Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail: The Gear I Used and Why

It was somewhat easy for me to decide to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. But a gigantic hurdle before me was the gear needed for the trip. Here was my — a beginner's — approach.

I am not an ultralight-gear fanatic. I wasn’t an experienced backpacker when I set out. Shockingly, I wasn’t someone with a plan. I was just someone with a passion, and a serious need to get away from my darkness and into the light of the wilderness.

Here is the gear that I used on my hike along the Pacific Crest Trail from head to toe, day and night. Yes, there’s lots of great gear out there, so how did this gear make the cut?

Through a combination of trial and error, a few handouts, some work ethic, and downright beginner’s luck. And I didn’t need to save thousands of dollars to purchase them, or research high and low, or obsess about ounces and tag-cutting. I did quite the opposite in fact. I somewhat closed my eyes and hoped for the best. And somehow it got me to the monument. Here’s how this process can get you there, too!

Read the entire list of gear that Sean Jansen used here.

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Sean Jansen

Sean Jansen se yon ekriven endependan ak gid dezè sezon nan Jòn Nasyonal Park. Pandan sezon li an gide, li patisipe nan yon litan de ekspedisyon ki sòti nan wout pou ale nan vwayaj Pasifik la nan dènye vwayaj li a, kanpe desann penensil Baja a nan Meksik. Atravè rekiperasyon soti nan alkòl, li te deplase nan yon van ak depanse tan li vole trennen, fòmasyon pou ultra-maraton, ak chèche kòt la pou vag navige. Avèk yon pasyon pou dezè ak kote sovaj, souvan li pran plim li ak papye sou vwayaj ak jwenn fason ke aktivite deyò li renmen ka retounen nan konsèvasyon ak zòn anviwònman ki nan bezwen.

Medya Mansyone

Clothing and gear can be treated with a 0.5% permethrin spray, sold under names including Sawyer, Insect Shield and Ranger Ready.

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Medya Mansyone

Sawyer’s picaridin lotion offers the longest protection windows on test — up to 14 hours against mosquitoes and ticks — and its creamy, low-odor formula goes on smooth and dries quickly.

Rachel Cavanaugh
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Medya Mansyone

The Sawyer Squeeze and Cnoc Vecto made hydration easy.

Josh King
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