My Gear
This is my first entry since I started the hike at the Mexican border on April 24th. For about six weeks I hiked steadily north across rugged and beautiful deserts and mountains. After about 275 miles I finished up close to Big Bear Lake and returned to the Bay area to do this journal and to get ready for the next section of the Pacific Crest Trail.
Before beginning with the stories and the photos from the adventure, I thought I would go over the details of the gear that I used. In the last ten years or so backpack equipment has gotten much, much lighter. Thus, it is exciting for me to share the names and descriptions of the gear from my trip because my overall pack weight was much lighter for this trip, making for much more pleasant walking.
I worked part-time for about a year before the trip at Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) at their store in Corte Madera, CA. I bought all my gear at REI because I was familar with the products and had confidence in them. If you want more details about any of these items you can check them out at www.rei.com. I recommend all the gear mentioned; it all worked well in addition to being light in weight.
* BACKPACK --Gregory Z-Pack. Standard backpacks for extended trips often weigh six to seven lbs. and hold over 5,000 cubic inches -- in other words, BIG and HEAVY. I have always liked the quality and good fit of Gregory packs and was impressed that the Z-Pack only weighed three and a half lbs. yet still carried almost 4,000 cubic inches.
* TENT -- Mountain Hardwear PCT 1. Being 6'3' I needed a long tent and also wanted a sturdy tent that kept out insects and handled strong winds. This one is 92" long and has a sleek yet roomy design. It weighs three lbs and eleven ozs. It also allows for the fly to be put up by itself on the poles for quick shelter or shade. It also comes with a footprint.
* SLEEPING PAD -- Thermarest Prolite 3 Short. This is a three-quarter length self-inflating pad. It weighs only thirteen ozs. and folds up to a tiny size.
* SLEEPING BAG -- REI SubKilo. This down bag is warm to 20 degrees F yet is quite light at 2lbs. 3 ozs. With the use of a compression sack it squeezes down to the size of a melon.
* BOOTS -- Lowa Renegade. Very light at 2 lbs. 3 ozs. No blisters despite days of hiking in desert heat and they dried quickly after days of fording Mission Creek. Remember to replace the store insoles with Superfeet.
* TREKKING POLES -- REI Ultralite Antishock. Poles are essential for long-distance hiking. Among the benefits is that they transfer some of the pounding pressure to the arms and shoulders. Remember to use the hand straps. Wear bicycle gloves to avoid chafing. I recommend lightweight Pearl Izumi gloves.
* WATER FILTER -- Katadyn Hiker. This popular model is easy to use for the solo hiker. 12 ozs.
* FIRST AID -- REI Hiker Kit. The tweezer and antibiotic ointment came in handy
with cactus thorns in the desert. 12.5 ozs.
* NAVIGATION -- High Gear Altitech II. This single device serves as an altimeter, barometer, digital compass, clock and alarm. Very useful.
* RAIN AND WIND SHELL -- REI "One" Jacket. Lightweight at 21 ozs. and cuts wind and rain impressively.
* HIKING CLOTHES --REI Sahara Shirt and Mountain Hardwear Canyon Pants. Both are lightweight, dry fast and have a high SPF.
*WATER CARRIERS -- 2 Nalgene Water Reservoirs (100 fluid ozs and 70 fluid ozs) and two single liter containers. This allowed me to carry up to two gallons of water on long, dry sections of trail.
* CAMERA -- Olympus Stylus 150. This all-weather film camera weighs in at only 8 ozs. My favorite feature is its very powerful zoom, which allows me to magnify distant landscapes.
Before beginning with the stories and the photos from the adventure, I thought I would go over the details of the gear that I used. In the last ten years or so backpack equipment has gotten much, much lighter. Thus, it is exciting for me to share the names and descriptions of the gear from my trip because my overall pack weight was much lighter for this trip, making for much more pleasant walking.
I worked part-time for about a year before the trip at Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) at their store in Corte Madera, CA. I bought all my gear at REI because I was familar with the products and had confidence in them. If you want more details about any of these items you can check them out at www.rei.com. I recommend all the gear mentioned; it all worked well in addition to being light in weight.
* BACKPACK --Gregory Z-Pack. Standard backpacks for extended trips often weigh six to seven lbs. and hold over 5,000 cubic inches -- in other words, BIG and HEAVY. I have always liked the quality and good fit of Gregory packs and was impressed that the Z-Pack only weighed three and a half lbs. yet still carried almost 4,000 cubic inches.
* TENT -- Mountain Hardwear PCT 1. Being 6'3' I needed a long tent and also wanted a sturdy tent that kept out insects and handled strong winds. This one is 92" long and has a sleek yet roomy design. It weighs three lbs and eleven ozs. It also allows for the fly to be put up by itself on the poles for quick shelter or shade. It also comes with a footprint.
* SLEEPING PAD -- Thermarest Prolite 3 Short. This is a three-quarter length self-inflating pad. It weighs only thirteen ozs. and folds up to a tiny size.
* SLEEPING BAG -- REI SubKilo. This down bag is warm to 20 degrees F yet is quite light at 2lbs. 3 ozs. With the use of a compression sack it squeezes down to the size of a melon.
* BOOTS -- Lowa Renegade. Very light at 2 lbs. 3 ozs. No blisters despite days of hiking in desert heat and they dried quickly after days of fording Mission Creek. Remember to replace the store insoles with Superfeet.
* TREKKING POLES -- REI Ultralite Antishock. Poles are essential for long-distance hiking. Among the benefits is that they transfer some of the pounding pressure to the arms and shoulders. Remember to use the hand straps. Wear bicycle gloves to avoid chafing. I recommend lightweight Pearl Izumi gloves.
* WATER FILTER -- Katadyn Hiker. This popular model is easy to use for the solo hiker. 12 ozs.
* FIRST AID -- REI Hiker Kit. The tweezer and antibiotic ointment came in handy
with cactus thorns in the desert. 12.5 ozs.
* NAVIGATION -- High Gear Altitech II. This single device serves as an altimeter, barometer, digital compass, clock and alarm. Very useful.
* RAIN AND WIND SHELL -- REI "One" Jacket. Lightweight at 21 ozs. and cuts wind and rain impressively.
* HIKING CLOTHES --REI Sahara Shirt and Mountain Hardwear Canyon Pants. Both are lightweight, dry fast and have a high SPF.
*WATER CARRIERS -- 2 Nalgene Water Reservoirs (100 fluid ozs and 70 fluid ozs) and two single liter containers. This allowed me to carry up to two gallons of water on long, dry sections of trail.
* CAMERA -- Olympus Stylus 150. This all-weather film camera weighs in at only 8 ozs. My favorite feature is its very powerful zoom, which allows me to magnify distant landscapes.
posted by peterkirby at
2:07 PM
