By Hayley Babbitt and Luke Baum
Photo gallery by Hayley Babbitt and Luke Baum 2023.
If you were to walk 2,650 miles up the entire United States, with only one backpack to bring, what would you pack? Although a crazy thought, we found ourselves answering this question when we decided we are going to tackle the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in April of 2023. Over the course of the last year and a half we learned what to pack with active preparation, trusting our instincts, and perhaps most importantly by listening to the advice of our fellow outdoorsmen. Without further ado, let's get into what we are packing for a 2,650 mile trek of the PCT.
Note: Our packing list includes a lot of ultralight items. Because of how many ultralight gear items we have, we've decided to first include a table with specs on these particular pieces. All of the other items in our packing list will be located beneath the ultralight gear table.
Ultralight Gear Table:
Gear | Hayley | Luke | Weight (oz.) |
Backpack | Gorilla 50 Ultralight Backpack (Gossamer Gear) | Arc'teryx Aerios 45 Pack (REI) | Gorilla: 29.8 oz. Arc'teryx: 2 lbs 6.4 oz. |
Drone | Mini Pro 3 (DJI) | N/A | 11 oz. |
Tent | SuperLight XL Pyramid Mesh Tent (DD Hammocks) | SuperLight XL Pyramid Tent Tarp (DD Hammocks) | Mesh Tent: 24 oz. Tent Tarp: 22 oz. |
Sleeping Bag | Premium Burrow Custom 4.5 Liters (Hammock Gear) | Premium Burrow Custom 5.5 Liters (Hammock Gear) | 4.5 Liters: 14.82 oz. 5.5 Liters: 22.16 oz. |
Sleeping Pad | Air Rail Plus (REI) | NeoAir XLite NXT (Therm-a-Rest) | Air Rail Plus: 1 lb. 8 oz. NeoAir: 12.5 oz. |
Pillow | Aeros Ultralight Pillow (Sea to Summit) | Aeros Premium Ultralight Pillow (Sea to Summit) | Regular: 2.1 oz. Premium: 4 oz. |
Cooking Stove | Propane Canisters (JetBoil) | Stash Cooking System (JetBoil) | Stash Boiler: 7.1 oz. |
Dining Utensils | GoBites Uno Spork (humangear) Cool Grip X-Mug (Sea to Summit) | GoBites Uno Spork (humangear) Cool Grip X-Mug (Sea to Summit) | Spork: 0.5 oz. Bowl: 2.5 oz. |
Medical Kit | N/A | Ultralight Medical Kit 7 (Adventure Medical Kits) | 6.4 oz. |
Additional Gear:
Clothing
- Long sleeve shirt x2 (day/night)
- Short sleeve shirt
- Athletic shorts
- Zip-off hiking pants
- Sleeping pants
- Socks x4
- Underwear x3
- Windbreaker or puffer jacket
- Shoes
- Sandals
- Hat
- Sunglasses
- Gloves
Water Storage and Filtration
Electronics
- iPad Air (1st gen.)
- Headlamp (Black Diamond)
- Solar bank (Survival Frog)
- Chargers
Accessories/Misc.
- Compass and map
- Knife
- Hiking poles
- Guylines
- Fire kit (waterproof matches and firestarter)
- Dry bags x3
Toiletries:
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Deodorant
- Camp wash
- Towel
- Kula cloth
- Trowel (for bathroom)
Summary
Despite only bringing what we can carry on our backs, there's clearly several things we can (and need to) meticulously pack on our 6 month thru hike. From choosing the right biodegradable wash to the perfect sleeping bag, quite literally everything on our list was selected out of hundreds of backpacking products. After a year's worth of researching ultralight gear, the above is our finalized gear list for our 2023 thru hike of the Pacific Crest Trail.
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