[pct-l] Ultralight as a must?

[Gayle Webb]

Tom:  
 
The UL cuben fiber Arc Blast back pack, Heximid Solo Plus tent, poncho-ground sheet, and rain kilt were about $750, but check the ZPacks website for exact prices (http://www.zpacks.com/) I added a $15 shoulder pouch to the pack for my smart phone-camera. The stove and titanium pot at REI cost about $135 last year. The Smart Wool marino wool base layer shirt and pants at REI cost about $150. The rain-wind jacket was about $135 and the down jacket $225 as I remember it. The Ray Way quilt kit was $75 (warm and easy to make), closed foam 3/4 inch sleeping pad $25, fleece hat (I found it in the snow), gloves $65. The shoes were $85 and I added "Dirty Girl" gaiters this year for $20. REI Columbia UV resistant long sleeve shirt and zip-off pants were about $120. My first aid-toilet kit is contained in three zip lock bags (TP and hand sanitizer, medical and soap/tooth brush, etc.) and carried in a $39 ZPack cuben fiber water proof pouch with note pad,
 pen, my old multi function knife, pinch light, head lamp, and compass (it doubles as a nifty top lid, shoulder bag or day pack and carries two 32 oz water bottles without the first aid toilet items). I got the Tilley hat as a gift. My socks were nylon dress socks and one pair of old Smart Wool socks.  Total cost for the new gear and clothes was $1,839. But I also got some cuben fiber stuff sacks at the PCT kick-off from the ZPacks booth for about $40. So, you are looking at about 2K if you want to go UL. Remember, the shoes only last for about 750 miles, so add another $200 to your budget if you intend to thru-hike the entire 2600 miles. Also, the cost of food (I dehydrated mine and sent it by USPS to resupply spots) and 0 days in motels and restaurants add up. I estimated another 1K for these "essentials." 
 
I hope this helps make your decision to hike UL.  If not, take two asprin and wait till morning to decide if a UL hike on PCT is really for you. 
 
Spider legs


________________________________
From: Tom Drewenskus <tdrewenskus at gmail.com>
To: dgwebbaux at att.net 
Sent: Thursday, October 11, 2012 2:04 PM
Subject: [pct-l] Ultralight as a must?


Spider Legs,
It seems as though everyone wants to talk about ultralight options and the weight savings associated.  But, nobody wants to talk about how much it costs.  So, how much did all of the ultralight gear for your thru-hike cost?
 
By The Book
=================================================
Message: 3
Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2012 11:21:03 -0700 (PDT)
From: Gayle Webb <dgwebbaux at att.net>
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Ultralight as a must?
To: Craig Stanton <craigstanton at mac.com>
Cc: PCT journal <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Message-ID:
      <1349979663.59756.YahooMailNeo at web181603.mail.ne1.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
 
Stefan:
?
The reality is you only need to pack for 4-5 days at a time.? If you can manage daily washing?clothes and eating dehydrated food for that time, the resupply stops and trail angels make extra food and gear useless weight. This year I found out that I did not need as much for the trail as I expected for the desert. No need for a tent most of the time up to section H. For the central part of California - north?I got?UL gear from ZPacks (http://www.zpacks.com/) And with it my base pack weight went well below 10 lbs. with their Heximid Plus tent, poncho-ground sheet, rain kilt and Arc Blast pack. 
?
For gear I packed 32 degree sleeping quilt?made with a Ray Jardine (http://www.rayway.com/) kit,?foam sleeping pad, three pairs of socks (changed and washed 3x per day) a base layer marino wool shirt and pants, a down hooded jacket (Western Mountaineering),?fleece?cap and gloves, hiking fingerless gloves (for the desert), head lamp, fuel canister stove & MSR titanium pot, water bladder, first aid-toilet kit, plastic spoon and fork, verinox knife, pinch light, smart phone-8mp camera, compass, half-mile maps (resupplied by sections)?and light Montane wind-rain jacket (http://www.montane.co.uk/).? The rest of the clothes (Columbia UV resistant convertable pants, long sleve ventilated shirt) and Tilly hat, ?I wore and washed often.?Food, fuel?and water?weight was excluded as well as the bear canister used from section H to Sonora. My 64 oz capacity Platypus water bladder with hydration hose was supplemented by two 32 oz plastic soda bottles, one of
which I replaced with a 28 oz Dole peach jar in which hydrated my food while I hiked. I filtered my water through a 10 micro pad into a 2 gal.? "Pack Bowl" (http://www.backpcakerspantry.com/)? and treated it with bleach.
?
I think the total pack weight loaded with 5 days of food and 3 liters of water was abut 24 lbs for the first day from resupply points on the trail. Most of the time my pack seemed very light and my daily milage, with?Merrill Ventilator shoes (I hear Brooks Cascadia shoes are good too), almost doubled to 25-30 miles per day (on a good day). I did take a 0 day each week - or more when?I got pooped.? I did not finish the? PCT, however, due to a knee?injury. I will try again next year. Check out other great gear lists from more experienced hikers on the PCT website.?I found their advice on many subjects invaluable. Again, my UL pack and gear?took time to assemble and?worked fine?for me but may be too light - or expensive - for you.?As they say: "reducing pack pounds is easy, ruducing pack ounces is expensive." But, for my money, it was way cheaper?than?Carribean cruise. 
?
Spider legs