Let’s Talk About Gear, Baby
The time has come, 9 days until I start my trek from Mexico to Canada, and I just now finished gathering up all my gear…Or at least I hope. My gear list is finally complete, featuring a respectable 11 pound base weight for the vast majority of the trail and without completely shattering the bank. So without further ado, I present to you my PCT gear list that nobody actually cares about besides me.
Big 3
Nemo Hornet 1p– Tiny tent for a tiny guy
Enlightened Equipment Revelation 20 Degrees– Purple and red, comfy and stylish
Thermarest Neo-Air Xlite Short– Living in luxury with an inflatable pad this year
Deuter Pace 36L– Hip straps cut off for increased room for activities
Clothing
Nike Synthetic Short Sleeve- Yellow is my favorite color
Brooks Running Shorts- Shows just enough quad
Ex-Officio Underwear (x2)- Still can’t find the right length underwear
Injinji Micro Crew (x2)- Blisters between your toes? Not anymore
Darn Tough Micro Crew (x2)- Let’s be honest, these socks are as tough as they get
Brooks Rain/Wind Jacket– Or laundry shirt
Normal West Long Sleeve Soccer Jersey- Shout out to high school soccer for supplying this ultralight top!
Dollar General Women’s Leggings- Only gear to go on both the AT and PCT
Buff– Hats are bulky
Salomon Speedcross– Various models and types
Granite Gear Stuff Sack- Looks good and feels good
Food and Water
Ursack Bear Bag– I don’t want to hang a bear bag but I want to sleep at night
Peanut Butter Jar- Mmmmm cold mashed potatos
Plastic Fork Spoon Knife Thing- Grandma came in clutch finding this sweet utensil at her house
Sawyer Squeeze- The Sawyer Mini makes Giardia Roulette worth it
Smart Water Bottle- For filtering
2L Platypus Bottle (x2)- So much room for H20
First Aid and Toiletries
Duct Tape- Wrapped around my peanut butter jar
Bandaids- Can’t go wrong with these
Advil- Vitamin I
Benadryl- For all forms of itchies
Toothbrush- No I didn’t cut off the handle
Toothpaste- No I didn’t freeze dry my toothpaste
Aquaphor- CHAFING
Burt’s Bee Pomegranate Lip Balm- There’s nothing like it
Electronics
Black Diamond Headlamp- I’m not sure what kind it is but it’s bright
Samsung Galaxy S6- Camera, GPS, phone, internet device, ultralight dream
Samsung Galaxy S5- I got two phones…
External Battery- I forgot the name but it’s great
Chargers- Gotta keep these devices charged
Ear Buds- Cheap Walgreens variety
Nail Clippers- Perhaps my most important piece of gear
Watch- I can’t just ditch time altogether like some hikers
Miscellaneous
BIC Lighter- For fire starting needs
Sunglasses- For sun blocking needs
Umbrella- For weather blocking needs
Passport, Permits, and Money- To bail me out of any situation I get myself in
Sierra gear like my REI Puffy, my Bearvault 450, Kathoola Microspikes, and my Black Diamond Whippet Ice Axe are not included, mainly because the additional weight is depressing to record. And of course besides my puffy, I probably won’t be carrying any of this outside of the Sierra.
So this should be my final post from Illinois for quite sometime. I hope to update frequently as I hike, through here and my Instagram. Updates should start rolling in as soon as I get to California! Can’t wait to take everybody along on this trek!
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