See my updated list, here. This is a list of the gear I carried on the Pacific Crest Trail. What I actually carried from day to day varied, depending on how close I was to supply, where I was along the trail, and so on. I come up with a total base pack weight of about 11 pounds 12 oz. That is what was on my back minus food and water. When I was carrying one liter of water and three days worth of food (2 lbs a day for me) my pack weighed about 19 pounds, 12 ounces, “average.” On my heaviest carry between Kennedy Meadows and Vermillion Valley Resort, I started out with about 18 pounds of food and about three pounds of extra gear, like bear canister and an ice axe. That made my heaviest pack about 32 pounds.If you notice any errors, please let me know. |
Item |
Brand Name |
Comment |
Oz. |
The “Big Four” |
Backpack |
Golite Pinnacle |
2008 Model |
25.0 |
Shelter/Stakes |
Six Moon Designs Wild Oasis |
Includes 2 oz of stakes |
15.0 |
Sleeping Bag |
Marmot Hydrogen |
Older model |
23.0 |
Sleeping Pad |
Ridgerest (Trimmed) |
Bomber, also doubles as pack frame |
14.0 |
Subtotal: 4 lbs 13 ozs |
Clothing in Pack |
Thermal Bottom |
Patagonia Midweight Capilene |
Part of my sleep system |
7.0 |
Jacket |
Montbell Alpine Light Down Jacket |
Also part of my sleep system |
16.0 |
Rain Shell |
Outdoor Research Zealot |
Replaces my old Red Ledge Thunderlight |
7.7 |
Sleeping Socks |
Possum Wool |
Light, warm, saved for sleeping only |
2.0 |
Underwear |
Under Armour Boxerjock |
Popular hiker choice |
4.8 |
Socks |
Darn Tough, 1/4 Sock, Mesh |
|
1.4 |
Warm Hat |
Turtle Fur |
Micro Fur Balaclava |
1.1 |
Gloves |
Possum Blend Gloves |
Light and warm but abrade easily |
1.5 |
Subtotal: 2 lbs 9.5 ozs |
Cooking Items |
Stove/Pot/Stand |
Caldera Keg |
Efficient, compact |
6.3 |
Fuel |
HEET, Denatured, Rubbing (alcohols) |
Usually Heet, ave. weight used |
5.0 |
Utensils |
Spoons (2) |
“Carry-Out” style |
.2 |
Ignition |
Mini Bics (2) |
No “survival toys” needed. |
1.0 |
Subtotal: 0 lbs 12.5 ozs |
Hydration |
Water Carriers |
Platypus |
Two, 2.5 Liter |
2.4 |
Water Bottle |
Generic |
Empty Liter Water Bottle |
1.1 |
Water Treatment |
Aquamira Water Drops |
‘A’ and ‘B’ bottles |
3.0 |
Subtotal: 0 lbs 6.5 ozs |
“Essentials” |
Map |
PCT Atlas |
Combines maps and data |
5.7 |
Compass |
Suunto Clipper |
Worn on watch band |
.1 |
Lights |
Photon II Micro-Light x 2 |
LED lights are awesome |
.3 |
First Aid |
Various |
See below for list |
6.0 |
Pocket Knife |
Victorinox Swiss Army Classic |
Has scissors, blade, toothpick, tweezers |
.7 |
Cordage |
Parachute Cord |
For bear bagging, etc. |
1.0 |
Duct Tape |
10 feet |
For blister prevention, gear repair, etc. |
2.0 |
Subtotal: 0 lbs 15.8 ozs |
Sanitation and Hygiene |
Toilet paper |
Standard |
Partial Roll |
2.0 |
Toothbrush |
Generic/w cap |
Yes, I cut the handle in half |
.5 |
Toothpaste |
Generic |
Small tube |
.5 |
Hand Sanitizer |
Prefense |
Weight estimated |
2.5 |
Subtotal: 0 lbs 5.5 ozs |
Miscellaneous |
Sleep Bag Sack |
Generic |
With turkey roasting bag liner |
1.0 |
Food Sack |
Generic |
Silnylon |
.8 |
Pack Liner |
Hefty |
18 gal? Trash compactor bag |
2.2 |
Camera |
Panasonic |
Lumix DMC-LZ8K |
5.0 |
Permits |
Government Issue |
Fire, Thru-Hike, Canada entry |
.5 |
Bandana |
ADZPCTO |
Cotton |
1.0 |
Data |
Yogi, etc |
Yogi’s Handbook section , etc. |
3.0 |
Spare Glasses |
Prescription |
With case and clip-ons |
2.5 |
Tripod |
UltraPod |
Camera Tripod |
1.6 |
MP3 Player, Recorder |
Iriver T60 |
For audio journal, Radio, Music |
1.7 |
Cell Phone |
Kyocera |
With charger |
5.1 |
Wallet |
Generic |
Credit Card, Cash, Driver’s Lic. in ziploc |
1.0 |
Monocular |
Brunton |
7×18 |
1.8 |
Batteries |
Various |
Spare Camera and MP3 |
2.4 |
Hip Belt Pocket |
Gossamer Gear |
Large |
.8 |
Subtotal: 1 lb 14.4 ozs |
Worn or Carried Outside Pack |
Underwear |
Under Armour Boxerjock |
6″ legs |
4.8 |
Long Sleeve Shirt |
Trekmor Travel Shirt |
Good for sun |
9.0 |
Pants/Shorts |
Mountain Hardwear Mesa |
Pants Convertible to shorts |
13.0 |
Socks |
Darn Tough, 1/4 Sock, Mesh |
Mixed and matched w/ 1/4 cushion socks |
1.4 |
Socks |
Darn Tough 1/4 Cushion |
Mixed and matched w/ 1/4 mesh socks |
2.4 |
Shoes |
Asics Gel Kayano |
Highly subjective. Try on many models and brands |
~20.0 |
Sunglasses |
Prescription |
Madatory |
1.0 |
Sun Hat |
REI Vented Explorer Hat |
(weight guessed) |
5.0 |
Trekking Poles |
Yana Poles |
Originally Titanium Goat |
6.8 |
Wristwatch |
Casio Databank 150 |
Calculator, Phone #s, Time |
1.0 |
Subtotal: 4 lbs 0 ozs |
Carried in the Sierras, Washington or as needed |
Rain Pants |
Mont-Bell Versalite |
Will have in Washington |
9.7 |
Rain Mitts |
eMountain Laurel Designs |
eVENT Rain Mitts |
1.2 |
Ice Axe |
CAMP USA Corsa Ice Axe |
For the Sierras |
7.0 |
Bear canister |
Bear Vault BV500 |
Kennedy Meadows to Sonora Pass (see Yogi’s Guidebook) |
41.0 |
Bug Repellant |
Repel 100 |
Picked up at Kennedy Meadows |
1.0 |
Subtotal: 3 lbs 12 ozs |
I swapped out my Wild Oasis for a Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo 23 oz. in Cascade Locks. It’s floor was nice in the rain. |
Thank you so much for spending the time to put together this website, it has been very helpful an informative. My girlfriend and I are doing a SOBO AT thru hike leaving July 10th and I’ve been driving myself and her a bit nutty researching gear as to not “waste” any currency unnecessarily, but I think it may be inevitable from what I’ve been reading anyway. Maybe I missed it, but I don’t recall seeing trekking poles in your gear list, do you not carry them or did I indeed just overlook them? Also, in the essence of saving weight… Read more »
Hi Kevin, Researching gear can be fun but someone with OK gear and a good attitude will outperform someone with the very best, most expensive gear and a bad attitude. I did use poles and they are on my list under “hiking poles.” I’ve been using Yana Poles recently but they are expensive and require care to use without breaking them. More inexpensive poles will work fine if you are on a budget. Lots of hikers use Frogg Toggs with good success. Beware of “bushwhacking” with them, though, and bring some duct tape or Tyvek tape in case they rip.… Read more »