On a remote trail, an equipment error can lead to large consequences. Johnson’s journey — a multi-month experiment based on his decades of wilderness exploration — had successes as well as misfires. He ran out of water. He dodged poisonous snakes and hid from a bear. At the end of his trip, he hiked 15 miles off route to trade his bubble wrap for a sleeping pad as temps plunged near the Canadian boarder.
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He did not complete the entire trail. But over three months, Johnson hiked more than 1,000 miles of the route, including a dozen sections he says are the trail’s highlights.
By the end of the PCT, Johnson had switched his VestPack for a backpack. He’d worn through several pairs of lightweight shoes. For cooking, he’d upgraded to a heavier, hotter stove. “The ultra-light stove couldn’t cut it,” he said.
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Take or leave his unconventional advice, here are a few field-tested equipment suggestions and trail techniques Johnson trusts to trade some comfort in camp for a lighter load while walking hours each day on the trail.
- Food Bag Pillow — In bear country, many hikers secure a cache of food at night in a tree. Johnson trusted O.P. Sak Odor-Proof Barrier Bags, which are reusable Ziploc-type bags made by Watchful Eye Designs. They are marketed as odor-, humidity-, vapor- and leak-proof. Johnson’s technique was to put his food in a bag, stash it in his backpack, and then use the lump as a pillow.
- Bubble Wrap Sleeping Pad — A thin sheen of plastic served as an ad hoc air mattress for months. It was warm enough for nights down to 50 degrees, Johnson said. But you must “contour” the ground each night by moving dirt and sticks to shape a sleeping spot. A new body-length sheet of wrap — which weighed just 0.9 ounce — was unrolled from a stash every few days at re-supply points as the bubbles deflated under his weight.
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