Please have a look at my gear list for a 6 day trip on the West Coast Trail in mid May.

I think I'm pretty happy with most of my choices. The only thing I'm a little worried about is which shoes/boots to wear on the WCT at this time of year. The WCT can be very wet and muddy even in in late summer so I'm wondering if it is worth wearing my MEC Purcell 2 boots instead of the New Balance 908s.

Any comments suggestions are most appreciated!

Kris' WCT Gear List

Hey! When did Google docs sneak in images in spreadsheets? I guess I can remove my custom rewriter now.

Thanks for the link and Ill reciprocate once I get my blog converted over to Wordpress. At least I won't have to convert the .net html rewriter to .php.

Regarding your shoe choice, is your concern with traction or keeping your feet dry? Regardless, I would think your trail runners with gaiters.

My concern with the NB 908s is with keeping my feet dry. They are a very "airy" shoe which I'm guessing means that they will let in a lot of water even with taller gaiters.

I wore the Purcells on the Juan de Fuca Trail last year with gaiters and even when in water and mud up to my calves I didn't get any in the boots.

Not having done a long distance hike wearing lightweight trail runners I'm not sure how long it would take them to dry out.

I haven't hiked the trail, but I own the map! :)

Is a GPS req'd?

The general consensus of the BPL forums is that ultimately your feet will get wet so wear breathable shoes that will dry quicker. The point being don't try to keep your feet dry because you won't be able to.

Your reply is surprising though and you were able to keep your feet dry in wet conditions which doesn't seem to be the norm. Another consideration is the weight on your feet as it translates to equatable weight on your back. Perhaps Mark's posting on shoes might help you make a decision: http://verber.com/mark/outdoors/gear/clothing.html

Hi Steven,

I don't think I've read a trip report yet about the WCT that indicates that a GPS is necessary. I don't think you even need to bring your own map as they provide you with one during the orientation session before you are let loose on the trail. I like to have the GPS with me so that I can keep track of travel times and speed as well as distance to the next waypoint and ETA.

I also do geocaching but as the WCT is in a National Park it doesn't look like there are any geocaches on it (geocaches aren't permitted in Canadian National Parks for some reason).

That model of GPS (Garmin GPS 60CSx) also has tide predications on it for most coastal areas. I've also load the TOPO maps for all of BC and Alberta onto which also has some trails and logging roads marked although they need to be updated.

Mainly though, I'm a bit of a gadget geek and I like the (false) sense of security that knowing where I am down to the meter gives me.

On the otherhand, it does eat the batteries pretty fast and I don't think there is much chance of getting lost on the WCT given the number of people that do it each year so I may leave it at home and save the weight.

Thanks Frank,

Reading that article makes it sound like I'll be better off with the lightweight shoes. Maybe I'll see if I can find some waterproof socks locally as he suggests.

I am looking for a 6 day schedule for the Olympic Wilderness Coast Trail.

I appreciated reading about your shoe discussion and the article that was referenced! I am going shoe shopping today and that was very helpful! I still am a bit unplanned though, as my July 5-12 trip has gone from Baker, to Wonderland, and now to the coast, due to a group leader who cancelled on the Baker trip, and too much snow in the Cascades!

Any info on a the coastal trail would be great. A schedule would be great, great!

Heather

Re: Geocaches in Canadian National Parks:

http://www.pc.gc.ca/docs/pc/guide/geocache/index_e.asp

The idea behind restricting what can and can't be in caches and where they can be is that they want to protect the park and the wildlife within it. Kind of a lot of red-tape for little to no benefit, but still, one could argue that it is worth it.