As it turns out, you don’t need very many things to survive outside for a few months. Food and water will be the heaviest things I carry during my PCT hike, so I’ve done my best to minimize my “base weight” (the weight of all my gear that is not consumable) so I can be more comfortable when I load up on calories and liquid.
To comply with the alcohol stove restrictions in Southern California, I’ll be attempting to go without a stove for the first 700 miles. Depending on how my no-cook food works for the first few sections of the trail, I will decide whether to mail a canister stove to Kennedy Meadows (the southern gateway to the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range about 700 miles north of the Mexico-US border). At Kennedy Meadows I will certainly be receiving my bear canister and might also be adding a light fleece layer and an ice axe depending on snow levels. I will also be exchanging the Ridgerest for a Neoair X-lite short sleeping pad for added warmth and a smaller pack volume.
I expect pieces of gear on this list to change as I make my way north, but most of the items included have served me well on past trips including a John Muir Trail hike in 2011.
Piece of Gear | Brand/Model | Weight (oz) | |
Quilt + DrySack | MYOG thru-hiker kit | 23.3 | |
Sleeping Pad | Thermarest Ridgerest Short | 9 | |
Backpack | Mountain Laurel Designs Exodus | 23 | |
Tent | Tarptent Notch | 26 | |
Groundcloth | Tyvek | 3 | |
Dromedary Bag | MSR Dromlite 6L | 5.7 | |
Water Bottles | Gatorade 32oz x 2 | 2.5 | |
Puffy | Arcteryx Atom LT Hoody | 13 | |
Rain Jacket | Patagonia Torrentshell Plus | 11.9 | |
Hat | NorthFace Windstopper | 3 | |
Wind Shirt | GoLite | 3 | |
Extra Socks | Injinji toe socks | 2 | |
First Aid | Custom Kit | 4 | |
Hygeine | Toothbrush etc. | 3 | |
Recepticle/Utensil | Peanutbutter jar, spoon | 4 | |
Water Treatment | Sawyer Squeeze System | 3 | |
Phone/Wallet | iPhone 5 + Wallet in 2L DrySack | 7 | |
Food Bag | 20L Drysack | 1.8 | |
Solar Charger | SuntacticsS5 | 6 | |
Base Weight (lbs) | 9.6375 |