Chilkoot Trail & WCT Hike Gear Options

Your Canadian/Alaskan trip and the northern part of the WCT are going to be rainy. Buy for that weather.

PACK> I like all of your 3 choices. Fit is the big deciding factor. It's gotta feel OK after hours on the trail, not just 1/2 hour in the shop. Arc Teryx may be the best quality but all are very good.

SLEEPING BAG> A good 15 F. down bag like Western Mountaineering or Feathered Friends will repay the higher price many times over since they are conservatively temp rated and of the very highest quality available. Wash it in Nikwax's new down treatment that gives the bag shell AND the down a good DWR treatment.

MATTRESS> I prefer a Thermarest ProLite to the Neo-Air (which I returned to REI)

TENT> Lots of choices here but for excellent rain protection and LIGHT weight here are my top two choices:

1. TarpTent Moment – 28 oz. single wall W/ nice vestibule and a VERY fast pitch. Very wind-worthy, I know I own one.

2. Big Agnes Sand Creek 1 – a new double wall and very light

BOOTS> I like Danner 453 GTX lined boots for the great quality but I'm trying the Merrill Moab mid Gore-Tex soon for the lighter weight. Be SURE to get them a size wider than your most comfortable street shoes. Buy from a supplier that has wider sized, not just a "medium" size. After a few days on the trail you feet will spread and if the boots are too narrow you'll get blisters between EVERY toe. (Don't ask me how I know, but I will say that it mainly hurts when you stop walking!)

Eric

BTW, I'd advise one of those great eVent rain parkas made in Vancouver. I forget the name of the company. And Cabela's sells PacLite rain suits at $99. for each piece – an unbeatable price.

Great, thanks a lot for the help. I've started pricing out the sleeping bags you mentioned already. 15 to 20 degrees is what you recommend? I really like the Big Agnes tent you listed as well. It's much better than the one I was looking at. What do you think of hiking poles, I'm trying to figure out whether I should use none, one or two?

Wont be rainy in late June or early July, but there will be snow on the pass and from Sheep Creek to at least Happy Camp. A tarp will be fine.

This is from July 17, 2008 over the pass at Crater Lake

and that was a light winter in terms of snow. Take a look at the rest of the images at http://www.flickr.com/photos/umnak/sets/72157606333419292/

Did I see you say in Flickr that doing the Chilkoot in 4 days is too long? Thanks for the photos by the way, they look great.

Rob – have a look at this thread. Regards,

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=20773&startat=20

Yes, I would say four camps is too long. The Park Service has a set limit of people who can walk the pass in a day, so we had to take a four camp walk instead of three — it could be done in two camps, but wouldn't be as much fun. We ended up going from Sheep Camp to Lake Lindemann in one day, we were supposed to stop at Happy Camp but it is a waste land. The full trail is about 43 miles.

I did the WCT in july last year. i had a golite litespeed 50L pack and my girlfriend had a gregory jade 35. I would suggest on the budget side to pick up a Kelty lightyear 40XP bag(I have it even though is is 1lb 12oz i got it for 40buck and I use it all the time)I would look at the Fly creek UL tent, if you want a cheaper one get a Tarptent from tarptent.com I did the juan de fuca (on the southside of Port Renfrew) with a down bag(Lightyear smelt really bad so iswitched it out) so dont let people in the stores tell you that it will get wet. my big four when I did it was Pack: lightspeed(90USD online), Tent for 2: kelty grand mesa(100USD online), bag: Lightyear 40XP(50USD online), pad: prolite short(can find others for under 80). and for ladders use collapsible trekking poles, after going up and down for 250 vertical feet you will be glad you can stash em somewhere on your pack.

Ive done both trail runners and mid GTX boots. the downside to the GTX is there are ALOT of mudpits everywhere and once your boot fills up and it wonèt drain. the shoes just let your feet dry out. heavy boots with thick soles slip alot on the boardwalk.(You talked to me on Sunday At Coast mountain by the way)

@Eric are you thinking Westcomb(One of the guys from Arcteryx who started his own company)there well over $250 and are hard to find in Canada. Arcteryx ones are the same price and easier to find.

Bob,

My solution to mudpits is light gaiters. Absolutely worth the small extra weight. I'd hate to have mud & water in my shoes all day. Bad for your feet after a few days.

Gaiters helps to stop the grit getting into your boots, but ive never seen a gaiter that turns your footwear into a rubber boot. I had a pair of OR flex gaiters that stayed in my pack for the 4 days on the trail then ditched them at our resupply. with trail Runners tho the dirty girl gaiters(or the similar type) are great at stopping the sand from making it way into your shoes(at least as long as it doesnt come through the mesh)

Thanks for the info Robert. I figured it was just a matter of time before you found me on here and thanks for letting me know about this site. It's been really helpful so far. Do you have any opinions on the GoLite Adrenaline 20 sleeping bag? I saw it received some award in 2008. It seems like a good price for what you get. I looked at the Feathered Friends bags Eric suggested and they look great I'm just worried about duty and shipping by the time I ship it up here.

I have the Ultra 20 and I love it. The adrenaline 40 when i tried it was awesome, the only thing is if your claustrophobic, their tight and have the half zip, which is sweet of your a side sleeper. You can find them online and get them with 20% off coupons if you sign up at backcountry.com, campsaver.com and moosejaw.com that would cover the duties and shipping and makes it more reasonable to by online.