- West Coast Trail Journal
- West Coast Trail – Planning
- West Coast Trail – Packing List
- West Coast Trail Day 1: Pachena Bay to Darling River
- West Coast Trail Day 2: Darling River to Tsusiat Falls
- West Coast Trail Day 3: Tsusiat Falls to Carmanah Creek
- West Coast Trail Day 4: Carmanah Creek to Camper Bay
- West Coast Trail Day 5: Camper Bay to Thrasher Cove
- West Coast Trail Day 6: Thrasher Cove to Gordon River
I purchased the Montane Shell Atomic DT 2.0 rain pants online, which ended up fitting me great. They really compress very well into the small stuff sack that comes with it. From ZPacks I got a cuben fiber stuff sack for my clothes and a more heavy duty one for food, they are ultralight and of great quality. Lastly, I got the minimalist Dirty Girl gaiters which is not waterproof, but it won’t matter since I’m not wearing waterproof shoes.
I have decided to take the same New Balance 875 I used on the John Muir Trail in 2009. They are a little worn out, but I hope they will hold it together.
Unlike for the JMT, I won’t be using a water filter for this hike, choosing instead to use purifying tablets. I also won’t be taking a bear canister, which is a huge relief.
Other than the above, the list is almost identical to last year’s JMT.
| Category | Description | Pounds | Kilos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Pack | Packed stuff without food or water | 12.30 | 5.58 |
| Food & Water | 7 days of food and 1 liter of water | 12.70 | 5.76 |
| Total Packed | Base pack, plus food and water | 25.00 | 11.34 |
| Total Skin Out | Base pack, food and water, worn clothes, and hiking pole | 28.82 | 13.07 |
| Item | Description | Ounces | Grams |
|---|---|---|---|
| Backpack | |||
| Backpack | Osprey Exos 46 (Top Lid Removed) | 33.25 | 943 |
| Pack Cover | 30 Gallon Trash Bag | 1.25 | 35 |
| Shelter | |||
| Tent | Big Agnes Seedhouse SL 1 | 46.85 | 1,328 |
| Sleeping Bag | Mont-Bell Spiral Down Hugger #3 | 19.00 | 539 |
| Sleeping Mat | Therm-a-Rest NeoAir (M) | 12.50 | 354 |
| Packed Clothes | |||
| Waterproof Jacket | GoLite Phantasm S | 9.30 | 264 |
| Rain Pants | Montane Shell Atomic DT 2.0 | 6.80 | 193 |
| Fleece | Mountain Hardware | 9.55 | 271 |
| Beenie | Mountain Hardware | 0.90 | 26 |
| Bandana | Bandana | 1.05 | 30 |
| Gloves | MEC Windstopper N2S | 1.75 | 50 |
| Socks | Defeet Cloud 9 (3x) | 5.25 | 149 |
| T-shirt | Patagonia Capilene 1 Long Sleeve | 5.00 | 142 |
| Underwear | ExOfficio Boxer Brief | 2.20 | 62 |
| Cooking & Water | |||
| Spork | Light My Fire Spork | 0.40 | 11 |
| Water Treatment | Micropur Tablets | 0.65 | 18 |
| Drink Tube | Platypus Drink Tube | 2.00 | 57 |
| Water Containers | Platypus 1L (3x) | 2.70 | 77 |
| Other Stuff | |||
| Headlamp | Princeton Tec Fuel | 2.75 | 78 |
| Lighter | Mini Bic | 0.50 | 14 |
| First Aid Kit | Adventure Medical Kits Ultralight .3 | 2.70 | 77 |
| Pocket Knife | Victorinox Classic | 0.70 | 20 |
| Emerg. Fire Starter | REI Stormproof Matches (14x) | 0.42 | 12 |
| Duck Tape | Gear Aid 100" Roll | 1.50 | 43 |
| Guidebook | Bliss and Blisters | 0.85 | 24 |
| Compass/Whistle/Thermometer | Coghlan's 4 in 1 | 0.90 | 26 |
| Stuff Sack | Zpacks Cuben Fiber (520 cubic inches) | 0.20 | 6 |
| Food Stuff Sack | Zpacks Cuben Fiber "Blast" Food Bag | 0.80 | 23 |
| Rope | 1.5mm Z-Line Spectra Cord (50 feet) | 0.90 | 26 |
| Carabiner | Mini-D Carabiner | 0.10 | 3 |
| Pee Bootle | Small Gatorate Bottle | 1.40 | 40 |
| Notebook | Small Notebook | 2.40 | 68 |
| Pencil | Pencil | 0.45 | 13 |
| IDs | Driver's Lic./Credit C. | 0.50 | 14 |
| Passport | Passport | 0.85 | 24 |
| Emergency Cash | Cash | 0.20 | 6 |
| Photography | |||
| Digital Camera | Panasonic Lumix TZ-5 | 8.70 | 247 |
| Tripod | Mini Generic Tripod | 1.70 | 48 |
| Camera Batteries | Extra Batteries (2x, 0.95z each) | 1.90 | 54 |
| Toiletries | |||
| Toothbrush | Oral B (Sawed Off) | 0.30 | 9 |
| Toothpaste | Dried Toothpaste Dots (7 days) | 1.00 | 28 |
| Floss | Oral B Ultrafloss | 0.15 | 4 |
| Toilet Paper | Toilet Paper | 0.50 | 14 |
| Sunblock | Neutrogena Ultra Sheer SPF 70 | 1.40 | 40 |
| Lip Balm | Dermatone SPF 23 | 0.30 | 9 |
| Bio Soap | Dr Bronners | 1.40 | 40 |
| Purell | Purell | 0.40 | 11 |
| Insect Repellent | Jungle Juice (REI) | 0.40 | 11 |
| Food (7 Days) | |||
| Food | 28oz/day (7 Days, includes packaging) | 168.00 | 4,763 |
| Water | 1 Liter | 35.27 | 1,000 |
| Hiking Poles | |||
| Hiking Poles | Gossamer Gear Lightrek 4 with Straps | 7.90 | 224 |
| Worn Clothes | |||
| Convertible Pants | Mountain Hardwear Mesa (M) | 14.10 | 400 |
| Hat | Outdoor Research Sun Runner | 2.90 | 82 |
| T-shirt | Patagonia Capilene 1 Long Sleeve | 5.00 | 142 |
| Underwear | ExOfficio Boxer Brief | 2.20 | 62 |
| Gaiters | Dirty Girl Gaiters | 1.25 | 35 |
| Socks | Defeet Cloud 9 | 1.75 | 50 |
| Shoes | New Balance 875 | 26.00 | 737 |
| Miscellaneous (Not Carried During Hike) | |||
| Train Ticket | Confirmation Email | ||
| Return Flight Conf. | Confirmation Email | ||
| Permit Confirmation | Permit Confirmation Letters (2x) | ||
I went to the John Muir Trail with a no-cook diet and it worked out pretty well for me, so I decided to do the same for this hike. I did adjust it a bit by adding more sweet stuff, which I really craved and felt hadn’t packed enough for that occasion.
| Item | cal/ounce | Ounces | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snickers Bar | 140 | 3.3 | 462 |
| Salami | 90 | 4 | 360 |
| Cheese | 105 | 2 | 210 |
| Trail Mix | 151 | 3 | 453 |
| Peanut M&Ms | 146 | 3 | 438 |
| Dried Fruit | 78 | 2 | 156 |
| Bacon Bits | 140 | 2 | 280 |
| Tortilla | 75 | 5.25 | 394 |
| Hummus | 115 | 1 | 115 |
| Per Day | 112 | 25.55 | 2,868 |
Next Entry: Day 1 – Pachena Bay to Darling River
Part of the West Coast Trail Journal and Pacific Northwest Trip Journal
Comments (10)
HI Kevin,
Wondering what you used for food? I see you did not take a stove and relied on fire – which, lucky for you was not a problem. But I dont see any pots/pans etc on your list. what kinds of foods did you bring? was it all, the non-cookable type?
Hi Amanda. I just updated this post to include the food that I packed. Yes, I went with a no-cook diet. I know it is not for everyone, but it had worked out fine in the past for me. It really simplifies things a lot for me. If you are trying to save weight, make sure you pack calorie dense food.
Thanks Kevin, I appreciate your breakdown. I agree, not having to lug around a stove, fuel, pots etc does simplify it alot. I must say though, the one thing my husband and I look forward to at the end of the day is a pot of kraft dinner! So we will have to give this some thought.
side note – what kind of cheese did you bring? you didn’t find it a problem to not keep it refridgerated?
I packed Gouda cheese, they were sealed airtight. When I got my last resupply on the John Muir Trail, there was a bit of mold on 1 of the pieces of cheese, since it had been sitting there for a couple of weeks. I just shaved it off and didn’t have any problems with the rest.
I think it’s better to pick a harder cheese since it has less humidity. I’ve also seen other hikers pack Skinny Cow cheese, the ones that come in small wedges wrapped in thin aluminum foil.
You could always try a no-cook diet on a weekend hike and see how it goes. It just so happens that salami and cheese are 2 of my favorite food in the world. I could eat them everyday, so I didn’t feel I was sacrificing anything 🙂
Since you are going with your husband, you’ll be sharing the load of cooking gear, so it’s not too bad. Eating a nice meal at camp after a long day is one of the pleasures of hiking.
Hi Kevin, thanks for the great post! I’m hiking WCT in Aug. A question for you– I’m planning on wearing my lightweight running sneakers (I’ve done plenty of hiking in them before), which are not waterproof, so was wondering if there’s any point to gaiters?
Hi Hunter. Big heavy waterproof gaiters would be useless with running sneakers. I used a very lightweight cloth gaiter which were great for walking on sandy beaches. It prevents you from having to stop often to clean out the sand inside your shoes (it becomes uncomfortable to walk after a while). I got mine from https://dirtygirlgaiters.com
What hostel did you stay at in Victoria? Any recommendations for other things to do there while visiting? I’m going to have another 4-5 days after the hike to hang out and was thinking about some kayaking but otherwise I’m kind of scratching my head!
Hi Kate,
You can check out this blog post on Victoria:
http://kevinstravelblog.com/victoria-canada
I write about the hostel I stayed in and the sites I visited around town. It’s a small town though, there’s not that much to do.
Hi Kevin, I see you didn’t have any “camp or river crossing shoes”. How did you manage river crossing? And do you think these shoes are usefull on the WCT? Did you see other people with these shoes? Thanks
Hi Nicolas.
All the campsites are on sand, so you don’t really need any camp shoes. You can just walk barefoot. Also, I don’t remember having to walk through any river crossings.