Part 2: Preparing for all possible versions of the apocalypse!

Thanks for asking…

“What exactly will you bring on the road?” The second question I usually hear when I mention my plan to increase PCT (right after “Sounds great, but… ahem… what is PCT?”).

Thanks to thousands of hours reading articles, posts, forums, Facebook group literature, and watching Youtube videos and tutorials on gear lists, and some multi-day hikes in France and elsewhere, I assumed this would be easy.

I thought, well, simple problem, look at what’s essential and what’s not. First, the essentials: the big 5 (tent, sleeping bag, mattress, backpack, shoes), security system (phone, PLB, power bank), kitchen system, clothing system: warm layers (cold-proof) and its opposite (heat-proof), health, repairs, basic toiletries.

Tadaaaa. Job done.

But… Little did I know.

Wait. Something in the back of my mind felt wrong. Yo has to I need more for a 5 month trip, right? Desert, mountains, valleys, forests, heat wave, snow, storms…

Ok, let’s add “some small clothes”… puffer jacket, raincoat, fleece jacket, shorts (shorts or tights? Let’s take both, problem solved)…

Towel?… no towel?

Emergency pharmacy? Should I bring some K tape or leave it on the way? Antibiotics?

Sunscreen, but in what format?

Leave No Trace litter system (non-negotiable!!)

Wait…will a power bank be enough? Should I take two?

Sleeping bag lining…?

Extra t-shirt? Merino or Alfa?

At that point, the equation had become more complex than a quantum physics problem.

OK. Let’s call my best friend to rescue me… Excel (because nothing says «outdoor adventure» like conditional formatting).

Like most of us, I don’t want to spend months carrying the full weight of my bad decisions (I most likely will).

Every morning, I opened (for the fiftieth time) my sacred “Gear List” file, organized into four tabs:

“Reference PCT Equipment”, “Desert Equipment List”, “Sierra Equipment List”, “Resupply Equipment List”. Then, of course, came the color coding (“essential”, “not essential but I like it”, “useless – let’s eliminate it”, “maybe”…). What do you mean by “control freak”? Hey!!

I would tell myself: be reasonable, but also allow for some comfort. Five minutes later, “comfort” had become:

Phone. Two power banks. Kindle (I know I’ll regret it). Cards. Camera + extra battery + extra protection + SD adapter, 3 spare cables, vaping system + extra liquid + extra pods (yes, I know…). Extra socks “just in case”. Extra painkillers “just in case.” Extra strips in a blister “just in case”. A tripod “just in case”. My “just in case” moisturizer. And of course, extra base layers (two of each), you know… just in case. And last but not least, camping shoes. Who plans to walk more than 30 km a day without camping shoes? Duh.

Obviously, all items went through the careful and stern judgment of my kitchen scale! Despite this, my base weight “just in case” (without food or water): 10.5 kg! Oh…

Very excited about my 15 gram nail clippers!

As the old saying goes “you pack your fears”, and let’s face it, mine were a truckload! Fear of lacking, fear of needing, fear of wasting, fear of fear and above all, fear of being cold. How ironic for someone who grew up in Normandy, but after three and a half years in Asia, I now consider any temperature below 20°C a personal attack.

So the Dantesque task still remained.

I know, I know, 2026 is the era of ultralights. Ultralight backpack, ultralight tent, ultralight clothing, stove, water filter… ultralight everything (a nice contrast to my amazing decision-making process). And this is great.

I admit that 20% of my base weight is completely expendable LUXURY or “fear-based” items, but I gave up and decided this was okay too. As another saying goes…and I really love that one:

Do your own hike…

Do it your way. So, camera? Yeah! Light? Yeah! (Mental image: me reading at sunset on a mountain with a light breeze and a spectacular view. Reality: the Kindle stays in my bag and is shipped to my house after two weeks.) Camping shoes? Yeah! Tripod? Yeah! …Yes to my mistakes. After all, if there were none, there would be nothing to learn along the way. So I gladly accept the extra weight that comes with it and will adapt! That’s also part of the experience. Get rid of the extra weight while getting rid of your fears…at least hopefully.

Are my compression and waterproof bags REALLY waterproof? Let’s find out, shall we?

And while these internal debates have kept my mind busy, in my quest to lighten my backpack, I almost forgot the most important things to bring with me:

The memory of afternoons watching television or cooking with my mother;

Laughing at our cat who is too lazy to climb the stairs, waiting for us to pick her up;

Thoughts on my father’s advice and our discussions about the PCT;

Post-race exhaustion and a cold beer with friends;

Sunday brunch and card games with the gang in the heat of Burma…

The only things that weigh nothing and yet somehow are the ones that matter the most to me (that and these 2 extra pairs of socks…obviously).

The rest? I’ll try to get it in 8.5 kilos (thinking too much included). Let’s see how that goes.

We will talk to all of you soon.

Of the.