Here’s the gigantic list of all the things I’ll be carrying on my back or on my body when I start the PCT in 14 days! I’ve organized it as best I can by genre, but it all kinda muddles together. I can’t give detailed reviews on any new pieces yet as I’ve only tested that gear on weekend trips. However, I’m bringing several things I used on the AT. Here’s hoping it all works well for the long haul!
Backpack
The pack I used on the AT was a Gregory Deva 70l. I wanted to bring that one with me again this time around, but it survived the whole AT and 10 years of use afterward. He deserved to retire. This Gregory Maven is slightly different, but I am really liking it!
Tent
This is the tent whose rain fly was bitten by hail earlier this month. Dumptruck and I will be sharing this tent. If you are looking for a backpacker tent, I genuinely recommend always “sizing up.” Meaning, if you’re hiking alone I’d say get a 2 person tent. If it’s 2 people, get a 3 person tent. Dumptruck and I potentially may end up taking our old Big Agnes Copper Spur 3P that we had on the AT – we haven’t 100% decided yet!
Food & Water Related Gear
This set (once we removed the extra set of bowls), nests perfectly with our fuel and stove, so it all fits together nicely!
This stove has worked great so far the times we’ve tested it!
This food bag comes highly recommended from our buddy Grim who hiked the PCT several years ago. It is extremely tear/puncture resistant, which protects food from critters. We also got several odor-proofing liner bags from Loksak.
Lots of folks use charcoal filter systems for treating water. I used aquamira the whole AT, and I personally really like it. Dumptruck is going to be using a Sawyer Squeeze instead, so we’ll get to compare!
This water bladder is designed to fit perfectly into my backpack. It has worked great so far! I also have a simple 1L nalgene. In addition, I am bringing a supplemental 2L Platypus Bladder to keep rolled up in my backpack, just in case we ever have a a very long distance between water resupply.
Sleep System
The first time I tested this quilt, I set it up on my front porch on a 30 degree night, and immediately fell asleep. This is my first time using a quilt instead of a sleeping bag. I decided on the change due to saving space and weight, and also, it’s awesome to not feel quite as much like I’m writhing around inside of an ineffectual boa constrictor. The quilt is basically just like a sleeping bag that’s missing the back third, but still has an enclosed toe box.
I’m bringing the same sleeping bag liner that I had on the AT, so I’m not sure they even make this one anymore. But it works great! On colder nights I get in it, but on warmer nights I put my sleeping pad inside the liner and sleep on top of it, kind of like a fitted sheet.
This might be a terrible mistake, given the potential for popping, but I’m bringing my trusty, ten year old inflatable sleeping pad. It still works great and I love it, so it seemed silly to waste money on buying a new one. I’m bringing a repair kit just in case!
There is an accompanying inflatable pillow that goes with this pillowcase, but I didn’t buy that. I bought the pillowcase so I can stuff my puffy down jacket into it as a pillow. A lot of down jackets have an interior pocket that allows them to fold into themselves to make a little pillow, but alas, my puffy jacket doesn’t have one. So, I got this pillowcase as a work around. It’s a great texture, and holds my puffy jacket inside of it perfectly!
As much as I like to think of myself as a hardy outdoorsman, if someone near me shifts in their sleeping bag, my brain rockets me into consciousness. This is annoying. These ear plugs fix it. Loop makes a bunch of amazing reusable, easily washable earplugs, but these ones I’ve found are best for sleeping. I also added the “Mute” accessory, which is a little ring that fits into the outer ring to muffle even more sound. They come with a cheeky little carrying case and they are extremely comfortable for me!
Things for Walking
I’m finally making the switch from hiking boots to trail runners. The primary motivations are: they dry out faster, they take way less time to break in, and they’re way lighter. The downside is that they wear down more quickly. A lot of folks like the Hoka Speedgoats, but I really liked these Torrent-2’s. I did add Walk Hero insoles to prevent Plantar Fasciitis (I had it last year, here’s hoping it stays away!). I was able to snag 3 pairs of these while they were on sale, so I will switch them out every 2 months (mailed out to me from my kind family).
There’s a lot of the PCT where these spikes will be totally unnecessary, but they come highly recommended for snowy mountain passes. They stretch over the bottom of my shoes and give me infinitely more traction on slippery, icy terrain.
These are the exact poles I had for the AT. The cork is beautifully molded to my hands now, and I did spend one evening macrame-ing them for no other reason than a hiking buddy had some yellow twine and I needed to do something with my hands. I got these poles on sale at REI in 2012, and I didn’t meet anyone else on the AT with Komperdell poles. I don’t know if they’re considered “off-brand,” but I can tell you one thing: nearly every single other hiker I met had trouble with their fancy expensive poles breaking, bending, losing tips, or cracking. These poles made it all the way from Georgia to Maine with their original metal tips, didn’t bend or crack or break or have any trouble whatsoever. There were several times I accidentally get the pole stuck in the crack of a rock, and they never bent. The handles are cork, which were really comfortable and didn’t give my hands any blisters. The pop-lock mechanism for collapsing the poles is great, and the poles never collapsed on themselves once locked into place. I don’t know if Komperdell poles are all this awesome, but I can tell you that mine are fantastic. I did finally get replacement tips!
These are my camp shoes. They are hideous, supremely dorky, and I love them. Most hikers use flip-flops for camp shoes (to wear at the end of the day to air your feet out). I found on the AT that, because I have the grace of a newborn baby giraffe, I often slipped and stabbed my feet on sticks and rocks when walking around on uneven ground in flip flops. These fit snugly to my feet and I feel a lot more secure and nimble. Luckily, I have no shame.
Head/Face things
Listen, these were unbelievably cheap. I read multiple accounts from folks on the PCT who said that glacier glasses (sunglasses with side-flaps) were an absolute necessity. There are infinite beautiful, well-made, excellent glacier glasses – and they’re all 100’s of dollars. I had one fancy pair of sunglases when I lived in NYC, and they lasted THREE DAYS before I lost them. I vowed never to spend more than $30 on a pair of sunglasses EVER AGAIN. So, to honor my past self, I got these for $22 and they are cheap in every way imaginable. But they’re comfortable, accomplish the goal, and make me look like a Mad Max extra reject. So, I say, it’s a win.
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This is SO NECESSARY. There will be more mosquitos than air molecules, and I don’t know if you’ve ever gotten a bug in your eye, in your ears or up your nose, but nothing makes me want to quit hiking more. So, cue the dork net.
Yes, this hat is for children. Yes, it fits my head. THERE ARE SPACESHIPS ON IT AND IT RULES.
This is like a sleeping bag for my head. It is so warm and cozy. I have slept with it on, and the under-chin clip keeps it perfectly in place. It is wonderful, and also makes me feel like I’m on some kind of cool expedition in Svalbard.
This is a very small, very light headlamp. It works great. No complaints so far.
Doing My Business
This is SO RAD. Folks who need to wipe after they pee have a couple of choices. You can use toilet paper, but you then have to pack it out and carry it with you until the next town you encounter. You can use a bandana and hang it on the outside of your pack in the sun to sterilize. Or, you can use a Kula Cloth. First of all, Kula is a really awesome company, and I’d definitely recommend buying directly from them. Basically, you use the antimicrobial, super absorbent black side to wipe, then you can either hang it black-side out on your pack to sterilize in the sun, or, if it may be a while until you’re out of tree cover, it snaps up folded in half (black side in) to keep it from getting itself or anything else dirty. It can be used multiple times before needing to be washed. This is ONLY FOR PEE WIPING. Using it for all wiping would be horrifying and profoundly unsanitary. I, along with all other ethical hikers, use toilet paper for wiping after #2, and then yes, pack out the used TP in a ziploc bag. It’s gross, but otherwise you have a wilderness pock-marked with TP-filled catholes, which is arguably MORE gross.
When you gotta dig a cathole, it should be at least 6 inches deep. This trowel is super light weight, and works great!
Clothing
By the time we discovered these absolutely DREAMY hiking pants, that Dumptruck and I both desperately wanted/needed once we tried them on, only this color was left available in both of our sizes. I’m not complaining, I think the color combo is SO COOL, but because it’s so bright, and because we match, we do look just a little bit like we’re about to break into a tumbling routine. It’s worth it – the texture of these pants is so comfortable, airy, and durable. They roll up very easily to make long shorts. I love them.
This is a simple wool base layer that’s surprisingly not itchy.
These are comfy and warm without being too warm. They’re great for almost all weather, hot or chilly. I did buy all the ones with adorable animals on them.
I got these for two reasons: to wear during freezing cold snowmelt river crossings, and if it’s very cold/wet outside. These are like witchcraft. They don’t feel like neoprene, in fact they just feel like thick regular socks. But they keep my feet SUPER WARM when I’m in wet conditions. I haven’t been able to test them in snowmelt rivers yet, but I’ll get to very, very soon.
It’s a hiking shirt!
Senchi is a small gear company that has perfected the ultralight fleece mid-layer. They only do a few gear drops a year because everything is handmade in the USA by a very small Portland Oregon company. This fleece has no right to be as warm as it is for it being as light as a breath of air. I can’t recommend Senchi Designs enough.
Warm, very compactable and lightweight! This jacket works great as a top layer!
I haven’t yet had a chance to fully test this rain jacket in a downpour while hiking, but it seems functional so far! Honestly ALL rain jackets eventually either leak or you get sweaty enough underneath them that you’re wet anyway. But it’s extremely worth it for hiking in mixed/cold conditions as a water layer.
Dumptruck has been doing a lot of research on clothing from other PCT hikers, and apparently having a lightweight wind breaker is a must. There are sections that can be extremely windy, but not wet, so a rain jacket is too heavy and overkill, but not having a windbreaker makes you freezing cold. This windbreaker works for me, especially since I only wear it over my base long sleeve. It doesn’t feel great against skin, as it can get clammy. But with long sleeves underneath it works well.
Whistle, who has done hiking out West, has said that sun gloves are extremely helpful. Getting sunburned hands, especially while hiking with poles, really sucks. These gloves are technically marketed for mountain biking, but they work excellently for hiking with poles. Also there’s dinos on them, so there’s that. The thumb is made of terrycloth for wiping away sweat!
If you followed my AT journey, you’ll know I got frostbite in my hands during a blizzard in the Smoky Mountains. Not this time!
Bits n’ Bobs
Boredom on long-distance hiking trips is REAL. So I always bring a couple of things to entertain myself in the evening. The deck of cards is multi-functional, as the container is also where I keep my ID and necessary cards. I outfitted an Altoids mini tin with some fabric to reduce rattle-sounds, and included a set of five d6’s for Yahtzee. If you are a discerning type of nerd you might also notice the full mini dice set. Little Brother is a DM and you bet your bottom that we’ll be playing D&D at camp at night. The tiny notebook and tiny pen are waterproof.
I got these several years ago, and they aren’t made anymore. In fact, it’s nearly impossible to find wired waterproof headphones with variable sized in-ear attachments. Everyone’s obsessed with wireless headphones now, which is great n’ all, until you’re hiking in the woods and have no access to a charger for 10 days at a time. Almost all earbuds IMMEDIATELY fall out of my ears, or they’re the kind that cram into my ear-holes and feel like there’s tiny Arnold Swarzeneggers trying to bust out my ear canals. These fit perfectly, and are gentle and comfortable. I have no idea what I’ll do if they break. Probably cry.
I’ve had this knife for over 10 years. I spray-painted the black handle neon orange so it’s easier to find if I accidentally drop it into foliage. I love this knife. Toasty recently sharpened it for me!
I also have a first aid kit, my phone, hand sanitizer, and my PCT permit. I am also bringing my 2012 iPod, but I’m going to make a whole separate post about the sorcery of that tiny bit of old technology.
If you read this whole thing, I’m exteremely impressed. It took me WAY LONGER than I was expecting to write it. Phew!
Love,
Thresher
Southbound Enby 
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