2016 PCT Thru – Start Date April 5

Hello! I don’t have a blog (yet…?), so I’ve posted my gear list here. Hope it doesn’t look to messy! Thanks for the feedback; please note the questions I have at the end!

Pack:

HMG Southwest, 3400 – 918g

Zimmerbuilt Shoulder Pocket – 29.2g

Liner for down and sleeping clothes only – Trash Compactor Bag – 68.8g

 

Shelter:

Hybrid Tent – BigSkyInternational Mirage 2P – 1016.4g (weight includes: cuben fly & body, mesh, two carbon fiber poles, a pole splint (never carried with aluminum, but I’ve never used carbon poles before and worried about splintering), 4 guylines with micro tensioners, tent footprint, 4x MSR groundhog stakes, 2x 7.7” Ti shepherd hook stakes (Zpacks), 2x 6.4”carbon fiber tube stakes (Zpacks), and a cuben tent stake sack.)

 

Sleeping System:

Bag – Down Hugger 900 #2 (rated 34 for comfort, 23 lower limit) – 695.2g

Pad – Neoair X-Lite, modified to 63”/58” length – 363.3g

Pillow – Sea-to-Summit Aeros – 80.4g

Sleep-ONLY clothes (unless emergency dictates otherwise):

Leggings – Icebreaker Anatomica 150 merino – 145.6

Long Sleeve – Icebreaker Tech T Lite 150 merino – 167.4

Down Socks – Goosefeet Gear +50% down – 66g

Overbooties + stuff sack – Goosefeet Gear – 67g (not specifically for sleeping, but will always be worn over down socks as camp shoes and for nighly calls of nature, so included here)

Beanie – Smartwool Training Beanie – 44.8

 

Hydration:

3L Hoser & Bladder and Vavle – Platypus – 116.3g (planning to add a FastFill adapter, which will add a few more grams)

1L Ultralite Nalgene – 111.1g

2L Bladder – Evernew – 42.6g

1L Bladder – Platypus – 35.8g

Steripen Classic 3 w/ 3x Lithium Batteries – 144.2g

 

Kitchen:

900ml Ti Pot (Evernew) – 105.6g

Sidewinder windscreen & Tyvek sleeve – 37.9g

Starlyte Alcohol Burner – 16g

Mesh Sack for Pot & contents – 18.5g

[Food Cozy – I have a 50.4g “The Feed Bag” by Hamhock that I’ve used on shorter trips with store-bought meals, and also a 39.5g cozy from Pack-it-Gourmet that I’ve never used. Not sure which I’ll bring, if either (still trying to figure out my diet/cooking strategy), but for my totals I’ve used the heavier Hamhock Cozy.]

Fuel Bottle (empty) – 21g

Long Handled Bamboo Spoon – 11.8g

Spoon Sack – 2.8g

Folding Bowl – Fossil Bowlz – 39.3g

400ml Ti Cup (Evernew) – 50.2g

Scrubber (Lunatec) – 6.9g

Lighter – a mini bic weighs 11.4g, but I think I’m going to take a regular bic. Full weight unknown at the moment.

 

Navigation:

Compass – Suunto M3 – 46.1g

Halfmile Maps – weight not included; will know once I have better sense of where I’m picking up resupply boxes

Not really navigation, but FYI, I am carrying BD Cork Trekking Poles.

 

Clothing:

Boxer Brief – Icebreaker merino 150 – 110g for two pairs

Long-Sleeve Half Zip – Kuiu merino 145 – 224.6g

Pants – waiting on shipment of Eco Mesh Rail Riders, but not shipping for another two weeks. If delayed, I have Kuhl pants that weigh about 400g. I have used this higher number for my totals, but it should drop when I get my RR.

Down Jacket – Ghost Whisperer – 221.5g

[Cap 4 Fleece Hoodie Zip Neck – 241.9g – Needed?]

Windshirt– Houdini – 85g

Windpants – Houdini – 89.2g

Rain Jacket – Patagonia M10 – 232.1

Rain Kilt – Zpacks cuben – 53.8

Buff – Icebreaker merino 135 – 40.1g

Sun Booney – 103.5g (I have a visor that weighs 49.8, but I assume I want total head coverage for the desert).

Glove Liner – Kuiu merino 210 – 39.7g

Rain Mitts – MLD 3-layer eVent – 72.7g (plus a few grams when I get around to seam sealing them)

Paracord Belt – 197.7g (heavy, and I think the rail riders come with a built-in belt, so might dump this, but since I no longer carry paracord, I liked the idea of having it on my belt just-in-case.)

Darn Tough – ¼ cushion – 129g for two pairs

 

Shoes, to start:

Forerunner EVO – Patagonia – 537.8g

Roc-Lite 295 – Innov-8 – 538.7g

Green Superfeet – 102.9g

 

Light:

Zebralight H52w w/ headstrap & 1 AA Lithium – 81.1g

Zebralight H502w L2 flood & 1 AA Lithium, no headstrap (will attach to belt for night hiking) – 54.5g

Photon w/ clip – 14g

LUCI Inflatable Solar Light – 102.8g

Extra 4x AA batteries in Ziplock – 61.7g

Comment: yes, that’s a lot of light, but I guess I’m afraid of the dark. If I don’t end up hiking at night much after the desert, I’ll likely send the Zebralight Flood home.

 

Toiletries:

TOOB brush with full tooth powder – 38g (not sure how many days a full TOOB of powder lasts…)

Floss – unwaxed, 54.6 yds – 17.8g

SPF Lip Balm – 0.15oz – 10.5g

Sunstick SPF 33 – Joshua Tree 0.35oz – 28.8g

Hand Sanitizer (I can carry 30ml for 39g, or 60ml for 67g – what do y’all suggest? How quickly will I go through the stuff out there?)

Deuce of Spades – 23.7g

Dri-Lite Towel w/ Carabiner for attachment to belt – 22.5g (washcloth size)

Comb – 5.2g

 

Snow!

Kahtoola Microspikes + stuff sack – 348g

Black Diamond Whippet – Haven’t weighed it

 

Stuff Sacks:

750ci Roll Top Blast, for food- Zpacks cuben – 44.4g

OPSAK, 12×20, for food – 43.3g

225ci Roll Top – HMG cuben – 23.2g

8” x 10” small stuff sack – HMG cuben – 7.5g

4” x 6” nano stuff sack – HMG cuben – 3.3g

Comment: Not sure exactly how I’m packing yet (except where I have noted the particular use of a stuff sack above), but will likely use some combination of what I’ve listed above. I have a bunch of other heavier sacks; if I use will post modifications.

 

Total Weight (not including snow items, trekking poles, pants, belt, Kuiu shirt, one pair DT socks, one pair boxers): 6478.4g = 14.3 lbs

Not Included:

First Aid & Repair – still working on it; will post here when complete

iPhone 6 (still deciding whether to buy a battery case, or a bigger external battery. Other than iPhone, I don’t have anything to charge)

Knife

Questions:

I need to add two tent stakes – 4 for corners, 4 four guylines, and two for vestibules = 10, and I have 8. Any suggestions as to whether I should add two more carbon fiber tube stakes (6.1g ea.), or shepherds hook (7.5g ea.)? Also, any suggestions as to which stakes go where? I was thinking the heavy Groundhog at the corners, but somebody suggested that the guyline stakeouts should be the sturdiest.

I love my Downhugger, but I see a lot of people with 15 rated bags. Do I need a liner? Or will I be OK given that I sleep in merino base layers?

Is 7 liters of water carrying capacity adequate? What are longest stretches – read somewhere that one/more places in Oregon can be as waterless as desert?

Towel – I want to bring a camp towel to wipe the condensation off of my tent should any appear, and then I guess for whatever other uses one finds for a towel. I usually don’t bring one, but this is my first time with a single wall tent (not usually an option on the East Coast), so I’m wondering if you have any suggestions as to type of towel, size, brand, etc. – keeping in mind that its primary purpose is to wipe away all condensation on inside of tent.

I’ve been growing my hair out for about two years now. Any tips for long hair in the desert? How will having long hair affect my headwear choices?

How much TP should I carry at one time?

DEET – I have 100% Ben’s and Coleman’s, but I also bought a thing of Sawyer’s extended release Picaridin, reading somewhere that it works just as good if not better. Thoughts?

Purell – 30ml or 60ml? Any idea of how fast I’ll go through it? Usually use it after bathroom and before eating.

Is the whistle on my HMG pack OK for emergency use, or should I bring my Fox 40?

Is my 145 merino enough for bug protection or will I need to wear my wind shirt through bug country? Will I be fine wearing my 145 EVERY DAY, or should I bring an extra shirt?

I’ve included the weight of the cap4 in my total because I’m leaving on the earlier side and worried about being cold. Is it necessary, or will LS merino and down jacket be adequate?

Where should I send/buy new Green Superfeet (like, at what resupply location – when will they wear out, approximately?)

Cold Feet – this one has me worried, as I’ve never hiked in summer snows before. Where I’m from, snow means winter, and winter means boots and warm socks. For the cold/snowy sections of the PCT, how do I keep my feet warm with just trail runners and 1/4 cushion DT socks? Should I bring some of the warmer DT socks that I have (I’m thinking NO, as they’ll just take longer to dry out)? If not, what else can I do – some kind of VBL? Thanks!

John