We haven’t changed up our gear too much from our previous hikes. However, we may as well mention some new/different gear we will be using.
If you are interested in our philosophy on gear, gear weight, reasons for using a hammock and DIY-ness, the beginning of this post hits the high points.
1. Beardoh sewed new hammocks for us last fall that we will be taking. Now SweetPea will be rocking the integrated bugnet too. Beardoh also got a new tarp from Hammock Gear – This new tarp has a catenary cut which we have longed for in our hammock tarps as they get floppy when we have to sleep on the ground. We both got new Hammock Gear 20deg under-quilts.
2. We sewed new backpacks for this hiking season. This was the first time we used Dynema. It was great to sew, but terrible to cut. We had to buy a bunch of titanium rotary cutting blades, because the material kept dulling our blades! But, we are really happy with the final product and are excited to put them to use. Beardoh’s pack makes use of carbon fiber stays. The use of suspension is an experiment in our lightweight packs.
3. We decided (mostly because SweetPea lobbied for it) to bring our stove on this trail. Neither of us mind eating just cold food (especially for a shorter trail, such as this), but for SweetPea, it was more a matter of variety. She tries to limit/avoid wheat, and she is really sick of eating cereal everyday for lunch after five months of it on the PCT.
4. We are taking a snow stake with us as a faux trowel for digging our morning catholes. We’ve used rocks or our shoes in the past, but decided to go more high-tech on this trail. 🙂
5. Beardoh will be debuting his poncho tarp that he made last month. He won’t use it to sleep under, since it doesn’t really work over a hammock, but he will use it in place of a rain jacket. The weight of the poncho is the same as his previous lightweight rain coats, but the poncho will go over his pack, give more coverage over his body and actually keep him dry 🙂 . Click here to read about this DIY project.
6. Water Filter – For the CT, we are going to try using the Sawyer Squeeze filter. We have been using bleach or colloidal silver for years, but recently after speaking with someone who felt that consistent bleach screwed up the healthy micro-organisms in his gut, we decided to give the filter a try.
SweetPea’s Gear List on lighterpack.com
Beardoh’s Gear List on lighterpack.com
If you take a look at the gear lists, you will see that some items are have 0 weight. These are placeholders to remind us to have the item along, but it is in the pack of the other person. Always hiking together gives us some small luxuries sharing gear.
Maybe you’ve already commented on this elsewhere, but can you tell me your thoughts on how using a poncho worked out versus a rain jacket with pants or a skirt? Thank you.
Hi Nate, thanks for reading.
I really liked the Poncho. The CT gave me a lot of chances to test it out as it rained a lot. I loved putting the poncho over both me and my pack and staying dry from about my knees on up.
The air flow that can be had with a poncho is nice as well as I do not sweat as much inside the poncho.
Right now on the Grand Enchantment Trail we are both carrying ponchos.
One thing worth noting is that since we made these poncho/tarps ourselves, they are fit to the length that we each need for tarping. That length is longer than the typical poncho.
Personally, I have found rain pants aggravating and ineffective and most rain jackets wet out after a few uses from the hydrostatic pressure added with the pack (I think I am using that word right). Having the poncho over the pack and your body solves that problem.
Let us know if you have my other questions.
Thank you for the reply and detailed info.
I’ll be starting the CT the end of July this year. I hear the rain can sometimes be pretty cold. I’m wondering if a poncho would provide me enough coverage in colder temps (considering my arms and lower legs will get wet). I have an unused GoLite poncho/tarp and the sides of it are also pretty open, though I could use some safety pins to close it up more. But then again I guess if the rain was really blowing I may stop hiking anyhow.
If you wouldn’t mind providing some more feedback I would truly appreciate it. I hope the GET is going/went well for you both!!
Hi Nate! Thanks for reaching out. The CT was the first trail that I used a poncho/tarp on. I loved it. The length of coverage was awesome. I didn’t have rain pants, but just having coverage go over my shorts, shirt, head and pack was really nice. I stayed a lot warmer than SweetPea did with just her rain jacket. Since then, I am pretty much a convert to that setup, even when I am not using the poncho/tarp as a shelter. We’ve also made SweetPea and poncho/tarp to use now as well.
I use a piece of shockcord around the waste to hold in the sides in big winds. In addition, I have snaps on the edges of the poncho. You could add snaps, or sew on velcro pieces if you want additional sealing of the edges. If it is blowing really hard and we can easily find cover, we will often stop and take that cover/shelter, especially if an electrical storm has come in.
Good luck on your CT Hike! ~Beardoh
The shockcord around the waste is a good idea. Looks like your poncho-tarps are very similar to the MLD Pro poncho-tarp. I’m definitely going to give mine a try for the CT. Thank you for all your feedback. Adding some snaps sounds like the way to go. Can you recommend some snaps that maybe you’ve used and had success with (which ones and where to buy them)?
Hi Nate – This is the snap tool that we have – https://amzn.to/2lS9K0Q
It is pretty easy to work. We did back up the material with extra fabric to give it some extra protection. Just a small 2-3″ patch in that area (our DCF used was the light stuff at .5oz/sq/yd.
Indeed our tarp is not dissimilar to the MLD, except his hood is a serious piece of engineering. Best of luck!