PCT Gear

Well I am 9 days from starting my PCT adventure. I have been very busy with my re-supply; buying food and dividing up the food, sun screen, etc. into daily/weekly portions.

My gear has been set for some time, but I haven't posted a full description of all of my gear. So here goes...

Backpack:

My backpack is the Gossamer Gear Mariposa Plus. It is a very simple pack but doesn't sacrifice any basic functions a good backpack needs. There is one top loading main compartment, a wrap around mesh compartment divided into 4 sections, and a small hip belt pocket. That's it! There is a small amount of padding in the hip belts and shoulder straps, but no pack padding in the pack itself. There are two mesh flaps that allow me to insert part of my sleeping pad to give extra padding. The pack contains a small aluminum frame, but the sleeping pad helps add a bit more support to the pack.

The shoulder straps were a little wide when I first got the pack, and they were cutting into my neck, so I had my mom cut a "half moon" shape out of each strap to get rid of the rubbing.

Sleep system:

My sleeping bag is a Western Mountaineering Ultralite 20 degree bag. It is super warm and light. My sleeping pad is a Therm-a-Rest Z-lite. The pad is 3/4 of my body to save weight. It is also cut in half since the back panel of my backpack will not hold an entire 3/4 length pad. The smaller section is folded up and inserted into the backpack while the rest is folded and stored either inside my backpack, or on the outside. I haven't had any problems with each of the sections separating during the night. 

Tent/Tarp:

My tent is the ZPacks Hexamid solo tarp/tent. It is basically a tarp with a mesh bug screen. It is made from Cuben Fiber, which is an extremely light and strong material. My groundcloth is a polycro material and the stakes are titanium. For the majority of my nights on the trail, I'll just be laying out my ground cloth, and sleep under the stars. But if the weather is bad, I'll set up my tent.

Cook Gear:

My stove is a home made soda can stove, I have had great success using it over the last year. It uses denatured alcohol as fuel. The wind screen adds efficiency to the stove and is made of heavy duty aluminum foil. My pot is a MSR Titan Kettle, made of titanium. I originally had a different pot which was tall and skinny, but I had a lot of problems with food burning to the bottom because of the concentrated heat. The shorter, fatter pot distributed the heat better and is actually more efficient than the other pot. Thanks to the Sheppard's for getting me this new pot for my birthday! 

My spoon is also titanium, I carry two mini-bic lighters in case I lose or break one, and a shaker of cayenne pepper for my meals.

Waterproofing:

I will be waterproofing my backpack with this plastic liner. It will line the inside of my pack and my clothing and gear is stuffed inside. The outside of my pack will get wet in the rain, but the inside of my pack will remain dry.

Misc:

My main water bottles will be 2 Gatorade bottles, but I will also be carrying a 2 liter Platypus bottle for longer dry sections where I will need to carry 4+ liters of water at a time. My bandana will be used for many things, towel, water pre-filter, sun protection, first aid, etc. The headlamp I will be carrying is the Petzl E-Lite. It takes coin type batteries which may be harder to find, but it is a very light headlamp. My toiletries bag contains: TP, chapstick, toothbrush, toothpaste, Tums, first aid supplies, extra trash bag, and ear plugs. My pocket knife is a Gerber Bear Grylls Compact Scout knife, it is perfect size for any small use I need from it. I will also be wearing a Suunto Vector watch. It reads time, altitude, and has a compass built in. 

Electronics:

My electronics for the trip will include, battery charger, Spot Personal Messanger, Droid Razr cell phone, Kindle, and IPod. The battery charger has a small capacity, but will allow for a 30% charge of my cell phone, 2 full charges of my IPod, or a charge of my kindle while I am out on the trail. I will be carrying a wall charger for when I am in town and can charge my electronics. My Spot Personal Messenger is a GPS device that allows me to transmit my position to the internet or emergency services. I will be checking in every night by sending my position to this website where it will be displayed in the "Current Location" page of this blog. 

My Kindle will hold all of my data for the trail: maps, data book, and trail guide. Of course, I will also be able to get some reading done on the trail with it. The kindle has an amazing battery life and should last a few weeks on a single charge. 

Clothing:

My rain shell is comprised of my Marmot Super Mica jacket and Montbell Wind Pant.

My Western Mountaineering down jacket and down pants will keep me warm when the nights get super cold. 

My normal wear will be my Brooks running shorts and Mountain Hardware short sleeve shirt. My SmartWool Microweight Long Sleeve shirt will be worn when I'm hiking in chilly weather.

I will be carrying a mosquito head net to keep the bugs away. My gloves are liners, enough to keep my hands warm while hiking. My shoes are Salomon XR Mission trail runners. I have been wearing Salomon trail runner for backpacking for years. They fit my feel well and I enjoy the lacing system they have. These are NOT Gore-Tex (waterproof) because when Gore-Tex gets wet, it takes much longer to dry than non-waterproof shoes. I will probably go through about 5 pair of shoes throughout the hike. 

The short gaiters I will be wearing are called Dirty Girl Gaiters. Dirty Girl has a ton of crazy designs, they are very popular on the trail. These will keep the pebbles and sand out of my shoes from walking all day. 

My beanie is a lightweight ZPacks micro-fleece beanie. My socks are cycling socks, I will be carrying 3 pairs to start, 1 pair as a sleep sock, and the other 2 will be rotated and dried each day. 

Well, that is the gear that will be carried 2600 miles to Canada. Some of it will be replaced when it is lost or worn out, and items will be added when I find the addition necessary.