PCT Gear List

It's important for every thru hiker to have a thorough understanding of what each piece of gear on their back weighs. It allows me to choose which items I can leave behind and which items I might be able to shave off some extra ounces. This gear has been accumulated over the previous two years. Many of these items were graciously donated by the wonderful folks over at Cascade Designs.

The "base weight" of a pack is considered to be all gear except food, fuel, water, and the gear that you're wearing. The weight of my trekking poles (30 ounces) and my bear vault (41 ounces) were also not included in this list. The total weight included the chart below is 261.27 ounces, or 16.3 pounds. Some of these items are group gear that Mike and I will be dividing, so my total base pack weight will be roughly 222.3 ounces, or 13.9 pounds!!! Here are my categories, arranged in no particular order...

 

Backpack
Item	Weight (oz.)
ULA Catalyst 75L backpack	39
Pack rain cover	3
Total	42
Sleeping
Item	Weight (oz.)
Feathered Friends Lark Ultra-light down sleeping bag, 10 degrees	32
Z-lite sleeping pad, regular length	14
Ray-way two person tarp tent	39
MSR Carbon Fiber tent stakes X12	2
Earplugs	0.05
Black Diamond Gizmo headlamp	2
Total	89.05
Cooking
Item	Weight (oz.)
MSR Bowl	2
Spoon	0.5
Reactor stove	5.2
Reactor pot (1.5L pot & lid)	9.2
Small blue pack towel	0.05
Lighter	0.6
Pocket knife	0.8
Total	18.35
Water Filtration
Item	Weight (oz.)
Platypus Gravityworks 2.0L water filter	7
Bag to keep the water filter kit in	1
Bottles for water (4 Gatorade bottles)	5
Chlorine tablets (backup for water filter)	0.05
Total	13.05
Navigation & Travel
Item	Weight (oz.)
Halfmile maps X10 pages	1.5
Yogi's handbook X5 pages	0.5
Compass	0.2
Halfmile App	0
2 credit cards & an ID	0.5
Total	2.7
Electronics
Item	Weight (oz.)
Camera	6
Camera charger	2
Extra camera batteries	2
Phone (iPhone 4 in LifeProof case)	5.5
Phone charger	1.4
Bag for electronics	1
Total	17.9
Hygiene & First Aid
Item	Weight (oz.)
Toothbrush	2
Comb	0.2
Bandana/hankie	1
DIVA Cup	0.5
Package of birth control	0.3
Toothpaste	1
Hand sanitzer	1
TP	0.01
Trowel	3
Nail clippers	0.5
Chapstick	0.2
Ibuprofen & aleeve	0.01
Duct tape	1
Sunscreen	4
Moleskin	0.5
Baggie to keep everything in	1
Total	16.22
Clothes
Item	Weight (oz.)
Sunglasses	1
Beanie	1
Feathered Friends Helios down coat & stuff sack	13.5
Gloves	2
Extra socks (Darn tuff low rise lavendar)	1
Extra camp shoes (Sanooks)	6.5
Mosquito head net	1
Rain coat (Patagonia Goretex pro jacket)	16
Extra undies (Exofficio)	1
Thermal underwear bottoms	5.5
Long sleeve fleece layer (Blue arc'teryx)	7
Extra shirt (blue REI shirt)	4
Shorts (Underarmour running shorts)	2.5
Total	62
What I'm wearing (not included in total weight)
Item	Weight (oz.)
Synthetic shirt (long sleeve blue addidas)	5
Shoes (trail runners)	22
Hiking pants (with zip-off legs)	12.5
Socks	1
Undies (Exofficio)	1
Bra (Blue underarmour)	2
Total	43.5

Last week as a productive member of society!

So it's finally my last Monday of work. As I walked into work today, still tired and not entirely observant of my surroundings, I realized that this will be one of the last times I have to dodge bicycles flying past me on the Burke-Gilman trail. Over the course of my two year residence in Seattle, I've only had two major incidents on the Burke. I consider myself one of the lucky ones.

At work today I spent the morning perusing the usual weather forecast pages, trip reports, some of my favorite PCT blogs, and the Virgin River flow rates. I'm getting consumed by the idea that we'll be leaving soon. I can't seem to focus on much of anything except packing and preparing. Even when hanging out with my friends for some of the last times, my mind still wanders to logistics of the impending trip.

There is not much left to do to prepare for the thru hike. We've made our own tarp tent, dehydrated all of our food, planned our hiking schedule, calculated how many resupply packages we will need (eight, in case you're curious), secured our permits, and finished our gear lists. Despite being so prepared, I feel incredibly nervous for this life changing adventure.


You may not have realized that we're taking a mini-road trip prior to starting the hike on the PCT. We'll be climbing up some volcanoes in Washington and California, canyoneering in some favorite Utah spots, whitewater rafting in Westwater canyon, and heading back home to Cincinnati for a wedding. We'll start hiking the PCT in mid-June near Lake Isabella in central California.

I'm hoping to keep this blog updated once or twice a week until we're finished with our adventures in early October. I've downloaded the app for Blogger so I'll be able to update it on my phone. Stay posted!

On the agenda for this week:

• Pack all of belongings into car
• Say goodbye to everyone
• Move out of apartment
• Wrap up things at work
• Go to Molly Moons one last time