On any expedition, gear is usually our third most common topic of conversation, running behind food (the clear favorite), and plans for our next journey. We complain about our gear. We brainstorm strange new ideas that probably wouldn't work. We love our gear. It's the thing that keeps us from sitting naked in the devils club in the rain.
Hig and I started doing long-distance off-trail wilderness travel years before we knew anyone else who was doing similar things. As a result, we developed most of our system with very little outside input, passing through some uncomfortable intermediate phases, such as huddling under krumholz spruce trees with no sleeping bag and traveling 800 miles with a Sevylor Trail Boat.
So we're pretty much self-taught. Which is probably for the best, since neither of us is very good at following advice. In planning the gear list for our Journey on the Wild Coast, we considered four major factors:
Weight: This becomes particularly important in the more remote areas of the trip, when we may have to carry 13 to 16 days worth of food at a stretch between resupply points.
Water: Torrential rains, rivers, and ocean fjords are major features of our route. Everything we carry and wear must be ready for a swim.
Brush: Our route is lacking trails, but replete with lush forests and thick bushwhacks. Our gear must be able to survive these shredding conditions, and where possible, be rugged enough to do so for nine months.
Record Keeping: Photography, writing, and communication are key parts of the environmental mission of this trip. Therefore, our arsenal of electronic gadgets is decidedly not "ultralight."
Member Exclusive
A Premium or Unlimited Membership* is required to view the rest of this article.
* A Basic Membership is required to view Member Q&A events
Home › Forums › EXPEDITION: Journey on the Wild Coast (Erin McKittrick and Bretwood Higman)