Packing List AAT 2017

Our list of things of uttermost importance – or what we believe it to be (updated after finishing the trail with our experiences):

It might look like a lot but you won’t believe that this all fits in one single backpack (ok, food, meds and the other stuff will be divided in both our backpacks but still… 😉 ).

• • Clothes
  • Toiletries
  • Food
  • Meds
  • Electronic Devices
  • Other Stuff

Clothes:

• • • hiking shoes (and a spare pair of running shoes for easier non-mountain distances)
    • slippers for the huts, for bathing etc. (we chose to take crocs with us which are light and easy to clean) -> they proved to be very valuable! Nothing was better in the evening than getting out of the hiking shoes and into these slippers 😂
    • hiking jacket (from Maier Sports, water column: 5000mm)
    • fleece vest with long sleeves
    • sleeveless fleece vest (I needed this vest only once, for sleeping in the Fraganter Schutzhaus because it was rather cold up there in just a sleeping liner – though I would probably take it with me nonetheless again)
    • 2 1 long shirts (merino wool) – one was definitely enough, wouldn’t take a second with me again since I needed it mostly for sleeping in colder areas 
    • 2 short shirts (merino wool)
    • 1 sleeveless shirt (for me, mainly for sleeping)
    • 1 pair of long leggings (for me for really cold days in the mountains and for sleeping)
    • 1 pair of hiking trousers with zip-off legs
    • 1 pair of 3/4 leggings from Dragonfly (for me; thin fabric, quick to dry and feels like a second skin) – this was perfect for wearing in the evening after the hiking day, and it’s next to no weight!
    • gloves (it can be quite cold with wind and bad weather in the mountains even in Summer!) – I only wore them at the Großglockner region on the first day for the first half an hour, so probably you can make it without them but they also have practically no weight 
    • bicycle gloves (I’ve read in a blog that it can be quite tough for the hands holding the hiking poles for hours each day and although I do have my share of cornea thanks to climbing and poledance I don’t want to risk blisters) – my hands being as toughened up as they are didn’t need them so judge for yourself 
    • buff bandana
    • hiking socks (merino wool, two pairs each of long and short socks)
    • underwear (me: two sports tops which I can also use for swimming and four two panties; Felix: four two panties – all panties are made of merino wool) – 2-3 panties would have easily been enough so you can wash one in the evening to use it the next day 
    • swimwear (one pair of swim pants from Dragonfly; the tops I’ll take with me can also be used for swimming therefore no other swimming top is necessary)
    • rain poncho
    • baseball cap/sun hat – the sun hat has proven the ultimate choice, I’ll never go hiking in Summer again without my sun hat!

Toiletries:

• • • tooth brush (I bought a small foldable one where the handle at the same time is the case to store the brush), tooth paste and dental floss
    • soap from Dr. Bronner (to be used as shower gel for body and face, as deodorant, for Felix for shaving, as substitute for washing powder – you can even use it as tooth paste but needs getting used to; really check out Dr. Bronner, it’s organic, sustainable, fair etc.)
    • face cream (50ml for 6 weeks for me – that was perfectly enough for this time)
    • small hand lotion
    • lip balm (also from Dr. Bronner)
    • sun blocker (200 ml for 2 persons for 6 weeks should be enough – yeah, it was enough!)
    • shampoo in a small bottle (my hair is used to being washed only once a week so a small amount is all I need) – it lasted for 7x washing my hair, good enough!
    • a tiny bottle of perfume (“Lust” by Lush – I so love the smell, and really, it’s so tiny!) – true, it’s really no weight but after the 3rd day I didn’t use it anymore, your noise gets strangely sensitive with all sorts of smells when you’re outdoor all the time and mainly smell fresh mountain and forest air 😉
    • horse balm to cool the feet in the evenings and against sore muscles –  that honestly was a treat every evening!!! Be sure you choose the most cooling balm you can find! 
    • a cream for protection against blisters (“Hirschtalg”, it’s not made from deer tallow anymore but there are plant-based alternatives) – this, too, was enormously needed!
    • comb and hair tie for me
    • disinfection wipes, wet wipes

Food:

Since we intend to have breakfast and dinner as often as possible at our destinations (and lunch on our way where possible) we decided to go for healthy but lightweight snacks only in addition:

• • • nuts and seeds (cashew nuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, macadamia nuts – all from Keimling)
    • dried fruits (dates, raisins, dried bananas – all from Keimling)
    • raw organic bars (Roo’bar)
    • dextrose
    • tea bags (if we happen to have tea cooking facilities in our accomodations)
    • chewing gum
    • water bottles: 1,5l and 1l
    • thermos flask: 0,6l

Well, we did eat most of this stuff but at supermarkets we always bought cookies and chocolate bars because we did need to have something else, too. 😉

Meds:

• • • cough tablets (Bronchostop)
    • meds for a sore throat (Dexalgin)
    • painkillers (Mexalen)
    • wound and healing ointment (Dexpanthenol) – we needed this really quite regularly so it’s definitely a must!
    • meds against diarrhea (Bioflorin, Enterobene)
    • pollen allergy medicine and hyaluronate eye drops (Desloratadin and Artelac Spash – life’s not easy being allergic 😉 )
    • magnesium supplements – we even bought some more at a pharmacy 
    • tick tong
    • plasters (normal ones; some for blisters = the one and only Compeed; Nexcare strips) – I needed the normal ones once but since I sweated so much on this hot day it just didn’t stick to my skin. But the blister plasters were really necessary, and I even helped someone out who needed them, too.
    • insect repellent and a cooling gel against insect bites (both from “S-quito free”, they come in small packings and light to carry) – it just didn’t work for me, with or without it I was dinner for many mosquitos and quite some horse flies 😞 – as for the cooling gel I bought Insecticum twice because it was much better!
    • desinfectant (Octenisept)
    • kinesio taping (1 roll)

Thankfully, we didn’t need most of the meds but once I had to take antibiotics because of a horse fly bite. It was good luck that I found a great pharmacist in the pharmacy in Obervellach who assessed the situation with my swollen hand just perfectly and advised me to take them.

Electronic devices:

• • digi-cam
  • MP3 player with earphones
  • headtorch (for mountain huts, in emergency cases etc. – e+lite by Petzl which is very lightweight and easy to store and pack away) – I really needed it twice or three times, great light and comes in very handy!
  • smartphone
  • GPS
  • solar powerbank (for emergency use to recharge smartphones etc.) – we didn’t need it but would take it with us anytime again on such a trip!
  • e-reader (well, I can’t live without books – so, not without my Kindle 😉 )
  • charger for electronic devices (easy and lightweight since all electronic devices now use micro USB)
  • adapter for Italy (since it’s obviously possible that older houses do have old  sockets) – really good that we had one because we needed it often!

Other Stuff: