We leave for San Diego in 33 days! A lot of people have been asking specifics about some of the gear we are using. This post will hopefully answer some of these same questions for everyone.
First of all, as the gear list stands now, we have many items that some would consider luxury items. In fact almost every piece of gear we have could be traded out for a more minimalist/lightweight/expensive piece of gear. We chose the gear we did based on weight, comfort, price, warmth, and gear we already owned. When you are walking 20+ miles a day and carrying everything on your back, weight means a lot. Here are some of the main gear choices we made.
Tent- Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2
A lot of people choose to use tarps or tarp tents instead of a freestanding tent. We chose a freestanding tent because we want the option of having more protection from the elements and it is extremely light weight for a 2 person tent. We can always choose to cowboy camp or sleep without the rain fly.
Sleeping bags- Western Mountaineering Alpinelite and Apache
We got these bags from IME in Utah and we couldn't be happier. In January we slept outside with no tent and we stayed warm all night in our bags (it was about 10 degrees F). As long as the down doesn't get wet, these bags will work great. To ensure that these stay dry, we each got a eVent dry sack.
Water purification- Sawyer Squeeze
This is a new water filter this year. It is only about 3 ounces and gives you water immediately. We debated using aquamira and a steripen but these were too time consuming or high maintenance. The sawyer squeeze filters very quickly and it is guaranteed for 1 million gallons!
Stove- Caldera cone set alcohol stove
This stove uses liquid alcohol for fuel. A lot of people make their own alcohol stoves, but because the fire danger is so high this year we decided to buy a sturdier one. We have yet to try this out but we will let everyone know when we do.
Shoes- Saucony Peregrine and Montrail Bajada
Yes, we are using trail runners, not boots or hiking shoes. These are more comfortable, lightweight, and dry faster. Nate decided on Montrail Bajadas and Jenna, Saucony Peregrines.
These are only a few of the gear choices that we struggled with but we now feel confident in our choices. We can't wait to get out there and we wish luck to anyone who has started already.
cheers,
Jenna and Nate
Best of luck... Thinking of a 2013 thru-hike and have been enjoying following your blog. One gear question: what's your plan for bear-proofing food, etc?
ReplyDeleteHi Ken,
ReplyDeleteThanks for following. We are using two methods for bear/critter proofing. In the Sierra a bear canister is required. We will likely be carrying ours from Kennedy Meadows (south) to Lake Tahoe. BearVault (www.bearvault.com) will ship PCT hikers a canister directly to the trail. For the areas where a bear canister is not required we will be carrying Opsaks, which are odor proof bags. These are not bear proof or even critter proof, but we hope that if animals never smell our food, we will never have a reason to need an indestructible container. Opsaks are also much cheaper and lighter than other methods like the Ursack or Ursack minor. In questionable areas we also have the option of hanging our food if need be.
Hope this helps
-Jenna
Haven't used the Opsaks or even the Ursack... I'll be curious to know how you fare with them. Bear cans are a real pain, but certainly a necessary evil in some places. My problem with them has been the limitation on the amount of food. How much food do you guys expect to carry and how far between typical resupply points?
DeleteHey Ken,
DeleteWe will carry anywhere from 3 days of food up to a maximum of 10 days of food. Due to the current conditions on the trail, it seems that the 10 day food supply may become 8 days (or less). We have planned about 2 lbs of food per person per day. For 3 to 6 days of food the canister should be just fine. For 7 days plus, fitting food into the canister may well be a test of our Tetris skills.
Cheers,
Nate