The 5 Devices for My PCT Thru Hike

[Most of the links on this page take you to products on Amazon.com where, if you buy anything, Amazon will support this hungry hiker!]

1. Kindle

I took my Kindle Paperwhite with me last summer on an 8 day trip in the Sierras. I loved it! It was probably my favorite piece of gear (if a luxury can be a favorite). When it came time for me to plan my PCT thru hike, there was no question, my Kindle was going! Here's why:

• Reading Books (ok, obvious, I know)

•  The Kindle is relatively light, holds 1.21 gigabooks, has a build in light and has a battery that easily lasted me all 8 days of my last trip. I know many thru hikers read on their phones, but the screen isn't as nice for reading and the battery life sucks!
• Navigating the PCT
• I'll have Halfmile's app and maps on my phone, but I would never rely only on my phone--the battery life is just too iffy. A Kindle accepts PDF files, so it will be easy to load all the Halfmile maps onto my Kindle. That way, if my phone dies and I have no way to charge anything, I will still have maps until the next town stop.

2. Phone

This one's pretty obvious. I plan to use my phone for

• Navigating the PCT ( Halfmile's app and maps, Guthook's app, etc.)
• Ordering gear online
• Yelping businesses in town stops
• Calling and texting the peps
• Occasional posts from the trail

But I'm definitely not taking it for pictures...

3. Camera

Yep. I'm taking a full frame Canon 6D!

I'm taking my Canon dSLR. It weighs a crapton, but I don't care, HYOH. I'm an obsessive photographer and must have my quality gear.

4. Lens

(See above for justification) I am predominately a landscape photographer, so I plan on taking a wide Canon 17-40mm lens.

5. Charging System

This was by far the biggest challenged I faced as an obsessive photographer / thru hiker. There are many, many great battery and solar panel options for USB devices, but these don't work for a dSLR. Why? Because USB devices are all 5 volt devices while dSLR batteries are typically 7. something volts. I needed something with a great deal of flexibility. I settled on the Brunton Solaris. It can output to a 12V car (cigarette) socket.


With this output, the rest is easy. The solar panel connects to this Univeral Battery Charger via the included car charger and viola! The charger can then charge EVERYTHING--camera batteries, cell phone batteries, AAs and AAAs--every battery I have tried. I've added one of these short USB cables to charge my Kindle and I should now be set! It's a new system, but initial tests are promising.