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!