congrats on your WCT permit and thanks for the kind words.

as for your gearlist… our WCT gear-list is preserved here: http://www.brettonstuff.com/index.php/backpacking/how-to-pack-ultralight-for-the-west-coast-trail-in-under-10lbs/, but let me comment on your specific questions:

#1 boots
i’m not sure what to tell you… i’m not that up on the mainstream hiking boot market. we did the WCT wearing sneakers, but we had very light packs – so were able to do so. with 50lbs, i would certainly want something more sturdy. however, i would STRONGLY recommend you explore every option you can at making your load lighter. it will simply make your experience that much more enjoyable. i would NOT however, recommend making the WCT your first lightweight backpacking experience – but as your trip is in july – you have plenty of time to do practice hikes if you want to explore this. check out backpackinglight.com and other ‘ultralight backpackng’ sites to get some ideas. as for food – factor in moniques and the ferry crossing – cash is ligher than food

#2 gaiters
for sure. the beaches would have been miserable without them. however, i think heavy goretex gaiters are overkill. we wore very light (1.6oz) ankle gaiters (see http://www.brettonstuff.com/index.php/backpacking/sand-between-my-toes/) and they performed flawlessly. they were a little worse for wear after the WCT however . however, all depends on your hiking style. if i were carrying 50lbs and heavy boots, i would probably be trudging thro’ the mud head-on, and these ankle gaiters might not cut it. with sneakers, poles and 20lb packs we were able to navigate around the mud-pits easily unscathed.

#3 filtration
the tabs worked perfectly. however, lots of the water on the WCT is yucky brown with tannins, and sometimes has nice floaty bits. if that bothers you, then consider a filter. with a group of 6 – i would try and split a lot of stuff up between you. like take tabs as backup – but carry a few filters for the group. certainly not one each. you should be able to save a ton of weight in a group if you can get others to buy-in to the idea.

#4. hah.. depends who you ask. we had 2 1/2 days of pissing down rainforest rains. i wore shorts (not waterproof, but treated with TX-direct) and t-shirt and used an umbrella. we stayed bone dry (except for our feet in stream crossings) – and didn’t get sweaty at all. i did wear my waterproof jacket in camp. the umbrella was hard to deal with on the ladders and with poles but we finally got the hang of it. if you haven’t read all 5 days of our trip report – then do so – there are lots of tips embedded in those pages.

good luck – and have fun out there!
-brett

Have you suggested using a buff as a scarf and hat depending on the situation, they’re versatile and help out in many situations.

Just an idea of mine to help you combine two items into one.

Check out the food we took for the WCT detailed here: http://www.brettonstuff.com/index.php/backpacking/food-for-the-west-coast-trail/. A full day – is about 1.4 lbs / person / day for us. We definitley don’t go hungry on that and often have left-over food at the end of a trip.

The 4lbs for 3 days number I use above might be misleading – as on a typical 3-day trip, I will get breakfast on the road on day-1 and dinner at the trailhead or on the return journey on day 3 – so we don’t pack 3 full days of food.

I do try and focus on dry-weight foods with nutrition vs. heavy wet foods.

I recommend you carry as much as you need to keep your energy up and not go hungry. We don’t aim to skimp on food for weight-savings – it’s just we don’t end up eating more than this.

Thanks for the post!
-Brett

B

Also, if you dip in the lake, should we have a bigger ultrasoft sports towel. Love how you include honest assessments of weight. How many purchases have I made without any indication of weight on the packaging! ugh!

I found my way here through a google search of the TGO challenge. I’ve been looking at the Challenge for a while now, and am setting plans to get myself to Scotland for the 2009 crossing. Have a lot to do though, being in college and having very little play in my finances. Great gearlist, and overall even better website! Hope to see you in scotland in may, if you’re going, that is!!

-Shawn
Duluth, mn

cheers for the feedback. i use a small electronic postage scale. google for “postage scale” and you’ll get a ton of hits.

have fun lightening your load!
-brett

Thanks for the feedback. Assuming you have a lot of experience with ultralight – I would totally recommend doing the WCT in trail runners. There was a lot of mud for sure, but if you are willing to tip-toe around the mud-holes and have poles you’ll be fine. The ankle-gaiters we used were very handy on the sand beaches. If you haven’t already – I’d recommend you read our trip report for the WCT as it has many pointers in it about mud/poles/umbrellas etc. The campsites we stayed at were sheltered from pounding wind – so driving rain was the only concern. The tarp tent held up well, but it was hard to pitch on the sand. Feel free to email me at brettm-at-gmail-dot-com if you want to pick my brain on other ideas. I’ve only done the trail once, so am by no means a guru – but my experience was very recent.

Our actual WCT gear-list is archived here: http://www.brettonstuff.com/index.php/backpacking/how-to-pack-ultralight-for-the-west-coast-trail-in-under-10lbs/

Good luck – you’ll love it!
-Brett

I find it amazing how similar your pack list is to ours, all the way down to the same lights, sleeping bags, towel, knife, & camera!

Anyway, I’m a bit concerned about the WCT and trailrunners. Typically, my wife & I do all of our hikes in trail runners & have no problem. Of course, we rarely encounter rain since we do most of our hiking in the mountains.

Until I read your site, I figured I’d be stuck going back to my old, heavy boots, but now you have me wondering if I can’t just do it with our favorite shoes. How did your trailrunner/gaiter combo hold up to the rain & mud?

Also, my wife & I usually camp with a tarptent (2 lb. six moon designs, actually), but were worried about how it would hold up to the possibility of monsoon-like rains and strong winds. Our other alternative is our storm-proof REI tent that weighs in at something like 7 lbs…not a pleasant thought when it comes to weight. How’d your Cloudburst hold up? Any issues with it?

Aloha.