Whenever I tell people I’m hiking the Pacific Crest Trail I almost always get asked the same questions. Some of them are pretty ridiculous.
Are you crazy?
Whenever I tell people I’m hiking the Pacific Crest Trail I almost always get asked the same questions. Some of them are pretty ridiculous.
Are you crazy?
Most likely.
I get asked this question quite often. Apparently quitting your job, walking 2,650 miles to Canada, sleeping with bears, and hitch hiking with strangers are not seen as rational decisions. Yet for some reason whenever I tell someone about my upcoming journey they talk to me for quite awhile, ask lots of questions, and usually finish by saying they are jealous. So maybe they are jealous that I’m crazy? I don’t know. Continue reading
Most of my time and energy was spent researching what pack, tent, and sleeping bag I would bring with me for 5 months. In my opinion this is the most important decision a thru-hiker will make. When it comes to these items lighter is better. These are the items you definitely do not want to cheap out on. You can easily save at least 2 pounds or more for each item over your general backpacking gear if you look into small companies that focus on ultralight gear. Zpacks, ULA, Gossamer Gear, Enlightened Equipment, and Tarptents are just a few companies that offer quality products that are extremely light. For me personally I saved close to 10 pounds when I switched my pack, tent, bag, and sleeping pad. Had I known or been introduced to ultralight backpacking sooner I could have saved myself a lot of money and back strain. Continue reading
Below is the gear that I plan on bringing.
For a more interactive view click here.
Item | Item Name | weight in ounces | |
---|---|---|---|
Pack | |||
Backpack | Zpacks Arc Blast | 22.5 oz | |
Bag Liner | Trash compactor bag | 1 oz | |
Food bag | Zpacks Large Blast | 1.4 oz | |
1.56 lb | |||
Shelter | |||
1 person tent | Zpacks Hexamid | 15.4 oz | |
Stakes | Zpacks 6" stakes | 1.6 oz | |
1.06 lb | |||
Sleeping | |||
Quilt | Enlightened Equipment Revelation 20 | 19.79 oz | |
Sleeping pad | Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite | 7.5 oz | |
Pad | Gossamer Gear 1/8 pad-trimmed | 1.75 oz | |
1.82 lb | |||
Cooking | |||
Spork | Titanium Spork | 0.5 oz | |
jar | Jar for cold cooking | 1.5 oz | |
0.13 lb | |||
Water | |||
1L water x2 bottle | Smart Water | 2.76 oz | |
2L bladder x2 | Evernew bottle | 2.4 oz | |
Filter | Sawyer Squeeze | 2.6 oz | |
0.46 lb | |||
Toiletries | |||
Toothbrush | Toothbrush cut in half | 0.2 oz | |
Shit Trowel | Deuce of Spades | 0.6 oz | |
travel size | Sunscreen | 1 oz | |
Travel size | Toothpaste | 1 oz | |
Camp Towel | Lightload Towel | 0.5 oz | |
0.21 lb | |||
Misc | |||
Headlamp | Petzl E+lite | 0.95 oz | |
First aid supplies/Meds | Med Kit | 2 oz | |
Pocket knife | Swiss Classic SD | 0.8 oz | |
Phone/Charger | Galaxy S5 | 8.5 oz | |
Battery | Anker Astro 6700 | 4.8 oz | |
Locator | Delorme PLB | 6.8 oz | |
Credit/Driver/cash | Cards/Zpacks passport pouch | 1 oz | |
Headphones | Headphones | 0.4 oz | |
Umbrella | Liteflex Umbrella | 8 oz | |
Camera | Sony HX90V | 8.5 oz | |
2.61 lb | |||
Clothing (Packed) | |||
Down Puffy jacket | Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer | 7.13 oz | |
Socks | Darn Tough 1/4 socks | 1.25 oz | |
Beanie | Mountain Hardware Micro | 0.75 oz | |
Buff | Buff | 1.6 oz | |
Bug net | Mosquito Net | 1 oz | |
Base layer top | Patagonia Cap 4 hoody | 7.13 oz | |
Base layer bottom | Smartwool NTS Micro 150 Bottom | 5.64 oz | |
Gloves | Mountain Hardwear PowerStretch Stimulus | 1.5 oz | |
Wind jacket | Zpacks Ventum Wind Shell | 1.95 oz | |
Wind Pants | Montbell Dynamo Wind Pants | 2.61 oz | |
1.91 lb | |||
Base Pack Weight: | (Excludes Clothes (Worn) | 9.75 lb | |
Sierra Gear | |||
Bear canister | BearVault BV500 | 40.2 oz | |
Ice traction | Kahtoola MICROspikes* | 12 oz | |
Ice Axe | CAMP Corsa* | 7.2 oz | |
3.71 lb | |||
Base Pack Weight: Including Sierra Gear | 13.56 lb | ||
Clothing (Worn) | |||
Shirt | Kuhl Wunderer | 8 oz | |
Shorts | Patagonia Baggies 5" | 5 oz | |
Watch | Suunto Vector | 1.88 oz | |
Shoes | Altra Lone Peak 2.5 | 20.5 oz | |
Hat | Outdoor Research Transit Hat | 3 oz | |
2.4 lb |
*These are tentative depending on snow levels the closer I get to the Sierras. As of right now it seems that it will be a normal snow year and these will mostly likely be used.
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