10 Multi-Use Hiking Items I’ll Bring on the PCT - The Trek %

As I’m preparing for my upcoming PCT thru hike, I’m reviewing all my hike items to ensure I’m bringing only those that are absolutely required and that I’ll use. If I haven’t used it multiple times on past hikes it’s just extra weight. As any experienced hiker will tell you, each item a hiker brings on a thru hike has to be worthy of the ride because no one wants to carry dead weight for a couple thousand miles. This is an area of planning that most long trail hikers really focus on and with good reason. We all have stories about suffering under a heavy pack until you lose your mind and just start dumping stuff in hiker boxes. When I started my backpacking trips in 2006, my pack was an 85 liter pack and weighed in at a hefty 55ish lbs fully loaded. I thought extreme suffering was just part of the grand experience. It wasn’t all my fault though, this was an era before the ultra light movement really started and gear weight wasn’t as big a design consideration. Eventually, I found out I...