There were two factors at play when it came to making a gear list for the Ouachita Trail: Shoulder season unpredictability, and shorter daylight hours for hiking. Since this trail was low elevation in the southern part of the US, I didn’t have to worry about extreme weather or exposure.
After having hiked the trail, I admit the sparse November daylight wasn’t the first thing on my mind. Next time I hike a trail in the winter months, I’ll definitely remember the need for extra headlamp power. This time, it was a learning lesson. Keep in mind that these gear lists are just guidelines, and we’ll be honest about how the gear worked for us. Here’s the gear I took on the Ouachita Trail, and any alternatives I’d recommend.
Trip Length: 223 miles
Trip Duration: 11 (full) days
Season: Mid-November
Weather: Mid-40s to 60 during the day. Several rainy days and a lot of foggy mist. Nights were in the mid-to-low 30s.
Trail Overview: Low elevation, Southeast climate, dense deciduous forest, and primarily under trees. Some of the trail has rocky tread, and can be overgrown and abrasive against gear. Frequent shelters, which are great if you don’t want to set up your tent in the rain.
Pack: Hyperlite Mountain Gear 3400 Southwest
This pack is made from Dyneema Composite Fabric. It’s durable and waterproof, and has a 55-liter capacity for bulkier cold-weather hiking gear. The durability was great on the OT because there were sections where we were hiking through overgrown thorns, and I’m pretty sure mesh pockets would have gotten torn. The stiffer pockets (Dyneema with Hardline) are more durable than mesh, but are also really hard to squeeze gear into, and hard to access water bottles while you’re walking.
Verdict: Glad to have a more durable, waterproof bag. Good capacity. Trail was chilly enough that I didn’t get sweaty from the Dyneema pressed against my back.
Tent: Zpacks Free Duo
This is a new, freestanding tent from Zpacks. You can pitch this tent anywhere, it’s super light, and easy to set up. Since there are so many shelters along the OT, it’s entirely possible to carry any shelter you want and never use it, rather sleeping in shelters every night and doing your miles around that schedule. We like this tent for two people, but it can feel a bit tight, and the fancy single-wall DCF materials collect lots of condensation, so our sleeping bags were really wet after a few of the more humid nights. I’d honestly recommend one of the trusty Big Agnes two-person tents.
Verdict: You don’t need anything this fancy to hike the OT. Pitching is easy along the whole trail, and there are plenty of shelters. Any tent will do.
Sleeping Bag: Feathered Friends Petrel UL 10
The Petrel UL 10 is an amazing cold-weather bag. It’s not technically a winter bag, but I have winter camped in it. It weighs 30 ounces and has 900-fill down, which is luxurious. There were a few cold nights when I was glad to have this super warm bag, but overall I would have been fine with my Therm-a-Rest Hyperion 20, which packs down smaller and is 10 ounces lighter.
Verdict: Great bag, but didn’t need such a warm model. I would have been fine with my 20-degree Therm-a-Rest.
Sleeping Pad: Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite (RIP), WalMart Foam Pad (#yikes), Therm-a-Rest ProLite Plus (bless)
This category isn’t super indicative of my normal gear. I popped my NeoAir the first night by sitting on a pair of tweezers. Then I slept on the ground for two nights, then I slept on a WalMart foam pad for two nights, then a trail angel delivered a loaner Therm-a-Rest ProLite Plus. I love the NeoAir XLite, but it’s not the most durable if you’re prone to sitting on a cactus or a pair of tweezers. The ProLite Plus is old school and doesn’t pack down as small, but man is it comfortable and durable
Verdict: NeoAir is warm enough with a 4.2 R-Value, but if you’re prone to popping your sleeping pad, go for something more durable.
Headlamp: BioLite 200, WalMart Miner’s Headlamp
I do not recommend the BioLite 200 for a thru-hike, especially one when you’ll be doing a lot of night hiking. This was an oversight on my part. For a late-fall hike, you want something with at least 300 lumens and a much longer battery life. I also recommend having a backup headlamp if you think you’ll be hiking longer after-dark hours. The BioLite HeadLamp 200 only lasted 90 minutes on full power, which wasn’t even enough for one night at a time between charges. I would charge it while using my WalMart headlamp with batteries. Next time I’ll try the BioLite 330, which weighs a bit more, but is brighter, and has a longer battery life. These headlamps are super comfortable and light, and the convenience of rechargeable is tempting, but the battery just wasn’t enough for a November hike.
Verdict: Not bright enough and the battery wasn’t good enough. Go for something with at least 300 lumens, and several hours of max-brightness battery life between charges. Battery-powered might be better, since you don’t have to wait for it to charge between uses. Just carry enough extra batteries for long nights of hiking. The Black Diamond Storm 400 lasts five hours on high, the BioLite HeadLamp 330 lasts 3.5 hours on high, and NiteCore 360 is what Jeff swears by.
Filter: Sawyer Squeeze
This is our go-to filter. Lightweight, screws onto water bottles, and a fast flow rate that you can revive just by backflushing. I recommend treating all water on the Ouachita Trail. This is a low-elevation trail and some of the water sources were standing water, and in the later fall, water can be scarce so you won’t have a choice to skip filling up even if the source is icky.
Verdict: Always treat your water, and the Sawyer is a great filter option. AquaMira drops are an option for people who don’t like filtering, but some of the water was gritty enough that I recommend filtering on the OT.
Footwear: HOKA ONE ONE Speedgoat 4, Swiftwick Pursuit Hike
This was my first time wearing HOKA shoes, and I should have put more miles on them before starting the trail—just to give my feet time to get used to a different model. They were great for the OT, though. This is a rocky trail, and the extra cushion was stellar for those sections. It can also be slippery, so the Vibram traction was helpful on both wet and dry sections. The OT isn’t particularly steep, so you might not need something with such an aggressive outsole like the Speedgoats, but overall they were great.
Verdict: HOKA shoes provide great cushioning from rocks, but the Speedgoats might be overkill for such a non-technical trail. Most sturdy trail runners will be fine.
Hiking Clothes: Janji Groundwork Tights, Isobaa 200 Merino Hoodie
I took a chance wearing these tights without trying them first, but they’re hands down the best running / hiking tights I’ve ever worn. Lightweight compression is comfortable without feeling confining, they barely smelled after 12 days of wear, and they STAYED UP UNDER MY PACK. I have a constant problem with hiking tights falling down, and these are great. The merino top was clutch. It’s my favorite mid-layer, but with the colder weather, I hiked in it every day.
Verdict: I’d recommend long pants and a merino or fleece mid-layer for hiking this trail in November. Shorts would have been too cold, and some of the trail was thorny and overgrown, so the long shirt and pants were great. Any tights / pants and a merino or polyester shirt will work great.
Insulated Jacket: Enlightened Equipment TORRID Apex
I wear this jacket on every backpacking trip. It weighs less than 8 ounces, and the synthetic fill means A) I don’t worry about it getting damp and B) I can wear it during colder hiking days and not feel gross and saturated from soggy down. It’s quite breathable for an insulated jacket, and has held up really well for how much I’ve worn it. I did have it strapped to my pack in a thorny section and put a small tear in the outer fabric, but the duct tape is a badge of honor.
Verdict: I love this jacket. For a true winter hike in northern climates I’d want something more substantial, but this ultralight synthetic model is my backpacking go-to. A comparable down jacket is the Patagonia Down Sweater.
Rain Jacket: Enlightened Equipment Visp
This jacket is great for the longer hemline and extreme lightweight construction (under 5 ounces!), but it will soak through after a while in a downpour. The good news is that it’s really breathable, and it dries fast once it gets wet. It doesn’t have hip belt pockets, but it does have long pit zips for venting while you hike
Verdict: Love how lightweight it is, but there are burlier models out there. The Outdoor Research Helium is another lightweight option.
I hope this blog-type format works for a gear list, instead of just a straightforward list of recommendations. Let me know what questions you have in the comments!
