Gear 

Pre-PCT Gear

Those who know me know that I’m a gear junkie, so I could go on and on with this section for days, but rather than bore everyone to tears I’ve instead posted my PCT gear list below for anyone curious.  The list is broken into two main sections—everything carried (minus consumables, i.e. food, water, and fuel, which will fluctuate wildly in various stretches) and everything worn.  In general, this reflects the gear that I’ll be carrying/wearing for most of the trail, with two notable exceptions: the desert and the Sierra Nevada.  Through the Anza-Borrego and Mojave deserts, I’ll need a bit more water capacity for the longer waterless stretches, some of which are 30+ miles, as well as a sun hat and some long hiking pants to cut down the need for slathering my pasty white legs in sunscreen every day.  For the Sierra, I’ll add a few layers and swap out others for warmer versions in addition to picking up a bear canister for the few hundred miles where it’s required.

I can’t say enough about the small cottage industry manufacturers—Mountain Laurel Designs (MLD), Zpacks, et al—that specialize in making very light, very thoughtfully designed pieces of gear that have been stripped down to their very essence and nothing more.  In many cases, I’ve emailed directly with the owners to make various customizations before ordering, something you’d be hard-pressed to do with the big gear companies.  If you’re interested in finding out more about any particular piece, just click on the provided hyperlink or leave a comment at the bottom of the page.