I’ve generally had a pretty good run of luck with my hiking gear. Since I feel the Pacific Crest Trail is a reasonable model for the CDT, there’s only a few things of significance changing in my gear between the PCT and CDT.
Planning the Continental Divide Trail
- Why the CDT?
- Picking a Direction of Travel
- Alternates and Route Planning
- Selecting a Start Date and Getting to the Trail
- New Challenges on the CDT
- The Wilderness Requires a Surprising Amount of Civilization
- Let's Try This Again Next Year...
- After Two Years of Delay, I’m Finally Hiking the CDT
- Gear on the CDT
- CDT Gear Changes
- Final Preparation and Planning
Substitutions
I replaced my REI Stratocloud Jacket with a Patagonia Micro Puff Hoodie. The Patagonia jacket is a bit lighter, and just as warm. I’d originally gotten it in 2020, and it’s gotten far more use as my regular winter jacket than it has on the trail, so I’m looking forward to actually using it for what I’d intended it for.
After over 5,400 miles of trail, my venerable Osprey Atmos 65 AG broke while on the Tuscarora Trail. I replaced it with a slightly smaller and lighter Gregory Paragon 58, which I’ve used on my hikes since then. Because of it’s smaller size, I’m a little concerned space will be tight once I have to put my bear can in. However, it wasn’t too big of a problem on the Tahoe Rim Trail, so I’m sure it’ll be fine on the CDT.
New Gear
Because I’m anticipating a significant number (hundreds) of crossings of the Gila River in New Mexico along the Gila River alternate, the prospect of swapping my boots and crocs that many times was not enticing. So I’m getting a pair of waterproof socks for that section of trail. We’ll see how well that actually winds up working; if I’m in water deeper than the socks are tall it might not help keep my feet dry. Hopefully, though, they’ll also come in handy in Colorado, if there’s still significant snow on the ground when I get there.
Wear and Tear
Most of the gear I’ve replaced this hike has been because of wear and tear. This includes my tent (completely worn out after the PCT), sleeping bag, poles (broken on the Benton MacKaye Trail and Tuscarora), sleeping pad, stove, water bladder, water filter, crocs, headlamp, and sunglasses. I’ve replaced my battery and charger with newer models that have USB-C ports, to allow for faster charging, at the expense of about 5% capacity on the battery.
Full Gear List
To see the full list of gear I’m taking on the Pacific Crest Trail (or the gear from my other trails), follow these links: