Tent Upgrade

I just purchased a Big Agnes - Fly Creek UL1 tent for the PCT. Lighter weight than my Particle 13 (4 lbs.) from North Face, the Fly Creek tent weighs only 2 lbs. 2 oz., a savings of almost 2 pounds. You can tell the materials are thinner on this tent. I hope it holds up as well as the Particle 13, which is still in great shape after 2,175 miles. I think the bulk of the weight savings are from the pole configuration. I did switch out the aluminium tent stakes for titainium and eliminated the guylines. I'm also pleased that Big Agnes is using DAC's new green anodizing process on their tent poles.

Most people carry a tarp on the PCT, but I really like the bug protection you get from a tent. Maybe someday I'll start using a tarp on shorter trips, but for a long distance hike, a tent makes more sense to me.

A Good Night's Sleep

When I hiked the AT in 2006, I started out with a Marmot Atom sleeping bag. It was a down bag rated to 40° and weighing only 1 lb. My strategy was to use a bag liner to increase the temperature range and carry it the whole way. After a couple really cold nights in Georgia,  I was re-thinking the plan. I ended up getting a warmer bag and sending the Atom home. I purchased a synthetic bag made by North Face, the Cat's Meow, weighing in at 2 lbs. 10 oz. and rated to 20°. It was much warmer and really heavy. I did switch back to the Atom for the summer and then back to the Cat's Meow before I hit the White Mountains in New Hampshire.

I just bought a Super Stretch Down Hugger #1 Short from Mont-Bell, for the PCT. It has 800 fill down (better quality than 600 fill down), and is rated to 15°. So, it's warmer than the Cat's Meow and only weighs 2 lbs. 3 oz. The nights on the PCT are supposed to be cold, so I plan to use the same bag the whole way. This bag has elastic built in to allow it to move with your body, allowing more comfort and reducing the amount of dead air space your body needs to heat.

I was considering Mont-Bell's new Spiral Down Hugger that would be 3 oz. lighter. It has some of the stretching properties as the Super Stretch, but I decided 3 oz. was worth the difference in comfort. I think a good night's rest is important on a long distance hike.

Clean Water

I like my water filtered. I carried the MiniWorks EX from MSR on the whole A.T. I consider it a little luxury on a long trail, because it's heavier than some other water treatment methods(chemical, salt, light). If you don't treat your water at all, you should expect to get sick at least once.

With a filter, I get clean, great tasting water, without "floaties". I would say 80% of the water on the A.T., I didn't worry about. But for the other 20%, I was glad to have the filter. On one long hot day, with little water available, I came across a styrofoam cooler left by a trail angel. To my great disappointment, the cooler was empty, save for a couple inches of water that used to be ice. So, I whipped out my trusty filter and pumped a liter of water, that tasted fantastic.

Needless to say, I was excited when MSR came out with the new HyperFlow, which weighs about half what the MiniWorks weighed. Instead of the ceramic and carbon filter on the MiniWorks, it uses Hollow Fiber Technology(picture a bundle of micro straws), to filter water faster with less weight. The time it would take to pump water on my older filter was a drawback. You do have to backflush the filter occasionally, which seems an easy thing to do. One feature I really like is the ability to screw the filter onto a Nalgene bottle.

Alpine Scale

I decided to pick up this digital Alpine Scale from Backpacking Light for $64. I just noticed REI has it for $62. It has a max. capacity of 55 lbs. and is accurate to 0.02 lbs. I think it's going to work out great for determining my pack weight.

Osprey Packs

On my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, I used an Osprey Aether 60 pack that was 3,700 cu. in., which turned out to be just the right size. I was completely happy with it, and it's still in good shape. Since then, Osprey has redesigned the Aether, and it's a bit lighter than my old pack.

My old pack weighs 4 lbs. 3oz., which probabley included a couple ounces of dirt. The new Aether weighs 3 lbs. 15 oz. with a load capacity of about 45 lbs. I'm actually considering changing to the Osprey Atmos 65. At 3 lbs. 9 oz., it's 10 oz. lighter than my old pack. It also has a slightly larger volume, 4,000 cu. in., but with a lower load capacity of 40 lbs. I wouldn't think that would be a problem considering my heaviest load on the AT was 35 lbs. However, there will be sections of the PCT where I might be carrying up to eight liters of water @ 2 lbs. a liter, for a total of 16 lbs. water weight. So, I think I should approximate my heaviest possible load to determine which pack to take.

The Atmos does have more ventilation features, which would be great in the desert sections. And I like the build in pockets on the hip belt. I plan to take an mp3 player and a digital camera, that I would likely carry in those pockets, for easy access. I'm hoping I can get my max pack weight down enough that I can use the Atmos.

Pacific Crest Trail

I'm starting to plan a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada, in 2010. I'm currently researching and analyzing new gear and what I used on the Appalachian Trail. The PCT is different enough from the AT, that I'll have to change some gear.

On the AT in 2006, I used a Thermarest Prolite 3, self inflating sleep pad. It worked pretty well, but I would have to turn over about every hour because of pain in my shoulder or hip. That happened mainly in the shelters, while lying on a wooden floor. I had more cushion sleeping in my tent.

Thermarest has come out with a new version of the Prolite 3, now just called Prolite. They have rounded the ends, removing the corners and reducing the weight from 13 oz. to 11 oz. in the small size, which is a 3/4 length mattress at 47" long.

What I find interesting though, is the new NeoAir inflatable mattress that weighs in at a mere 9 oz. It is also slightly more insulative than the Prolite and is 2 1/2" thick. I've read there are a lot of stickers in southern California, making a puncture inevitable. The suggest closed-cell foam pads. If I take a patch kit, at 3/4 oz., I'll still be ahead of the game.

On the AT, I picked up a Z Seat to use under my feet and as a seat when taking breaks. At only 2 oz., I was much more comfortable. I'm thinking more cushion = better sleep = more rest, and it's lighter. So, I just might have to risk having the occasional puncture.

Butterfly Pillow

I found a butterfly pillow cover in a knitting book, but the pattern seemed overly complicated. Mom loves butterflies, so this was something I've had in mind to knit for Christmas for a few years. I kept the butterfly pattern, but changed the pattern above and below that. It's knit in Alchemy Yarns - Temple, superfine merino wool. I basically knit a long strip, then folded over the top and bottom with an overlap where I used buttons, and threw in a few button holes. I then seamed the sides. If I were to change anything, I'd probably reduce the number of buttons and leave more space between the edges and the exterior buttons.

Different versions I worked out in photoshop prior to deciding on colors and pattern.