My Hiking Gear

I want my gear to be light. I enjoy hiking more when I am not weighed down. I imagine that carrying less may strain my body less, too, and give me the best chance to enjoy and complete a hike. My gear choices are pretty standard for ultralight hiking. Here is my gear list on Lighterpack.

Pack

The pack I used for my very first overnight hike was a six and a half pound behemoth that I borrowed from my running buddy, Steve. The pack with three days of food came in at 35 lbs. I guess my base weight was 28 lbs. In spite fo that, I had a great time on that hike and came off the trail wanting more. For my second hike, I purchased an REI pack – the Flash 58. At 48 oz, it was a big improvement in weight and comfort. I carried it on a section hike of the AT, and it worked well. But as I eyed the PCT, I wanted to go even lighter.

I eventually purchased the Gossamer Gear G4-20. I carried it for 5 days on the Florida Trail in December 2020 and was very pleased with it.  It weighs 26 oz and has a 42-liter capacity. The pack has cavernous exterior pockets. The one on the left is big enough to carry my tarp, my ground cloth, my Sawyer and my toilet stuff. The back pocket holds my quilt (for quick drying moments) my sit pad and anything else I think I might need before stopping for the day. The righ side is for water bottles. The pack is frameless, but the foam insert that fits next to my back gives me enough cushion and structure to keep it comfortable. I have never carried more than 24 lbs in this pack, but I think it will be good up to 30. Even with a pack this light, I like a belt to take some of the weight off my shoulders. The belt pockets are a real bonus. The main compartment has a roll-top closure. The vertical strap at the top works well for hanging an orange hunting vest when I hike in Florida during hunting season. (Easy boys, I’m a little ole hiker jus’ passin’ through!)

Shelter

My shelter is the Gossamer Gear Twinn tarp. It is designed for two people, so it is has a lot of room under it. I can spread my stuff around me under it. I use my trekking poles on either end to keep it off the ground. It pitches easily when you know what you are doing. (It took me five days of hiking before I was somewhat happy with my pitching skills.) As a test before using it, I pitched in in my yard. Before I could take it down, Morgie (one of our Dobies) exercised a claim on it, deciding to live in it for a day. I didn’t have the heart to kick her out. When I wasn’t there, she knocked down the trekking pole and when the tarp collapsed she a toenail through it trying to get out. Maybe more supervision was required, I don’t know. It patched it, so at least I learned how to do that!

Shelter is a frame of mind.

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I use a tarp to lower my base weight. (The Twinn is 9 oz!) Honestly, I was unsure how I would like it (less privacy; more exposure). The first few nights were scary, but after waking up unharmed a couple dozen times over three nights, I began to relax. I still get nervous when I hear varmints in the bushes in the dark by my tent, but, welp, what can I do? As long as I am not sleeping with my food, my gear and I will prolly survive. My intention is to use the tarp mainly as a backup when I can’t cowboy camp (no shelter). We will see how that goes!

Sleeping

When I lay out my sleeping equipment on the ground for the night, I start with a piece of polycro. It works as a moisture barrier and as a pretty tough shield against pokey things that are bad for my air mattress. It’s only 1 oz. Gossamer Gear makes mine.

Then comes a 1/8-inch piece of foam. This foam is also my sit pad during the day. I keep it folded up in an outside pocket of my pack. My pad is the Gossamer Gear Thinlight pad. Normally a foam pad would not be required except that I use my air mattress in such a way the the foam layer is required. (Breathlessly) Keep reading to find out why!!

Occasionally, I may fall asleep on the floor (don’t ask). I always regret it. I need support under my back. An air mattress works great for this under one condition: it is only partially inflated. A partially inflated air mattress allows my shoulders and hips to sink into the mattress, so the air mattress can support my back or side. In a properly inflated mattress, my hips and shoulders are touching the ground slightly. This arrangement cancels out the insulating properties of the air mattress at those low points. What, pray tell, is the solution? For the casual reader, it’s the foam pad mentioned above. My air mattress is a Thermorest NeoAir Xlite.

The final layer is the quilt. For those that don’t know, an outdoor quilt lays on top of you. My body lays directly on the air mattress. The benefit is that quilts put all their insulation in the layer above you, increasing the amount of insulation protecting you from cold air. This arrangement is different from a sleeping bag that puts insulation all around you. As a warm sleeper, I can regulate my temperature better in a quilt that has loose sides. My quilt has a foot box (like a sleeping bag) on the bottom end. The foot box keeps the quilt somewhat oriented on my body and keeps my feet covered all through the night. My quilt is an Enlightened Equipment Enigma rated for 20 degrees. This should be warm enough for any weather I plan to encounter.

Water

I use the Sawyer Squeeze (regular size, not the mini). It makes great tasting water. (Definition: great-tasting water = water that tastes like the source without the baddies make you sick.) Call me strange, but I like to experience the taste of the water source. On the Florida trail, that means tasting the brown-colored tanic acid present in almost every stream where cypress trees are present. Tanic acid has a tea-like flavor. It’s dry and woody. I really like it, if fact I look forward to it.

I generally carry a lot of water into camp, so I can get a fast start in the morning without worrying about stopping in the first hour. I am terribly slow in the morning. Starting the day with at least a liter of clean water helps me get going. For that reason, I carry an extra 2-liter reservoir (Evernew) that has a nozzle that fits on my Sawyer. A 2-liter reservoir of water at the end of the day gives me the option of dry-camping. If I find a camp close to a water source, I can dump the water if I want.

I carry a sawed-off drinking water bottle as a scoop. Some water sources are so slow or low to the ground that it is impossible to collect without some kind of scoop.

For the first time, I am carrying a handful of purification tablets in case my Sawyer breaks or is lost. The tablets take 4 hours to work, so using them requires a lot more planning, but they are light and effective.

Electronics

I need a phone, a lamp, and maybe earbuds for music. Note, I rarely used earbuds, preferring the natural sounds. But I am not confident enough to say that in the course of a through hike, when motivation might be flagging, some music might be nice.

How many gadgets can you take on a hike before it becomes something else?

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My phone is an I-phone 11 (the mid-level model). It is my camera, phone, GPS, voice recorder and blogging platform. During the day it lives in a pouch on my shoulder strap (Gossamer Gear). The pouch can be zipped to protect the phone and keep it handy. It is close enough that I can hear any critical alerts.

I have a nifty accessory for the camera: a tripod and a camera mount that connects the tripod to the camera. I tried going without a tripod before, but the camera angles and positions are too limited without one. The tripod/mount combination I found is super light and will allow me to attach the camera to trees and poles, too. The tripod is the Pedco Ultralight. The camera mount is the DaVoice tripod adapter. Together they weigh 2.1 oz! Tripods make it easy to get those action shots on the trail (doing stuff in camp or walking to or from the camera). The combo is small enough to fit in my pack belt compartment (handy dandy).

My headlamp is the Petzl E-lite. It is super light but requires two watch batteries. Since it is not rechargeable, I will need to carry batteries for it. Ugh. Oh well. The jury is still out on whether that is the right choice.

Finally, the batteries (or power banks, if you will). Battery research easily took up more time than any other kind of equipment research. Weight is the problem. Batteries, if you are not careful, can easily weigh as much as 10% of your base weight! Batteries!! I waited until last minute and I am glad I did, because some batteries now come in a composite shell rather than metal. This really reduces weight. I am using two 10000mAh Nitecore batteries (NB10000). They weigh 5.3 oz each. They are fast, too, capable of 18W input ant output. They also have a trickle charge feature for low power charging of my earbuds, which would ignite if I fed them power at the 18W rate.

To go with these, I have the Anker Power Point III charger. It has two ports rated at 12W. I can charge both power banks or a power bank and my phone at the same time. Pretty cool.

Kitchen

This is simple: a spork and a Talenti jar. Yep, I am going cold. I have done this an most of my hikes, and I am going with it at the start of this hike, too. I might add a stove when the weather turns cold, but at the start, I want the simplicity of going stoveless. I have an orange Sea-to-Summit food bag that works great and hangs easily.

Toilet

Talking about the toilet is unavoidable. I have a lightweight trowel, hand sanitizer and a bidet. Yes, non-hiking readers, you heard correctly…a bidet. I did not even know what a bidet was until I went to Japan in my 40s. Before that I though it was a kind of women’s underwear! I know, that makes no sense when you think of how the word is used, but it was not widely discussed in my social circles, so cut me some slack.

Let me say this as plainly as possible. A bidet uses a jet of water to clean your bottom after you go. There, I said it. The bidet I use (CuloClean) is simply a nozzle that attaches to my water Smartwater bottle. When I hold the bottle upside down and squeeze it, the water comes out in a jet. You simple aim it at the appropriate anatomy and fire away. (Note to the squeamish: skip the next sentence.) You use your hand while rinsing to make sure everything is nice and sparkly down below. And then you clean your hand with hand sanitizer.

There is no such thing as a bidet. And if there is, it should be illegal.

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I like this approach because the thought of 7-day-old underwear is well, you can imagine. Also, now I don’t have to deal with toilet paper (new and used). (Note to non-hikers: used toilet paper should kept and thrown away off the trail.) In my opinion, the “big three” designation for camping equipment (shelter, sleep and pack) should now be called the big four to include the bidet! I love it so. Don’t judge me.

Miscellaneous

I have a head net (Ben’s) for the “gnatsters” (annoying bugs) and their biting friends. I have not used it, because I have not needed to. (Incredible, right?) From what I hear, I will need it on the PCT though. That and 100% Deet (Off) will have to do the job (fingers crossed). I have the tiniest Swiss army knife. It barely even qualifies as a knife. On the danger scale, it falls into the fingernail clipper category, really. But it has been all I have ever needed, so there it is. I have a Solar watch (Casio) that tracks altitude and has a compass, too. I spent a lot on it and have never used it, but I might break it out on this trip if I can ever figure out how to use it. If it is too much trouble to bother with, I will go back to my old reliable IronMan Timex watch (the smaller women’s version). It has a timer, two alarms, and lights up when I squeeze it. It is tough as nails and easy to find in the dark because nothing else I own is shaped like it. As a runner, I have worn one for years. A Bic lighter comes in handy from time to time (gotta use my California Campfire permit!). There is some other stuff in the photo, but it’s more fun if you try to guess what it is.

It is important to take care of your body if you want to last long on the trail. Stretching and massage are critical. A cork ball pressed into the back of your calves during the first week of hiking hurts a lot, but it can prevent some serious tendonitis. Ear plugs, pencil, duct tape, Vagisil (chafe treatment), Body Glide (chafe prevention), antacids, ibuprofen, patch material, lighters, and more are necessary.

Luxury items

I have two. First is a harmonica. I have no idea how to play it, but I love how it sounds. If I have enough free time, I might even be able to teach myself a few tunes.

The second is a drone. The first time I ever saw a drone used on a hiker video was on Dixie’s (Homemade Wanderlust) PCT thru-hike YouTube videos. It blew me away. She does one shot at Little Crater Lake that sent me into another dimension. The footage is about halfway through the video.). If I can pull it off, I want to do that too. Maybe I can even find the same lake. I have a small drone (Mavic Mini) that weighs (with controller) one pound. The battery charger adds a little more weight. The model that Dixie used was well over two pounds. I am not sure when I will carry it, but I can definitely see myself using it once I get comfortable on the trail. I will not start the hike with it, though.

Section items

Some items are not required for the whole hike, but are added or dropped from the hike according to conditions. My bear canister is the BV450. It is required in certain sections of the PCT. It is also heavy (2 lbs). I am still looking at other options. I have a home-made alcohol stove and a pot with it’s own Koozee (sp?). Thanks, Dixie, for the tutorials on how to build both these items. I might like to have hot food in cold weather at the end of the hike. We will see.

Is Dixie paying you to send people to her site? You would think so!

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It is too early to tell if snow will be a factor in my early hike. If so, micro spikes and an ice axe may be in my pack, too. I expect some snow, so I have purchased the micro spikes (Kahtoola). I will put off buying an ice axe until the last reports. The nice lady in the PCT offices said I could call her for a late snow report. I guess the PCT office is in that section of California, too.

Clothing

This post is getting a little long. I cover clothing and other weird stuff in a separate post.