jupiterhikes
Gear

Gear

The Gear I Use

This is the gear Sprocket and I will be using on the Great Divide Trail through the Canadian Rockies starting around July 20th! We will be sharing some gear (two person quilt and tent) which overall make both our packs lighter weight by a couple of lbs. All together Sprocket will have an 8.5lb (3.8kg) base weight, and I will be at 9lbs (4kgs).

This hike is a roughly 700 mile (1123km) adventure with some very tough conditions, so some gear I’m carrying here I wouldn’t normally. With potential for rain literally every day of the hike, temperatures down as low as 20f (-6c), very remote areas where we wont see anyone for days on end, bushwhacking, hard route finding, very long food carries, many exposed high elevation alternates to choose from, and grizzly bears…. The gear used for a trail like the PCT just won’t cut it here.

More in specific I have a more robust rain jacket, grizzly proof food bag, warmer jacket, and warmer sleep system. Sprocket is the same for the most part. Everyone ever recommends rain pants for this hike, I am not going to use them while Sprocket is, so we will see how that goes as well. It should be fun post hike to see what I would do differently or what I will recommend to others.

A nice advantage of being a couple is that we can share gear and save weight compared to if we were both hiking solo!

2023 Great Divide Trail Gear List

Jupiter’s Gear

Packing

  •      17.5oz – Backpack – Pa’lante Desert Pack 43L
  •      1oz – Pack Liner – Trash bag
  •      0.5oz – Ziploc – For small items

Sleeping

Water / Eating

  •      1.2oz – Water Bottles – Cheap 1L x2
  •      1oz – Food Bowl – Peanut Butter Jar
  •      8.5oz – Food bagUrsack Major XL 15L
  • 0.5oz – Odor Proof Liner – Turkey Basting Bag
  •      0.2oz – SpoonPlastic // Cut down

Clothing (Carried)

Miscellaneous

Electronics

  •      0.6oz – FlashlightRovyvon Aurora A5x
  •      8oz – Cell Phone – Google Pixel 6a
  •      12.8oz – External Battery – Ravpower PD Pioneer 20,000mAh 60w
  •      2.9oz – Wall Charger – Ravpower PD Pioneer 30w 2-Port
  •      0.4oz – Headphones Skull Candy // Cheap
  •      1oz – USB Cords

Camera

  •      10.4oz – CameraSony ZV-1
  •      0.1oz – Memory Card128gb // Spare
  •      0.1oz – Micro Fiber Cloth

Total baseweight of pack (the weight without food, water, or fuel)

  •  9 lbs / 4 kgs

Clothing (Worn)

Our two packs ready to go on a little 100 mile shakedown hike before the GDT

Sprocket’s Gear

Packing

  •      20.5oz – Backpack – MYOG
  •      1.5oz – Pack Liner – Trash bag
  •      0.6oz – Ziplocs x3 – For small items

Sleeping

Water / Eating

  •      1.2oz – Water Bottles – Cheap 1L x2
  •      1.9oz – Food Bowl – Talenti Jar
  •      8.5oz – Food bag – Ursack Major XL 15L
  • 0.6oz – Odor Proof Liner – Turkey Basting bag
  •      0.4oz – SpoonPlastic

Clothing (Carried)

  •      1.8oz – SocksInjinji Toe Socks
  •      5.3oz – Rain JacketFrogg Toggs
  •      8.3oz – Rain Pants – Arc’teryx Zeta
  •      6.6oz – Jacket – Montbell Superior
  •      4.3oz – Fleece – Senchi Crew Neck
  • . 0.8oz – Bug Head NetSea to Summit

Miscellaneous

  •      0.1oz – Repair – Tenacious Tape, Needle & Thread
  •      0.5oz – TrowelDeuce of Spades
  •      0.9oz – ID & Credit Card – In MYOG Wallet
  •      0.4oz – LighterMini Bic
  •      0.2oz – Toothpaste – Travel Sized
  •      0.3 – ToothbrushBamboo
  •      0.3oz – First Aid – Misc Tablets
  •      0.8oz – Hand Sanitizer
  •      0.2oz – Lip Balm
  •      1.6oz – Sunscreen
  •      0.2oz – Toilet Paper
  • 11oz – Bear Spray – Counter Assault 8.1oz

Electronics

  •      0.6oz – FlashlightFenix E Light
  •      8.1oz – Cell Phone – Google Pixel 4a
  •      5.3oz – External BatteryNitecore NB10000mAh
  •      1.3oz – Wall Charger – 2-Port
  •      0.6oz – Headphones JBL Endurance Earbuds
  •      1.3oz – USB Cords – x2
  • . 4.9oz – PLB – KTI

Fun

  •      4.2oz – Film CameraIlford 35mm Film Camera
  •      0.7oz – Film – 35mm
  •      0.6oz – Whittler – Wood carving tool to make a Spoon

Total baseweight of pack (the weight without food, water, or fuel)

  •  8.5 lbs / 3.8 kgs

Clothing (Worn)

Sprocket and I at the northern terminus of the Pacific Crest Trail

Thanks for following along!

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34 Comments

  1. Andrew

    Did you miss not having a puffy jacket? Also, how do you deal with wind chill while sleeping under a tarp?
    Your articles and videos are a great inspiration and thank you so much for sharing!

    1. jupiterhikes

      I personally did not miss having a puffy, but that also goes with how I hike. I am either in my quilt sleeping or I am moving and hiking so the fleece added to that warmth and was more than sufficient. If you like spending more time hanging around camp than I do or if you take long breaks, a puffy is probably a more appropriate choice for you. As for my tarp, during the entire PCT I only used it 4 times. 3 of those times were for wind where I pinned it lower to the ground. Most days however I would pick spots that are naturally good spots, and cowboy camp. Trees above, bushes or rocks surrounding, not exposed, avoiding valleys water or tops of mountains. I never felt a desire for a shelter larger or more robust than my tarp. Campsite selection is key

  2. What is the material of the button down shirt? And underwear? No underwear?

    What iis polycryo? I it the same as space blanket plastic or packaging plastic? The link is sold out.

    Doesn’t your bamboo toothbrush get gross after 3 days? Mine did.

    So, no bandaid, antibiotic ointment, tp, soap, no 2nd pair of socks, underwear, scrubie, gear repair tape, no tic / bug problems sleeping without tent mesh, no deet or incaridin and no mosquito problems, no ice axe, spikes, tums, diareah pill, no mole skin, mirror.. I’m on my way to your level but man there’s got to be some pain involved. Lol

    Is the 30w charger any faster than 2.4 volt. I got anker USBc and its only 5 min faster to charge my phone.

    Good luck with editing the rest of the videos. Can’t wait to watch them all, over and over.

    1. jupiterhikes

      The shirt is polyester of some sort. Very lightweight, airy, and comfortable.

      No underwear as my shorts have a liner built into them.

      Polycryo is a thin insulating film used typically to cover windows. But in backpacking I use it as a ground sheet. I place the polycryo down on the ground, then my sleeping pad on top, etc. Since my shelter (a tarp) does not have a floor, the polycryo acts as my floor keeping me dry and clean.

      My bamboo toothbrush has not gotten gross yet!

      I do have a second pair of socks. But you are correct that I did not carry any of those other items you mention. And there also was no pain involved, instead I was very comfortable walking with my very lightweight pack! Many of those items could be improvised, many of those items aren’t needed with certain skills, many of those items could be gotten in a town should I find I do need them, or many I wouldn’t need at all given my extensive research before leaving for the trip, and knowing the conditions I will face.

      1. David Berhenke

        Found a 4-pack of replacement heads for an electric toothbrush at Dollar Tree. They weigh 0.1 oz, measurably less than the bamboo option, even with sawing off the handle. They have softer bristles as recommended by my dentists, and don’t have the annoying wood handle sensation to overcome. The bamboo option was an improvement over my previous kit, but the replacement heads (by themselves) are a further upgrade.

    1. jupiterhikes

      I cut all sorts of stuff off of it! I think next time I will just leave the doodads be, but hey some one has gotta try. I removed the hipbelt, I shortened straps, I cut off clips, etc. Don’t think I would recommend.

  3. salumsden

    Love your videos and wisdom. Your pack weight is quite low, even with the camera, phone and backup power. I do however see a hiking pole in the videos, but not in the pack list. I must have missed something. Apologies.

    1. jupiterhikes

      I only carry the hiking pole for snow, so it isn’t something I normally have had on any past hike. Usually I just found a broken one in town and used that for a section, then ditched it as soon as I could in a next town.

    1. jupiterhikes

      It would be more difficult of course but yes, knowing a few people in their 50s who do so I think so. My dad for instance in his 50s is in the best shape of his life! But that came with a lot of effort, more so than for those younger.

    1. jupiterhikes

      The lighter is for an emergency should I need a fire for warmth. One time when I wasn’t carrying one I got into a really bad potentially hypothermic situation and since then it just feels stupid to not have something so small and potentially life saving. The safety pin is for blisters.

      1. Hey Jupiter, I’ve been getting so much useful info from you in all your videos. Im not a long distance hiker but it’s given me lots of ideas for slimming down. I thought because I’ve learned so much from you, it’d be good to share with you one bit of info that I know of. Fire required for hypothermia often happens in less than optimal conditions ie wet or snowing, when lighting a fire can be really hard. I know you’re experienced but having some emergency tinder for the cost of a handful of grams is worth its weight in gold. Mini infernos from pathfinder are great, I never carry the whole tin, just 1 or 2 in a ziploc, they give a substantial burn time enough to dry out small sticks and other tinder you may’ve found.

    1. jupiterhikes

      I have a video coming out within the next month about how to use a bear can with an ultralight backpack, I recommend checking that out soon! On the PNT I used an even smaller pack, the palante joey. And as for the extra weight, a bear can weighs as much as one liter of water, so the weight is less a concern and more so dealing with the bulk or size of the can.

  4. Royal Lyon

    I really enjoyed your series on the PCT! I have followed you for a long time and appreciate your appreciation of the trail and nature and people.
    Your colors, especially blue skies, are different/better from probably every other video. You use a Sony ZV1 like me, but my blues and greens are different from yours. What settings and/or color editing do you use?

  5. zhangchangya

    我是一位中国的徒步爱好者,在YouTube上看到您的视频,对我非常有帮助,感谢分享的这一切,也祝您在路上安全抵达终点。加油。

      1. jupiterhikes

        I mostly use natural materials. Spawned from early days in backpacking, I would just forget to pack TP and got pretty good at finding alternatives. When it comes to leave no trace, it is recommended people pack out their TP and throw it out. While using natural plants and things I do not have to do such a thing, and I am being LNT conscious.. As for hand sanitizer, it doesn’t kill norovirus, or giardia! So I kind of think most people use it thinking it helps to avoid those, and really it does not. I do wash my hands often with just water, it is the friction that removes most germs and things.

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