What I Wouldn't Carry on the PCT Again
Our writers reveal their favorite unfavorite gear
To this day, Naomi “the Punisher” Hudetz still feels this way whenever she thinks about Costco’s Kirkland trail mix. Photo courtesy Whitney La Ruffa.
There are a lot of PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) gear lists out there telling us what to carry – including Treeline's! But there isn't much discussion about how we got to that gear list – about the trial and error, the lessons learned. So we asked our writers who've hiked the PCT – is there anything you carried that you sent home or wouldn't carry again? None had any problem coming up with their answers! Here's what they said.
Remember that your mileage may vary. There is at least one thing on this list that is also on our Favorite PCT Gear list!
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BOUNCE BOX
This bounce bucket has seen some miles. It helps to put stickers on it to help the post office find it faster.
The PCT was my first long hike, and I was convinced that being as ultralight as possible was the key to a successful thru-hike. I had the whole gear spreadsheet with weights listed in grams and worked to get it down as much as possible.
In my preparations, I read about hikers using a "bounce box." The idea is you have a box of items you don't carry with you but "bounce" up the trail to post offices along the way in case you need to access the items. Thanks to the USPS Priority Mail service, you are allowed free forwarding of Priority packages as long as you don't open them. You can send your bounce box ahead to the next town, decide when you arrive if you need anything from it, and either access and re-mail it or ask the PO to forward it to the next town for you to access later.
I hiked with a tiny tub where I'd squeeze a week or two's worth of sunscreen and keep the rest of the big bottle on my bounce box. I kept my camera charger in there—and even my phone charger a couple of times (it was a different era of electronics in 2011).
What a pain in the butt. Constantly keeping track of where my box was and worrying about making it into town during Post Office hours just wasn't worth it for saving a few ounces of weight in my pack, and I certainly wasn't saving any money on sunscreen or toothpaste by paying to mail myself a whole tube to refill from.
Nowadays, I just suck it up and carry a little extra weight or buy "refill" type items as I go.
– Kate “DropNRoll” Hoch, PCT Class of 2011
LAXATIVES
Laxatives generally aren’t needed on the trail. But if you find you DO need them, there will be plenty in the hiker box. Photo courtesy Whitney La Ruffa.
Everyone's body is different, and you know your body best. But if there's one thing that I will never bring thru-hiking again, it's laxatives. You can find gobs of laxatives of various brands in hiker boxes up and down the PCT (some of which, unfortunately, look like chocolate). But I quickly learned that my trail snacks and dinners naturally gravitated towards high-fiber foods like nuts, beans, oatmeal, and dried fruits, making the laxatives unnecessary.
Staying active and getting regular exercise also help stay regular, according to the Mayo Clinic. As a thru-hiker, I was doing a lot of that. One contributing factor to hikers worrying about constipation is dehydration. But on the PCT, I found that the rest of my hiker body gave me all the signs to drink up as much as possible.
If you aren't sure, I recommend packing a few in your emergency med kit to feel more confident as you get used to how your body handles hiker food and walking all day in the desert. It didn't take me long to realize I didn't need to carry them. The lesson is to be careful how much you pack of any item, especially in resupply boxes.
– Liz "Snorkel" Thomas, PCT Class of 2009
Mailed Resupply Boxes
This sounded like a great idea at the time, but didn’t work out for Giggles on the PCT. Photo courtesy of Danielle O’Farrell.
Everyone has a different food strategy, but I quickly learned that mine is not that complicated. I walk into the town’s grocery store or gas station and buy whatever looks shelf stable, yummy, and relatively light.
Unfortunately, before starting the PCT, I had other ideas. I went to Costco and bought all sorts of things I loved in bulk. I went online and got spices and veggies and other dehydrated goodies. I bought scent-proof bags, borrowed a vacuum sealer, and set to work. I made so many resupply boxes! I read in my notes that I made 17—and I sent them all before I even started hiking!
I had heard that this might be a bad idea and that what you like may change, but I thought I would be different. I was astonished when the food I had packed was the last thing I wanted to eat and when my favorite cookies had somehow managed to melt and go stale despite the fancy bags. I found myself dumping more and more of my boxes in hiker boxes (boxes of free stuff for other thru-hikers) along the way or giving it to friends. I ended up shopping even at times when I had planned only to use a box.
Then the fires began. Since I hiked in 2017, the year of snow and fires, the fires were so bad that my boxes often were late or lost. I managed to see one returned to sender at home months after my hike and opened it up, disgusted to see the same food again.
After wasting lots of my time and money, I have learned that, for me, resupplying along the way is the way to go. When I do need a box, I buy in a town or two before and then mail it ahead instead of planning it before my hike even begins. I love it! Much less stress and much yummier resupplies for me!
– Danielle "Giggles" O'Farrell, PCT Class of 2017
Camp shoes
Camp shoes weren’t worth the weight for Tiffany “Miss Information” Searsdodd.
I came to my first thru-hike with a lifetime of “traditional” backpacking and a few years of backpack guiding experience. It was a commonly held belief in both communities at the time that camp shoes were an essential item. This belief made sense before ultralight went mainstream, and people looked at you sideways if you wore running shoes instead of hiking boots. Not only did one's feet need a break from those heavy boots, but big clunky boots also harmed the often fragile soils of the desert or the mountains.
After hiking the first 40 miles of the PCT, I hitched back to the Kick Off. Talking to folks there inspired me to box up several items, including a pair of Crocs and the carabiner with which I had clipped them to my backpack. I didn’t miss any of the items I mailed home.
It was a leap of faith letting go of those Crocs, but something someone said about trail running shoes made it so clear cut: “When they’re laced up, they’re your hiking shoes. When you get to camp, unlace them, and they’re your camp shoes.”
– Tiffany "Miss Information" Searsdodd, PCT Class of 2009
Any hat with a brim
Amanda “Zuul” Jameson is MUCH happier with her Buff/sunscreen/sunglasses method than the wide brimmed hat method. Photo courtesy Amanda Jameson.
I hiked the Colorado Trail with a Buff on my head, a small tube of sunscreen, a shiny pair of off-brand wayfarers, and several prayers about my eye and skin health. I managed to stay healthy and whole (and not lose those sunglasses the whole trip), and while I liked the system I used, I wondered if something different would work better for me in the future.
Getting ready for the Pacific Crest Trail just a few months later, I decided to go with a different plan—ditch the sunscreen and go for a wide-brimmed hat instead. I chose a lightweight hat that was wide enough to cover my neck even when looking down and comfortable enough (or so I thought) to wear for thousands of miles.
It took me one (1) day on the trail to spot the problems with this plan. First, the hat I'd chosen was made of synthetic materials that, notably, did not breathe at all as the sun beat down on my brainpan. The sweat on even my short hair was unbearable.
Second, the hat was black, and the PCT starts in the desert. To this day, I don't know what I was thinking. That hat went in the Lake Morena hiker box on day two. My Buff, sunscreen, and fake wayfarers system kept going strong until I finally lost my sunglasses somewhere near North Cascades National Park (around mile 2570 or so; if you happen to find them, let me know 😉).
Since then, I've tried to use visors and baseball caps as alternatives to the Buff/ sunscreen/ sunglasses method—and all of them have come up short for me. The Buff keeps my even-shorter-these-days hair (and tender scalp) more protected from the sun than a visor. The Buff is also more versatile than a baseball cap, especially for cleaning up condensation in your shelter in the morning. For those of us with natural hair and larger styles, a Buff is also stretchy enough to keep at least a fair portion of our hair protected (though I do wish a model came with a silk or satin inner).
I do have to be on top of my sunscreen game—and every full-face photo is an opportunity to show off my sunglasses tan—but I'll take those drawbacks over a brimmed hat any hike of the week.
– Amanda "Zuul" Jameson, PCT Class of 2016
SOLAR CHARGER
Sara “Socks” Kruglinski found that her solar charger was not worth the weight.
TLDR: Solar Chargers need direct sun and don’t work while hiking.
Much like the sun umbrella, I was super stoked to carry a solar charger in the desert section of the PCT. I bought an Anker Solar Panel charger in 2017 for my PCT hike. I figured with this solar charger, I wouldn’t have to stop in town to charge my battery, and I could carry a smaller battery to save weight by charging it daily with the sun's power. I knew this plan could fail, so I tested my solar panel at home. I laid it out in the sun in the backyard, and it charged up my little portable battery with ease. This plan was perfect—I would just attach it to my pack and let the sun do the work, charging while I hiked.
On day one of the PCT, I had a full battery, so I didn’t need to charge it.
I had a partial battery on day two, so it was time to charge it with my trusty solar panel system. I attached it to the top of my pack, had the cord running to my mini battery, and was ready to harness the sun's power. I hiked and checked on my battery, and it wasn’t charging, so I adjusted it and kept hiking. When I set up my tent that night and checked my battery, it only charged about 50%, not the full charge I expected.
It turns out this charger needs full direct sun and works best when it is laid flat and not moving to charge the battery. Most of the PCT had me changing direction, and the panel was not flat on my pack, so it wasn’t reaching full power even after a long day of hiking.
In 2022 I found a new, updated mini solar power bank and decided they must have improved the technology a lot after five years. I took this mini solar bank on the trail for a section hike on the PCT, and it also failed. It needed direct noon sun and worked best if it was not moving. If I were taking long lunches in the sun every day, maybe this would work, but I prefer shade and shorter stops.
Both of these chargers performed so poorly that they were sent home before I got any photos of them, and thankfully I didn’t carry that dead weight for too many miles. Town stops are fun, and now I just carry the larger battery for the trail and enjoy my town stop while my power bank charges back up.
-Sara "Socks" Kruglinski, PCT Class of 2018
Small Frying Pan
The food looks amazing, but ultimately Brandon “Pajamas” Lampley found he didn’t need both a pot and frying pan. Photo courtesy Brandon Lampley.
One Cook Pot is Enough
Fresh food, when possible, is my comfort item on long adventures—fruit, veggies, and some soft tacos full of love on the first day or two out of town. The PCT in 2010 was my first multi-month thru-hike. I pared down the gear. One change of socks, just an 8x10 tarp for California, similar to many kit-conscious hikers.
But the reward for sacrifice is I can bring my luxury items, right? I left the southern terminus with a titanium cookpot for my canister stove, PLUS a small frying pan, spatula, Tupperware with a lid, and a pour-over coffee maker.
I enjoyed some great fresh meals cooked in my fry pan. Thanks to the desert wind, I also enjoyed some sandy and gritty scrambled eggs. Town stops and the first day out were the only times I used my little fryer. My town camping inevitably evolved into shared rooms and restaurant meals with new trail friends. I donated that pan to the hiker kitchen at Tom’s in Kennedy Meadows and entered the Sierra much lighter, if only in my mind.
It turns out you can cook veggies, eggs, and mince meat right in the cookpot. And instant coffee is great, too. I added a scrubber for pot cleaning to my kitchen, and all was good to go!
I still carry a small frying pan on bikepacking trips, shorter backpacking trips, and other adventures. I found that light is right, and simplicity rules when out for months and months!
– Brandon "Pajamas" Lampley, PCT Class of
Pour Over Coffee Kit
Mini pie, yes. Pour over coffee kit, no. Photo courtesy Sam Schild.
I often fall asleep thinking about how awesome fresh coffee will be when I wake up. I started the PCT thinking I’d wake up daily, boil water, and make a pour-over cup of coffee with my GSI Ultralight Java Drip. I think I used it twice in the first 1,000 miles before I ditched it.
I still drank coffee most mornings but realized instant coffee was far more convenient than ground coffee. And when you’re walking 2600 miles in a summer, you want convenience over most everything else.
I discovered many delicious instant coffees that summer. My favorite is First Ascent, but many great instant coffee options are available at grocery stores these days—just stay away from Folgers. The best thing about instant coffee is you can drink it hot or cold, so if you’re in a rush or it’s already 70 degrees at 6 am, you don’t have to fire up your stove. Plus, brewing ground coffee is one of the only consumable items that gets heavier after using it. I quickly realized I didn’t want to carry wet coffee grounds for another 3 days until I got to town.
– Sam "Sia" Schild, PCT Class of 2019
HIKING UMBRELLA
Sara “Socks” Kruglinski found that the umbrella didn’t work for her on the PCT. Photo courtesy Sara Kruglinski.
I had such high hopes for my hiking umbrella – as someone who is hot at 75 degrees Fahrenheit – but it failed me miserably, and I carried that extra 8 ounces for 700 miles in 2018.
TLDR: Wind is not your friend.
I was very concerned about the heat when I started my first Spring Desert hike on the PCT in 2017. I think 75 degrees Fahrenheit is hot, and I could have easily been cast as a vampire in Twilight (minus the weird glitter effect). The idea of carrying an umbrella to keep me cooler and my skin from burning and blistering sounded terrific. I didn’t care about the added weight—it was the same as a few sips of water. I was going to be in my little shaded oasis on the trail.
Here is the thing. Umbrellas can be great and can work to protect you from that blistering sun, but the trail is not a straight line from Mexico to Canada— it turns. As the trail turns, the angle of the sun moves with it. So, you either have to hold the umbrella in your hand (which is awkward) and constantly adjust it to the sun's direction as you walk. Or, if you have a hands-free attachment system, you adjust it from your left to your right side at every turn. At first, this seemed like no big deal, but the trail turns constantly, and often it turns back to the same direction you just were a minute ago, and this whole adjustment gets super annoying.
The other more significant issue that I didn’t anticipate was the wind. I didn't give wind much thought before my first outing on the PCT, but wind can drastically impact your day. The winds would come and go; as you might expect, umbrellas and wind are not friends. The first time the wind comically turned my umbrella inside out like a Bugs Bunny cartoon, I thought it was hilarious. The second time it was still funny, but the third time it broke the spokes on my umbrella, leaving me with a sad, sagging umbrella. But this sad umbrella wouldn’t stop me; I had duct tape ready for repair.
The umbrella wasn’t the same after the duct tape—it sagged and had to be carefully used so the sagging side was at the back and not impacting my vision. Eventually, the whole wind situation got so out of control that I just gave up. It would be calm and hot, and I would take my umbrella out, only for it to be windy again a minute later. So I put my umbrella away, and just as I got my stride, the wind stopped again.
In 2018 I bought a new umbrella for my NOBO PCT hike, and the wind and sun repeated themselves. I carried it for 700 miles. It was dead weight. I used that umbrella maybe less than five times as shade for a break. I am not going to do this again.
-Sara "Socks" Kruglinski, PCT Class of 2018
Costco Trail Mix
Yeah no.
The PCT was my first thru-hike, and I had the fantastic idea of putting giant 4-pound bags of Costco's Kirkland Trail Mix in every resupply box. I was obsessed with having enough calories. My logic? It's a great value ($4/pound), calorically dense (151 calories per ounce), and I like everything in the mix (M&Ms, peanuts, raisins, almonds, cashews). So what could possibly go wrong?
Well, it turned out that my tastebuds changed on the trail. What I thought I would like to eat and what I actually wanted to eat were completely different. Not only that, but I got sick of foods very, very quickly. Basically, every bag went into the hiker box after Kennedy Meadows. I think the hikers behind me even got sick of it!
The more important lesson I learned here: don't over-plan your hike. Today, I only send resupply boxes if I absolutely have to. And when I do, variety is key. I don't send the same thing in every single box. Of course—YMMV—I know hikers who CAN eat beans for every dinner. Sometimes I wish I was one of them. It would make life so much easier!
– Naomi "The Punisher" Hudetz, PCT Class of 2009
