me to tighten the waist as the pants loosened with each consecutive day of wear. Plus, the bottom of each leg has a stretchy drawstring so you can tighten the ankle (which I used whenever I pulled the bottom of the legs up to my knees to wear them as capris on warmer afternoons). All in all, these pants were the perfect item for this autumn hike! Verdict: 👍

Outdoor research Ferrosi pants in navy blue

New Gear for SF2T

Water filter. For the past decade of hiking, I’ve used Sawyer water filters, but I decided to shake things up and try the Platypus QuickDraw filter, and I was pleasantly surprised. It has a super-fast flow rate, and I love the bright, easy-to-spot colors it comes in (pink, blue, green, or red). There’s a storage cap for the water intake (aka “dirty water” end) of the filter, which keeps everything nice and dry when storing your filter in your sleeping bag at night to prevent it from freezing. The opposite (clean water) end of the filter comes with a “ConnectCap” that screws directly onto 28-mm threaded bottles, too (read: no need to buy an additional coupler to gravity filter your water). If I have one gripe about this filter, it is that the ConncectCap has a rubber washer that sits inside the cap’s nozzle to prevent over-tightening. This washer isn’t affixed inside the cap. So it’s easy to drop / lose it whenever you’re disconnecting the clean water bottle from the filter’s end (I dropped it multiple times on this hike). This is an easy fix with a touch of super glue, though. All told, I really liked this water filter! Verdict: 👍

Playypus quickdraw filter – and the one thing I’d fix

Sun Hoodie. I’ve been hiking in sun hoodies for several years now, and I’ve yet to find the *perfect* one. Two of my favorites are the REI Sahara sun hoodie (men’s size) and the Jolly Gear Triple Crown button-down. However, both of these hiking shirts are made from synthetic fabrics that tend to retain odors and smells day after day. After realizing how much odor control my Branwyn merino wool bra provided on my 2025 hikes, I really wanted to try a merino wool sun hoodie, too. Yet I could never seem to bring myself to buy one because: (1) wool sun hoodies are super expensive ($100-200), and (2) merino wool is much more delicate than synthetic fabrics. This felt like a ton of money for something less durable than my existing sun hoodies. Nevertheless, I decided the SF2T thru-hike was the perfect adventure to try out the Voormi River Run hoodie. I bought the women’s model, and I loved so many things about this shirt. It fit me like a dream. The arms were long enough for tall people (I’m 5’9″) to use the thumbholes, and the fabric’s weight was great for temperature control. I smelled better at the end of this hike than I normally do on day 2 of a typical thru-hike. There was one downside, though. As I’d expected, the material wasn’t as durable as other hiking shirts. The wool started to pill a bit on my back, where the friction of my backpack rubbed it repeatedly. I’m unsure how this hoodie would fare on a 500-mile or 2,000-mile thru-hike. But for a shorter trail like this one, it was a fantastic layer. Verdict: 👍

Warmer sleeping clothes. Hiking in the mountains this time of year, coupled with the high elevation on the SF2T route, meant the temperature dropped to freezing almost every night. I tend to sleep pretty cold, so I was super happy that I swapped out my typical summer sleep layers for something a bit warmer. I slept in a pair of Smartwool all-season leggings, a long-sleeve quarter-zip merino wool base layer top, a Buff, a wool beanie hat, mittens, and a pair of thick wool socks I purchased on the AZT. I even carried a Hot Hands super warmer and an extra-light wool “layering shirt” (aka my travel/town shirt) on this trek, just in case I had a brutally cold night where I might need them. Luckily, my warmer sleep clothes – along with my 10°F Enlightened Equipment enigma quilt – kept me toasty warm every night. Verdict: 👍

Extra hat, gloves & jackets. In a similar vein to my warmer sleep clothes, I also brought plenty of layers to help address any bad weather while I was hiking the trail. These layers proved to be a godsend on day 3, as I approached the section of the route containing Trailriders Wall and Truchas Peak. Both features sat between 12,000-13,000 feet of elevation and were very exposed as storm clouds rolled overhead and 30-35 mph winds railed against me. On my summit bid up Truchas Peak, I wore three layers on my upper body, layered two pairs of gloves on my hands, and I wore a Buff and a beanie hat just to stay warm enough on this early October climb. Verdict: 👍

Wearing so many layers in the 35 mph winds on Truchas Peak, too!

Air pump. This is the second short hike where I’ve used the Flextail Zero mattress pump. It’s about the size of a roll of Lifesavers, weighs just 1.2 ounces, and it can effortlessly inflate my wide-width Thermarest air mattress in about 60 seconds. I’ll admit I enjoyed having this little pump in my pack for this trip. The last thing I wanted to do after each of my exhausting days hiking at altitude was blow up my air mattress. I’m still pretty certain I wouldn’t carry this luxury item on a long-distance trek, but it was well worth its weight over 130 miles. Verdict: 👍

Flextail Zero pump (with adapter for Thermarest)

Physical guidebook. I purchased the SF2T guidebook from the Santa Fe to Taos Thru-hike website ($22.95), and used it to create my own GPS route using Gaia GPS. The SF2T website also offers an option to purchase an enhanced GPX file ($9.95), which includes waypoints, water sources, proposed campsites, and even locations with cell service. I didn’t buy this second resource, but I see how it might be helpful for hikers who faithfully rely on resources like FarOut. The 191-page guidebook is compact (4.5″ x 7″), weighs 6 ounces, and contains detailed route descriptions and color maps. Given the trail’s newness and the lack of markings, I found the guidebook to be a very good resource. However, I did have some areas I’d like to see the author improve with the future additions. First, there are some inconsistencies with the distances. For example, the overview of Section 1: Santa Fe Plaza to Santa Fe Ski Basin (page 8) says this section is 20.1 miles long. However, if you add all the sub-sections up on that same page, the distance is 20.3 miles, and her sample itineraries (pages 153-155) imply the distance is closer to 17.7 miles. (Note: my GPS watch clocked it at 19 miles). Additionally, I strongly believe this guidebook should move the following items to the front of the book: (1) elevation profiles, (2) a significant caution to prospective hikers about the substantial vertical gains/losses this route entails, and (3) a discussion about the altitude risks associated with this high elevation. These items existed, but were relegated to the back pages of the guidebook almost as an afterthought. This information should be front-loaded because the SF2T thru-hike is drastically different from many other hikes.. Verdict: 😐 Very good, but room for improvement in future editions

Duffel Bag. TSA isn’t very friendly to thru-hikers. They don’t want us to bring our trekking poles or other essentials in our carry-on luggage. Once, TSA even confiscated my mini Swiss Army knife (which only has a 1″ knife) as “contraband” even though it sailed through European airport security just fine. Thus, I checked my backpack and all my hiking gear on the flight into Albuquerque at the start of this thru-hike. Every hiker has a different way to transport their gear for air travel. I used an inexpensive, 85-liter collapsible, lightweight duffel bag. Once in New Mexico, I could have mailed the duffel bag to myself (via general delivery) to the Taos post office. But I decided to cache this duffel bag with my food drop at Santa Barbara campground instead, and then I carried it at the bottom of my backpack for the second half of my hike. Verdict: 👍

Power Bank. I rotate between three different types of power banks depending on the duration of my hike. I use a slim 5,000 mAh for frontcountry treks like the Camino de Santiago; a 10,000 mAh power bank for multi-day hikes with 3-5 days between resupply towns; and a 20,000 mAh power bank for thru-hikes where I might be hiking 5+ days between towns. When I initially began thru-hiking, I used solidly-built (but heavy) Anker power banks. However, when those larger power banks needed to be replaced last summer, I upgraded to the Nitecore NB10000 and the Nitecore Carbo 20000. I was very impressed by the Nitecore’s more compact size and weight savings, and I had plenty of juice left on this 20,000 mAh battery when I got to Taos. Verdict: 👍

Naturally, you need to personalize your power banks too!

Cables. How many cables does a hiker really need on a thru-hike to charge a headlamp, Garmin InReach mini, iPhone, headphones, and Garmin GPS watch? I tried a braided 3-in-1 cable on my hike through the Wallowas this summer, but it was 3 feet long and kept getting tangled up inside my sleeping bag each night. I replaced it with a similar, but shorter (1-foot-long) version and I was much happier with the results. This single cable can charge devices with USB-C, USB-micro, and Lightning plugs Verdict: 👍

Things I REALLY wished I’d packed

Nylon bag. When I’m hiking the Camino de Santiago or other international trails, I always bring a packable shopping bag. It works as a carryall (purse) when I’m in town and doubles as my grocery bag when I head to the grocery store. This nylon bag weighs a meager 1.5 ounces, but it’s one of the most useful items ever. In hindsight, I wish I’d brought it with me on this trek, too. I had a full day in Taos at the end of my hike, where it would have been really useful, especially when buying food at the grocery store. It could also have been my personal item on my flights to/from New Mexico since my backpack was checked as luggage with the airline.

My nylon shopping bag / purse / carry-all

Hair ties. In a total bonehead move, I failed to pack anything to tie back my hair during my hike. This didn’t bother me too much during the daytime because I wear a brimmed ball cap while hiking. But when I got to my tent, I desperately wanted something to keep my hair out of my face. As soon asI returned home, I remedied this mistake by adding two hair ties to my hygiene kit for my next big trip.

Gear I lost on trail

Journal. I always carry a small journal to take notes and record my observations for this blog. This year, I went even further down the minimalism rabbit hole. I decided to use the same small journal for ALL of my longer treks in 2025, including the Via Francigena, Camino Primitivo, Wallowa Loop, Tour du Mont Blanc, and the SF2T. This meant my notes from all 5 thru-hikes were contained in a single journal. Thus, I almost had a panic attack when I couldn’t find my notebook on day 5. The Ziplock bag containing my journal and SF2T guidebook was no longer in the outside pocket of my pack when I stopped to filter water before lunch. I knew I’d handled the bag 3 miles earlier when I stopped for a snack break, but now it was gone! Had I left it on the trail during my break? Was I going to have to backtrack to find them? I felt sick to my stomach as I realized my notes for the entire year of hiking were in that small 3.5″ x 5″ journal. Luckily, I found the missing bag inside my pack, where I must have crammed it while packing up all my morning layers at the end of my break. Crisis averted. But I’m now debating whether to put all my precious notes in a single journal or to use a new one for each trek. Verdict: 👎

Tent Stake. I always carry an extra tent stake on all my thru-hikes, and that redundancy served me well on this hike. On day 5 of my hike (the same day I misplaced my journal), I also managed to bend one of my Nemo AirPin tent stakes beyond recognition. I love these ultralight tent stakes, and I’ve only damaged or lost one other stake in the past 7 years. But once it’s bent, there’s little you can do to fix it. So, I was busy ordering a replacement set as soon as I got home.

Food Cache

I will soon be publishing an entire blog post about the logistics of this hike (transportation, resupply, navigation, etc). But suffice it to say that I didn’t want to carry all my food for 130 miles in the backcountry. Seven or more days’ worth of food is heavy, so I set up a food cache at Santa Barbara Campground at the route’s halfway mark. I put my cached food inside a 12″x20″ waterproof and odor-proof bag, and placed it inside an Ursack, which I tied to a tree in a concealed area of the campground. I’d read some online chatter about heightened mouse and chipmunk activity at this campground, which gave me pause. Rodents won’t chew through steel wool, though. So I also placed a chunk of it in the bag’s opening before tightening it closed, allowing the steel wool to form a “plug” at the bag’s weakest point. My food was unmolested when I arrived on day 4. So, either the rodent threat at the campground was overblown or this method worked as intended. Verdict: 👍

Final Thoughts

Overall, I’m happy with my packing list for this autumn hike. I definitely leaned into a warmer packing list as I began packing for this adventure. But it turned out to be the correct choice.

The one gear item I expected to use a bit more was my waterproof sandals. The SF2T guidebook led me to believe that I would need them for several of the water crossings. However, each creek or river I forded had crossing points made from fallen trees or large rocks. This is another benefit of hiking this route later in the season. Other hikers solved the water crossings for me, so I only used my sandals as camp shoes.

If you want to read about my other Southwest hiking adventures, check out:

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SF2T Trail Journal >>