I completed my thru-hike of the Highline Trail in mid-April 2023, but lots of things went awry. Luckily my packing list was flexible that I was able to make some adjustments on the fly.
During my pre-hike planning, I adopted much of my packing list from my 2022 Arizona Trail (AZT) spring thru-hike, but with some notable changes – including a smaller pack, less sun protection, and a return to monthly-wear contact lenses. Any gear item with an asterisk next to it was a deviation from my AZT thru-hiking gear list. As you scroll down to the very end, you’ll also get a discussion about what gear worked for me on this hike (and what didn’t), as well as what I’d do differently if I were hiking this trail all over 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. NONE of the hyperlinks in this post are affiliate links. They are merely provided as a quick reference for the reader. )
BIG THREE
- Backpack* – Gossamer Gear G4-20 (42L/frameless pack)
- Pack Accessories – WEBO Shoulder Pouch
- Pack Liner – Clear plastic liner from Gossamer Gear
- Tent – Nemo Hornet 2P tent
- Quilt – EE Enigma down quilt (10 degree)
- Air Mattress – Therm-a-rest NeoAir XLite (size: regular wide)
- Foam Pad – Gossamer Gear 1/8″ Thinlite foam pad
HIKING ACCESSORIES
- Trekking Poles – Leki Cressida Thermo poles
- Sit Pad – Therm-a-rest Z sitting pad
HIKING CLOTHING (WORN)
- Hiking Bottoms* – Nike One Luxe leggings & Nike Tempo Luxe running shorts
- Hiking Shirt – Simms long sleeve hooded sun shirt
- Undergarments – Patagonia Barely sports bra & underwear
- Hiking Socks – Injinji hiking socks
- Shoes – Altra Lone Peak 5 (with Road ID attached to laces)
- Gaiters – Dirty Girl gaiters
- Sun Gloves– REI sun gloves
- Hat* – Headsweats Super Crush visor (Baja)
- Sunglasses*– Tifosi Swank polarized sunglasses
- Watch – Timex Ironman watch
- Wallet* – Webo minimal wallet (w/ ID, credit card, and cash only)
OUTERWEAR
- Puffy – Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer down hooded jacket
- Rain Jacket – OR Helium II jacket (replaced on trail)
- Rain Pants – REI Junction cycling rain pants
- Warm Hat* – Craft Core Essence thermal beanie hat
- Warm Gloves – Smartwool liner gloves & Zpacks Vertice rain mitts
EXTRA CLOTHES/CAMP ITEMS
- Layering Shirt – Icebreaker 150 short-sleeve base layer top
- Underwear – Patagonia Barely underwear
- Sleep Clothes – OR Zendo Pants & Icebreaker 200 long-sleeve half zip top
- Socks – Injinji & Smartwool socks (1 extra hiking pair, 1 sleep pair)
- Headband – Buff CoolNet UV+ multifunctional headband
- Camp shoes – Crocs Swiftwater sandals
- Storage – Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil stuff sack (9L)
HYGIENE ITEMS
- Toiletry Storage – Lightweight stuff sack
- Dental Care – Travel toothbrush/toothpaste + floss
- Vision* – Contacts lenses, case, saline & glasses
- Cleaning – Wet Ones (travel size)
- First Aid Kit – KT tape, Compeed stick, bandaids, ibuprofen
- Knife – Swiss Army knife (w/ mini scissors)
- Skincare – Chapstick
- Toilet – Duece of Spades #2 trowel, TP, doggie poop bags, Kula cloth
- Trash storage – Large ziplock bag
FOOD/COOKING ITEMS
- Stove – MSR PocketRocket2 + 4 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″) & URSAK Major
- Water filter – Sawyer Squeeze filter
- Water storage – 1L plastic bottles, 500ml drink bottle & CNOC Outdoor Vecto 2L bladder
ELECTRONICS
- Phone/camera – iPhone XR (128GB)
- Earbuds – Apple Airpods
- GPS satellite communicator – Garmin InReach mini
- External battery* – Anker Power Core 10000 external battery & Slim 5000 mAh external battery
- Power – USB cables (x2) and Anker dual port 12W USB wall charger
- Navigation – Gaia route on my iPhone
- Headlamp – Nitecore NU25 headlamp (360 lumens)
- Electronics Storage – Sea to summit Ultra-Sil Dry Sack (size: XXS)
POST-HIKE THOUGHTS
Back when I began planning this hike, remaining below the Mogollon Rim wasn’t my overarching goal. Initially, I wanted to combine the Highline Trail (#31), which runs below the Mogollon Rim, with a route on the General Crook Trail (#130), which skirts the upper edge of the rim, to form a 115-mile loop.
However, 2023 was a high snow year, and the weather didn’t cooperate with my aspirations. By the time mid-April rolled around, there was still far too much snow (and standing water) above the rim to hike my intended loop. So instead of backpacking this loop over 6 days, I opted to just hike the 58-mile Highline Trail eastbound to the 260 trailhead (where I cached some food) and then use my remaining time to explore some side trails and just enjoy what the rim country had to offer.
I’d already hiked the westernmost 20 miles of the Highline National Recreation Trail (i.e., from Pine to the Washington Park) during my NOBO Arizona Trail (AZT) thru-hike last year. So, I had a general idea what this trail would be like. Remaining below the Colorado Plateau for the entire trip really allowed me to scale back what I would need for the conditions below 7,000′ elevation, and I felt like this packing list was pretty spot on.
What DiD I modify for this hike?
Backpack. The biggest change I made between this backpacking trip and my Arizona Trail thru-hike was the pack I carried. This spring, I used my Gossamer Gear G4-20 (42L) pack instead of my ULA Circuit (68L) pack. The main reasons for downsizing to a smaller pack was the availability of water. I wasn’t going to have any 20-mile long water carries on this trail. In fact, thanks to the high snow year, I rarely went more than one hour between potential water sources – so I could afford to go smaller and lighter.
Hiking bottoms. One of my key clothing lessons from the AZT was how much I prefer hiking in running tights over traditional hiking pants. Tights avoid any annoying chafing from loose fabric, and they keep my legs protected from sunburn – especially during an early season hike when my pale skin hasn’t seen UV rays in months. I also brought a pair of lightweight Nike running shorts with me (the same type I wore on the Camino del Norte last autumn), but the weather was much to cold to hike in them. So my shorts stayed in my pack until I got back to Payson and needed to wash my laundry.
Sunglasses. This change was a matter of necessity more than anything else. As I was being dropped off at the airport to fly out to Arizona, I suddenly realized I’d left my sunglasses at home. I hadn’t needed them on the dark, rainy 40-degree day in Eugene. But there was zero chance I could get by in sunny Arizona without sunglasses. Consequently, I ended up buying a new pair of Tifosi Swank polarized sunglasses when I stopped at REI in Phoenix to buy a fuel canister. These new glasses are stylish enough that they’ve become my non-hiking sunglasses too.
Hats. I decided to shake thinks up a little bit and purchase a new beanie hat and a sun visor for my 2023 adventures. My old beanie hat was a bright pink North Face hat that I got from a clearance bin in Jackson Hole, Wyoming back in 2017, but it was time for an upgrade. My replacement was a Craft core essence thermal hat, which is in an equally cheery pink and is toasty warm, but it fit a bit tighter than I’m used to – so I’m not 100% sold on it. Meanwhile, I upgraded my old visor with a lighter, brighter Headsweats Baja Super Crush sun visor and I’m absolutely in love with it!
Wallet. One of the gear items I picked up before my trek on the Camino del Norte (last autumn) is a WEBO wallet purchased through Garage Grown Gear. I’d previously bought a phone pouch from the same company and I liked the quality of the craftsmanship, so I went back online and discovered their water resistant x-pac wallets too. I love this wallet. It’s super lightweight (0.3 oz). It can slip into any pocket. It’s the perfect size for my ID, credit/debit cards, and some cash. And since it has a zipper, I can also put some change in there too (like all those laundromat quarters in town). The best part though, is that this wallet is opaque (unlike a plastic baggie) so others can’t see inside – and it comes in 8 different colors.
Navigation. You won’t find the Highline Trail on any of the popular trail apps like FarOut. So I was back to creating my route with the DIY method using Gaia GPS, just like I did with the North Umpqua Trail and Uinta Highline Trail in 2020. The Highline Trail had shifted over time and lengthened by about four miles since it was designated as a National Recreation Trail back in 1979, so even though the route I prepared on Gaia wasn’t perfect, I was 100% glad to have this resource to help me navigate the trickier spots and stay on course.
What gear did I LEave At Home?
Sun Umbrella. The Arizona desert is made for sun umbrellas, but I deliberately left mine at home on this short adventure. I expected the temperature to be cooler at 6,000 feet elevation and I remembered the western end of the trail being shaded by tall ponderosa pines. My gamble paid off, and I was totally fine with just my long sleeved sun hoody, visor, and sunglasses. However, my assumption that the entire trail would be shaded was way off base. The Highline Trail traverses several burn areas where there’s little natural shade and much of the route is very exposed.
Waterproof socks & microspikes. When I got to Pine during my 2022 AZT thru-hike, I was reunited with a robust resupply box that included my microspikes and a pair of waterproof socks. These items were for the conditions above the Mogollon Rim, not below it. So, I reasoned that both items were unnecessary on my Highline Trail adventure. This was an accurate assessment. I saw some snow on the eastern end of the trail, but none of it required additional gear.
Hot Hands Super Warmers. I was super grateful to have this item on my AZT thru-hike, especially after trudging through the snow-covered trail on the Colorado Plateau. It was the perfect cure for cold, wet feet after a hours of postholing in the snow. I just popped one open and tossed it into the footbox of my quilt and suddenly all was right in the world again. But, as with my microspikes, this wasn’t something I’d need as long as I stayed below the rim. Overnight temperatures were cold (35-40°F), but I was perfectly warm with my 20°F quilt.
Items acquired mid-hike
Ursack. I didn’t bring a bear-proof Ursack on my last desert hike on the AZT. I just stored my food in a 12’x20″ OPSAK (odor proof bag) and I slept with my food outside my tent most nights. So why did I up the ante and pack a Ursack for this hike? Unlike the AZT, the Highline Trail sits entirely within Arizona’s black bear country, and I intended to cache a few days of food near the 260 trailhead and pick it up three days into my hike. Since I didn’t want any critters (or bears) raiding my resupply before I retrieved it, I had the option of using a hard-sided bear canister or my Ursack for the food cache. I went with the Ursack because it’s two pounds lighter, and it has the benefit of being able to securely tie it to a tree in my absence. I also used an OPSAK to line the inside of the Ursack, figuring that if the animals couldn’t smell my food cache, they were less likely to discover or disturb it.
The wayward sock. As anyone who read my trail journal may remember, I found a ladies Puma athletic sock about 5 miles into my hike. It was just laying there in the middle of the trail and it looked brand new. So I picked it up, figuring it might belong to a hiker immediately ahead of me, and I could return it to its owner. That never happened though. None of the hikers I met over the next few days dropped the sock. Without any trash cans along the route, I ultimately ended up carrying it for six days until I got back to town. But I also put it to some use, storing my water filter (inside a baggie) in the sock to help protect it from the cold overnight and in the early morning hiking hours. Will this become a staple piece of gear on future hikes? That’s highly unlikely. But it served a purpose while I had it, and I did carry it for almost the entirety of my hike.
What would I have done differently?
Tested my water filter. I love my Sawyer Squeeze, and it was absolutely the right water filtration device for this hike. However, I did have one significant issue that will change my future gear prep. I bought this particular filter last summer and used it very lightly before storing away for the off-season. When I pulled it back out for the first time this spring, I should have tested it just to make sure it still filtered water properly. I checked most of my other gear (i.e., stove, lighter, headlamp, Garmin) before packing for this trip, but I did not check my water filter. This omission came back to bite me in the butt big time!. When I stopped just 15 miles into the trail to filter some stream water, my bottles were suddenly filled with what tasted like moldy or mildewy water! It was just awful! Luckily, I was able to solve the bad taste by flushing 1.5 gallons through the filter. But it still left me wondering whether my filter was compromised, and this filter issue could have easily pushed me off trail. I have a new Sawyer Squeeze now, and testing it before each trip (including tasting the output) is part of my updated pre-packing process from here on out!
Contact lenses. At the end of my AZT thru-hike, I decided to switch from daily-use contact lenses back to monthly-use contact lenses. And since I’d previously used monthly lenses during my Appalachian Trail thru-hike and on my recent hike of the 520-mile Camino del Norte, I thought they’d be fine on the Highline too. What I’ve come to realize though, is I actually prefer different lenses for different types of hikes. Monthly lenses are great on European hikes or U.S. trails with lots of water, where you can confidently get all the dirt and sand off your hands. But when you’re relying on wet wipes for cleanliness in a desert environment, putting a fresh, new pair of contacts in each day just feels like better eye care – and maybe it’s really worth the extra hassle/cost on those trails.
FINAL THOUGHTS
So there you have it, my complete packing list for this relatively short backpacking trip in Arizona’s rim country. If you would like to see other packing lists for some shorter trails (<100 mile) that I hiked during other seasons of the year or in completely different types of terrain, check out:
- North Umpqua Trail Packing List (summer, 80 miles through the Umpqua Natl Forest)
- Timberline Trail Packing List (early autumn, 40 miles around Mt. Hood)
- Section A of the Pacific Crest Trail (winter, 110 miles in the California desert)
- Mt. Whitney Trail Packing List (late spring, 22 miles of high altitude hiking)