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.