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I'm going backpacking. PCH content

markoc

markoc

Jan 6, 2014
828
2,781
North San Diego
#1
On January 2, my 81 yo. Father is leading our trip on the Pacific crest trail starting at Campo, on the Mexican border for an over nighter of about 20 miles. Our plan is to keep doing another few miles every couple months till we get to Canada.
20171220_182002.jpg
Here is my new pack I picked up today.
 
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#3
A friend (who is very fit) has tackled the PCT the last three summers. He's been defeated three times. Swollen feet, swollen knees, foot blisters. This year it was a badly sprained rolled ankle. He had to hike 15 miles on that ankle to reach help. He's completed Oregon and a small part of Washington.

Carry spare shoe laces. :)

Don't underestimate the difficulty of hiking the PCT.
 
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#4
A good friend of mine hiked from Campo and made it into Oregon before running out of time. It was a life-changing experience for him, and his main lesson was how he overestimated his ability to maintain a hiking speed to be able to complete the entire trip in 3-4 months.
 
#6
Man, multi-day hiking trips are butt kickers!!!

A friend and I took on part of the Appalachian Trail for three days. We had no idea what we were doing. Not only that, but sections of the trail are rated from 1-5 based on difficulty (5 being the highest) and we found out AFTERWARDS that we were in a 5 section.

I have never been so exhausted in my life.


BUT, we saw some amazing landscape and I wouldn't trade those three days for anything.
 
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#7
I should probably add that the friend felt defeated each time. But he's hiked from the CA-OR border into WA. The rest of us who know him are in awe because we would never be able to do that. You'd be seeing me on TV news being airlifted out by helicopter. Repeatedly.
 
#8
markoc, as someone who has backpacked a few miles, I, (as a 62 year old man) would like to recommend that your father try a luxury-lite cot. As I have aged I have found that I have needed more and more padding to sleep. If your dad will set himself up with one of the luxury-lite cots, and a self-inflating pad, (because the cot alone will be cold on the bottom), he will be very comfortable. I own two of these cots. The latest one I bought I went all out, and bought the version with the tent that integrates with the cot. Previously, I used a Big Agnes Seedhouse tent on top of my first luxury lite. I have terrible back problems, and can get good sleep at home only on a very expensive Swedish memory foam mattress, but, the Luxery-lite cot is just about as good.

I'm telling you, this cot works:

Invalid Link Removed

I have not tried it with the luxury-tent yet, but I have used my original one with the excellent light weight Big Agnes Seedhouse 1and Seedhouse 2 tents, and it worked very well. You need a complete system, with the cot, a tent, and your choice of bag, with a very thin and light self-inflating pad. With the BA Seedhouse tents, I set it up with the cot on the ground outside of the tent, and placed the tent on top of the cot. The Seedhouse tents are very light, and very ventilatd and dry. I never used one in tornado winds, like my old Mountain Hardware tent has survived, and bet they would not stand up to high wind.

The luxury lite cot is more comfortable than many five star hotel room beds I have slept in, and I'm not kidding!
 
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#11
Oh! Also buy toe socks. They totally cut down on blisters. Also, when I backpacker a lot before my back surgeries I would always wrap a thick layer of duct tape around my nalgenes for any cuts. Longest I did was a 10 day in the Rockies. Trail head at 9k ft. Longest day in full pack was 14mi hitting two peaks along the way and with good socks and duct tape for blisters it wasn't all that tough. But you are starting with better fear than I had to be honest.

Focus on feet and crotch. Not to be gross, but those two are the failure points on long marches. I don't think we went over 100mi in those 10 days but it was darn close. Good socks you can wash in a stream and dry quick plus Ex-Officio undies will make a huge difference.
 
#12
TOOL460002 said:
Buy Ex-Officio underwear.
Click to expand...

This right here, and not just for this hiking trip! I've found that my Ex-Officio underwear has been a godsend when I'm on the road with the band and need to be comfortable; it doesn't retain any heat so it's great for hot summer shows, can be worn multiple times before needing to be washed and is incredibly lightweight. I'd wear nothing but these if they didn't cost so much.
 
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#13
Kevan Campbell said:
This right here, and not just for this hiking trip! I've found that my Ex-Officio underwear has been a godsend when I'm on the road with the band and need to be comfortable; it doesn't retain any heat so it's great for hot summer shows, can be worn multiple times before needing to be washed and is incredibly lightweight. I'd wear nothing but these if they didn't cost so much.
Click to expand...

Darn right! Woo! I went through eastern Europe with 3 pair of them (and 3 pair of socks), washed them in the shower. Pack was light as heck. They are seriously worth the price. I promise. Wouldn't lie to you here!
 
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#14
TOOL460002 said:
Darn right! Woo! I went through eastern Europe with 3 pair of them (and 3 pair of socks), washed them in the shower. Pack was light as heck. They are seriously worth the price. I promise. Wouldn't lie to you here!
Click to expand...

Same here when I went through Germany, Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary. Had three pairs in my pack and it was the smartest thing I bought for that trip! I'm slowly adding extra underwear for when tour season gets here but at $30 a pop it's taking a little while.
 
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#15
Kevan Campbell said:
Same here when I went through Germany, Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary. Had three pairs in my pack and it was the smartest thing I bought for that trip! I'm slowly adding extra underwear for when tour season gets here but at $30 a pop it's taking a little while.
Click to expand...

Hey! We almost went on the same trip! I just hit the Slovak republic too. Don't go. It wasn't worth the time or train fare. But I've found them cheaper than 30 bucks. Just don't go to REI if you don't have to. May your junk be dry and breezy my Ex-Officio bass brotha!
 
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#18
Just read two books written by a couple who do these long thru-hikes. Julie & Matt Urbanski are their names...Stopwatch and Optimist are their trail names. First one I read was the Continental Divide Trail, and now finishing up the one about the Pacific Crest Trail.

I used to do a lot of hiking here in the deserts around Phoenix, and the heat never bothered me, but my hikes were usually only 6-10 miles. I can't imagine hiking (with a full pack) for 20+ miles per day, every day for weeks and months on end. Just reading about their logistical issues was tiring...not enough food, water, bathing every week or so, etc, was enough for me to cross thru-hiking off my bucket list. Sounds fun at first, but when you realize how much work it takes to actually do one of these hikes, I'll pass.

But, hey, best of luck to anyone who's eager enough to take on a challenge such as this. Godspeed! :thumbsup:
 
#19
Hoochie Coochie Man said:
markoc, as someone who has backpacked a few miles, I, (as a 62 year old man) would like to recommend that your father try a luxury-lite cot. As I have aged I have found that I have needed more and more padding to sleep. If your dad will set himself up with one of the luxury-lite cots, and a self-inflating pad, (because the cot alone will be cold on the bottom), he will be very comfortable. I own two of these cots. The latest one I bought I went all out, and bought the version with the tent that integrates with the cot. Previously, I used a Big Agnes Seedhouse tent on top of my first luxury lite. I have terrible back problems, and can get good sleep at home only on a very expensive Swedish memory foam mattress, but, the Luxery-lite cot is just about as good.

I'm telling you, this cot works:

Invalid Link Removed

I have not tried it with the luxury-tent yet, but I have used my original one with the excellent light weight Big Agnes Seedhouse 1and Seedhouse 2 tents, and it worked very well. You need a complete system, with the cot, a tent, and your choice of bag, with a very thin and light self-inflating pad. With the BA Seedhouse tents, I set it up with the cot on the ground outside of the tent, and placed the tent on top of the cot. The Seedhouse tents are very light, and very ventilatd and dry. I never used one in tornado winds, like my old Mountain Hardware tent has survived, and bet they would not stand up to high wind.

The luxury lite cot is more comfortable than many five star hotel room beds I have slept in, and I'm not kidding!
Click to expand...

That thing is ingenious. What kind of weight ratings does it have.

What does it weigh and how much weight will it handle once set up?
 

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