Weekly Blog #1: New Gear for Superior Hiking Trail
Full Blog Archives are here.
posted: Saturday, April 18th, 2026
It begins!
Every blog begins somewhere and you've just read the very first words of this one. Welcome, friends!
As winter begins to thaw into Spring, I start to look ahead to what is certain to be a challenging 200 miles of the Superior Hiking Trail I will tackle this summer over 2 weeks.
Preparation during these cold months is a limited to three things a hiker can realistically do. This week I'll focus on gear preparation. The next two weekly blog entries will tackle trip logistics and body conditioning.
Gear-wise, I acquired some new items since last year's Appalachian Trail adventure:
Patagonia Torrentshell Rain Jacket (used)
Patagonia Nano Puffer (new)
Thermacell backpacker mosquito repeller & pack clip
There are some other items I've collected too, but my biggest needs are those mentioned above.
On the AT, I learned my ClosetNature 1-person tent was an absolute budget warrior. There was a period where I was practically rained upon for 72 hours straight, but my $68, 4 lb. tent never leaked, never tore, never bent. But as I spoke with more and more hikers, it became clear why they opted for larger, lighter tents: it afforded them the space to store their packs inside with them.
I'll fully admit this was a stressor at times. My worst fear was a bear getting a hold of my pack, or mice chewing through straps because they love the salt from sweat. My vestibule was small, so I often covered my pack with a trash compactor bag and leaned it tightly against a tree. One night I had a VERY sleepless night because I kept hearing what I was convinced was an animal rummaging through my pack. Unfortunately my entry zipper was opposite from where I placed the pack. When morning mercifully arrived, I ventured outside and noticed another tent was now next to mine. The only animal making noise was a fellow human being.
So I again tried to find a balance between weight and value, settling on the $200 Mongar 2, which ironically is the same weight as my old 1-person. Ultralight afficionados would balk at a 4 lb. tent, but I'm just not a fan of hiking pole tents or spending $500 on free-standing 2-3 lb. designs.
My other gear acquisitions were all related to what I can expect in Minnesota in early to late June: possible cold, probable rain and an unavoidable destiny date with BUGS.
Weather-wise, on the AT I protected my pack with a good liner, got wet and dried out quickly (well, most of the time). Superior Trail veterans have warned me that Minnesota can be too cold to employ this strategy. So hence, a new light rain jacket and puffer. Both fold small for easy packing when warm temps do hit.
But BUGS worry me most. On the AT, I did pretty well avoiding creepy crawlies - I carefully Sawyer-treated all my clothes with permethrin (pictured on right) and used picaridin spray on my exposed skin. It worked amazingly against ticks - I remember a fellow hiker picking a good dozen off his legs at a waypoint. I never once found a tick on me.
But Minnesota has lakes, beaver bonds and swarms of mosquitos, blackflies and, yes, ticks. While a 2-pack of Sawyer will now be used on my LONG sleeves and pants, I also invested in a Thermacell Mosquito Repeller and high strength pads for it. I know this is no miracle product - it is effectiveness is especially limited if you are moving fast or are in windy conditions. But I mainly purchased it to give myself a 10-15 ft. halo within which I can set up camp and possibly cook a meal.
There is a version of the Thermacell that attaches to the same Isobutane fuel canisters hikers use for their cooking stoves, but I didn't want to sacrifice my fuel and be in a situation where I would need to carry multiple canisters.
Note: Clicking products in this blog will take you to Amazon product pages. Sponge receives an affiliate commission from purchases made from these clicks.
Double Note: Sponge will NEVER link products he does not stand behind. Also, Sponge has NEVER received free products or special treatment from companies whose products are shown.