[pct-l] a few questions

[Eric Lee]

Lois wrote:
>
What would you say was the average weight of your pack during your thruhike?
(Total, not base weight)
 
One of my friends is planning on taking a pistol on the thruhike, thoughts?

Gaiters and bug head net, recommended? Did you use them in any particular
section?
 
What was your first aid items that you consider essential and why?
 
Water.. what is your water carrying method? platypus? camelback? bottles?
>

Average pack weight is hard to estimate because food and water can vary from
nothing to a whole lot depending on the day, how hot it is, whether you just
left town or are just arriving in town, etc.  For me, my base pack weight
(all gear including the pack itself) is about 14 pounds and I pack about 1.5
pounds of dry food per day.  I hike fairly short sections so I never develop
a serious thru-hiker appetite.  I think the most water I've ever carried was
about 4 liters, which is about 9 pounds.  On my section hike last summer my
max pack weight was probably 30 pounds, minimum was 14.5.

There's absolutely no reason to carry a gun of any type on the PCT.  One,
guns and ammo are really stinking heavy.  Why torture yourself?  Two, it's
illegal to carry guns in national parks, and the PCT goes through several of
them.  Three, a gun doesn't do you any good if it's inside your pack or
otherwise concealed.  You'd have to carry it in a very visible and
accessible fashion, which will probably freak out your fellow thru-hikers
and make them avoid you.  Four, there's really not anything you'd get/need
to shoot on the PCT.  Snakes can be easily walked around or scared off with
tossed rocks.  You probably wouldn't see a mountain lion before it's on you,
so a gun likely won't help.  Most handguns will just make an angry bear even
angrier, so don't bother.  There's just no point in carrying a gun, and it
will likely cause all kinds of problems.

Some people use short, lightweight gaiters to keep debris out of their
shoes.  I wear long pants all the time so I don't use gaiters.  Headnets -
absolutely.  You'll run into nasty bugs in the Sierra or a bit north of
there, and then you'll have bad spots here and there all the way through
Oregon, depending on how fast you travel.  A good headnet can save your
sanity.

For first aid I carry athletic tape, a few large gauze pads, antibiotic
ointment, Band-Aids, anti-diarrhea medicine, and lots of ibuprofen.

I carry water in platypus containers because they work well with my pack and
I can carry an extra one folded up that doesn't take much space.  Two-liter
bottles work fine as well, and are cheap, but they take the same amount of
space whether full or empty.

Eric