[pct-l] sleeping bag - rei sub kilo

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

Regarding stuff sacks and staked tents...

I used a Gossamer Gear One tent. I never once was unable to find a  
place to stake it out and I set it up almost every single night over  
3000 miles of hiking the PCT. If the ground was soft and/or wind was  
blowing I used large rocks over the stakes to keep it up. Had only a  
few problems with that, nothing serious.

To deal with my sleeping bag, I would put it inside my pocket shower  
(which is like a stuff sack) only if I though it might rain or I  
might fall in a creek. I now don't bother with the pocket shower and  
instead just stuff it in the same trash compactor bag where I keep my  
extra socks, hat, gloves etc. The compactor bags are very durable,  
and I can attest that they are more than up to the job of keeping  
your gear dry. I had to swim across some swollen rivers with my pack  
on. Even though all I did was twist the top of the compactor bag and  
shove it in, and even though the compactor bag had a couple of holes,  
and even though my pack was fully under water as I swam, my sleeping  
bag was still dry.

I also used a $.25 cent black garbage bag I bought at White Pass for  
a pack cover when it was raining. It did the job admirably. They make  
those things so you can toss broken glass bottles in them so they are  
more than up to the task of keeping your pack dry while hiking  
through the overgrown Washington trails.


On Dec 5, 2010, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

> sleeping bag - rei sub kilo