[pct-l] Base weight criteria, AND..

[Diane Soini]

I started with a bunch of gear that I already had, except for a brand  
new tent I bought from Gossamer Gear. I figured the weight of my old  
gear isn't that bad. Yadda yadda.

Soon enough I started to realize that the pack fit poorly and the  
weight carried painfully. The sleeping bag took up too much space and  
I ended up tying things to the outside and walking down the trail  
with stuff bumping and swinging uncomfortably. I arrived at every  
water source with more than 2L still in my pack. My zip stove was not  
safe in the wind, not pleasant to use in the heat and messy. Goretex  
shoes are the worst invention ever conceived. Basically, my gear was  
not making my trip enjoyable.

By Warner Springs I started to send home unused items and continued  
to do so at nearly every town stop. By Idyllwild I started either  
requesting things from home be sent to me or going shopping from the  
Internet or in brick-and-mortar stores for new gear. By the end of my  
first half of hiking the PCT the only items I started out with that I  
still carried were some of my clothes and my Gossamer Gear tent.

Before my 2nd trip the following year, I spent the entire winter  
thinking of ways I could reduce my pack weight even further. I spent  
a lot of time on Backpacking Light's forum. I managed to cut another  
9lbs off my pack weight, equally with new gear purchases (but cheap  
ones) and with replacing stuff with up-cycled homemade gear.

My advice to you is bring a list of post office addresses and a  
credit card and make use of Internet shopping along the way. Use the  
first few hundred miles as a gear-testing adventure. At one point I  
was sending myself a new stove to try out, if I liked it, I sent the  
other one home. If I didn't, I tried another stove for a section. I  
did that with shoes and with other small items.

When I set off for the PCT I expected a total solitary wilderness  
experience. I expected it to be like going to the moon. What you have  
is what you have and you better be prepared for anything and  
everything. Well, it wasn't like that at all! You need not make final  
decisions now as new decisions can be made along the way. As silly as  
it sounds, you can shop your way out of a lot of gear failures on the  
PCT.

On Nov 10, 2013, at 7:31 AM, rogerrobinson at madasafish.com wrote:

> Hi Diane
> your Reply is one that actually makes so much sense
> I am worried about  my weight  ive been training  with 25Kg  about  
> 55 Lb. which im sure is  fine on a lovely day  but maybe murder  
> dragging  my arse through the desert !!
> I have a 70L Pack, a two man tent , why because i like the room ,  
> etc etc
> I know i'm going to learn the hard way , Again i'm arriving with  
> too much stuff, My logic is if i start with it i dont have to buy  
> it . and  i will then Post  up the trail in my Bounce box . My main  
> concern is resupply and  water . I have a Heavy Katadyn water  
> filter , But also purifcatin tabs
> Ive gone for a  white gas stove , and  again still trying to work  
> out how much fuel to carry ,  Its  on the Job training lol
> But I am so looking forward  to it ..
> Roger (snailtrainer)