Gear, Gear, Gear, More Gear, Even More Gear.

September 30
Gear

It is always fun to list gear. And so here is what I used on my PCT hike.

Packs
GoLite Pinnacle, 25 oz frameless pack
I had no idea how t pack it, so it failed and was miserably uncomfortable.
At Idyllwild I switched out to a much larger internal frame pack, the GoLite Odyssey. It was huge, but light, and carried weight well. I used it until Donner Pass where I shed my winter gear. I then switched to a GoLite Jam2. With a roll up foam pad, it was perfect for my newly found love of all thing ultralight.

Pad
3/4 length Thermarest Z-Rest
I used this up to Donner summit with no complaints. At Donner Pass when I switched packs to a Jam2 I switched to a half length Ridgerest. This was all I needed for the rest of the trail.

Sleeping bags
Mountain Hardware Phantom 32 sleeping bag
I used a Phantom 0, zero degree bag in the sierras which was completely overkill, but I stayed very warm. I switched back to the Phantom 32 and didn’t zip it up once for the rest of the trip.

Tent
Shires Tarptent Rainbow. 32 ounce, single wall. It did have some condensation issues, but all single wall tents do. It kept out the bugs and worked well in the torrential rain of Washinton.

Cooking
I used a soda can alcohol stove made by Frankosaurus. He had a few extra. I had made my own, but it didn’t work well. I used a giant 1.3 liter titanium pot for cooking. I gave up cooking in Old Station, near Lassen, and began hydrating food in a peanut butter jar. This worked great! I would go stoveless again.

Hydration
I used a pump filter. Hiker Pro. 11 oz and fairly reliable. I was never ill, and I did drink straight from many water sources, especially high up. I drank out of soda bottles, and carried four liters for the driest sections. That dropped to one or two in the sierras, and Washington.

Clothes
For the most part, I wore long sleeves and pants. Light hiking pants and a button up violently orange shirt. My favorite other layer was my Marmot Driclimb Windshirt. It was warm, and I think I wore it every morning. I used it as a pillow, and as an extra layer of warthm at night if it was that cold. There were a few icy nights in Washington. I also had a puffy down jacket in the Sierras. The long sleeves saved me from the scorching sun. I mean, how many people do you see who live in Asian, and African deserts wearing shorts, huh? I think THEY know what they are doing.

Raingear
I used a $1.99 poncho until central Oregon where I switched out to a heavier nylon poncho, and used Dryducks rain gear for Washington. They are not very durable, but very cheap and worked better than any raincoat I had ever used. I think that I would simply use a poncho next time. Coats are too cumbersome, and don’t ventilate very well, even classy expensive ones.

Shoes
I started with Salomon light hiking shoes from REI which had no support.
In Idyllwild I was shipped a pair of cheap Nevado hiking shoes I had worn at home very happily. With Insoles they were tolerable. They were trashed within 250 miles.
In Agua Dulce, I switched to Merrell Moab Ventilators which were comfortable and minimally supportive. I wore two pairs of those between Agua Dulce and the end. I used a new pair of them for my mop up tour, and still use them for wrk. They are very durable, but not fast drying, and not very supportive.

Baseweight
I never accurately measured. But here are some rough estimates.
Campo to Idyllwild: 12 lbs
Idyllwild to KM: 13, Bigger pack
KM to Donner Pass: 17 lbs, ice axe and bear canister add a lot
Donner Pass to Shelter Cove Oregon 9 lbs, small pack and more careful packing
Shelter Cove to the end:10 lbs, added rain gear
Ashland to road 17: 7 lbs, bare essentials