West Coast Trail

[msommers]

After trying to organize something for a couple years now, it's finally happening. Not the most ideal time, May long, but I'll take it. Starting to put together a list to bring to MEC of stuff I'll need. Any comments are greatly appreciated.

- Backpack 65L (80L seems like a lot and probably end up taking too much shit)
- Stove/boiler
- Cookware
- Gaitors
- Laces/socks/waterproof
- Bear spray
- Water treatment. Have a pump-style filter in mind. I've used them before and am kicking myself for not buying one sooner.

I have a synthetic sleeping bag but need to find a waterproof bag for it. Thermorest, good hiking boots, clothes are covered.

The one thing I'm kind of unsure on is oddly food. I've gone on 2-3 day overnight trips and just brought enough food to last me like oatmeal, beef jerky, trail mix/granola, sandwiches. Now I'm not totally sure if that'll still be fine or I should look into other avenues.

Lastly, one person in the group really wants to start from the south end to get the hardest part over with at the beginning. I'm neutral on it, rather just get some ideas where you guys started and if one is better than the other, somehow.

[freshprince1]

I've done the WCT, it was a great expereince. Here's some of my suggestions:

- Bring a good rainsuit. It will rain for probably 25% of the hike.

- Gaitors are a must. I see you have those.

- I didn't worry about a waterproof sleeping bag, I just packed it up and stored it in an industrial-thick garbage bag.

- Bring lots of large, freezer ziploc bags and put everything in them.

- I divided my pack up into several portions and put them all in
garbage bags. It was a bit of a hassle, but well worth it. Even with a pack cover, there is a strong likelyhood moisture will find it's way through. It did in mine, but everything stayed bone dry because I had it all in garbage bags.

- Do not slack on hanging your food. Keep all food pff the ground overnight. I left my food bag on a log one night down on the beach and mice chewed several holes through the bag.

- For food, I find bringing powdered milk really opens up a lot of options. I bring a crap load of powdered milk and a bunch of "Sidekicks" (i.e. nice pasta sidedishes like Fettucini alfredo, pesto, etc...). They're also really light. With the PM (powdered milk) it also makes hot chocolate a lot better. You can bring Mac & Cheese using PM instead of butter. Bring a crapload of trailmix and jerky. Some jiffypop is really nice over the fire on the beach at night.

- Try some group meals. Pack some canned Ham, fry in a pan over the fire. It's heavy, so the night you eat the Ham, share with the team and get them to donate some sides (i.e. Sidekicks, dried potatoes...etc). A few slices will do you good, and it feels nice to get some meat in the diet ont he trail (even if it is canned ham or corned beef).

- We started from the North and went south and I really like it that way. It gave me time to get into the zone before the really crazy portions.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

[Affinityion]

Don't forget a well stocked First-Aid Kit you can keep in your pack, along with a utility knife/hatchet/etc for general use. Not sure whether you're going to use a cook fire or are bringing a propane stove but matches, flint/steel as backup, lighters as backup for the backup etc.
:dunno:

[msommers]

Good advice there guys. Forgot to mention I have Gore-tex pants and shell. Knife is on-route but I think a small tree saw could definitely be handy! Probably do a mix of fire-types depending on the weather of course but waterproof match container and fire-starters is something I'll throw on the list. Med-kits we have and also one hiker is a paramedic and might be "borrowing" some work supplies. But I'm glad you mentioned them now and I didn't impulse buy at MEC!

Sidekicks are a great idea! Why didn't I think of that before haha. I bet those microwave rice packets would work well too. I figured canned tuna would work well but I was really curious about that being more-so attracting to bears than the other meals. A hungry bear is a hungry bear I suppose.

Freshprince, how many days were you on the trail for? Good pace?

Thx guys
Matt

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Very cool, WCT is on our to-hike list for 2013. We'll do the Juan de Fuca trail this year if we get the opportunity.

Cut weight where you can. The less you carry the more you'll enjoy it, and if I remember correctly the WCT has a serious number of ladders you'll have to climb - no fun with a heavy pack.

I'm no ultralight gram weenie, but I find that putting my stuff into geargrams.com makes planning my pack much easier. Once you start creating gear lists it's easy to see where things get heavy. This will also define what pack size you get; let your gear load define your pack size, not the other way around.

Water treatment: I hate pumps. They're bulky and annoying to use. I got a Platypus gravity filter and I love it. (I think they're called Gravityworks now, I have the older Cleanstream.) Up to 8L of drinkable water per trip to the water source and the only effort required is to carry it back to camp and hang it in a tree. I usually set up camp while the water filters, and even then filtering 4L of water takes only a few minutes. The whole kit rolls up into a little mesh bag and you can stash it anywhere.

Bear spray: Good idea. Make sure it's accessible, I hang mine from my waist belt via carabiner.

Gaiters: Also a good idea, just keep them simple and light.

Cookware: Again, the simple/light rule applies. If you're soloing, Backcountry.com has super-inexpensive titanium sets (1650mL and a smaller one I can't remember). I just got mine and haven't used it on the trail yet, but they're well-regarded for the price. For 3 or more people who will share food/cooking supplies, I'm a fan of the MSR Base 2 pot set. You can eat straight out of your pots, or if you're divvying it up I like the GSI nesting plastic bowl/mug set. Nice and light, cheap, and you can store things inside of it, like your soap and scrubbies. Your stove will usually pack into your pots.

Stove: Tough decision. I use an MSR Whisperlite International, it's a bit on the heavy side but very reliable and I like using the refillable white gas bottles. The compressed-gas stoves are lighter and simpler, but I've never used one long-term so I don't know how many fuel cans you'd have to carry for a trip the length of the WCT.

Sleeping-bag bag: Many ways to do this. Lots of folk will grab a heavy-duty contractor garbage bag and use it to line the inside of their pack (ie bag goes in pack, everything then goes inside the bag), thus keeping everything dry, and especially effective when used with a pack cover. Also quite cheap. If you want something specifically for your sleeping bag (hey, it's important!) the Outdoor Research AirPurge DryComp compression sack is pricey but awesome for sleeping bags.

Food is pretty personal, but dry/dehydrated stuff is nice for low weight and bulk. Canned stuff is heavy, and you're still left packing out the can when you're done eating it. Quite a bit of the commercial boil-in-bag stuff is pretty tasty, too. Even instant ramen noodles will work in a pinch, although are of questionable food value. Trailcooking.com had lots of good ideas but the site is down at the moment. Jiffy Pop is my luxury campfire food, haha.

You didn't mention what your shelter arrangements are, but if you're sharing a tent, the little extra weight of a camp-shower bag might be worth it after a few days on the trail. ;) Also make sure your rain gear is up to snuff, the WCT is known for being very, very wet. Fast-drying synthetic clothing is also important, the usual no-cotton-whatsoever rule applies. Along with a good First Aid kit, have extra cream or moleskin for blisters; they may seem trivial but can cause you no end of problems.

[freshprince1]

I believe we did it in 6 days, which provided for a nice balanced pace. Depending on which camps ite we were at we'd hike more in one day than others. For example, if we had a beach camp coming up, we'd hike longer the day before so we'd have time to relax and enjoy the beach. It also allowed to slow down during the harder spots like when we hiked through the sand, mud and ladders.

Oh, the ladders. You're gonna love that.

Also, have everyone bring two tarps. You cannot have enough tarps when setting up camp in day 2 of solid rain. Make sure you have something to make a shelter besides your tent. You don't want to get stuck in your tent for 2 days straight if it rains continuously. We set up camp everyday, I had a tarp below my tent, and above if possible, and we also set up a couple more tarps for eating areas. You don't want to eat in your tent, and it's nice to eat with the others when it's raining.

[revelations]

We started on the south end.... big mistake. You have the heaviest pack and it will be a mix of mud/roots/rocks on the trail the first 3 days. Your body goes into shock adjustment mode.... haha Lots of stairs at that portion too.... esp at the start.

Watch out for sand fleas - depending on time of year I guess. Maybe shave your legs? (seriously).

Your choices will be beach or trail.

Beach, while flat, means walking on sand.
Trail, while compacted, means walking up and down all day.

I slept under the stars the entire time so i cant comment on shelter :poosie:

(we did it in late Sept, best time)

[msommers]

Lots of good advice guys, I really appreciate it. The last thing I want to be doing is be scrambling to pack and forget something. Knowing me, it would be my food and sleeping bag.

Tarps! Yes I read about that. Are there just generic version or light-weight versions of these?

Water - I'll look into those gravity filters more. In the field for work we used an older version of this (http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/HikingCamping/WaterTreatment/PRD~4013-733/katadyn-pocket-water-filter.jsp) and it took a lot of abuse and worked like a hot damn. Pump rate could have been faster I suppose. We'll have ~8 people in our group and I'm not sure if everyone is planning on bringing their own water treatment but I want my own anyways for future trips. FYI, those pen types are a pain.

I have a very light 2-man tent I picked up from a fellow beyonder than I'm confident will work very well for this. Is a Big Agnes for anyone interested.

Something else I just remembered is a head lamp but that's minimal.

Stove - I was looking at the MSR Reactor (http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/HikingCamping/StovesFuel/PRD~5013-029/msr-reactor-lpg-stove-system.jsp) and the Jetboil (http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/HikingCamping/StovesFuel/PRD~5024-210/jetboil-flash-cooking-system.jsp) systems. I'll have to look more into this.

Trevor the cookware I think you were referring to is this (http://www.backcountry.com/backcountry-titanium-cookset-1100ml) ? On 50% off!

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Yup, that's the smaller (soloist) version of the ones I bought. They're ridiculously light and for the price I couldn't say no! I got mine through Backcountry's outlet site, Department of Goods. Lots of fairly reasonable deals to be found there, got some nice Komperdell trekking poles for 70% off at the same time as the pot set. The pot set would be kinda redundant if you go for a Jetboil system, though.

There's lots of tarps out there, from your average blue WalMart tarp (cheap, heavy, bulky) to the nice silnylon tarps available at MEC (light, packable, expensive). MEC also carries "normal" camping tarps that fall in between those two in terms of weight and cost. Now, if you're handy with a sewing machine and can do hems and a French seam, it's super easy to buy some 2nds-quality silnylon from DIYGearSupply and make your own custom tarp. The last one I made was a 14ftx10ft caternary-cut 70D silnylon tarp, and it cost me ~$50 worth of materials. To buy a similar one would be in the area of $150.

Oh, and your tent sounds solid, Big Agnes makes good gear. If it's a used tent, you might want to consider re-sealing the tent's seams before you head out. A tube of seam sealer is cheap and will be good peace of mind for a trail as wet as the WCT.

[freshprince1]

They have some really nice tarps at Costco right now on sale int he camping section (at the Okotoks Costco at least). They're a bit heavier duty but they probably wouldn't rip if you tried. I just used the regular ones from Canadian Tire, they worked just fine.

Eddie Bauer has some nice cheap headlamps that are water resistant. They work just as good as the really expensive ones from MEC, they're just a bit bulkier. I didn't use a headlamp on the WTC.

Bring a some flip flops. Change into them after you reach camp each day. It gives your boots time to air out and your feet a chance to relax.

[BerserkerCatSplat]

http://www.princessauto.com/pal/product/8360935/8x8-Mesh/10-ft-x-15-ft-Natural-Utility-Tarp

10ftx15ft tarp, just over 1KG, $6. Not the most easily packed thing in the world, but dirt-cheap and not horribly heavy.

[Eleanor]

Originally posted by freshprince1
Bring a some flip flops. Change into them after you reach camp each day. It gives your boots time to air out and your feet a chance to relax. This, except instead of flip flops, get a pair of crocs. (Some) toe protection & way more comfortable IMO. I never go camping without them.

Plus they dry out quicker than most flip flops I've owned.

It looks like you've got most everything else hammered out, but I'd recommend against the jet boiler, it's great for boiling water, but to have even one or two meals cooked "normally" is a huge mental boost after eating non-stop freeze dried stuff for a few days.

[msommers]

Nice find! I'll have to swing by MEC and check out those light-weight tarps and figure out how badly I don't want to spend 50+/ea. But I'm pretty keen on saving weight so we'll see. I agree with the redundancy about the pot set + Reactor/Jetboil system. Your suggestion is quite a bit cheaper though so I'm definitely going to have to look into it more.

FP, thanks about the headlamp. I was actually quite shocked to see how expensive those things are. Cheap flip-flops - added. I'm assuming you used a rain cover on your backpack and then for added insurance went with the double bagging route for each item? I suppose dry-sacs are a bit of overkill hey?

Socks yes I've picked out some really good ones at MEC. These (http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/MemberPicks/Footwear/PRD~4011-843/wigwam-merino-light-hiker-socks-unisex.jsp) are expensive but uncomfortable feet are not fun - I have one single pair now and they are pretty darn nice to have.

Have you guys used dry food from MEC? Friends are heard a lot of mixed reviews on them, not in terms of taste/quantity, but actually making you sick and giving you the runs. :barf: The last thing anyone wants in the bush.

I'm thinking I'll bring some crystal-lite or powdered gatorade along.

I found a CBC documentary on The Trail. Not sure if it's motivating or detering...:rofl:

Rw88PHxYITo

[davidI]

Just hiked the JDF and WCT in 2010. Traveling the next couple of days but I'll fill you in on some good advice once I'm settled back in Calgary.

[Babaganoosh]

I wouldnt bother much with tarps, you wont want to spend the time to set them up after hiking all day, most tents have a fly you can cook under while you lay inside.

Definitely get a headlamp, the Petzl ones at mec are a bit expensive but theyre worth it, ive had mine for about 2 years of backpacking and months of hiking trips and mine still works perfectly. If you buy a cheap one it will break at the worst time, guaranteed.

On the food, sidekicks are the bees knees. When i did WCT i had a load of those, some shitty noodle soups, big bag dried fruit and one of dried beans and peas, lots of granola etc. A couple of those mec meals are good, but im cheap so I never eat them much, never had any problems from them either though. Good way to supplement all the cardboard/carbs is with those bags of soy protein ground at mec. One of them has tons in it and it just tastes like slightly bland ground beef when you put it in the pasta sidekicks, but keeps you from getting hungry again in an hour.

WCT is 5-6 days and JDF 2-3 if youre in fairly good shape. No rest days included.

Regarding beaches vs. woods sections, mix it up, the grass is always greener on the other side...

[msommers]

^^Thanks for the info!

[stacy28]

It's been a long time since I did the West Coast Trail, but I remember one of my favourite meals while on it was pizza. :) Not sure if they still sell it, but you used to be able to by a kit at the grocery store that's pretty compact. We brought mozzarella cheese with us - as long as you eat it within the first few days on the trail it will still be good :) We cooked it over the camp stove in a frying pan with a cover on it.

I think there's lots of food that you can bring outside of what's sold at MEC - you just have to go to the grocery store and think creatively :)

It's an amazing hike, I did it when I was 12 and again when I was 13. I hear a lot has changed since then - there were no "stores" along the way and I think maybe one outhouse the whole way.

Have a great time!!!

[davidI]

Ok, lots of good points in here already. Weight is key. I've done a lot of backpacking and go with less every trip.

Skip a big knife / hatchet. No need. Leatherman is handy.

Skip the tarps as well IMO. You can usually find a bit of tree cover for cooking.

Lightweight tent is great. MSR Hubba Hubba is my favourite.

For sleeping bags, try to get away from down and stick with hyperloft or something. If a down bag gets wet its a nightmare to dry and won't keep you warm.

For a stove I went with the MSR Pocket Rocket. Super light.

For food, I actually decided to skip pots and pans this trip and just brought a 150g aluminum kettle. Oatmeal for breakfast, snacks for lunch (pepperoni sticks, crackers, granola bars, trail mix, nuts cheese etc.) and dehydrated meals in a bag for dinner. Saves time, clean-up, and most importantly, weight. I thought the MEC meals were reasonably tasty and I never had the runs.

Bring some cash for a burger and beer at Chez Moniques. It's expensive but worth it. They also have a food store there if you feel like swapping food, ditching food, or are in need of a bit.

I hiked North to South just so my pack would be lighter for the hard part of the trail. In reality, the JDF was much harder than the WCT so it didn't matter much. I took a break between the two trails though as at least I wasn't carrying 14 days worth of food.

For water treatment, I just used tablets. They're easy, fast, and there is no chance of breakage or the filter getting clogged. Had a bad time with a filter system in the Canyonlands because of rains / murky water which clogged the filter.

Fire sticks are great for getting fires going - it can be tough to find dry tinder.

I like bringing drink crystals and a camelbak. Have a Nalgene bottle for your tent as well though. Critters will chew through water bladders if they have sugars or flavouring in them.

Starbucks sells good coffee singles as well. Not sure if there are cheaper coffee singles available...I seem to find them everywhere else in the world but haven't seen them in Canada.

Bear Spray and Gators are both smart to have. Make sure you waterproof your boots - Dubben or whatever.

If you have any specific Q's I'd be happy to answer them. If I can dig out my map I'll recommend some campsites for you.

My recommendation is to try and walk extra your first day so you can offset yourself from the campgrounds everyone else stays at.

Enjoy!

[msommers]

Thanks! I feel considerably more prepared than I did starting this thread and even then I was pretty confident - humbling. I'll update when it's closer to the date for others and to make sure I didn't forget anything. Until then, it's off to MEC...

http://motivpic.com/users-data/pics/1/17/shut-up-and-take-my-money-1f46.jpg

[Singel]

Large pack liner is way better than garbage bags: http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/Packs/RainCovers/PRD~5016-043/mec-pack-liner.jsp . I wouldn't bother with an extra bag for your sleeping bag - pots at the bottom (outside the pack liner), then throw your sleeping bag/pad in the bottom of this).

XL Zip-loc bags are awesome when it's raining, and you need something from the middle/bottom of your pack: http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/3/HouseHome/StorageOrganization/HouseholdOrganization/PRDOVR~0530261P/Ziploc+Extra-Extra-Large+Heavy-Duty+Storage+Bags,+3-Pk.jsp?locale=enhttp://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/3/HouseHome/StorageOrganization/HouseholdOrganization/PRDOVR~0530261P/Ziploc+Extra-Extra-Large+Heavy-Duty+Storage+Bags,+3-Pk.jsp?locale=en - as you pull everything out of your pack, stick it in here to keep it dry. It's handy for the rest of your time at each camp b/c its clear, and you can easily find anything.


Goes without saying, but go overboard with waterproofing your boots (ie. multiple applications) if they have never gotten you through a coastal environment before.



I've done most of my coastal treks in April, and one of my creature comforts was a pair of insulated waterproof gloves (not this exact pair, but similar http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Glove-SB460L-Resistant-Insulated/dp/B000GTZQ9K/ref=sr_1_9?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1333772162&sr=1-9

http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Glove-SB460L-Resistant-Insulated/dp/B000GTZQ9K/ref=sr_1_9?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1333772162&sr=1-9 Orange colour is also handy if you need to flag down a boat or aircraft :) , but they are nicest for rinsing dishes in the ocean and keeping hands warm and dry. Probably not much of an issue in the summer.

Also a big fan of gravity fed filters - this guy has been generally good to me http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/HikingCamping/WaterTreatment/WaterFilters/GravityFilters/PRD~5007-115/katadyn-base-camp-filter.jsphttp://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/HikingCamping/WaterTreatment/WaterFilters/GravityFilters/PRD~5007-115/katadyn-base-camp-filter.jsp . I had used them a lot for big group treks, but I've also used it for solo, and think it's well worth the extra weight.

No big advice for food - I'm often in bigger groups and only have to do a couple meals (also in cooler temps, so some more food is fair game to bring). Hard cheese should keep pretty well. Pita bread and dips/cheese/sausage is nice for lunch. Can't really go wrong with spaghetti. We have a vaccuum sealer, which can be really handy for sealing small portions of dips/sauces so they don't spoil...

[revelations]

Sounds kinda wierd, but I'd almost like to KAYAK the WCT this time instead of hike it.... you can carry a freaking BBQ in those things.

[Mitsu3000gt]

I've never done the WCT before but I've been on some long hikes. Two things that I would mention that haven't been covered:

1) Cliff Bars. Best thing ever for hiking food IMO. Sidekicks are good but they have A LOT of salt in them, so you might be more thirsty.

2) For water treatment, look into the LifeSaver Bottle. It will also filter out viruses, and not just bacteria. Plus it's fast and fairly high volume:

http://www.lifesaversystems.com/buy-water-purification-systems/lifesaver-bottle-4000uf

You can get lots of fresh water for the people you're with as well, pretty quickly.

[tch7]

Don't waste your money on any sort of waterproof bags/covers/etc. Garbage bags are lighter and so much more effective.

I hiked the entire trail (& the JDF trail) wearing sandals. People looked at me like I was crazy and made comments, but IMO it was brilliant. I was the only person that didn't get any blisters or any sort of other minor injuries.


Originally posted by davidI
Skip the tarps as well IMO.
I disagree with this. When it's pissing down rain for 4 days straight, a tarp to put over an eating area is invaluable and was one thing I really wished I had packed. I'd never take a tarp on the trails in the Rockies, but on the coast the rain can be a whole 'nother beast.

[ExtraSlow]

Originally posted by tch7
I hiked the entire trail (& the JDF trail) wearing sandals. People looked at me like I was crazy and made comments, but IMO it was brilliant. I was the only person that didn't get any blisters or any sort of other minor injuries.

Years ago I got some serious blisters while wearing the "real" backpacking boots. ever since then, I use Tevas or at most a low-top day-hiking shoe and it's been fine.

[cancer man]

Buy some powdered Gatorade and mix with water keeps the fatigue away and good sore muscles.Raisins are the best at night or morning boil them in water and drink the water eat the raisins good energy throw in a slice of bread if you want a little buzz.
Pita bread is great for storage.Go raid Dennys for jam and peanut butter packs.Don't forget a sewing kit.

I hope you broke in your boots.

[milesmcewing]

Regarding your water filter, we took the first need from General Ecology
http://www.generalecologycanada.com/

I ordered it from Steveston Marine in Vancouver.

We used it EVERY day on our six-month trip, fantastic tool, very fast and filters everything. Bonus is that a Nalgene bottle screws on the bottom or you can put an adapter on for pop bottles.

Overland Journal tested it last year and said it was the best you can buy.

Some other good bits:
Marks work wearhouse below zero socks - great quality and work very well.
Smartwool shirts, mine got several holes, but was great - hot or cold, wet or dry.

I still have lots or gore-text type bits, but a simple poncho still seems to work the best in spite of modern technology. since its open on the bottom you get good ventilation. My biggest peeve with the jackets is the double layer of material that is around your wrist. Always sweats a lot there and drives me crazy!

Depending on the poncho, most will be able to turn into a tarp. - If I remember correctly the German ones snap together so if a couple people are using them you can make it pretty big.

The older I get the more I like my old stuff.

Having used just about every stove on the market - MSR from the XGK to the whisperlite, Jetboil, Coleman, Bluet, Trangia, Optimus.

I still prefer the Coleman - it may weigh a few grams more, don't forget the fuel tank is on the stove so when comparing weights remember that. The big advantage to the Coleman is throttle control - it is great to cook with as opposed to most other stoves which are more like a survival tool. Good food makes a trip a hell of a lot better.

My potset has a couple of metal plates, I flip them over inside the big pot to make an oven - make muffins fresh every morning.

For headlamps I like the new Zipka - small and easy. I had an old Princeton tec light that I feel is still the best, but they don't make it anymore.

When space is an issue I always take the down bag - for river trips or west coasting I would take synthetic.

I bought a new Nemo Losi tent for the six month trip. great design, poor implementation. having the whole top being mesh allowed the wind to come zipping through all the time. In the Sahara the mesh allows all the sand to come in all night - so you and your gear are covered in sand by morning. I prefer the old sierra designs dome- split the fly and poles with someone else in your group and the three man is a good choice.

PM me if you want to discuss food, there are a million ideas.

One other comment - replace your laces with bluewater rescue cord or something similar - it is a non-stretch cord for climbing - it will never fail and you can pull a jeep out with it. some people prefer using the non-rescue cord which has abit of stretch to it - you may find that much more comfortable.

In my former life I worked as a mountain guide for 11 years and product tested for many manufacturers in that time. Lots of experience wrecking stuff!

Eat well and have fun!!

Cheers
Miles

www.smilesandmiles.com

[msommers]

Thanks Miles, that's awesome.

Questions about the water filter system - I can't tell if it uses a ceramic or charcoil filtering system (says 3 stage but nothing specific). Secondly, how often does a cartridge last? At a flow rate of ~2L/min with some sweet adapters, that's looking like a winning candidate.

For food, what are some of your favorites, Miles?

Which specific coleman stove were you referring to and potset? I have really expensive Goretex shell and pants I was planning on using already but those dual-purpose ponchos sound amazing with such utility. What are they called? Where did you get yours?

I think we'll end up bringing tarps since we'll be able to divy-up the communal items amongst the ~8 people. Boots have about 3 or 4 years worth of hiking in them. Zamberlan boots are amazing, I would recommend them to anyone.

[milesmcewing]

They don't specify the filter substrate.

Ours has run approximately - 900 litres through it and no signs of slowing down. I think it is rated for 3000 litres (can't remember)

The potset I use is probably 30 years old!

If you can find an aluminium set, they heat much better with no hotspots and clean up easier. If you get bakelite handles or no handles, then you can use it on a fire as well.

The Coleman stove I am referring to is any of the integral tank backpacker series - they all work similarly, I have the multifuel gasoline powered one. They dont sell it in Canada because our gasoline has additives that plug the generator up. For the record I took mine apart and the part numbers are exactly the same as the white fuel only version so I dont think it matters. If you do use gasoline, buy the lowest octane, it has the least additives. White gas is the best though. Four people eating for a week should be able to use the tank plus one Litre roughly.

Any army surplus should have ponchos. Try Crown down in inglewood. My wife wore one on our motorcycle through the rainy season in Peru and swears by it, as opposed to her $600 Rev-it jacket that she swears at!

Communal works great - you can eat much better and dont need to haul everything duplicated.

As far as menus go - I stopped guiding to go to chef school - I got a million ideas!!

You can prepare some dishes at home and freeze them in ziplocs - then put them in a drybag - they will stay frozen for 2-3 days usually, sometimes longer. Then it is just a reheat.

I had two clients who carried a battery powered blender on a ten day glacier trek and made Banana Daiquiris almost every night!

Its probably a lot easier to have a quick phone discussion if you want to talk food.

Cheers

[msommers]

We leave next week and I think I have mostly everything in terms of gear. I picked up the Ibex 65 from MEC and was able to get my sleeping bag into a 15L compression bag and stuff it into the bottom compartment of the bag which is absolutely fantastic. My only problem with this bag is the lack of gear loops like the smaller Brio that I have.

Food I basically have made an oatmeal concotion for breakfasts, trailmix and clif bars for lunch/snacks and a bunch of the Mountain House meals (spaghetti, beef stew, chicken/potatoes and I think chili Mac).

Water filter I ended up with the pricey Katadyn cermaic. I've used these before in the field for work, they're tanks and I just trust them. I'm more than confident the other types work well but it's a pyschological thing.

Trekking poles is the only thing I'm unsure of. I've never used them and they seem super gay but I've watched plenty of videos on the trail and a lot of people use them, maybe helping with stability on the slippery stuff. But then comes the ladders and seem like a major pain in the ass!

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Right on, good luck with your hike and let us know how it goes!

[revelations]

Poles - youre 97% of the time going to use them.

[msommers]

I ended up getting swayed into them while at the store. Bought the cheapest ones, hopefully they work out alright. Just trying to arrange how I'm going to pack all this crap in my bag, "wisely." I figure make snacks and water filter easy to get to, maybe raincover and jacket.

Thanks Trevor, I think I'll need it!

[FiveFreshFish]

Originally posted by revelations
Poles - youre 97% of the time going to use them.

Yep, and greatly reduces stress on the knees.

[Babaganoosh]

...

[Babaganoosh]

double post

[Babaganoosh]

Poles are good. Watch out on those boardwalks, sounds funny but mossy + wet makes them the easiest places to take a spill.

I cant eat oatmeal everyday for breakfast so i always make some peanutbutter/nutella burritos before i leave and put them in zip locs. Tons of calories, compact, tasty, no clean up.

The mec freeze dried meals are good but if you think youll be doing a lot of backpacking buy a dehydrator. You can prep some mean meals with one of those. You also have more selection than with premade meals and can control whats in them (ie avoid salt and ultrashitty carb overload).

[msommers]

Well it's been about a week now since I got back so I'll provide a small update and comments.

We hauled ass to Port Renfrew from 6pm friday to get there around 2pm Saturday. Got the orientation and started out the next day. The hiker cabins we stayed in were bare bones but comfortable. Right across the street was an AMAZING cafe. I think if I lived in Port Renfrew I'd probably eat there everyday, no joke.

In total there were 9 of us but by the end there were 7. One guy had knee surgery awhile ago and was giving him grief. He's a tough dude and would have suffered in silence if his girlfriend hadn't injured herself on the boardwalk. Just a quick slip and a nail that was backing out of the board snagged her and left a nasty gouge in her shin. Of all places for this to happen, it was only a few km's south of Ninanti Narrows so it worked out. She's a tough girl and was even considering going on but thankfully she decided to leave, as did her boyfriend. Tough decision but they both definitely made the right one.

With regards to the trail itself, it rained 4.5 of 6 days but fortunately the 1.5 days of sun were the final days! Misting sometimes and pouring others. It's pretty friggin hard to get out of bed when you wake up to raining, with it raining when you went to bed. The trail was very slippery and mud was everywhere, more on the south end. We hiked south->north and I think I'd go that way again. Getting the hard part done with and enjoying the relatively easy hiking past Cribb's Creek made things more bearable. Our first night was at Camper's where we met some locals staying at their cozy hut. They told us to burn our garbage and not worry about trekking it out which was welcoming advice. They explained that either we burn it on the trail or someone else burns it elsewhere. We never had issues with mice/wildlife and food thankfully for the bear boxes. Everyone double checked their backpacks and all pots were cleaned before bed. One night we even hung our stuff with no problems. A lot of the boardwalks were in rough shape but they were in progress of repairing them. Bridges were safe and ladders were pretty good for the most part (a few were pretty sketchy).

With regards to gear, I don't think there is anything I really missed and nothing that was a waste to bring. We all used a lot less fuel than we expected however but I think that had to do with such a large group sharing large pots of boiled water. If there is one thing that was a saving grace, it was the el-cheapo blue tarps from MEC. I would go bigger than 8x10 if you have a good size group. I brought two with about 15m of parachute cord which worked well. Nothing is better than sitting around the fire and out of the rain with those tarps. And Coleman firestarters from CDN Tire helped a lot with the wet wood we had to deal with. Bring gaiters, make them a must. My water filter filled water bags quite quickly and easily but after about day 5 of filling people's tanks (~100L), it needed a good cleaning as it was really hard to plunge. Thankfully a very quick and easy fix. And poles! Soooo happy I brought them. I honestly can't think of doing that hike without them.

We ran into one guy at the crab shack that was pulling out. One reason (among many), he didn't think bringing a sleeping bag was necessary. :banghead:

My gear list for anyone interested (shared items w/ *)
- 3-man lightweight tent*
- Katadyn pocket filter*
- Water tablets (if filter crapped out)
- Oatmeal (breakfast)
- Pitas with sausage and cheese (lunches)*
- Clif bars and trail mix
- Mountain House Spaghetti (good), beef stew (good), chicken and potatoes (ok), beef strog (ok-good)*. Quick and easy but definitely one package person and even then I was still a bit hungry.
- 2L Platypus (a must IMO). 3L might be getting heavy, personal choice here.
- MEC Ibex 65. My problem with this bag is it can't synch enough on the hips because of the pouches. It wasn't until about day 3 when the bottom really started digging into the top of my pelvis. A folded jacket widened my waist and made things peachy.
- 2 8'x10' polyguard tarps from MEC
- 3 underwear
- 3 socks (those $16 merino wool Wigwam socks are the shit. I'm converted)
- 2 polyester t-shirts
- 1 quick dry pants
- 1 long sleeve merino wool shirt
- toque and gloves
- MEC Mirage synthetic sleeping bag w/ 15L compression sack. This fit nicely into the bottom of the Ibex. I brought my bag down to MEC and tried it out. Even had a bit of room for my thermorest pillow. I just found out there are also waterproof ones too, some with a one-way valve to really let the air out.
- Thermarest trail lite pad.
- Fleece-lined softshell
- Goretex shell
- Bugspray/sunscreen
- Toilet paper, toothbrush, toothpaste, hand-sani, camp suds
- Note sure of the stove we used or the pot as they weren't mine. Looked on MEC and looks like the Primus Express with a standard large pot. The Reactor I bought originally was too small for 3 people to share but when I tested it at home, it worked like a hot damn and I'm definitely keeping it.
- $8.50 walmart water shoes. Great for river crossings if you choose but I loved them as a camp shoe
- Anti-inflammatory meds, Tylenol, medi-kit etc*
- Bearspray, bangs and flares* We joked about this given our group size but there were quite a few times when we weren't all very close together.
- Knife/leathermans
- Camera
- Hiking Poles
- Folding saw
- Chapstick

I'm sure I forgot something but that's the jist of it!

Few pics!
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c159/matt_calgary/P1000057.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c159/matt_calgary/P1000072.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c159/matt_calgary/P1000062.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c159/matt_calgary/P1000124.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c159/matt_calgary/P1000225.jpg

WTF? Sun and solid boardwalk?!!
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c159/matt_calgary/P1000255.jpg

[taemo]

nice that's something I've always wanted to try but most of my friends aren't into hiking.

i know one of the girls that did the hike with you!

[Affinityion]

Awesome, sounds like one hell of a trip

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Whoo buddy, sounds like you had a solid trip, good to hear it was a success! Do you know what your starting pack weight ended up being?

[msommers]

Originally posted by taemo
nice that's something I've always wanted to try but most of my friends aren't into hiking.

i know one of the girls that did the hike with you!

We run into each other twice unknowingly and now you know someone on my hike! Small world. Who is it?



Originally posted by BerserkerCatSplat
Whoo buddy, sounds like you had a solid trip, good to hear it was a success! Do you know what your starting pack weight ended up being?

With water it was almost bang on 50lbs when I weighed it at home and not much changed when we repacked the night before at Port Renfrew. For me at 140lbs, it was stretching it. The amount of oatmeal, trailmix and Clif bars I brought probably added some extra weight but it all got eaten!

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Yeah, 50lbs is on the high side but a long, wet trail like the WCT demands extra gear and food. As you get more hikes under your belt you'll figure out what you need and what you don't. My first hike found me carrying a 50+lb pack on a rather steep trail for a weekend trip. Live and learn!

[taemo]

Originally posted by msommers

We run into each other twice unknowingly and now you know someone on my hike! Small world. Who is it?


no kidding eh, the girl is Steph T, we work in the same office and funny enough we went to the same HS.
i wonder where we are meeting next lol

[msommers]

LOL Who knows! Steph cracks me up, awesome girl.

[s2k_boi]

Bump. We have plans to do this early July and wanted to know if anyone has a recommendation on accommodation the night before? And also is parking safe (break ins) at the entry. We are starting from the north end.