Recommendations on best stuff to bring on the Trail?

Are the "Runner's gel" really worth the hype? Pic Rel

Hey Anons, experienced camper and /outist/ about to go on a month long backpacking trip.

I will be heading to Bongland in April for a roughly 160 mile hike on national trails and will be wild camping as much as possible. I’ve done plenty of backwoods camping and am relatively comfortable solo camping (am much more comfortable in groups though)

Not pictured: 3L water bladder and clothes: 2 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of underwear, 1 spare set of vida pro pants, fleece for mid, rain jacket for outer, long John’s for night, a sun hoodie, a button up hiking shirt, and a pair of shorts/tshirt for end of day casual wear.

Weight is around 40lbs loaded up with extras and all that jazz.

Does it really matter what kind of snowshoes I buy? Are they even needed for the North East US?

>winter almost over
>mud season soon upon us
>local parks already putting up trail closed signs to "protect" the trails from mud damage
god i hate spring

How do you protect your skis from theft on the hill?

Hayfever bros where you at?

/Out/ in the holy land
Looking for snakes in the Judean desert edition

For those who have thru-hiked, does this seem like an appropriate pack? I have done many 3-5 day backpacking trips, this is my first long / thru-hike. Anything egregious or should I be confident?

Notes:
I'm not taking a GPS apart from my phone; I've been orienteering for 10+ years, day and night, virtually every latitude and weather condition, pre, during, and post military. If I get magical onset dementia on the trail I'll just take the death. Foolish or fine?

Food bag is going to be a Bear Cannister when I get to Kennedy Meadows, buddy is shipping me the Bear Vault 450 I believe ATT.

Cold soak: I am very comfortable cold soaking, been doing it for about 2 years with many upgraded / personalized recipes, but if if my tastes change, I'll get a stove in a town. Foolish or fine?

No Trekking poles: never had the need for them prior to now, but then again my longest ever trip was 7 days. Foolish or fine?

Some properties of wool have been replicated by cheaper synthetic materials, but no single synthetic fiber can achieve all the things wool can, nor is any synthetic fiber used in clothing as durable as wool. Cotton fibers work in almost the opposite fashion as wool, absorbing vast quantities of water, holding onto it, then exposing the wearer's skin to that moisture. Cotton, for instance, has been blamed for deaths caused by hypothermia in cold weather and feels clammy and gross in hot weather.

That’s why it’s positively insulting to call any material made from cotton or synthetic fibers “flannel.” Flannel should only ever be made from wool. To suggest that other materials can work as well, by giving them that name, is dangerously misleading.

What is the best hiking pliers?