Pack- ULA Circuit – This is a great pack. It carried well and was comfortable. The only negative I found was that the hip
belt kept coming unclipped after I resupplied at Muir Trail Ranch. I ended up having to reinforce it with a
piece of string to keep if from popping open.
My best guess is that I had the pack overload, weight wise, for the 8
plus days to finish the trail. If this
continues I will simply change it out for a beefier one later. I also developed a hole in the back mess
pocket. I think this way due to setting it down against a rock. You have to remember this is a light weight
pack, and must be treated accordingly.
Set it down carefully. I also had
a damn squirrel chew a small hole in the in the hip belt pocket in no time what
so ever, before I even began the trail.
Tent –GoLite
Imogene II – I loved this tent, unfortunately GoLite is now out of business and
this tent is no longer commercially. You
might be able to pick one up online
used.
The 2 person was great for 1 person, though it would be snug for two.
Sleeping
bag – EMS Mountain Lite 20 – I ended up taking this bag because it compacted down
better than my Marmot Sawtooth. It is an older bag and is probably only 30
degree bag but it did the job. After I got home the zipper almost immediately
broke, so maybe I will make a quilt out of it.
Sleeping
pad – Big Agnes Air Core – This is a great pad, very
comfortable. I do not think I will ever
go back to a closed cell inflatable, i.e. – Thermarest, pad ever again. The
only negative about this pad is having to blow it up every night. It probably took 2-3 minutes, or 37 breaths
if I remember correctly. I liked the
fact that it is not a noisy bad. I slept near a couple of the Thermarest Neoair,
and they seemed noisy to me and I was not sleeping on them. It is not the lightest pad out there, but I
will happily trade the extra weight for a good night’s sleep.
Hiking
Poles – Black Diamond Trail - Great
poles. The flickocks are much better than the screw in type. I only had to tighten locking mechanism once
during the trek.
Stove – MSR
Pocket Rocket – A good workhorse of a stove. I only could not get it to light one morning,
and I think that was due to a cold fuel canister, rather than the stove
itself. Next time I would start with the
larger fuel canister, just to leave myself some wiggle room (my smaller one ran
out the night before I resupplied at MTR). I think I only cooked 1 or 2
breakfast, and the remainder were dinners. If you wanted to take the smaller
canister, replace it at Reds then again at MTR (they only had the larger sized
canister for sale).
Bear
Canister – BV 500 – I ended up switching to this from the Garcia about 2 weeks
before I left. I was originally
concerned about being able to open it, as it seemed hard to push in the
tabs. With a little practice, and a
small stick, this became a non-issue. It
also seemed to store more food than the Garcia, and I think it is a little
lighter as well. Being see through it also made it easier to find what food I
was looking for (I usually took out a day’s worth of food so I did not have to
get into the canister during the day).
Water Purification
– Sawyer Mini – I have mixed feelings about the Sawyer Mini. It did the job and I did not get sick on the
trail. I made the mistake of not
bringing the syringe to flush it with, but luckily I picked one up at MTR in
the hiker box. I ended up flushing it every 2 days or so, just to keep the rate
of flow up. This is my only complaint
about the filter, it was somewhat slow.
I also have the regular Sawyer Squeeze and would probably bring it next
time instead. A lot of the PCT hikers I
saw had the mini attached directly to their smart water bottles. I tried this for about half the trail. It worked, but I like a faster flow rate of
water into my mouth than what this provided.
The mini is a good filter, and you will not go wrong with it. If I was hiking with another person and
sharing weight I might go with the Platypus Gravity Filter. It seemed pretty quick from the few times I
saw one on the trail.
Bowl –
Glade medium screw top – I liked this bowl but had to leave it at MTR due to a lack
of space. It was not a necessary but it
kept my pot clean. Also it was nice to
be able to secure the top while my food rehydrated
SPOT - I brought this along for the folks at home, to let them know where I was when I was out of contract. I would use it every night when I got into camp, then again in the morning to let them know that I was off and moving for the day. I tried to remember to set it off at least once during each day as well. From what I was told from the folks at home, it worked well, and they were happy to know that I was doing well.
Camera –
Nikon AW100 –Took decent pictures and video. Overall I was not overly
impressed with pictures once I got home at looked at them. I am not sure if this is due to the camera or
my use of it. I filled up 1- 32gig
memory card (about 19000 photos and hours video). I brought along a bunch of extra cards, but
ended up not needing them. I brought a total of 4 batteries. I got about 2 days out of each one. I was able to recharge at Reds and MTR.
Knife – Leatherman Style CS Multitool – This little multitool did the job. I used it to open boxes at resupply, cut lucco
tape for blisters. I never really needed
it for anything heavy duty. I really
debated bringing this lite of a knife but do not regret it. I also liked the clip on it, which allowed me
to clip it to my shoulder strap for easy access and kept me from losing it.
Headlamp –
Black Diamond Storm – It was overkill, but never let me down. I never night hiked, and only used it for
small periods each day. I loaded it up
with Energizer Lithium batteries and never had to change them out.
Gators –
Dirty Girls j – Do not argue, just go out and buy yourself a pair. These
ROCK!!!!