[pct-l] PCT advice

[dude at fastmail.ca (dude)]

Erin & Kosmic - I agree with Goforth, I'd forget about the dog 
consideration for the sleeping bag choice and just get whatever works 
for you.  I have dogs and I know how great it is to love on them and 
let them snuggle up to you, etc.  My dogs are very loving and we do 
that quite a bit at home on the floor; they are not allowed on our bed 
at home and neither are they allowed on our bed when we camp.  I made 
this decision mainly because they get so filthy when they are outside 
and part of keeping a sleeping bag working properly is keeping it 
clean.  Keeping it clean also saves weight; you'd be amazed how many 
ouces you can add in unseen dirt!

As far as the shel material goes, I always have gone for the lightest 
material possible, which I beleive is .85 rip stop nylon (I am pretty 
sure that this is lighter than Epic or Pertex).  The .85 rip stop nylon 
has very minimal water repelency, but will save you between 2-4 ounces 
on a full-size sleeping bag.  I don't worry about water repelency 
because I have never had a problem keeping my bag dry, even on the JMT 
when it rained 10 of 12 days on me.

It terms of a filter, my vote is to ditch the filter in favor of 
chemical treatment.  I agree that filters taste better and are perhaps 
more healthy, but the time savings is worth it to me.  Filtering 
becomes a big time consuming chore for me, especially if you have to 
filter water for more than one person. Filters these days are better, 
but nothing is as fast as "scoop and go".  If it takes 10 minutes to 
filter 1 liter of water and you have to filter 4 liters per day per 
person, that is almost an hour of hiking that you gice up just to 
filter.  I am not saying filtering is wrong or not what you should do; 
this is just my opinion.

As far as taking the dog on a through-hike, there are several 
considerations.  First off, it will make your logistics MUCH more 
difficult because dogs are not allowed in several hundred miles of the 
trail, including Yosemite NP, Kings Canyon NP, Giant Sequoia NP, Crater 
Lake NP.  Secondly, you will DEFINITELY need booties for the dog in 
some of the sections in the Cascades where the trail is essentially 
walking on pummice and lava rock.  If you do not get booties for the 
dog, his paws will be shreded after day one on the lava rock.  I don't 
mean to discourage you, but I know that you wouldn't want to put your 
loyal friend through that.  I made my dog hike with us 17 miles in one 
day through the limestone in the Texas hill country and I felt so badly 
when they were whimpering with every step during the last 2-3 miles.  
there is no way that I could have pushed them to keep hiking the 
following day.

In terms of "ultra-light" gear for dogs, I don't think it exists.  The 
best Doggie packs that I've seen are made by MountainSmith:
http://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/packdetail.cfm/MS7600



Good luck.

peace,
dude




> Hello!
> 
> I'm going to be thru-hiking the PCT in 2005, and I have a couple
> questions I would love for you guys to answer...
> 
> First, I'm about to order my sleeping bag from Feathered Friends, and
> I was wondering if it would be better to get the Quantum Pertex
> fabric, which is the lightest they have, or the Epic, which is heavier
> but much more waterproof and durable. I'm going to be hiking with my
> dog, who I'm sure will be walking and sleeping on it quite often also,
> so I'm not sure if the Quantum will hold up well enough.
> 
> Second, is the Katadyn Mini Filter an OK choice for a filter?
> 
> Third, I would love to have some dog advice...most of the books I read
> are far from helpful, being almost offensive. He will be two years old
> when we hike it and in extremely good shape. He climbs mountains about
> three to four times a week in the summer and two to three times in the
> winter and absolutely loves it...he can handle class 2 stuff fine and
> a little class 3. He has also done fine doing really long mileages
> with lots of elevation gain...like yesterday was like 20 miles with
> over 9000 ft total elevation gain and he did awesome. So, I'm not too
> worried about him being fit enough, but I'm not sure what to do about
> his feet, backpack, or food.  Where in the world do you get
> ultra-light hiking gear for dogs? What is the lightest and best food?
> Are boots enough, or does he need extra foot care? If anyone has hiked
> the PCT with their dog, I would love to correspond with you!!!
> 
> Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> -Erin B & Kosmic
> 
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