2015 CDT Gear
Being a thyroid cancer survivor and living with no thyroid, leaves me with innumerable body temperature challenges. These challenges are drawn into the spotlight out on the trail. Sure, the heat of the desert is tough where my body struggles to cool itself. But the real beast? Cold. The cold is what body slams me to the ground and then kicks me one more time just because it can. My body temp runs nearly two degrees cooler than normal with my feet being the hardest to keep warm after the hiking day is over. Because of this, I have to make significant changes to my setup when I get into higher elevations and inclement weather.
After much thinking, I’ve thrown out my desert gear list and I’m getting ready for the cold in the high desert and mountains.
The big changes:
20F to 0F sleeping bag
thermarest prolite to xtherm sleeping pad
sun shirt to long sleeve shirt (starting in CO?)
down vest to down jacket
add rain jacket and pants (starting in CO?)
add fleece/jacket layer (starting in CO?)
maybe add down booties?
stoveless to stove
CDT 2015 Gear Lists
Gear List I ~ Baseweight 14 lbs
Gear List II ~ Baseweight 13.9 lbs
Gear List III ~ Baseweight 14.5 lbs
Journey Return 