Insulating Jacket: Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer
I love this jacket. I got it on clearance, thankfully, but I wore it all last winter in temps from 40 degrees on down below freezing. On this trip, I wore it in my sleeping bag a number of times and used it around camp as I was getting ready in the morning. The zippered pockets were good for keeping electronics (phone, camera battery, extra external battery) warm in my bag when temperatures dipped. It was also handy on rest days in Two Harbors and Grand Marais since it was still plenty chilly down by the lake, even in June! It's definitely one of my favorite pieces of gear.
Wind Jacket: Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer
I also love this jacket and wore it most mornings during the early part of my trip. This is one of those things that I probably didn't really *need* to take with me, but this tiny little jacket makes me happy, so I took it and used it frequently.
Fleece Hat and Mitten/Gloves
I wore my fleece hat every night but one. I was often going to sleep before it was totally dark, but when I pulled the hat down, that didn't matter at all. I didn't use the mittens as frequently, but they helped make cold mornings more comfortable. Neither item was probably strictly necessary, but I was glad to have both.
Rain Jacket: Patagonia H2No
I've used this jacket a lot. It's a bit on the heavy side, but it keeps the rain out and keeps me warmer than some others I've tried.
Rain Kilt: ZPacks
My decision to take this rather than my rain pants was a last minute one and was mostly decided by the mud on the trail. I didn't want to try to take off/put on rain pants with muddy shoes, so the kilt went in the bag and the rain pants got sent home from Duluth with my husband. I didn't use this too many days, but it was handy to have for sitting on wet benches at the campsites and worked reasonably well in the rain. I'd take it again. I also used it to help me keep wet gear separate from dry gear in the tent by using it as a barrier between my wet pack and my dry sleeping bag on days that it rained.
Rain Socks: Plastic Bags
I ended up using these for garbage instead of on my feet. Except for the one morning that my socks were frozen, temps were always high enough that my socks kept me warm even when the trail was wet.
Sleeping Clothes
Plan: fuzzy socks, wool tights, wool shirt. Only the long sleeved Icebreakers shirt lasted the entire trip. The fuzzy socks and wool tights got sent home. I had originally planned to switch between two pairs of hiking underwear (one synthetic pair and one wool pair), but the wool pair was often too warm on uphills, so I ended up using that pair for sleeping and sent the heavier tights home. I also started hiking later in the day, taking an early evening break for dinner and then hiking a few more miles to my overnight site, so I didn't need the tights for camp-wear, either.
Camp Shoes: Nike something-or-other
I got my camp shoes on clearance somewhere. Some people don't take camp shoes, especially if they're using lightweight trail runners, but I was so, so happy to have dry shoes at the end of each day that these were definitely worth their weight for me. Since my feet were wet almost all day, every day, having something dry to put on at the end of the day helped them stay healthier.
Mosquito Head Net
It's Minnesota. Minnesota has mosquitos. Take a head net.
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