hi all.
i'm off for a 19 day thru-hike of the colorado trail shortly, and as always, i'm considering options for gear. specifically, i wondered about raingear and a stove.
1. raingear: since it's more/most likely just going to be afternoon thunderstorms, i thought just going with a silnylon poncho would be adequate. this way i can use it as rain gear and pack cover. i hiked in a poncho on the pct in 2004 through the unseasonable rain in oregon, and didn't enjoy it much, but that was more because it was day after day of rain, not more ephemeral thunderstorms. i didn't love using trekking poles in a poncho either. i won't be using it as a shelter (i'm too happy with my contrail). the alternative is using a rainjacket and packfly (i don't like using a packliner and having the whole pack get soaked in the rain). any thoughts?
2. stove: we will be doing 6, 5, and two 4 day resupplies. i'm tempted to bring along my brunton crux stove and a 110 gm isobutane canister (and 0.9L evernew pot) to do the usual liptons cooking. i definitely loved being able to safely cook in my tarptent squall vestibule on the pct in the rain, and with a great simmer, you can get lots of meals even from a small canister. if we weren't getting resupplied so often, i'm sure it would be the clear winner. but since we are, i'm toying with using a catcan alcohol stove instead. any thoughts on this? i haven't ever used a alcohol stove on a trip, but plan to start at least on long weekend style trips in good weather. i don't think i want to be cooking with a catcan stove in the vestibule of the contrail though!
so i think i know what my plan is, but wanted to see if anyone had any opinions, especially folks who have hiked the ct.
thanks!
