The Perfect Kit for Ultralight Thru-Hiking

In the past five years, I’ve crossed sun-baked desert basins, traversed snowy mountain passes, waded through cypress swamps and everything in between. I've worn through countless pairs of trail runners, and endured an untold number of tuna wraps, protein bars and peanut butter. All in service of experiencing and connecting with the land and people of this country. Since undertaking my first thru-hike in 2021, I’ve completed the Triple Crown of hiking—the Appalachian, Pacific Crest and Continental Divide trails—and am the first openly transgender woman to do so. I also created and hiked the 3,000-mile trail called the “Divide to Crest Route,” extending from the Mexican border in New Mexico to the Canadian border in Washington. I also founded Trail QTs, a free mentoring program that connects first-time and experienced LGBTQ+ thru-hikers.

In summer 2025, I hiked the Appalachian Trail (AT) in 52 days, 18 hours and 37 minutes, setting a new women’s self-supported speed record, or fastest known time (FKT). As a thru-hiker with over 16,000 miles’ experience on long-distance trails, I know exactly what I need—and, more importantly, what I don’t need—in my pack to move fast. Previously, I’ve written about  “luxury items,” like nail polish or tarot cards, that I bring on the trail for self-expression and entertainment. For the Appalachian Trail FKT, however, I carried only the barest essentials to keep my pack weight as low as possible to put less strain on my body.

In total, my backpack—not including food, water or worn weight like clothes and the trekking poles I carried—weighed around 7 pounds. I didn’t choose any of this gear to look cool or win arguments on the internet. Instead, every piece earned its place by working reliably day after day. On an Appalachian Trail FKT attempt, there’s no margin for gear that needs babysitting or compromises recovery, and anything unnecessary becomes a liability, fast. My setup let me move efficiently, stay healthy and keep my focus on logging miles instead of managing my equipment. 

Here’s a full list of everything I wore and carried in my pack for the entire 2,198-mile journey (minus food, water and fuel), along with some more in-depth highlights about my top pieces of gear. You can follow along with my future adventures on Instagram at @seltzerskelter.

Read on or click here to advance to our gear comparison table, so you can build your own ultralight kit with gear available at REI.

Lyla's Packing List

Below is a comparison of some of Lyla’s primary gear along with comparable items found at REI Co-op. While you might not need a base weight as light as 7 pounds for your ultralight adventure, you can start to strategically cut ounces from your backpacking kit by investing in a few key pieces each season until you have a much lighter load.

Shelter (13.8 ounces)

Shelter: Gossamer Gear The DCF Whisper (9.8 ounces)
Shelter stakes: MSR Mini Ground Hog Stakes (6) (0.35 ounces)
Ground sheet: Gossamer Gear Polycryo Tent Footprint (3.65 ounces)

Packs and Gear (57.68 ounces)

Backpack: Osprey Tempest Velocity 30 Pack - Women's (33.9 ounces) Read more about this pack
Waist pack: Osprey Ultralight Stuff Waist Pack (2.99 ounces)
Trekking poles: Gossamer Gear LT5 Three Piece Carbon Trekking Poles (9.8 ounces/pair)
Battery pack: Nitecore NB10000 Gen 3 Ultra-Slim USB-C Power Bank (2) (5.29 ounces)
GPS device: Garmin inReach Mini 2 (3.5 ounces) Read more about this GPS device
GPS watch: Garmin Enduro 3 (2.2 ounces) Read more about this GPS watch
Charging blocks and cords (3 ounces)

Sleep System (21.57 ounces)

Quilt: Enlightened Equipment Revelation Apex 40 Sleeping Quilt (18.77 ounces)
Sleep pad: Gossamer Gear Torso Foam Pad - 3/8" (2.8 ounces)

Hygiene and Hydration (11.65 ounces)

Water filter: Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter System (3 ounces) Read more about this water filter
Water bottles: Smart Water bottles (2) (1.2 ounces)
Toilet tool: TheTentLab The Deuce #1 Trowel (0.45 ounces) Read more about this trowel
Toiletries/medications (7 ounces)

Apparel (45.12 ounces—not included in base weight)

Hoodie mid layer: Burgeon Outdoor Alpha Direct 90 Hoodie - Women's (5.5 ounces)
Rain jacket: Montbell Versalite Jacket Women's (5.8 ounces)
Sun-protective shirt: Burgeon Outdoor Sunseeker T-Shirt - Women's (4.2 ounces)
Bra: Icebreaker Merino Blend 125 Cool-Lite™ Sprite Racerback Bra (2 ounces)
Shorts: Patagonia Baggies 5" Shorts - Women's (5 ounces) Read more about these shorts
Underwear: Icebreaker Women's Merino 150 Siren Bikini (1.12 ounces)
Shoes: Altra Lone Peak 9 Trail Running Shoe - Women's (1 lb. 3 ounces/pair) Read more about these shoes
Socks: Smartwool Performance Hike Light Cushion Mid-Crew Socks - Women’s (2.5 ounces) Read more about these socks

Gear Highlights

I chose the Tempest Velocity 30-liter pack from Osprey because it’s compact, lightweight and has running-vest-style straps for extra pack stability while moving quickly on trail. The pack, minus a few stains, is more or less in pristine condition, even after speed-hiking the whole 2,198.4-mile Appalachian Trail. In Virginia, after hiking 1,300 miles on trail, this pack shouldered enough food for a 200-mile section—a monster carry for any size pack, let alone a 30-liter, but the internal frame held up perfectly and I didn’t feel any pack-related soreness the entire time. Buy Osprey Tempest Velocity 30 Pack - Women’s. Buy Osprey Talon Buy men's Velocity 30 Pack - Men’s. 

I carried a Garmin inReach Mini 2 on my Appalachian Trail FKT because when you’re moving fast in remote terrain, having a reliable way to call for help isn’t optional ... it’s responsible. The InReach Mini 2 is light, unobtrusive and does its job without demanding my time or attention. Efficiency especially matters on a speed attempt, and I appreciated how simple and reliable the InReach Mini was, with no unnecessary features (like photo or video sharing, which I wouldn’t have used on this trek). I used it daily to send check-ins and track my progress using GPS, and it gave me peace of mind knowing I could communicate if something went wrong. Buy here.

This watch was a workhorse on trail. Battery life is everything when you’re moving all day, every day, and the Enduro 3 from Garmin kept up without becoming another thing I had to manage. With its 92-day battery life on power-saver watch mode, I tracked miles, elevation and time without constantly worrying about charging it, which freed up mental space to focus on the hike itself. The recorded data helped me accurately and dependably stay on top of my pace and daily mileage, all in a straightforward format that my exhausted brain could handle. Buy here.

The Squeeze from Sawyer is one of only two pieces of gear I’ve had with me on every single long hike I’ve done. It’s reliable. Easy to unclog. Tough to break. I’ve used it to filter anything from swamp water in Florida to cow pond water in Arizona. Last year was dry, which meant pulling from stagnant, debris-laden pools at times on the Appalachian Trail, but I never doubted my Squeeze could handle it easily. Why would I use anything else? Buy here.

The other piece of gear I’ve had for every mile of long-distance hiking I’ve done is a trowel! I carry the #1 Trowel from TheTentLab, which is even more featherlight (less than half an ounce—about the weight of an AA battery), but the slightly heavier #2 is also a great option, super easy and effective to dig with. I’ve only ever owned one trowel, and I don’t imagine I’ll ever need another. Shop TheTentLab trowels.

These Patagonia shorts are the only ones I’ll wear hiking. They’re insanely durable. Case in point, I wore a pair of purple Baggies for 3,000 miles in 2024 on my Divide to Crest Trail, dragging them across barbed wire in Nevada and through spiny catclaw in New Mexico, and then wore the same pair last year on the Appalachian Trail. The cinch waistband accommodated my inevitable weight loss on trail, and dried quickly after rainstorms. Buy women’s. Buy men’s. 

My go-to shoes. Thousands of miles on my feet have turned them into pancakes, so the zero drop and famous Altra wide toe box are essential. I never have to worry about breaking them in or getting blisters. The traction is solid, with MaxTrac rubber outsoles that stick well to the granite-laden Appalachians and are specifically designed to grip on impact (which helps when moving fast). I’ve been wearing Lone Peak trail runners since version 4.5, and will most likely continue, especially since they’re so durable. Buy women’s. Buy men’s.

Socks are one of those things you only think about when something goes wrong—and nothing ever did with these Performance Hike Light Cushion Mid-Crew socks from Smartwool. I wore the same few pairs on rotation for the entire AT hike, and they held up exactly how I needed. They have just enough cushion without feeling bulky, dried quickly after wet days and never gave me blisters, even during unrelenting humidity and stretches of rain. Wool just works. I didn’t baby them, I didn’t wash them often—wool’s naturally antimicrobial and odor-fighting—and they held up the entire trail. Buy women’s. Buy men’s.

Pack Like Lyla

Below is a comparison of some of Lyla’s primary gear along with comparable items found at REI Co-op. While you might not need as light a base weight for your ultralight adventure, you can start to strategically cut ounces from your backpacking kit by investing in a few key pieces each season until you have a much lighter load.