Preparation – An Early Lesson

Dateline: Vista, California (20180321)

Upon electing to undertake this venture, I decided to keep a list of ‘Things I wished I knew before I started’.  I expected the list to grow extensively right from the start.  Surprisingly, but maybe because of my recent sailing and ancient backpacking experience, it has NOT grown much at all!  It may grow later.  However, for now, my one and only big lesson is:

Rule #1 – Don’t buy any new stuff too soon.

To guide you in what to take on a long hiking trip, there is a plethora of good (and bad) information on the internet, especially on YouTube.  For really good information, check out Dixie’s (aka Jessica Mills) PCT Gear List videos:

• Original PCT Gear List – Desert Section at http://homemadewanderlust.com/original-pct-gear-list-desert-section/
• PCT Gear List – Sierra Nevada at http://homemadewanderlust.com/pct-gear-list-sierra-nevada/
• PCT Gear Picks – The Cascade Range at https://youtu.be/FhYnX_QZiWk

You can see all of the gear in action by watching Dixie’s entire 2017 Thru-Hike of the PCT at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK6Xz7_Uygc.

I have yet to embark.  Yet I already have a list of items that give me buyer’s remorse.  Standing alone, they are all great items.  However, I may have come across better solutions for my specific purposes or simply gotten wiser as my plans solidified.

• Platypus Gravity Water Filter – The Platypus is a great 4 liter water system, but using  it requires a three step process: fill it, hang it, and wait.  It assumes you have a tree or a high rock from which to hang it.  Instead, I will use Sawyer water filters.  They can screw onto the top of most water bottles, e.g., SmartWater bottles available at most grocery stores, and go to work without the extra steps of ‘dirty pouch’/’clean pouch’ and wait.
• Silk Sleeping bag liner – A bag liner could keep my sleeping bag a lot cleaner, but it’s single purpose.  Instead, I’ll take another light ‘base layer’ that can serve a double purpose: Clean clothes (over a dirty body) to sleep, but could also be an extra layer of clothing for warmth if needed when hiking.
• MSR Stove – It’s a great stove, but maybe I’d like the Jetboil better? Or better yet, maybe I’ll learn to go cookless and not need to carry a stove at all.  At this moment, I’m still going to take it.
• MSR Hubba Hubba Tent – Awesome 2-person tent, but maybe I should have gone lighter with a Z-Pack Duplex.  I hope I enjoy it enough to justify the extra weight.  They brag about the Hubba Hubba weighing only 2.2 lbs.  That’s light.  But that doesn’t include the optional items like the fly (which protects you from rain), ground stakes which reinforce the tent in a strong wind and keep the free standing tent from blowing away while you’re packing up, or the footprint which protects the floor from sharp rocks, sticks, and cactus needles.  All in, that 2.2 lbs blossoms to 3.6 lbs.  That’s still pretty light for an amazingly comfortable tent, but I’m planning to carry it for 5 million steps and up 85 vertical miles.  Every gram counts!   I’m still going to take it… for now.
• Ice Axe – Maybe I should have gone with a Wippet.  If the snow fall stays low enough, I may not need this at all.
• Food – I’ve purchased a bunch on special deals in advance of detailed meal planning.  I’ll still use much of it.  It’s great food.  But, since I now know that I’m going to minimize my mail drops, I’ll only use as much as Rose brings to me. That will likely be quite a bit less food than what I’ve already purchased.

For several of these items, what I have is great and I will use it.  However, if I had not have made the purchases so early in the process, I would have ended with different things.

So, that’s my one ‘lesson’ from preparation.  Research, be patient, and buy near the last minute (but still in time to test before leaving!).

Fair winds