[pct-l] 2012 Hike Planning Session: 10 Questions

[Sir Mixalot]

1. If your bag is light, then I'd carry it.  On warm nights you can use it
like a quilt.  A true backpacking quilt would probably save you a pound or
two, and pack much smaller.  Tim Marshall of EnLIGHTened Equipment makes
custom quilts that are very well priced, and right now he's selling the
Revelation X that's priced even better...but probably won't last long.

2. You don't need a free standing tent.  Stopping early and bringing extra
cord will allow you to figure out other ways to "stake" your tent.

3. Water depends on you.  Only you can figure that out by doing training
hikes.  I've used as much as 8 liters in a day, and as little as 4, but I
don't think I've carried more than 5 liters this year.

4. Is that in addition to a mini bic?  Mini bic should be your number 1
choice.  It's small, light, reliable and very easy to use.

5. Food again depends on you.  Whatever you decide needs to be based on
what allows you to consume an adequate amount of food.  It's not easy to
consume 4500-6000 calories a day, but you need to.  Ideally you'd figure
this out on your training hikes.  Focusing on foods high in fat will help
you carry more calories with less weight and bulk, and nuts and olive oil
is a good way to do this.

6. I have zip off pants, but I only took off the bottoms once.  That was at
Cottonwood Creek.  It took so long that I never did it again.  I just walk
on through.  I don't care if my pants get wet and muddy.  It's better than
wasting time changing clothes next to a creek when I could have done
another mile or two instead.

7. I believe you don't need a bear canister until you get to the Sierra
National Forest, but you'd do well to pick up your bear canister are
Kennedy Meadow or make a side trip shortly after (into Lone Pine?).

8. Solar chargers are a waste.  Several reasons why.  If you can find a usb
charger cord that works for both your cell phone and ebook reader, then use
that and charge in town.  If you use those items sparingly, battery life
shouldn't be a problem.

9. I used to carry a small Leatherman, but never used it.  Now I carry a
razor blade, but I don't use that either.  I need some kind of blade, so a
razor blade is about as small as I can go.  I store mine in the battery
compartment of my cell phone, which also ensures that my cell phone doesn't
accidentally turn on.

10. Once you're down to gear that you need and is not redundant, less
weight is better.  If you want to share a gear list, then put up a Google
Spreadsheet.  It'll really help if you have the weight of each item.  That
said, it's probably too late to replace a bunch of gear, so you should
focus on learning how to use gear for more than one purpose and then
eliminate the redundant items.

On Sat, Jan 7, 2012 at 8:07 PM, Tim Gustafson <tjg at tgustafson.com> wrote:

> So, I just dumped out my hiking gear box, and went over each piece of
> gear that I own and made two piles: stuff that will come with me on my
> 2012 PCT section hike, and stuff that won't.
>
> I'm planning on hiking about the first 180 miles starting during the
> last weekend of April this year.
>
> While going through all my gear, I came up with the following questions:
>
> 1. I currently have a Kelty Mount Shasta 20 degree bag.  It's a big
> tight across the chest, but other than that it's in great condition.
> Is this a worthy bag for the first section of the trail in April/May?
> Is this overkill?  Should I get a lighter 30 degree bag instead?  I've
> heard some chatter about quilts instead of bags, but I'm a little
> skeptical I guess.  I'm a big guy - 6'3" - and it's not always easy to
> fit inside "one size fits all" gear, so I wonder if a quilt would be
> better or worse for me than the bag I already have.
>
> 2. My tent is a Eureka Solitaire one-person.  It packs very small and
> fits easily inside my bag with all my other gear - it doesn't need to
> be lashed to the outside.  But, it's not a free-standing tent; you
> need to use the stakes or it just falls in on itself.  I'm guessing
> it's not always easy to find stake-able ground in the desert sections.
>  And it doesn't really have any room for gear inside the tent - a
> bummer if it's raining and you want to work on something in your bag,
> or just keep it dry.  Should I invest in a free-standing tent?  Any
> recommendations for a suitable tent?
>
> 3. Is four liters of water storage enough?  I have a Pur "Hiker"
> series filter (I believe that brand/model now belongs to "Katadyn" - I
> bought my filter probably 10 years ago, and have just recently
> replaced the filter element) so I can filter along the way as needed,
> but will 4 liters be enough to make it from one reliable source to the
> next?
>
> 4. Waterproof matches or magnesium fire starter?
>
> 5. I'm planning on going without a stove; I've heard people say this
> is a very viable option.  It certainly saves weight and bulk.  Any
> comments on going stove-less for the first 180 miles?  Any suggestions
> as to what foods to bring?  I'm thinking a combination of regular
> trail mix, Cliff's bars, dried fruit and so on.  I'm vegetarian, so
> jerky and that sort of thing is out of the running.  Anything else I
> can/should bring?
>
> 6. As for clothing: are the "high-tech" options worth it?  Should I
> get the super-wicking underwear?  The zip-off rip-stop pants?  The
> high-tech shirts?  And, how much clothing should I bring?  I'm
> thinking two sets of undies, pants, shirts and socks, so that I can
> switch off each day and let one set air out and dry while I'm wearing
> the other.  Is this overkill?
>
> 7. Do I need a bear can at this stage of the trail, or will just
> hanging a food bag do it?
>
> 8. I'm planning on bringing my cell phone and my eReader and was
> wondering if anyone had any experience with using a solar charger -
> you know the kind that you tie onto the back of your pack while you're
> walking to charge up your gear.  Any thoughts?
>
> 9. Any reason that a simple single-blade folding knife would not be
> enough?  I have a Leatherman tool, but I'm having a hard time thinking
> of a time on the trail when I might need a metal file or a Phillips
> screwdriver.
>
> 10. Currently, my bag and all my gear, not including clothes, water or
> food, is 21 pounds.  That sounds pretty good to me, but I was
> wondering what feedback people might have about that weight.
>
> Thanks in advance for any advice you all can give!
>
> --
>
> Tim Gustafson
> tjg at tgustafson.com
> http://tgustafson.com/
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