6 Items You’ll Start the PCT with That You Shouldn’t

Everyone starts the PCT with too much gear, it’s like a right of passage - to carry too much stuff for a day, a week, a month. At some point you, as a thru-hiker, will ditch all the “extra stuff”. It’s understandable why you start with all this extra stuff, but it’s not necessary. Thru-hiking is a learning experience though and for many the PCT is their first long backpacking trip; for others it’s an unknown environment - long waterless stretches, miles upon miles of scorching hot desert, high altitude snowy mountains to cross, and continuous rain up north. The PCT crosses numerous ecosystems and preparing for them all seems daunting. You can't decide what gear to bring for which section, so you bring...everything! And as the old saying goes, you definitely pack your fears. If you worry you’ll be hungry you’ll bring too much food. If you’re afraid of being cold, too many layers; thirsty, too much water; bored, too much entertainment. Backpacking for months requires surprising little gear. Despite this advice, many of you will begin the trail with several items from this list.

1. Excessive Amounts of Food 

Technically when you begin the PCT you only need enough food to hike the 20 miles to Lake Morena. There’s a cafe with a small store where you could grab a burger for lunch/dinner or a breakfast burrito in the morning and enough food for the next 22 miles to Mount Laguna where you’ll find another cafe and another store as well as a post office if you prefer to send yourself a box. Then it’s a little over 40 miles until your next resupply at Stagecoach RV Park or Julian. Warner Springs is 30 more miles. As you can see, these are relatively short walks of 20-40 miles between resupply points.

The majority of hikers have trouble eating very much the first couple of weeks as they adjust to life on trail. Often it’s hot or you’re really tired. You don’t always feel like making food 3 times a day in your first week or two either which results in tons of left over food you wind of carrying. Hiker hunger hasn't yet kicked in so your appetite isn't cranking. That usually takes 2-3 weeks. For all these reasons, hikers end up lugging a ton of extra food on their backs for days upon days for no good reason.

A good strategy is to pack light meals that don’t require cooking for the first few days for the majority of your meals. If you find yourself finishing all your food planned for the first section to Lake Morena, then buy a few extra snacks for the next couple days to Mount Laguna and go from there. It’s actually better to be a little light than way too heavy when starting out on the trail. 

2. Too many shirts/tops 

3. Extra batteries

I seriously doubt you’ll show up to start hiking the PCT with a half charged cell phone (if you’re carrying one) or a half charged external battery, so why start with a half charged set of batteries in anything else? Also ask yourself, if your battery powered item died could you survive for 1-2 days until you arrived at the next stop to purchase another set of batteries. I’m sure the answer is yes. So lighten your pack a little and skip the extra AA & AAA batteries. Do some research on your headlamp, most of them have a lock you can activate that will prevent the light from turning on in your pack and draining your batteries. Unless you’re night hiking often, I found that headlamp batteries last a really long time because when the sun goes to sleep each night, thru-hikers quickly follow.

4. A big first aid kit

5. GPS

6. Bear canister

I've heard every single argument for carrying a bear canister - it's a great chair, trash storage, washing bin, etc. You're thru-hiking, and it's a very strenuous activity as it is. 20-30% of hikers don't make it past the first 100 miles. A huge contributor to this is the excessive weight in their backpack be it food, bear canisters, too many clothes, etc. It ALL adds up. Every little tiny thing in your backpack has weight and all those little things add up to extra pounds that create extra stress on an already stressed body that's adjusting to the rigors of thru-hiking. 

I made this list in the hope that you won’t start the trail with these items or any items on the “5 Items NOT to Bring on the PCT” (list coming soon!). While some of the items may seem insignificant now, realize that small changes can have big impacts on your hike. The fewer items in your backpack the less it weighs, the fewer items you have to keep up with, the easier it is to find what you did bring, and the less likely you are to get injured from the weight of your pack. You can save yourself some pain and suffering and start the PCT with only the essentials knowing can add items if you really find you need them up the trail. Another article you might be interested in is “8 Tips for Preventing Injury & Making the First 100 Miles of the PCT a Success". 

Leave the stuff behind and enjoy the trail more!

Pillsbury