Starting the Pacific Crest Trail

As Jeremy and I began researching the PCT and how to prepare, he kept coming across the saying “you hike your own hike.” Simply, everyone is on the trail for their own reasons and will get something different out of the experience. This is a great mindset to remember when preparing for an adventure like this. While I did my share of scouring dozens of packing lists, reading reviews of gear, and yes, calculating the cheapest way to cut down those few last ounces by replacing or removing items from my packing list, ultimately I wanted the decisions I made in preparation to reflect my reasons for starting.

So why am I doing this anyway? After some reflection and a nudge from my therapist, here’s my mission statement for starting the PCT and what I hope to accomplish:

To enjoy the moment by being present with whatever awesome, scary, or fantastic situations arise.

To practice patiently listening to the world around me (especially Jeremy) as well as my soul and my body.

To start shedding the habits and beliefs I’ve developed over the years which no longer serve me (my worth is not defined by my productivity!).

With that in mind, here’s what I’ve prepared to take with me:

My pack – see below for a full list of gear I’m bringing with me. I set a goal of 15 pounds base weight (meaning everything I’ll be carrying that isn’t food or water) and ended up just under 17. Ultimately I decided a third shirt and warmer sleeping bag were worth the extra ounces. I’ve been “training” with my pack for the past month, logging about 5 miles a day with it weighted between 20-25 pounds.

An emotional “toolkit” that I’ve been building over the past year which currently includes some meditations downloaded on my phone, notes that help with my personal application of the practices I’ve learned through therapy including RAIN and Heart-Focused Breathing, and a commitment to continuing working on my self-compassion.

Most importantly, my husband 🙂 I would not be doing this without my favorite person coming along with me. And we have been clear with each other that if either of us need to adjust our approach as we go, we’ll do that. We’re not setting a goal of hiking every mile of the trail, and we fully don’t expect to do that. We are setting out on an adventure and if injury, trail conditions, or just a desire to see more mushrooms and less snow pull us from the trail, then we will be perfectly happy to change course.

We’ll be arriving at the southern terminus of the PCT on May 6 to start our north-bound walk and will update this site at least every few weeks. Thank you to all of our friends and family who have helped us get to this point and listened to us talk about doing this for the past two years!

Tent, sleep set up, and pack:
Zpacks Triplex tent with ground cover (though Jeremy will probably be carrying it)
Osprey Eja 58 Backpack (not taking the top brain as I never like using it)
Feathered Friends Zero degree down sleeping bag
Therm-a-rest Uberlite regular wide sleeping pad
For a pillow, I’ll be using a small blow-up pillow wrapped with my down jacket and held in place with my buff
For a sit pad, Jeremy & I split the Gossamer gear ⅛ inch foam pad, which we can also slide under our sleeping pads for a tiny bit of additional warmth/protection

Clothes:
1 pair shorts & 1 pair hiking pants with Arcade belt
3 long-sleeve shirts, two for hiking (one wool and one super lightweight sunshirt) and one wool shirt with a hood for sleeping
Wool long underwear (185 weight from REI)
3 pairs Darn Tough quarter length hiking socks
3 pairs wool undies
1 wool bra
Smartwool hat
Sun hat with a wide brim
Raincoat and rain pants from REI
Mid-calf Gators
Trail running shoes
Crocs (for camp and water crossings)
Mountain Hardware ghost whisperer down coat
Zpacks waterproof mitten shells and wool/possum gloves
Wool buff (cut in two pieces to make both a headband and neck scarf)

Cooking & Water:
Jetboil (this was one of the things I decided wasn’t worth upgrading to save a few ounces)
Platypus gravity filter (I modified this to save some weight – cut the tubes shorter and will fill directly into our water bottles instead of bringing a “clean” bladder)
Two 1 liter water bottles
Long plastic spoon
Plastic Talenti jar and lid
Waterproof stuff sack lined with a plastic turkey bag for food storage

Miscellaneous Gear:
Handkerchief
Bug net & repellant
Trowel & toilet paper
Goodr sunglasses
Garmin InReach
iPhone, Anker 10,000 power bank, charging cables
Small rechargeable earphones & earplugs for sleeping
Small notebook & pen
Black Diamond carbonlite trekking poles
Black Diamond headlamp & 3 extra batteries
Small pocket knife (blade only)
Gear repair tape
Small emergency blanket
Lighter
Cash / ID / credit cards
Emergency whistle
Small ball for rolling feet / sore muscles

Medkit / Hygiene:
Pills (advil, tylenol, benadryl, allerclear)
Kula cloth
2 oz camp soap
Sea to Summit wet wipes
Bandaids, moleskin, med tape
Deodorant (yup! And proud of it!)
Toothbrush & paste and floss
Sunscreen & chapstick
Epi pen
Nail scissors
Hand sanitizer
Inhaler
Safety pins and tweezers

Other gear we’ll mail to Kennedy Meadows for snow / bear country:
Kahtoola Microspikes
Ice axe (TBD – depending on conditions and our chosen route)
Bear box