July 24, 2017 – Packing for the PCT is a balancing act: you want your pack to be light-weight so you can maximize your daily travel, but you don’t want to leave any essential equipment behind. My goal is to average close to 19 miles per day, and so I’ve gotten the base weight of my pack down to 23.2 lbs. without food and water.

I’ve adopted a long-distance hiking philosophy that balances being wise about weight and bulk without sacrificing too much comfort. For instance, I’ve decided to pack a one-man tent and rain fly. I need to be out of the rain and safe from bugs to get a good night’s sleep. The tent kit is 2.1 lbs. and is well worth the extra weight over an ultra-light tarp and trekking pole setup.

The other area where I’m going with extra ounces is in the kitchen and stove setup. I’m choosing the dependability and convenience of a standard stove and gas cartridge. There are numerous other ways to cook, like super-light alcohol stoves built out of titanium (or even cat food cans), but I want more comfort for my journey. Having hot meals and drinks is critical fuel for the body AND serves physiological/emotional needs after many days of traveling in the mountains.

One of the biggest kit items to carefully consider is footwear. One must weigh the time of year, the trail, etc., and decide what and how many pairs of footwear to take, as well as whether to pack them with you or change them out at cache points. I have decided to take only my Vasque light trail hikers, which are less than half the weight of my normal leather hikers. This weight difference over the millions of steps I will take is significant. I’ve decided not to pack camp flip-flops or and other footwear as a reasonable weight saving choice.

Of course, items like cordage for hanging food, a field first aid guide, carabiners, runners, and a blow up pillow may be left off others’ packing lists in order to save another pound or so. Maybe I can get Courage the Lion to carry a backpack of his own too.

THE ESSENTIALS

  • BACKPACK | Osprey Volt 75 & Rain Cover
  • SHELTER | Big Agnes Fly Creek UL-1
  • SLEEPING BAG | Sierra Designs Mobile Mummy 600 & Cocoon pillow
  • SLEEPING PAD | Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Xlite Sleeping Pad
  • TREKKING POLES | LEKI Corklite Trekking Poles
  • SHOES | Vasque INHALER II GTX Hiking Boot with Superfeet Orange Premium Insoles
  • HEADLAMP | Petzl ACTIK Core
  • KNIFE | Swiss Army Huntsman Lite
  • FIRST AID | Home made into REI Zip sack
  • SUNGLASSES | Prescription

STAYING WARM AND DRY

  • HEADWEAR | KAVU baseball cap & Mountain Hardwear Wind Stopper Cap
  • JACKET | Mountain Hardwear Wind Stopper Fleece
  • RAIN JACKET | Sherpa Pertemba Jacket
  • RAIN PANTS | Arc’Teryx Gore-Tex
  • SHIRT | Mountain Hardwear Canyon Long sleeve; Cotton tee for sleeping
  • PANT | Mountain Hardwear Super Chockstone midweight softshell
  • BASELAYER | Marmot Capilene Lightweight Zip-Neck Top
  • SOCKS | REI mid-weight Hiking x 2

A GUY’S GOTTA EAT

  • WATER TREATMENT | MSR HyperFlow Microfilter
  • WATER | Osprey 3.0 liter bladder
  • STOVE | Jetboil Flash Lite and 100gram Fuel cartridge
  • UTENSIL | Snow Peak Titanium Spork
  • FIRE | Mini Bic
  • STORAGE | Assorted cinch sacks and zip locks
  • CUP | Plastic Gas Station Go Cup with lid
  • CLEAN| Sea-to-Summit Citronella Super Wash

KEEPING IT CLEAN

  • TOILET PAPER | Make it soft
  • TOOTHBRUSH | Chop the handle
  • TOOTHPASTE | Travel size
  • TOWEL | REI Multi Towel

GETTING LOGISTICAL

  • CARDS | Visa
  • CASH MONEY | Benjamins = Ultralight
  • RUBBER BANDS | Quite useful
  • DUCT TAPE | Wrapped around the LEKI Trekking Poles
  • NOTEBOOK | Moleskin Classic Pocket Notebook
  • PENCIL | Pencil (old fashioned)
  • PAPER MAPS| National Geographic PCT Halfmile
  • OTHER | 3mil cordage, a double sling, couple of wire gate carabiners

COMMUNICATIONS

  • PHONE | iPhone 6S
  • POWER | ANKER PowerCore 15600mAh Portable Charger
  • HEADPHONES | JVC In-Ear Headphones
  • WATCH | SUUNTO Ambit 2
  • CORDS | Micro USB Cord
  • CHARGER | USB Wall Adapter

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(Last but certainly not least, my trekking buddy Courage the Lion, Kindering’s fearless mascot)