Lighterpack link.
This is probably all you need to look at but in case you want to know my thoughts on the stuff I used, keep on reading.
So what makes this a “vegan” gear list?
I didn’t use down, wool, or any other animal products as far as I know. I added that last part because there may or may have been animal products in some of the stuff I used without me knowing it. I doubt it but who knows. “As far as is possible and practical”.
The majority of thru hikers I met used down quilt or bags or jackets (including other vegan hikers) but I couldn’t justify using one. I wanted to enjoy the splendor and beauty of the natural world and wouldn’t have felt comfortable doing so while being kept warm by the suffering of sentient beings. I’m weird like that.
Same thing with wool. Everyone swears by wool socks but fuck exploiting an animal just so I can avoid blisters or have less smelly feet.
Not trying to shame anyone for their choices (actually, yes I am), that was just my mindset going into my hike.
Anyway, without further proselytizing, here’s my PCT gear list.
Big Three: Pack, Shelter, and Sleeping Stuff
Pack: Mountain Laurel Designs Exodus.
This stupid fat pack, I love it so much. I bought it instead of the smaller Burn or Prophet thinking I was going to need the extra volume because of my bulk synthetic quilt and bear can which was kinda true. It’s a 58L frameless pack designed for low but bulky baseweights which is such a niche product and I think I might be the only one who actually kinda needs it for that.
This thing is hilariously big. It’s so voluminous I could have probably used it as a my bivy in an emergency. I definitely didn’t need the full volume of the pack though I did get close to maxing it out in the Sierra with a full BV 500 bear can and 6 day food carry. That was definitely not comfortable BUT this can more comfortably carry that kind of weight (around 24 lbs) than the Burn or Prophet, at least the older models, so I was glad I had it for that. Still, I wish I had gone with a Prophet instead since the extra volume was not really necessary.
The sternum strap also sucked. It kept coming off before the trip and on the Tahoe Rim Trail and eventually completely disappeared on the shuttle ride from Stehekin back to the trail. I improvised one out of some paracord and mini-carabiner and that held for the rest of the trail but I was pretty disappointed by it. Another sobo with a Burn also complained about the sternum strap and he got rid of his entirely so it wasn’t just me.
Overall though, I loved this pack. It carried my stuff well and everything was easily accessible. The best thing about this pack is just how ridiculously bomber it was. I was not gentle with it. I threw it on snow, water, lava rocks, talus, fell on it, scrapped it against so many trees, and literally slept on top of it for over 100 nights and it’s still in really good shape. The worst thing that happened to it was a small hole in the front mesh where it snagged on some blowdown. For a 1lb pack, that’s fucking awesome.
I’m going to keep using it in 2019 since it’s still in good shape but I’ll probably replace it with a Prophet or another 40-45L pack when it’s time comes.
Pack liner: trash compactor bag.
I used a cheap trash bag that got a hole in and then I switched it for a thicker black compactor bag I found in a hiker box in Castella and it worked fine. Kept my stuff dry.
Hip belt pouch: Gossamer Gear Hip Belt Pouch
Didn’t start off with this but very quickly realized I wanted a hip belt pouch to keep my snacks in so I do the old hike n’ snack easily. No lead times for Gossamer Gear stuff so I was able to get it quickly which is why I ordered it. It kinda sucks tbh. It’s big and heavy and the attachment system is non-existent. Like, idk how you’re supposed to keep in on a hip belt. The straps are not adjustable. You can’t cinch them on or clip them to the hip belt in any way. Maybe they’re only meant to be used with Gossamer Gear packs?? I had to use one of the pull cords from the zipper to directly tie it to my pack.
Shelter Stuff
Shelter: Zpacks Hexamid Solo Plus (RIP)
This was light, easy to the set up for the most part, and big enough for me and all my gear inside. I’m 6’1 and it felt a little short with the front and bottom tie-outs not staked out. My feet sometimes touched the walls especially with my bulky quilt so I had to orient myself onto the longest stretch of the inside.
I was glad to have a fully enclosed shelter in southern Washington where the bugs were a fucking nightmare. That being said the mesh walls/floor of the hexamid kinda suck. They retained moisture a lot which made the shelter heavier and it was pain to roll it up. They also collected dirt and leaves and other stuff easily. I got a few holes in the mesh which let bugs in and I had to duct tape them closed to preserve my sanity. The mesh floor along with the polycro was enough protection and my sleeping pad felt safe for the most part though.
Once I got to Oregon and the bugs died out I didn’t really set it up except for a handful of times in SoCal. In fact, I decided to switch to a tarp in the Sierra. I wanted an even lighter shelter since I wasn’t really ever setting it up. I had a while crisis of faith about it and ordered a Twinn Tarp which I picked up in Bridgeport. I set up the tarp once and didn’t like so I ended up changing my mind and switched back to the hex in Bishop. I prefer cowboy camping but if I am going to set up my shelter, I want an enclosed one. In hindsight, I should have just stuck with the hex the whole time.
Still, it’s a v nice shelter minus the annoying mesh. I ended up cutting it off entirely after the trail since I have a bivy now. I got a full thru-hike out of it so I don’t feel bad butchering this overpriced shelter. Moving forward I’m just going to use the meshless tarp as my shelter since it’s still in good condition and I rarely set it up anyway. Zpacks also no longer makes the Hex or the Hex Solo Tarp so I gotta keep this thing forever.
Ground cloth: polycryo sheet.
Used it as the ground cloth in the hex and for cowboy camping. I went through two. One got shredded by the time I got to Cascade Locks and the other I lost in Oregon when I left it drying out because I’m scum. I ended up using my garbage liner for a bit as a ground cloth and then picked up the bug bivy which negated the need for a separate ground cloth. This thing is fine, if a little flimsy, but I’m switching to using a bivy from now on so probably won’t need it ever again. Less plastic waste is nice.
Stakes: MSR mini groundhogs x6 + ti shepard stakes x4
Mini groundhogs were dope. Bomber but still light-ish. One stake did bend and I couldn’t fix it. This ended up working out because I lost my trowel and used the bent stake to dig catholes. Multi-use gear erryting.
Ti stakes were for the non-essential tie-outs and not absolutely necessary. Wouldn’t trust only them as stakes, especially in the Sierra. Moving forward I’m gonna just use sticks or rocks for those tie-outs and leave the ti stakes at home.
Bivy: Borah Gear Bug Bivy
Got this for the Sierra and for the desert to add a few degrees of warmth and bug protection since I was cowboy camping every night. Bought it on /r/ulgeartrade and mistakenly thought it was a full cuben bivy cause I’m an idiot. The mesh is super thin and got a ton of holes, most annoyingly a big one near the zipper where it snagged. Because of the size and the location, I couldn’t really patch it up. Still, it did replace my ground cloth and for the most part keep the bugs and mice off me. The mesh did cut the wind a bit so probably added a few degrees of warmth.
I’m def gonna stick with a bivy for future stuff but investing in a fully enclosed one and not just the mesh bug one. If anyone wants a dirty, holey mesh bivy, hmu.
Tarp: Gossamer Gear Twinn Tarp
I picked it up in Bridgeport to save some weight from my hex and to just try out a different system. I set it up once in the Sierra on a bright full moon night and didn’t like how long it took to pitch correctly. I started off my UL life with a big 9×9 tarp so have a lot of practice setting up tarps but I just didn’t like this one. It was too big and unwieldy and because of the cut limited the pitching options.
I mailed it back home in Bishop and switched back to my hex tarp. Ended up selling this as soon as a I got home for less than I spent on it so that was a dumb waste of money.
Sleep stuff
Quilt: Enlightened Equipment Revelation Apex 20 degree long/wide
I went with a quilt over a sleeping bag because I hate sleeping bags. If you still use a sleeping bag, tf are you doing??? I also went with synthetic APEX over down because I don’t fuck with down and I’ll internet/irl fight with anyone who does.
At two pounds, it’s definitely not the lightest sleeping quilt ever and it’s super bulky which necessitated a larger pack (which it didn’t really) but it kept me warm for the most part. The temp rating is v generous and I definitely would not want to push it into the low 20s. I had a few nights below freezing and I did have to put on most of my layers. In hindsight, I would have gone with an Enigma APEX with a closed foot box since I kept the one on my Revelation closed most of the time. I was glad I got it long and wide because I was able to sleep on my side comfortably without drafts and could cover up my head to sleep real cozy.
Sleeping pad: Thermarest Xlite short.
I’m a tall boi and I was worried I was going stupid light with this but it ended up working out perfectly. The tapered bottom is annoying but I ended up flipping it over so that my wide child-bearing hips were over the wider part. I used my pack for my legs which I loved because it turned my pack in multi-use gear and kept it closer to me so I didn’t have to worry about it as I slept.
I also used the sleeping pad as the frame for my pack which worked well. One rainy night in Socal when I picked a stupid spot to sleep, I also ended up using it as a floatation device. Don’t recommend this.
Pillow: Sea to Summit Aeros UL pillow.
Completely a luxury item but daddy needs his beauty sleep. As a far as pillows good, it’s a good one idk what else to say.
It blew away in the middle of the night when I was cowboy camping at Cascade Locks my first night. I spent forever trying to find it but couldn’t. I went back two nights later after taking two zeroes in Portland and magically found it near one of the tables. I think someone found it and left it there and no one other hiker had taken it. The trail is magic.
Anyway, this pillow is dope and it helped me sleep well every night. I used my Buff as pillow case and to prevent it from sliding all over the place.
Additional sleeping pad: Gossamer Gear 1/8th inch foam pad cut to torso length.
I picked this bad boy up in Bridgeport to supplement my short lil sleeping pad in the Sierra and to have it as extra protection in the desert. I loved this thing. I would never use it on its own but as an additional sleeping pad or just as a sit/nap pad during the day it was great. Anyone who only uses it as a sleeping pad is a sociopath.
Clothes
These are the clothes I ended my hike with. I had some different stuff to start with, namely pants, but the stuff I ended with was mostly stuff I would/will use again on future hikes.
Worn Clothes
Shirt: Columbia Pilsner Peak S/S M
My camp dad shirt. Early on I was awarded most fashionable shirt on trail by a section hiker. She tried to give me the trail name camp dad but naahh. Only downsize was that it was short sleeved but otherwise it was perfect.
Shorts: Patagonia Nine Trails Shorts.
I started off with the Patagonia Quandary zip-off pants. I had my mom alter a bit to taper the legs and add in some snaps to make the legs easier to take off. They were fine and functional but honestly I just couldn’t stand how I looked with them which is stupid and vain but I got issues with body dysmorphia already and I didn’t want to deal with that while hiking.
I switched to these halfway through Washington and felt so much better. Shorts with built-in liner and zippered pockets. The zippers on both pockets eventually broke and the liner got totally shredded from my fat thighs rubbing together for hundreds of miles and there were a bunch of holes on ass from where I sat on pokey stuff. That being said, they were great and I’d buy another pair.
Sun sleeves: Outdoor Research UPF sun sleeves.
The short sleeved shirt necessitated sun sleeves since my arms are riddled with vitiligo and sunscreen didn’t cut it enough. These were long enough and designed to also cover my hands which was nice since I lost the cycling gloves I was using for sun protection.
Shoes: Altra Superior 3.5
I fucking love these shoes dawg. Bury me in them. Went through 4 pairs. First and second pair lasted 800 miles each. Third lasted 600 but that was through the Sierra. Fourth lasted me until the end of the hike and then a few more shorter hikes after.
I only added the rock plate in the Sierra cause I knew talus would eat my feet up otherwise. The slight raise inside made it so that my little piggies rubbed the upper and it wore it out sooner. Without the rock plate they were fine.
By 500-600 miles they were totally flattened out and I did start to get some mild bottom of the foot tenderness but I mitigated that by buying generic insoles which extended the life of my shoes anther 300 miles.
I started off with the regular black and red ones but switched to the fuego red ones because I saw another hiker with them and was jelly of how rad they looked.
Socks: Nylon dress socks.
Fuck wool socks, idgaf. I started off with two pairs of Darn Tough vertex but lost one pair early on in Washington. The other wore out but I was able to return them in Portland. Didn’t get a replacement pair until after the trail though.
I bought a bunch of cheap generic nylon dress socks because I saw an Instagram story where John Z did it and holy fuck game changer. They were cheap, dried quickly, and surprisingly durable. I went through 6 pairs from Ashland to Wrightwood where for someone reason I decided to switch to Injinji toe socks. The Injinjis sucked and I wish I’d stuck to the dress socks. Functional and fashionable.
I did try out some cheap poly Target socks for a bit in the Sierra and they did not work as well as the nylon ones. They did have tacos on them though.
Underwear: Ex Oficio Give-N-Go Boxer Briefs.
Kept my junk well-supported and didn’t stink too bad after weeks of not washing them. Easy to clean which was nice after the two times I shit myself.
Hat: Sunday Afternoon Sun Hat.
I lost my subtly vegan Herbivore trucker hat in the windy ridge above the LA aquaducts which was such a bummer. At Hiker Heaven, trail angel Donna gave me her personal sun hat for the rest of the desert. It was so dorky looking but covered me up and protected my dirt face from the sun.
Buff: Tough Buff.
Generic Amazon buff I bought before I realized Amazon sucks. Does all the buff things and doubled as a pillowcase for my pillow.
Bandana: Pacific Crest Trail Class of 2018 bandana.
Bought it before my trip in lieu of getting it at the Dinsmore’s or in at Casa De Luna. Nobos kept asking me where I got mine because they couldn’t fathom how a sobo could have gotten one. Shut up nobos
Watch: Casio Men’s W800H-1AV
Cheap, kept time, woke me up in the mornings. Still ticking.
Glasses: Prescription
To see good.
Sunglasses: Clip on
I had an extra pair of prescription sunglasses but didn’t like having them. I bought the clip-on attachment for my glasses when I ordered them from Zenni Optical and they worked fine except for eventually breaking.
Gaiters: Dirty Girl “No Bad Days” Gaiters
I forgot my Altra gaiters before I set off and had to buy a pair of the Outdoor Research ones and maaaann those were terrible. I spent all of Washington fiddling with them as they kept coming off and letting dirt in negating the entire reason for having them. I ordered a pair of these cute gaiters that had colorful plants on them because I’m Plants and because they were named “No Bad Days” which I thought was appropriate. Worked so much better than the shitty Outdoor Research ones.
Hiking Poles: REI Carbon Lock Hiking Poles
Does this count as worn clothes? I don’t know. Anyway, I bought these for like 20 bucks at an REI garage sale and have used them for over 3,000 miles. The tip on one finally broke about a hundred miles from the finish but it still worked.
Carried clothes
Extra socks: Nylon dress socks.
See above.
Gloves: Liner Gloves
Cheap liner gloves that I didn’t really use and when I did, didn’t actually keep my hands warm.
Gloves: MLD 3-Layer Event Rain Mitts L
Got these for the Sierra on from someone on /r/ulgeartrade who did a terrible job seam sealing them. I got caught in one bad rain storm in SoCal and they wetted out immediately and my hands were so cold and frozen I couldn’t use my thumbs. They were stupid big too. Don’t get the large ones unless your hands are massive.
Puffy Jacket: Enlightened Equipment Torrid Apex
Puffy. Warm. Light. Good. Cuff are a little tight but who cares.
Rain Jacket: Frogg Toggs UL M
Cheap. Kept my body dry the like 3 days of rain I had.
Rain Kilt: MLD Rain Skirt.
Picked it up for the Sierra. Kept my junk dry the few days of rain I had but mostly I could use it to put stuff on or as a little extra protection for my sleeping pad. Kept it until the end which was a good idea since most of the rain I got was in the desert.
Windshirt: Patagonia Houdini Windshirt
So nice. Had this for years and wore it almost every day while hiking. Great light outer layer. Life saver in Washington in the heavy bug areas.
Base Layer Bottom: Brooks Dryline Running Tights
I started off with the Patagonia Houdini Wind Pants which worked well until I ripped them to shreds in the Sierra. Those were the second pair I’ve ruined. I don’t take care of my stuff or myself well enough to get away with just using wind pants so I’m gonna stick to these cheap running tights I got for 8 bucks years ago at a thrift store.
Base layer top: Patagonia Thermal Weight Hoodie
Picked up for the Sierra. Loved it so kept it until the end. Nice and light thermal weight. For warmer trips I could probably just use this and no puffy.
Essentials
Ditty Bag: Pack Towel zippered sack
I had this little zippered bag meant for the Pack Towel personal towel but I used it to hold all my minor stuff. It’s p light and cheap and not at all waterproof. I just stuffed it into the main body of my pack when it rained.
Knife: Swiss Army Classic minus toothpick
Classic for a reason. I lost the toothpick ages ago but have never missed it. Mostly used the scissors to open boxes or trim my gross toenails.
Headlamp: Petzl e+Lite
Little but bright and it locks to prevent it from turning on inadvertently. Would have rather had a rechargeable one but I had this already. At an ounce heavy it was fine for how bright it was. Night hiked a lot and never felt I needed anything else.
Extra Batteries C2032 Lithium
For headlamp.
First Aid Kit: Leukotape + Ibuprofen + Benadryl
I carried a little baggie with few ibuprofen and Benadryl, the only things I ever needed. The ibuprofen I only needed twice, one on the descent to Cascade Locks when my ass chaffed so bad, and the other in the Sierra when my tooth started hurting. The Benadryl kept me sane in Washington after getting eaten alive by mosquitos.
Sunscreen: Kiss My Face 30SPF
Vegan, no animal testing. Got kinda hard to find the further south I went but I mailed myself enough just in case.
Lip balm: Kiss My Face Sport Sunscreen Lip Balm
On the Lost Coast Trail, I got so sunburned my lips started blistering. Never again.
Lighter: Bic Mini
I think I used this once. No-cook4lyfe
Compass: Button compass
Cute lil button compass I stole from a map book. I’ve never tried to actually use this for navigation and I’m worried I might die if I tried to but supposedly I’ll die without one so I just took it.
Maps: Paper (for Washington)
I printed out maps for Washington before my hike and then never looked at them again. I had Guthooks and Halfmile and there were other sobos and nobos and maps everywhere and the trail is well-marked for the most part. After Washington, I didn’t bother carrying them. Was this the best idea? Probably not. If something happened to my phone and I got lost, I’d probably die anyway ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Permit
Never got asked to see it. YMMV
ID/Credit Card/Cash Wrapped together with a rubber band
This is actually what I do for my wallet off-trail anyway .
Hygiene
Toothbrush: Handle cut off
cause I’m all about that stupid UL lyfe
Toothpaste: Travel size
One tube lasted until Norcal then I got another one.
Floss: Little roll
Supposedly you can use this to sew up stuff or hunt or hang yourself if you hate the trail and a bunch of other stuff but I mostly just used it to keep my teeth clean.
Soap: Dr Bs
To wash my hands after pooping. I tried to use this to wash my clothes early on and that was dumb. Probably would have been fine with just using soap and no hand sanitizer.
Hand Sanitizer: Clorox repackaged
I used to work at a science publisher and I spent 40 hours a week reading about pathogens like viruses and bacteria. I was most worried about norovirus since that can fuck your shit up and it’s pretty easy to get especially since people are dumb and don’t know how to properly wash their hands. There was a nobo noro outbreak at the Burney Guest Ranch and I was glad I had it. I don’t blame the Guest Ranch, I blame the dumb nobos who don’t know how not to shit on their hands or clean them up after.
Anyway, the reason to use this versus regular hand sanitizer is because the clorox brand is the only kind approved to kill norovirus.
Ziplock bag For TP
Toilet paper
I can (and have) used snow to clean up but using “natural” materials never worked for me and I’m pretty sure anyone who claims to only use leaves and twigs is just walking around with a dirty ass. Stole it from any bathroom I could find.
Extra ziplock w/ baking soda For carrying out used TP
LEAVE NO TRACE MOTHERFUCKERS. TP blooms are disgusting and if you don’t pack out your toilet paper, you’re an asshole.
Electronics
Phone: Samsung S9 Galaxy with case
Spent a stupid amount of money on this phone right before I left but it was worth it. The quality of pictures and videos it took was awesome. Used it to listen to music/podcast/audiobooks and navigate with Guthooks/Halfmile. Never had any issues with it.
Earphones: Started with the stock S9 ones but they crapped out in Northern California. Then I spent like 500 miles hiking in silence/blasting filthy trap music through my phone speakers until I bought a cheap pair in Bishop that lasted until the end.
Battery Pack: Anker PowerCore 10000 QC
I liked it. Charged my phone enough times. For shorter hikes, I might try a 6700 but for these longer thrus with 4-5 days between towns, it was good to be able to charge everything multiple times.
Charger: Anker PowerPort II
Liked having the dual quick charge ports but the orientation of this charge made it kinda hard to keep in outlets sometimes. Might try a single port QC charger next time. Charge everything before getting to town, only charge battery, leave.
Cables: x2
1 longer USB-C for phone, 1 shorter mini-USB for Garmin/Battery
Tracker: Garmin Inreach
A friend let me borrow his Inreach which was nice. Good to have though I never felt unsafe enough to really need it, even in the Sierra. There’s people everywhere on the PCT and worst case scenario someone will probably come along to find your corpse eventually. Unless you go off-trail. Don’t do that.
Food + Water
Food: 2lb/day, 4000+ calories
I got a whole post about vegan food and resupply so not much more to say about that other than I tried to keep my cal/oz ratio around 120/oz but honestly who keeps track of that on a thru? Towards the end I was just buying the cheapest highest calorie vegan food I could find and it was great. Oreos and Fritos for days.
Water: 1L
Max amount of water I carried was around 4 liters in the desert through a 40 mile dry stretch. There ended up being a cache part way through but never trust a cache.
Cold soaking jar: Talenti
Eating warm food is over. But in all honesty, I never missed warm food, even in the cold nights in the Sierra. The Talenti Jar is the best cold soaking jar don’t @ me.
Spoon : Sea to Summit Alpha Light Long Spoon
It’s a long spoon. I didn’t lose it, that was cool.
Water filter: Sawyer Squeeze
I always filter water because I spent the past two years reading about e.coli and noro and crypto and giardia. Have you ever seen electron microscope pics of those little fuckers? Nope.
The Sawyer Mini sucks shit and the like ounce or whatever is worth it for the full squeeze. I was a chump for the first 900 miles and used an Evernew bladder to collect water then filter it into my bottle but then I got smart and just attached it directly. Never going back.
Might also switch to Aquamira in the future but I like the instant gratification of slapping on the filter to some dirty water and being able to suck away.
Water bottle: Smart Water 1L bottle x2
Miss me with those Nalgenes. Nah jk Nalgenes are rad and I’m woke now and will probably switch to reusable bottles instead of using more disposable plastic. Zero waste is the new backpacking cult ethos.
Water bottle: Vitamin Water 20oz
For drink mixes. Nothing like starting your morning with shitty instant coffee mixed with nuun backwash mmmhmmm
Water bottle: Smart Water 700ml
My smaller functional bottle. This one was filled with clean water and I used it to wash my hands and teeth and to backflush my filter.
Food bag: Sea to Summit 13L dry bag
I started off with an ursack cause I was afraid of bears like some kind of day hiker but I ditched it at Harts Pass and grabbed a silnylon bag from a hiker box there. I also used a “scent-proof” Opsak but the seal on that broke 3 days in and rendered it totally worthless.
The silnylon bag didn’t work well so I traded another sobo a beer for this 13L dry bag I used until the end. Was kind of awkward with 5 days of food but fine with 4 and under. Might get a zpacks food bag in the future but spending 35 dollars for a bag sounds so dumb.
Also, I slept with my food almost literally every night and never had any issues with any animals. I’m not telling you to sleep with your food but everybody does it and if you wanna be cool maybe you should too.
Plants Outside 