For what it's worth, I've traversed pretty much the deepest sand I'm ever likely to encounter (North Carolina beaches) with stock tires, no lift, and without ever needing to lock the rear in a 2007 FJ Cruiser.
My take...
Tires: a good set of all-terrains will do you fine. I run 275 70/R17 Goodyears on my FJ and until this last snowstorm I hadn't been stuck anywhere in the pines.
Strap: definitely. You want a good 20k nylon strap with big loops - NOT hooks - on either end. You also want tow points (eye bolts on the frame) up front, and either tow points or a pintle hitch mount on the rear. Lastly, two good steel shackles for securing the strap to the tow points/hitch. You can get good ones at Tractor Supply.
Rear locker: Nice to have, probably not necessary in the pines. On newer vehicles they mostly only function in low range 4WD, and if you get good and stuck in sand/mud/snow I doubt the locker will get you out. It might though. I just don't feel it's a necessity, and my rear locker has never helped me in the barrens. They're mostly for rock-hopper scenarios where you have one tire in the air.
Lift: I don't think it's needed, and you'll just raise your profile and have to push more branches out of the way to go where you want. Steering and suspension engineers know more than most off-roaders, and most lifted trucks handle like crap in ordinary driving. The extra ground clearance is helpful, don't get me wrong, but it's a trade-off, and the pines are not kind to vehicles that are too big in any dimension.
Snorkle: LOL. Go around or back out. On most vehicles by the time you're sucking water in the intake you've got a foot of it in the cabin. If you're looking for the true hard core mud hound experience, then yeah, get a snorkle.
Winch: nice to have, very expensive for a decent one, including bumper mod/replacement. You might need electrical upgrades as well. I don't have one.
Come-along: a good large one might be handy, but if you aren't used to using them skip it. A stuck vehicle is a huge dead weight, and most people don't have the experience to keep from getting killed or maimed.
One last thought on vehicles: when you get stuck in sand, mud, or snow, there are basically two ways of getting loose: 1) a slow, steady pull using an anchored winch; or 2) a quick yank from a tow strap. For (1) you need a wrecker, another heavy vehicle with a winch, or your own winch made fast to something that won't move. Probably most people in the barrens who get stuck opt for (2), in which case you use the tow strap (see above) and give the stuck guy a quick jerk to break his tires free. I bring this up because trucks, with body-on-frame construction, extra gusseting, and other reinforcements have the rigidity to put up with this. Unibody vehicles may not, and if they do not, then the damage will be very expensive to fix.
