[pct-l] solar charger or batteries?

[Brian Lewis]

I carried a solar charger in 2008, I think I kept using it up to the OR/WA
border.  I wouldn't do so again; when I hiked the CDT I didn't think too
long about this, just went without.

Even if you're careful to attach the charger to the back of your pack so you
can get decent sun as you walk, the best charge you'll get is in SoCal ---
farther south and less trees in general.  But SoCal is for the most part
relatively easy to stop and get a recharge.     Besides weight, there's just
a certain fiddle factor involved in always having your solar charger facing
the sun.

It certainly does make a difference how and how much you use your
power-hungry device(s).  In my case it was a smartphone only.  Smartphones
are useful for quite a number of things; for me it was my only camera and I
used it to write a sizeable journal entry each day, plus on occasion I would
upload journal entries when opportunity permitted and also infrequently get
a weather report or look at email, I even made a phone call or two from the
trail.   Really occasionally I would use the GPS to verify my location at
the end of a day or a couple of times "for real" coming off snow in the
Sierras.

Even doing all of that, I found that carrying an extra battery and being
disciplined about power usage was enough along the CDT, so I'm sure it would
be sufficient along the PCT too.   It's just the usual drill of being a
little creative/aggressive about charging when possible --- these days
besides looking dirty and scruffy, you can recognize thru-hikers going into
a fast food restaurant because they're leaning over peering under tables for
wall sockets before they pick a booth to sit at.  That sort of thing.

Caveat to the above: my experience is from 2008.  It's possible that really
portable solar charging units have improved enough in the interim to tip the
balance here.  Even if so, if you're thru-hiking then factor into your plans
that the amount of solar charge you get in WA state is going to be a lot
less than what you get from the Mexican border.


           Brian Lewis / 'Gadget'