PCT 2025 – Giving It Another Try

Well, I’m going to give the PCT one more (final) try! Starting April 17th, I’ll be starting from the Mexico/US border in Campo and hiking north to the Canada/US border! In 2022 my wife and I did a NOBO hike from Campo, and had an amazing time in Southern California before we left the trail at the start of the Sierra range. This time I’ll be hiking solo, although she might join me for Oregon and/or Washington depending on how things go (and if I even make it to Oregon myself!)

I’ve dialed in my gear, working towards a pack as light as possible to accommodate for the long water and food carries. It is really helpful having the experience of the 2022 hike to prepare for this attempt at doing the full 2650 mile trail. I’ll be using the Atom Packs Mo backpack, which performed wonderfully on my last attempt and all of my overnighters since, and amazingly it looks (and smells) as good as new! I’ve gone back n’ forth on the tent, originally planning to bring my Tarptent Aeon Li. It’s super light – only 19 oz., but I don’t like how it needs to be packed vertically due to long 14 inch struts, and it is also a single door, rather narrow tent – I really wanted a roomier tent with views from both sides of the tent. At the last minute (well, last week) Durston announced the 3rd generation X-Mid 1 and I pulled the trigger. It’s polyester, instead of DCF, so it’s heavier, but it is so much roomier! For the 9 oz. weight penalty it’s definitely going to be much more comfortable.

Otherwise, a lot of my gear is the same as last time – same quilt, same closed foam sleep pad (no inflatable for me!), and similar clothing and electronics. I’ll be taking less clothing – just two pairs of hiking pants (one of which can be converted to shorts), two shirts, three pairs of socks, three pairs of underwear, a hoodie, a puffy jacket and rain gear. At the moment my overall pack weight is about 12 pounds – add food and water and I’ll be carrying about 18-20 pounds most of the time.

Not sure how often I’ll post here, but I’ll definitely be posting on Instagram during the hike: https://www.instagram.com/doublecrown/