Comments on gear, for the gear heads

Hey!

It's been so long since we've written a blog post. I've been getting questions from 2015 hikers preparing their packs about what gear we liked and what gear we didn't so I thought I'd revisit that initial gear list I made. Here we go.

Pack: ULA Catalyst
I wouldn't change a thing! I loved this pack. Not to mention the company is fabulous to work with. So far I've gone through 3 hip belts on this thing and they've replaced them all for free. The first hipbelt broke the first time I put it on which I chalk up to a bad seem. The second hip belt I replaced midway through the hike because the padding was wearing down and I also lost a lot of weight so I ended up with a small instead of a medium.

Pack rain cover
I started the trail with a super cheap pack cover that I had lying around. It sort of fit my pack but it wasn't full coverage. This was a mistake. Especially when we had 8 straight days of rain through central California. Do not skimp on your pack cover. I went ahead and bought a bomb-proof cover that fully engulfs my pack and I'm much happier for it. The extra weight is totally worth it.

Sleeping pad: Z-lite
These things are awesome. Not only do you not have to blow up your pad every night, you also don't have to worry about poking holes through the material. We seriously beat up these sleeping pads. They were great for seats during breaks as well. It was so easy to just throw it down on the ground and get some stretching time in during a hiking break.

Water filter: Platypus 2.0 L Gravityworks Filter
I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with this thing.
Pros: you can grab your water from the stream and take it back to camp, sit down and let the filter do the work. No need to worry about the mosquitos because you don't have your hands out pumping.
Cons: to make it hands-free, you need a flat surface to put your bottle on and you need a place to hang the filter. Sometimes this ends up taking more time to set up than it would if you just had a normal pump filter or a UV Steripen. Also, the gravityworks filter is a bit slow. This isn't a big deal if you're making camp for the night but we found ourselves filtering water frequently throughout the day which ends up cutting in to your hiking time because you have longer breaks.
Bottom line: I'd probably go with a different filter next time like the Sawyer mini. The problem with those is that they may not last the entire length of the PCT.

Tent: Ray-way 2-person tarp
I would highly recommend making your own tent. Unfortunately, most people don't have the time or the equipment to make their own tent. We loved our tarp tent. It worked great in all types of weather conditions. I would avoid doing a single-wall tent unless it is ventilated very very well to avoid condensation inside the tent. We also set up our tent every night which a lot of folks on the PCT don't do.

Sleeping bag: Feathered Friends Lark UL 10
I love this bag. It's fairly light and so fluffy! Nothing like crawling in to a big down bag after a long day of hiking. I sleep very cold and I hate being cold so in planning for the trip I knew I wanted a 10 degree bag. Looking back on it, 10 degrees was a bit overkill. I think it would've been OK to be in a 20 degree bag. I can only think of two instances the entire hike where I was super happy I had a 10 degree bag: camping at Guitar Lake below Mt. Whitney and after the hail storm in central California.

Cooking system: Reactor with MSR deep dish bowls
The Reactor is heavy, 14.4 oz for the stove and the 1.5L pot. However, due to the new fire restrictions in California you can not have an open flame cooking system. I'm pretty sure we were the only people on the trail last year with a Reactor but we did see a few JetBoils which are fairly similar. I appreciated the efficiency of our system because we could hike with one 4oz fuel canister for about 2 weeks which was a luxury in towns where it was hard to track down fuel (in addition to being insanely over-priced on most of the trail).

Navigation
Ok, I know it's nice to have topos and maps in hand. We used our printed Halfmile maps for a majority of the trail but once we got to Washington we decided to forgo the printed maps. We had Guthook's app and Halfmile's app and we never got lost. There's plenty of trail markers and signs to find your way. I will say Guthook's app is phenomenal because the elevation profiles are included.

Accessories
Bandannas, buffs, and dirty girl gaiters. Essential items. I will never go hiking without them ever again.

That's all for now. If you have any specific questions about something let me know and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can. Happy St. Patty's day!

The final push: Mile 2404

Written 8/30/14

Posted 8/30/14

Well readers, we've reached the final chapter of our journey. It's been a heck of a run over the last 3 and a half months, but yesterday we officially left the trail. We decided to go through with our plan of finishing at I-90 near Seattle since it was just so easy to end there and we are both exhausted. 

The Wonderland Trail kicked our butts, leaving us sore, weary, and ready to get back to comfy living. Or to simply wake up and not have to walk 20+ miles with all of our belongings on our backs anymore. We thought we might be reenergized after the loop around Rainier, but it had quite the opposite effect on us. Once we hopped back on the PCT, it was a 70 mile home stretch to reach the highway and we chose to do this in 3 days. We had heard that the section was supposed to be some of the worst parts of the entire trail so we were sort of dreading it. Everyone said it was nothing but burn areas, clear cuts, and roads, which isn't a great way to end things. Much to our surprise, however, we thought it was great! Just more of gorgeous Washington with thick forests, rolling hills, and rainy weather. There were a few miles of unimpressive terrain, but on a whole it was pretty nice. 

We also completed our first 30-mile day which felt awesome. It was so incredibly flat compared to the Wonderland and our legs were feelin' good so we finished all 30 miles in only 12 hours, hiking from 6:45am till 6:30 pm. Getting that many miles in one day was a goal of ours from the start, so we were psyched to do it.  And to not be dog tired and sore and miserable afterwards was a pleasant bonus. It certainly wasn't easy and we have great respect and admiration for those that are able to do days like that for months on end. 

Despite that feat, we didn't slow down any, and the next day we did another 23 miles. It was the last full day on the trail for us, but it turned out to be one of the hardest days for me. I didn't have quite enough food to eat and by the afternoon I was feeling dizzy and exhausted. We still made it to camp by 6pm anyway.  It was a mentally tough day as well because we knew we had to have a big day, but it wasn't quite the last. The finish line was in sight, but we weren't quite there. 

Our last day we tried really hard to enjoy the last 16 miles of our trip, soaking in all the sights and sounds of the outdoors. But once the highway came into sight, it was really just a race to finish. My friends Meira and Kam met us at the pass, and it felt great to kick off our shoes, sit back in the car and take a sigh of exhausted relief.

In the end, we hiked around 1000 miles of the PCT and another 150 miles of side trails and excursions. It falls a bit shy of our initially intended distance, but considering all the unexpected obstacles and changes in plans, we're incredibly proud of what we did. There are plenty of places that we missed that we would love to one day come back and see, but when we recount all that we did experience, that seems more impressive. And more importantly, we got to the end and can still stand each other!!  Our next adventure is already underway, as there has been plenty of wedding talk over the last few weeks. And if that wasn't enough excitement, we still have to find jobs and figure out where we want to live.   Who knows, soon enough we might be wishing that we were back on the trail, where walking and eating are your biggest concerns and life seems a little simpler. 

Wonderland Trail: Days 4, 5, & 6

Written 8/26/14

Posted 8/30/14

Well tonight we finally got back home to the PCT! It's odd calling one trail home while another felt like a vacation, but that is what the Wonderland trail felt like to us... our hike away from home. We finished our 90 mile, counterclockwise loop around Mount Rainier with a bang. The final day was a rough and tough 19-mile hike up and over the Cowlitz Divide which hosted some of the most amazing views of the mountain we had seen yet. Being on the west side of Rainier, we had a clear look to Mount Adams and the Goat Rocks Wilderness, which as you can tell from our last posts and pics was pretty incredible. 

We spent the morning climbing up 4,000 feet from our camp at Maple Creek to the Indian Bar area. The final push was a steep climb up a two mile long staircase; my legs were burning and tired but the views were fantastic!

The day after our last blog post was the 4th day on the Wonderland Trail when we left our amazing campsite at Klapatche. After having completed the entire trail now, I think Klapatche was one of the best camps on the whole loop. It had a great view of Rainier, a lake, and it was up high enough that we could see the sun setting on the horizon. We sat and watched the sunset that night as it slowly disappeared over the Pacific Ocean. It was a hazy evening and the clouds filtered most of the sunlight out so you were left looking at the sun itself, which looked like a glowing red, circular ember. As the sun set,  it looked like a fiery wafer being dipped into a field of grey pudding as it vanished into the oceanic horizon. I think that'll be one of my favorite memories of the whole trip! 

Leaving Klapatche was pretty gorgeous, and when we descended back into the trees we got to walk across the largest suspension bridge I've ever seen! We were probably 100 feet above the raging Tahoma Creek swinging and bouncing across wooden planks tied together on massive cables. 

That evening we camped at Pyramid Creek and were able to set up our tarp and climb just moments before it started raining. We sat and listened to the storm pass us by while we chatted about the upcoming remaining weeks on the trail which was mostly about whether or not we wanted to continue our hike all the way to Highway 20 when we got back to the PCT. We both were feeling incredibly exhausted and sick of backpacking and debated exiting the trail earlier than planned. The beauty of the Wonderland Trail was impressive, but we were not nearly as jazzed about the scenery as all the other hikers. We talked to a bunch of folks on the trail and the conversations would be them saying something like, "gorgeous day today, huh!?!" with us having an underwhelming "yeah" as a response. I loved the Wonderland Trail but it also helped us realize that our enthusiasm for backpacking was dwindling as we started to really look forward to being done. We were not nearly as excited about alpine meadows and gorgeous forests as we were when we started this trip so we came to the conclusion that when we get to I-90 that we'll just get off the trail there and head in to Seattle. That means we have only one week remaining on the trail and the primary emotion I was feeling once we made that decision was a sense of relief. It is time for us to finish and get back to the real world!  Obviously the whole point of this trip was to have fun, and since the miles are starting to feel more like work than pleasure, then that's a sign that we might just be over backpacking for now. 

The next day we had a short 3-mile descent to get to Longmire where we hitched into Ashford. Hitching in a National Park is not allowed, but luckily the rangers at MRNP are pretty lenient about that rule. We got picked up in about 30 minutes by one of the park mechanics in a pick up truck who lives in Ashford. We went straight to the post office to grab our resupply and then were eating breakfast at the Highlander by 10am! I made the mistake of ordering way too much food (again...) and I was really aching when we started back on the trail. Hiking 12 miles when your stomach is so full is not recommended. On our climb up to Reflection Lakes we were walking over piles of hail from the storm the night before. It was interesting to see that the storms had hailed on the south side of the mountain but only rained on the west side where we had camped. Mount Rainier is just so massive that the conditions on one side of the mountain can be totally different than the other!

So after camping at Maple Creek last night and finishing the loop today, we both agree that the highlights of the Wonderland are:

• The east side, Summerland to Indian Bar

• The north side, Sunrise to Granite Creek

• The west side, South Fork of the Puyallap to Indian Henry Ranger Station

Anyway, we're so glad to be back on the PCT again where it's not so darn hilly! 

Wonderland Trail: Days 1,2, & 3

Written 8/23/14

Posted 8/25/14

We made it halfway around the Wonderland Trail so now we're seeing the west side of Mount Rainier and we've only got two more days till we pick up our resupply box in Ashford. The Wonderland has proved to be steeper and more rugged than the PCT has been since we've been in Washington. We're constantly either climbing up, stumbling down, or carefully navigating our way across a river every minute. We're almost the only hikers traveling counterclockwise, apparently it's the "wrong" way to do the Wonderland. I'm beginning to think it's because we're climbing up all of the gradual sides and coming down all of the really steep terrain so it's harder on your knees. 

Our days have been fairly inconsistent in difficulty because our campsite options were limited when we got the walk-in permit. The first full day was an 18 mile hike through some dense overgrown ferns where we ended up doing an extra mile due to a trail closure detour. The second day we had a 9 mile hike up through Spray Park with a huge 4,000 foot climb in the morning. Today we hiked 20 miles over two 2,000 foot ascents and descents. Even our difficult days on the Wonderland aren't so bad because we can still finish by 5pm without feeling overworked and exhausted. Our confidence is building and we're planning to attempt a 30 mile day when we get back on the PCT and into easier terrain.

On Day 1 of the Wonderland we had an amazing bear sighting! It was early afternoon and we were just past Mystic Lake walking through a meadow when I spotted a black bear and her two cubs about 200 feet off to the right of the trail. The mama was eating berries while the cubs were wrestling around and climbing trees. We stood there for about 15 minutes just watching until we decided to press on.

The mornings have been clear skies over Rainier but foggy in the lower elevations. In the afternoons we've been getting threatened by dark clouds and Rainier becomes completely hidden. Usually the clouds break in the evening so we get another view then. Unfortunately most of our campsites have been in dense trees but tonight we're staying at Klapatche Park which is the most beautiful campsite we've stayed at since we started the Wonderland. We have a gorgeous lake full of tad poles and a fantastic view of Rainier. I'm looking forward to the sunset tonight!

Today we got lucky twice with free food on the trail. We met a really nice guy who is cutting his trip short so he gave us a few of his extra treats from his MRE's. I've never had MRE's before but I'm really glad we've prepared our own dehydrated meals and not the army! We ate chocolate pudding, a tube of peanut butter, a cinnabun, some Italian breadsticks, a dense piece of bread, and a tube of cheddar cheese. Stuffing our faces while hiking is a new experience for us and I like it! We also met a really cool girl at camp tonight who gave us some freshly made popcorn! She said ever since she went hiking in Peru she started backpacking with popcorn because the Peruvian guides make it for their clients before dinner; that was such a treat! 

Today has been a very uplifting day which came just in time for us. It's becoming increasingly harder for us to stay motivated because we're getting so close to the end of the journey. Mike and I have been seriously debating if we should end the trip at Snoqualmie Pass instead of finishing the last 200 miles to Highway 20.  We decided to take a zero day in Seattle once we get to Snoqualmie Pass next Friday because we're in serious need of a rest day. That'll make 20 days without a rest day, which is the longest stretch we've gone so far. I think after we take a nice break and hang out with some Seattle friends we'll be reinvigorated to finish our trek!

From Goats to Wonderful: Mile 2332

Written 8/20/14

Posted 8/25/14

The past few days have all been incredible in different ways. Walking through Goat Rocks Wilderness was some of the most impressive and beautiful landscape that we've seen, White Pass was an exceptional rest day, and we've just stepped on to the Wonderland Trail in the foothills of Mount Rainier. 

Not long after went entered Goat Rocks we felt like we had transported back to the High Sierras. We emerged from the dark and mossy Washington woods into alpine fields bursting with wildflowers surrounded by steep rocky peaks. Unlike California, most of the climbs in Washington have ended without any great view, but the climbs in Goat Rocks ended on top of exposed mountain passes that made you feel like you were on top of the world. 

The pinnacle of our climb ended at the top of Snowy Peak which was a steep grueling climb which should've offered unparalleled views of the Goat Rocks Wilderness but unfortunately our clear day ended when we got there. The mountain ridges were engulfed in thick grey clouds which presented its own type of beauty but we would've preferred the unending views. We walked along an exposed knife ridge for 2 miles and the fog was so thick that it looked like you were descending into nothingness.

Despite our bad luck with the weather on top of Snowy Peak, we had clear skies on top of Cispus Pass early that day.

The day after Goat Rocks, we made a quick 15 mile scramble to get into our next "town" stop, White Pass, which was nothing more than a ski lodge and convenience store. Luckily we don't need much to keep us happy, so we decided to get a room at the lodge, sleep in a bed, and treat ourselves a bit. We stayed in a room the was outfitted for a ritzy skier so the rooms were a little nicer than we were used to but we decided to splurge as a post-engagement celebration. The ladies at the store were very sweet and hooked us up with lots of discounted snacks and drinks. This was obviously a small "town" with limited resources but it was only a half mile walk from the trail and it was nice to not have to hitch for a change.

After we left White Pass we did a quick 30 miles through some of the best berry pickin' terrain we've seen yet. Today we left the PCT to start our loop on the Wonderland Trail. We thought it would be tricky to get here since it was a roundabout hitch through a national park but to our surprise the first car we saw snagged us and took us directly to the ranger station. Also, much to our surprise, we got our permit figured out very quickly since apparently walking on to the Wonderland Trail is easier than we thought. So within an hour of getting off the PCT and after one of the rangers gave us a ride to the trailhead, we arrived with permit in hand on the Wonderland Trail. We even got a few miles in and are currently huddled in our tent at Sunrise Camp. We only hiked 3 miles but we've already had breathtaking views of Rainier which looks ENORMOUS!!!! 

We're really excited to make our way around this voluptuous volcano. We're going to have to get used to a few things that are different from the PCT like pit toilets at the campsites and noisy neighbors and crowded trails but it should be well worth it; this trail is supposed to be quite impressive. 

Since returning to the wet woods of the PNW, the mosquitos, that were starting to die down in California, have made an astonishing comeback. They've been driving us crazy and Mike was inspired to write his second poem, Ode to Mosquitos, to express his disdain. We hope you like it as much as Ode to Oatmeal! 

Ode to mosquitoes

O mosquitoes

Cruel, conniving creatures 

Nature's narcissistic nuisances

You unrelenting beasts

On my flesh do feast

Is there no place that you won't bite me?

From my ears to my toes

Arms, legs, and elbows

And even on my eyeballs to spite me

Your high whiny buzz

Leaves me weary because

It's like some form of sleep deprivation

The sound of your flight 

Near my head at night

Denies me any relaxation

For I fear if I sleep

Into my tent you'll creep

And leave me with itchy abrasions

It's not til I swat you

That silence ensues

And gives me total elation

It seems that spreading disease

And sucking my blood as you please

Are your only biological roles

I feel no pangs of guilt

For all that I've killed

Since you're breeding is out of control

You're as sure as the sun

Been with us since day one

I don't know if my sanity can hang on

I yearn for the day

When you fly away

And every last one of you are gone

Big volcanoes and big news: Mile 2269

Written 8/16/14

Posted 8/18/14

Washington is beginning to really live up to its reputation for awesome scenery. Starting around the time that we got to Trout Lake (mile 2237) this has become a phenomenal volcano viewing trail. We spent the last few days skirting around Mount Adams and now the monstrous Ranier is in view and getting larger by the mile.

We were lucky enough to stop in the small town of Trout Lake which is the biggest little town at the base of Mount Adams. We had some really friendly trail angles give us rides to and from the trailhead, one of which invited us to her massive weekly outdoor homemade pizza  party and took us mushroom picking! Unfortunately, we didn't find any mushrooms and we had to decline her offer for the pizza party because we needed to get some more miles in that evening. We did, however, have enough time to grab an awesome breakfast, complete with a Huckleberry-Mimosa!

I traded out my hiking shoes in Trout Lake because the sole was destroyed and the padding the heels was ruined. Mike's dad rush shipped me my old pair of trail runners and I returned my hiking shoes I REI. After we did our errands, drank a quick beer on the grocery store porch, and ate some ice cream, we caught a ride back to the trail and began our hike toward Adams. 

Last night we camped in a gorgeous alpine meadow with a view of Adams from our sleeping bags. We went to bed in a wet tent but awoke to rockfalls that sounded like thunderstorms and sunshine pouring over the mountain as the bad weather finally broke. We finally got everything dry for the first time since we got to Washington and it sounds like we'll have clear skies for the next week! This is good news since we're about to enter Goat Rocks which we hear has some of the best scenery on the PCT. I was in the Goat Rocks Wilderness two years ago after I had first moved to Washington but I wasn't able to get far because of all the snow. I'm really excited to see what I missed out on; hopefully there won't be as much snow this year! 

Other big news today: Mike surprised me by proposing while we were laying in bed watching the sunrise over Mount Adams this morning! He caught me totally by surprise and I was so stunned when he asked "will you marry me" that I was at a loss for words, but eventually I said yes of course! The ring is an incredibly gorgeous and unique family heirloom from his grandmother and he's been carrying it around ever since he left Pullman. He had it sealed in a piece of styrofoam which was duct taped to the inside of his bug net bag hidden well enough for me to not find it for three months. So as of today, August 16th, 2014, Mike and I are officially engaged!!!

Washington's amazing forest: Mile 2233

Written 8-14-14

Posted 8-18-14

After four days of hiking in Washington we still have yet to see the sun unhindered by clouds or fog. We've been waking up to the sounds of dripping water on our tent from all the moisture that collects on the pine trees. It feels like we're hiking in a cloud until about noon when it's warmed up enough to lift the fog away. I really enjoy hiking in the fog in the morning because everything is so quiet and peaceful but it can be a bit eerie when I can't see more than 100 feet in front of me because the fog is so thick.

Last night we set up camp next to Blue Lake and had one of the most windy nights yet. A group of three guys camped pretty close to us and each had a very interesting and unique single person tent design. They were all ultra-light backpackers, as are most of the northbounders who have made it to this point so early. I love looking at other thru-hiker tent systems because we've been lucky enough to try two totally different designs and seen the costs and benefits of both. Our tarp tent has been doing phenomenally well in Washington so far. We haven't had any downpours yet but still there's a lot of moisture in the air and the tarp hasn't collected any condensation because it ventilates so well.

We hiked through Indian Heaven Wilderness area yesterday and it was beautiful! We got a few glimpses of Mt. Adams in the afternoon when the clouds had lifted. 

We were hiking along a ridge that was lined with wild berries and we picked all kinds of different stuff but huckleberries are the most prominent. I love eating wild stuff that we find on the trail, especially when there seems to be a never ending supply of it. We've been lucky enough to be finding some blueberries, blackberries, salmon berries, and thimble berries. Today we found a few strawberries but they were about the size of a pea and not ripe yet. 

We've been seeing a lot of snakes when we walk through the brush, mostly small gardner snakes. When we saw the rattlesnake in Northern California I was frightened but not startled because I could hear it rattle and knew exactly where it was. The snakes in Washington are cruel and sneaky and like to try to scare me. I'm pretty sure they wait until I'm about a foot away and then slither out of the bushes right in front of my feet intentionally to see how high they can make me jump. One snake looked like a small stick in the trail so I was about to step over it and then it started to move. To make it worse, Mike came up behind me and made a slithering sound right behind my ear yesterday! I think I lost three years off my life because my heart skipped a few beats. Oh how I love hiking with a partner...

One of the things that you observe on the PCT is a variety of hiking cohorts. Lots of people set out alone but there are few who stay loners for the whole trail. There are also a lot of people who start with partners, whether it be a friend, significant other, or a family member. People end up traveling in packs of 1-5 people as hiker combinations change and recombine. Since we started this as a couple, we thought we would share some insight into what we've learned for any aspiring long distance hiking couples out there.

We'll start with the obvious, you're around each other 24/7 and there is really no break. It's like a very intense version of living together where you never get to go to work to spend time apart since your job is hiking. Of course this is going to lead to disagreements, squabbles, and fighting but oddly enough we find ourselves bickering at each other more during the town stops than when we're hiking. We think that it's easier to get along on the trail because our attention is focused on common goals and daily accomplishments. It's easy to get along when you're working together and supporting each other, plus you're very aware of the other person's needs because you have open communication. However, as soon as we get into town our communication breaks down and all consideration for the other person's wants and needs goes out the window while you're trying to satiate you're own indulgences as quickly as possible. For instance, the first thing Chappy likes to do is figure out lodging and set his pack down whereas all I want to do is go eat a ridiculous amount of food and drink a cold beer. We've had numerous fights on this very topic even though they're both simple, easy, fantastic options. Despite our anticipation of the town-fight, it reoccurs at every town stop. 

Another sure fire way to get on each other's nerves is how you communicate about your aches and pains. You're going to go through a fair amount of pain and suffering on a long backpacking trip and how you choose to relay that information to your partner is important. There's a fine line between complaining and simply making your discomforts known. I think that it's important your hiking partner is aware if you have some pains, but choose carefully how you word it and how frequently you express it. For example, instead of saying "my feet hurt," say something like "let's stop soon so I can take my shoes off." I think by complaining too much it can really sour the mood of the trip so neither of you are having fun anymore.

Another area of contention for us has been hiking pace and mentality. Some couples like us will stick together throughout the day while others will separate and hike at their own rates until the end of the day. When we first started, Chappy wanted to hike hard and fast for most of the day while I wanted to stop and take more pictures. Also, I hike uphill way slower than he does. This really isn't an easy thing for either of us to cope with because he's frustrated at the frequency of stops while it makes me feel like a slow burden because I can't keep up. Through some trial and error, it took us a while to figure out how long or fast we can hike before stopping to take a break so that we're both happy. We've also realized that it's nice to hike alone for at least a small portion of the day. Sometimes I'll leave our break spot before Chappy does so that I can hike ahead. He'll always end up catching me but at least we'll get to spend a small part of the day alone which I think is important.

I hope these few relationship observations have made it seem less daunting to those aspiring hiker couples because these problems aren't necessarily unique to the trail. Overall this trip has been an eye-opening experience about how we treat each other and how we are able to communicate well enough to solve our issues.