As with most hikers, my gear list is constantly evolving. Sometimes you want to try to whittle down your base weight and try lighter pieces of gear. Other times you simply want to switch things up with a few new items.
Hiking for 110 miles in California’s desert in mid-January 2020 forced me to adjust my typical packing list.
First, my gear list needed to accommodate a greater range of temperatures, as I’d be hiking in snow, rain, warm exposed sun, and sleeping in freezing conditions.
Second, I decided to try out a new backpack in advance of the upcoming 2020 hiking season. This change was mostly because I wanted to see if a frameless pack would work for me on a long-distance hike.
Here’s the complete list of everything I took on trail. Gear items with an asterisk beside them were deviations from my standard packing list. Scroll down to the end of the post if you want to see what I left behind (and why), and the one item I’d add to my gear list if I were doing this section hike over again.
Backpack Set-up
- Backpack* – Gossamer Gear G4-20 (42L) in electric blue
- Accessories – Gossamer Gear Hipbelt Pocket (used as a fanny pack)
- Accessories* – Zpacks Shoulder Pouch
- Pack Liner – Therm-a-rest NeoAir pump sack (also used to inflate air mattress)
- Emergency ID – Road ID attached to pack
Shelter & Sleep System
- Tent – Nemo Hornet 2P tent w/ footprint
- Sleeping Bag* – Western Mountaineering Alpinlite (20°F bag)
- Air Mattress – Therm-a-rest NeoAir Lite (size: regular)
Cooking Items
- Stove – MSR PocketRocket2 + 4 oz. fuel canister & mini lighter
- Cook Pot – MSR Titan Kettle (0.85L) + homemade pot koozy
- Spoon – Toaks long handle titanium spoon (w/ polished bowl)
- Cup – Sea to Summit collapsable cup
- Food Bag – Zpacks ultralight food bag
Hydration
- Water filter – Sawyer Micro Squeeze
- Vessels – CNOC Outdoor Vecto 2L bladder + 3 1L plastic bottles
Electronics
- Phone/camera – iPhone XR (128GB) w/ earbuds
- External battery – Anker Power Core 10000 external battery
- Navigation – Guthook App for PCT downloaded to iPhone
- Headlamp – Petzel e+lite headlamp w/ extra battery
- Electronics Storage – Sea to summit Ultra-Sil Dry Sack (size: XXS)
Hiking Accessories
- Trekking Poles – Leki Cressida Thermo women’s poles
- Umbrella – Liteflex hiking umbrella (for sun & rain)
- Sit Pad – Therm-a-rest Z sitting pad
Hiking Clothing (worn)
- Hiking Pants* – Kuhl Spire Roll-up pants
- Hiking Shirt – Club Ride Sandi snap-front shirt
- Undergarments – Patagonia Barely sports bra & underwear
- Hat – Headsweats Performance Supervisor visor
- Sunglasses – SunCloud Cookie polarized sunglasses
- Watch – Timex Ironman waterproof watch
- Wallet – Chums Marsupial wallet (w/ ID, cash, debit card only)
Footwear
- Shoes – Altra Timp 1.5 trail running shoes
- Hiking Socks – Injinji socks
- Gaiters – Dirty Girl gaiters
Outerwear
- Hat/Gloves – Lightweight beanie hat & Sporthill running gloves
- Rain Gear – OR Helium II jacket & REI Junction cycling rain pants
- Puffy coat – North Face Thermoball hooded jacket
Extra Clothes/Camp Items
- Shirt* – Patagonia Capilene long-sleeve shirt (for layering)
- Socks – Injinji socks (extra pair)
- Underwear – Patagonia Barely underwear (extras)
- Headband – Buff UV+ headband
- Sleep clothes – Icebreaker merino leggings (150) & 1/2 zip long sleeve merino wool shirt (150)
- Sleep socks – Farm to Feet 1/4 crew wool socks
- Storage – Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil stuff sack (9L)
- Camp Shoes – Crocs Swiftwater sandals
Hygiene Items
- Toiletry Storage – OPSAK odor proof bag
- Dental Care – Travel toothbrush/toothpaste + floss
- Vision – Glasses, contact lenses, travel size saline
- First Aid Kit – KT tape, Body Glide (0.8 oz), bandaids, ibuprofen
- Knife – Swiss Army knife (w/ mini scissors)
- Cleaning – Wet Ones (travel size/20 wipes)
- Skincare – Travel size sunscreen
- Toilet – Deuce of Spades #2 trowel, bandana (pee rag) & TP
- Trash storage – Large ziplock bag + doggie poop bag (to carry out any used TP/feminine hygiene items)
Post-Hike Thoughts
Overall, I felt this gear set-up worked well for a 5-day section hike on the PCT. Trying a frameless pack forced me to stay as light as possible. This also meant a few of my standard thru-hiking didn’t make the list.
What new items did I add for this hike?
- Frameless Backpack. As I mentioned above, I normally hike longer distances with the Gossamer Gear Mariposa, which is a 60 liter internal frame pack. I’m glad I changed it up and tried a different pack on my PCT section hike though. The G4-20 pack is only a 42L, but it seemed to have enough room and carried well.
- Shoulder Pouch. I like carrying my phone on my shoulder. But, honestly, I didn’t like the Gossamer Gear shoulder pouch I used on the AT because the velcro attachment would always snag on my hiking shirt. The ZPacks shoulder pouch is smaller than my prior pouch, but it did the trick just fine.
- Sleeping Bag. I am a big fan on hiking quilts, and purchased a 30-degree Enlightened Equipment quilt while I was on the Appalachian Trail. However, the evening temperatures on the PCT were forecasted to drop below freezing, so I returned to my heavy down sleeping bag instead. Although it took up more room in my pack, I was snug as a bug every night.
- Hiking Pants. While truly I love hiking in my Patagonia Baggies shorts, the winter weather wasn’t going to be great, so I opted to hike in pants instead. Although I liked the durability of the Kuhl pants on this trip, the waistband stated to chafe on my lower back toward the end of the trip. So I think running tights are a better long layer for me for future cold weather hikes.
- Long Sleeve Shirt. I’m so glad I brought a lightweight Patagonia long sleeve capilene shirt to layer under my hiking shirt on the colder days. The temperatures were cold enough that I was hiking in every layer I had on two of my days.
- Rain Pants. On summer hikes, I usually just let my legs get wet and don’t worry about it. However, a winter hike requires a little more insulation. Looking back now, I should have worn these pants even more that I did because once my Kuhl pants bushed against the wet foliage on Mt. Laguna, they got soaked!
So what items were left behind?
- My journal. I keep a bullet journal for most of my daily activities, and carried one on the Appalachian Trail and Camino de Santiago too. Given the short duration of this hike though, opted to take notes on my phone instead.
- Collapsable knife. Normally, I carry a Gerber knife on the front of my chest strap for opening items, cutting up food, and for potential self-defense. Given the lack of people and limited duration of this hike, I opted to leave it behind and just relied on my Swiss Army knife for camp chores. Overall, I didn’t miss it or feel unsafe.
- Massage ball. I have pretty bad plantar fasciitis, and tend to carry a lightweight spiky massage ball about the size of a golf ball. I was ok not using it the first few days, but missed it tremendously on days 4 and 5. In the future, it’s worth the extra weight.
- Bug Spray. Normally I carry Sawyer Picaridin and a head net on all my hikes to deal with bugs on trail. Given the time of year and weather, I left it behind, and didn’t miss it at all.
- Bear Canister/Ursack. On other parts of the trail where bears and critters are more prevalent, I’d probably carry an Ursack or bear canister to protect my food. Once again, the time of year allowed me to leave this behind and just use my Zpacks DCF food bag.
- Pillow. On the AT, I used an inflatable pillow for 2/3 of my hike. By Massachusetts, it developed a leak and forced me to wake up to re-inflate it in the middle of the night. Despite multiple patch jobs, I couldn’t seem to repair it completely. I eventually switched back to using my puffy coat as a pillow and don’t think I’ll go back to the inflatable pillow again.
- Tent Repair Kit. This wasn’t an intentional omission, I just forgot to pack it. Luckily, I didn’t need it during this short hike.
What’s the one item I’d add next time?
Garmin inReach. If I was doing a longer section hike of the PCT solo, I probably would consider adding a personal beacon device. I’ve been on the fence about purchasing one for the past year. Being out on the PCT alone made me realize that’s it’s worth the extra weight for the added peace of mind on more remote solo adventures.
