My Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT) thru-hike required two separate gear lists. That’s because the first 120 miles were a solo hike. Thus, I only needed to pack the items I needed for my own comfort and safety for that leg (click HERE to view my solo packing list). Meanwhile, the final 50 miles of this hike were done with my 13 year old son. This new addition meant I needed to make a few changes to accommodate a hiking partner, including a different tent.

Gear items with an asterisk next to them indicate deviations from my solo hiking list. For more on why I made these changes, and what I’d do differently next time, scroll down to the end. I’m also including Finn’s packing list below, just in case you’re curious about what he carried.

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BACKPACK SET-UP

• My Backpack – Gossamer Gear G4-20 (42L) in electric blue 
• Accessories – Gossamer Gear Hipbelt Pocket (which I use as a fanny pack)
• Accessories – Zpacks Shoulder Pouch (to carry my phone & headphones)
• Pack Liner – Therm-a-rest NeoAir pump sack (also used to inflate my air mattress)
• Emergency ID – Road ID attached to pack 

SHELTER & SLEEP SYSTEM

• Tent* – Nemo Dagger 2P tent (Tent, footprint & rainfly)
• Sleeping Bag* – Western Mountaineering Alpinlite (20 degree bag)
• Air Mattress – Therm-a-rest NeoAir XLite (size: regular) 

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* – Ursack Major with 12.25″ x 20″ Opsack as an odorproof liner

HYDRATION

• Water filter – Sawyer Micro Squeeze
• Vessels – CNOC Outdoor Vecto 2L bladder + 1L plastic bottles (x2)

ELECTRONICS

• Phone/camera – iPhone XR (128GB) w/ earbuds
• External battery – Anker Power Core 10000 external battery w/ USB cables for iPhone
• Navigation – Guthook App for Tahoe Rim Trail (and Finn carried our paper map)
• Headlamp – Petzel e+lite headlamp w/ extra battery 
• Electronics Storage – Sea to summit Ultra-Sil Dry Sack (size: XXS) 

HIKING ACCESSORIES

• Trekking Poles – Leki Cressida Thermo women’s poles
• Sit Pad – Therm-a-rest Z sitting pad

HIKING CLOTHING (WORN)

• Hiking Shirt – NRS Guide shirt (long sleeve/snap front)
• Pants* – North Face capri leggings
• Undergarments – Patagonia Barely sports bra & underwear 
• Hat – Headsweats Performance Supervisor visor 
• Watch – Timex Ironman waterproof watch 
• Wallet – Ziplock bag (w/ ID, cash, debit card only)

FOOTWEAR

• Shoes* – Altra Timp 1.5 trail running shoes (new pair)
• Hiking Socks – Injinji socks 
• Gaiters – Dirty Girl gaiters 

OUTERWEAR

• Hat – Pink beanie hat
• Gloves – REI On Trail sun gloves & Sporthill running gloves
• Puffy coat – North Face Thermoball hooded jacket 
• Rain jacket* – Outdoor Research Helium II

EXTRA CLOTHES/CAMP ITEMS

• Socks – Injinji socks (extra pair)
• Underwear – Patagonia Barely underwear (2 extra pairs)
• Headband – Buff UV+ headband 
• Sleep clothes* – Icebreaker 1/4-zip long-sleeve merino 150 shirt & Sporthill women’s Voyage II pants
• Sleep socks* – Inexpensive fuzzy socks from Target
• Storage – Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil stuff sack (9L)
• Camp Shoes – Crocs Swiftwater sandals

HYGIENE ITEMS

• Toiletry Storage – OPSAK odor proof bag 
• Dental Care – Travel toothbrush/toothpaste + floss
• Vision – Daily wear disposable contacts & glasses
• First Aid Kit – KT tape, Body Glide (0.8 oz), bandaids, ibuprofen
• Knife – Swiss Army knife (w/ mini scissors)
• Cleaning – Wet Ones (travel size/20 wipes), 1/2 bandana 
• Skincare – Travel size sunscreen & chapstick
• Insect Spray – Sawyer Picaridin (carried in 0.6 oz bottle I scavenged from somewhere)
• Toilet – Deuce of Spades #2 trowel, bandana (pee rag) & TP
• Trash storage – Large ziplock bag + doggie poop bag (to carry out any used TP/feminine hygiene items)

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FINN’S GEAR LIST

This was the first time I’d backpacked with my teenage son, and I wanted to teach him that lighter was more comfortable. The max weight of his loaded pack was 18 lbs (this includes his food and water weight). Given that he is approximately 5’7″ and 130 lbs, this seemed to be a manageable carry for him. This was also his first real foray into backpacking, so all of his gear was moderately priced and none of it was ultralight or super fancy.

BACKPACK SET-UP

• Backpack – Gregory Zulu 40 Men’s pack (38L) in size Medium
• Pack Liner – Black garbage bag

SHELTER & SLEEP SYSTEM

• Tent – Tent poles and stakes for our Nemo Dagger 2P tent (I carried the rest of our shared tent)
• Sleeping Bag – Nemo Verve (20 degree synthetic bag)
• Sleeping Pad – Therm-a-rest Z-lite Sol (accordion style)

FOOD & HYDRATION

• Cup – Ozark Trail 16 oz. collapsable cup
• Utensil – Inexpensive Walmart item with a spoon on one end and fork on the other
• Water Storage – 1L Smartwater bottle and 1 Gatorade bottle
• Food Storage – Zpacks DCF food bag (only used while hiking, all food items were stored overnight in my Ursack)
• Food – Finn carried his snacks and lunches, while I carried the rest of his food, cooking pot, fuel, etc

ELECTRONICS & ACCESSORIES

• Phone/camera – iPhone 7 w/ earbuds
• Navigation – Trails Illustrated #1013 Tahoe Rim Trail (paper map)
• Headlamp – Black Diamond Storm headlamp
• Trekking Poles – Black Diamond Trail Back trekking poles

CLOTHING/FOOTWEAR (WORN)

• Hiking Shirt – Pelagic long sleeve sun shirt
• Pants – Asics men’s running tights
• Undergarments – Equipo men’s microfiber boxer briefs
• Hat – Killik fitted hat 
• Watch – Timex Ironman waterproof watch 
• Shoes – Inov8 All Train men’s shoes
• Socks – Injinji Trail socks

OUTERWEAR

• Hat – Hind beanie hat
• Gloves – Medium weight all-weather gloves
• Hoodie – Tek Gear Performance Hoodie sweatshirt
• Rain jacket – North Face rain jacket

EXTRA CLOTHES

• Socks – LL Bean wool hiking socks
• Underwear – Equipo men’s boxer briefs x2
• Sleep clothes – Mizuno 1/4-zip long-sleeve running top & Sporthill men’s Voyage II pants &
• Sleep socks – Inexpensive fuzzy socks from Target
• Storage – REI stuff sack
• Camp Shoes – Crocs flip-flops

HYGIENE ITEMS

• Dental Care – Travel toothbrush
• Tissues – Travel pack of Kleenex tissues
• Trash – Ziplock bag
• Other – Finn shared the other hygiene items I carried (trowel/TP, first aid kit, toothpaste, sunscreen, etc) rather than carrying an entire second set.

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POST-HIKE THOUGHTS

The driving factor behind most of my gear changes was comfort. Whether this meant a bigger tent, or some warmer clothes to combat the significant change in weather conditions, I just wanted set-up that would make the second leg of our trip as enjoyable as possible.

WHAT ITEMS DID I SWAP OR ADD (AND WHY)?

• Tent. During the first 6 days on the trail, I realized my Nemo 2P Hornet was pretty roomy for one person, but 22 square feet might be a bit uncomfortable for a mother and teenage son. We happen to own two extra tents — a roomy 3-person tent and a freestanding Nemo 2P Dagger. The latter option would give us 9 extra square feet for only around one more pound of weight. Since Finn and I would only be out for 50 additional miles, I opted for the lighter Dagger 2P tent.
• Sleeping Bag. A cold front moved in just as I was getting off the trail to resupply in Tahoe City on Day 6. This weather dropped our overnight low temperatures from a cool 48-55 °F range down to the mid-30s °F. Consequently, I swapped out my 30-degree quilt for my 20-degree down bag to ensure I stayed warm overnight.
• Ursack. My long-awaited Ursack was delivered while I was hiking the first part of the TRT. And so, I didn’t need to carry that heavy bear canister for the second leg of this hike (yeah!). At 10.7L, it’s a full liter smaller in volume than the BV500 bear canister. So, I made Finn carry his lunches and snacks in a DCF food bag during the day so we weren’t trying to squeeze 6 days of food (i.e., 3 days of food x 2 people) into it at once.
• Rain jacket. Yeah, I fixed this glaring omission for the second half of my hike. While we didn’t get any rain, it was nice to have the extra layer for final morning when we summited Dick’s Peak in the cold wind.
• Warmer clothes. Rather than hiking in my Patagonia baggies shorts during the freezing cold mornings, I opted to return to the trail wearing a pair of capri leggings. I also swapped out my sleep clothes for something a bit warmer since I knew we would be stopping earlier in the day and sitting around camp longer.
• Shoes. That new pair of Altra Timp trail shoes I had waiting for me were a sublime upgrade. They felt so much better than the worn-down pair I suffered with during the first 6 days on trail.
• Massage ball. I added my lightweight spiky massage ball to my pack to help with my damaged feet while we were hanging out at camp each evening.

WHAT’S THE ONE THING I SHOULD HAVE ADDED ?

This might be the first hike where I wouldn’t add a single additional item to my packing list. That might be because I made some wise gear swaps during my resupply. I’d really dialed in my needs doing the first 120 miles of the Tahoe Rim Trail and I knew what I’d likely need (based on the near-term weather forecast).

However, I did accidentally forget ONE minor item: 2 tent stakes. When I swapped out my Nemo Hornet 2P for the Nemo Dagger 2P, I didn’t consider the rain fly might be a different design. I just assumed it would need the 6 lightweight tent stakes that I normally carry. This was incorrect.

While the Hornet only requires six stakes (four for the tent and two more for the rainfly), the Dagger requires eight stakes. That’s because the vestibules on the Dagger’s rainfly are designed differently, and it has two tie down points on each side. So, we were two tent stakes short on this trip. When I discovered this oversight on the first night, I just improvised with some heavy rocks. This solution worked out fine, and we made do. But, in the future, I will make sure to set up any new tent beforehand just to double check this little detail.

WHAT’S THE ONE THING FINN WOULD HAVE ADDED ?

When I posed this same question to Finn about his packing list, he said he’d add a pair of sunglasses in the future. Much of our final day in the Desolation Wilderness went through areas with limited tree cover. And the area around Aloha Lake, in particular, is lined with whitish-gray rocks. The combination of the the light rocks and the water created a lot of bright reflection for him, so he felt having a pair of sunglasses would have made that stretch of trail more comfortable.