What to bring on your next 2,600-mile walk

Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail or anything like it takes a lot of research and gear. So what would a research and weight-obsessive tech writer bring?

It’s that time of year again. Winter, in the places it actually exists, is slowly starting to turn into spring, and it feels like the time to start making summer plans. For lots of people, that means heading outside to do some hiking.

Personally, I’m planning on doing a bit of that myself: over the next few months I, and thousands of other people, will be attempting to walk from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail, which spans around 2,650 miles through California, Oregon, and Washington. There’ll also be people doing a similar journey in different places, such as the Appalachian Trail on the East Coast, the Continental Divide Trail through the Rockies, or any number of slightly shorter regional hikes like the Florida, Colorado, or Pacific Northwest trails.

I’m sure everyone reading right now would absolutely love spending four to six months in the wilderness, walking upward of 25 miles a day over steep terrain. But doing so requires a lot of equipment, and it can be hard to know what to bring or where to even start researching.

Continue reading the full article by Mitchell Clark here.

LAST UPDATED

October 26, 2024

Written by
Photo thumbnail Blog Author

Mitchell Clark

Mitchell has been interested in tech ever since they found out you could change the background image of a folder in Windows ME. They’re still trying to find something as magical as that. They can be contacted at Mitchell.clark@theverge.com.Ethics Statement: Mitchell has worked on a public health program used by state health departments, and so won’t report on it or its competitors.

Explore More Content

Media Mentions

When I’m going to be walking in tall grass and weeds, I wear my snake boots which I’ve sprayed with Sawyer’s permethrin. Read more at: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/living/article308242365.html#storylink=cpy

Joe Graedon and Teresa Graedon
Executive Producers and Hosts, "The People's Pharmacy

Media Mentions

Sawyer Products 20% Picaridin Insect Repellent: Top-pick bug repellent

Wirecutter Staff
Staff

Media Mentions

Water purification technology has reached new heights with the Sawyer Squeeze System, delivering 0.1-micron absolute filtration that removes 99.9% of harmful bacteria, protozoa, and cysts.

Camping Survival
Website