The Sierra High Route was more challenging than we anticipated. We were out for 15 days, did 205 miles, spent most of the time off-trail, and experienced several intense mountain passes. The trip was rewarding, thrilling, tiring, and invigorating. Here’s everything we carried with us.
Complete Gear List:
Backpacks: Zpacks Arc Air 50L DCF Backpack with 2 Belt Pouches (discontinued, replaced by the 50L Arc Haul)
Tent: Zpacks Duplex Tent
Quilt: Enlightened Equipment Revelation Sleeping Quilt (950 down / 20F / Regular / Slim / Draft Collar)
Shoes:
- Renee: HOKA Mafate Speed 4
- Tim: HOKA Mafate Speed 4
(NOTE: Great shoes, but they’ve been discontinued. The Mafate 5’s are a decent alternative)
Sleeping Pads: Nemo Switchback (Closed-Cell Foam / Short)
Hiking Poles: Black Diamond Distance Z Trekking Poles – Pair
Water:
- Water Filter 1: Sawyer Squeeze
- Water Filter 2: Lifestraw Peak Series
- Water Bottles: Smartwater or Lifewtr bottles (Two1-Liter & One 0.7-Liter each)
- Collapsible Water Bottle: CNOC Collapsable Water Bottle (1L), which collapses to be tiny when not needed.
Kitchen:
- Pot: Thruhikers hot/cold prototype (1.1-Litre)
- Stove: Olicamp ION Micro Titanium
- Spork: Titanium Spork x1
- Fuel: Olicamp Rocket Fuel (8oz)
- Handkerchief: PCT Bandana
Food Storage:
- Bear Vault BV500: We do not like this type of bear-safe storage, but this or something like it is required for parts of the Sierra High Route.
Electronics:
- Garmin InReach Messenger Plus
- Garmin Fenix 8 51mm Solar GPS watches (x2). Note that the Fenix 9 was just released.
- Anker Power Bank (20,000 mAh) x1, Anker Power Bank (10,000 mAh) x2, and a Nitecore Ultralight Power Bank.
- Nitecore NU25 400UL Headlamp (Tim). Renee lost hers a while ago and brought an old headlamp.
- Cell Phone for maps and photos/videos
- Two action cameras (An older Go-pro and a nicer DJI Osmo Action 6)
- Cables
- Tiny Anker Wall Plug
Renee’s Clothing:
- Shorts: Lululemon Synthetic Shorts
- Sun Hoodie: Patagonia Synthetic Sun Hoodie
- Underwear: ExOfficio Give-N-Go Bikini Brief (3)
- Socks: Darn Tough Micro Crew Midweight Hiking Socks (3)
- Gators: Dirty Girl Gators
- Base Layer Top: Women’s Classic All-Season Merino Base Layer Long Sleeve
- Base Layer Bottom: Women’s Classic All-Season Merino Base Layer Bottom
- Jacket: Enlightened Equipment Torrent Jacket (NOTE: This jacket is amazing, and the price is amazing too for the warmth it provides.)
- Rain Coat: Outdoor Research Helium Rain Jacket
- Buff: Buff
- Glove Liners
- Baseball Hat
- Sunglasses: Ombraz Viale
Tim’s Clothing:
- Shorts: Smartwool Men’s Recycled Polyester Shorts
- Sun Hoodie: Patagonia Synthetic Sun Hoodie
- Underwear: ExOfficio Give-N-Go 2.0 (2)
- Socks: Darn Tough Micro Crew Midweight Hiking Socks (2)
- Gators: Dirty Girl Gators
- Base Layer Top: Men’s Classic All-Season Merino Base Layer Long Sleeve
- Base Layer Bottom: Men’s Classic All-Season Merino Base Layer Bottom
- Jacket: Enlightened Equipment Torrent Jacket (NOTE: This jacket is amazing, and the price is amazing too for the warmth it provides.)
- Rain Coat: Outdoor Research Helium
- Buff: Buff
- Glove Liners
- Baseball Hat
- Sunglasses: Ombraz Classic
Toiletries:
- Toothbrush
- Toothpaste
- Floss
- Sun Screen
Toilet:
- Poop Shovel: The Deuce #2
- Hand Sanitizer
- Antimicrobial Pee Cloth (Renee only, like this one)
- Menstrual Cup: Diva cup (Renee only)
First Aid Kit (small amounts of necessary items)
Miscellaneous:
- Dry Sack: Zpacks Roll Top Dry Bag (10″ x 18″)
- Microspikes: We left these in the car but wished we had them at a few points. Ours are by Katula.
- Bug Spray: DEET
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