The Pacific Crest Trail Hiker Gift Guide
Sure, you could take a look at the 2020 Thru-hiker Gift Guide, but what if you’re not just any thru-hiker? What if you’re a Pacific Crest Trail thru-hiker? Yes, every thru-hiker thinks themself special and those found (or about to be found) on the PCT are no different.
So what if your loved one is hiking the PCT next year? What if you’re hiking the PCT next year? What are the things PCT hikers want the most? What are the things they need the most? Well, besides a go-ahead by the current pandemic (the PCTA has already delayed issuing any permits until early next year – if at all), there are several PCT-specific (or specific-adjacent) items that thru-hikers will (hopefully) find of great use on the Pacific Crest Trail.
If you’re looking for more thru-hiking-in-general gifts, then I encourage you to check out the 2020 Thru-hiker Gift Guide and the PCT Gear Survey. The PCTA Store may have shuttered its doors, but there’s still plenty of PCT to be found for your favorite hiker.
CURRENT DISCOUNTS
20% OFF at Backcountry on one full-price item (ends November 25).
20% OFF at REI on one full-priced item – Code GEARUP2020 (ends November 23)
Extra 20% OFF on one REI Outlet item – Code GEARUP2020 (ends November 23)
Under $25
What’s better than a neck gaiter? A PCT-branded neck gaiter. Specifically, this one by Buff. It has a map of the trail in case you get lost, a picture of all the wildlife you may (or may not) encounter, and will remind you that PCT stands for Pacific Crest Trail and not Pacific Coast Trail. It’s everything a PCT hiker could ask for.
Free Outside: A Trek Against Time and Distance
Chances are that if you’re hiking the PCT (or know someone hiking the PCT), you know about that one book that everyone thinks is about the PCT but that’s not actually about the PCT. You know what’s better than that book? This book. Jeff “Legend” Garmire’s account of a calendar year triple crown. What’s a calendar year triple crown? It’s hiking the PCT and the Continental Divide Trail, and the Appalachian Trail in a single year. A very motivational read for those hoping to take on just the one.
The PCTA is notoriously stingy about letting companies use the PCT logo in any form whatsoever. I know, because I’ve been yelled at for posting an image of the PCT logo on my site before (I might even get yelled at for this post!). That said, there are still plenty of PCT stickers available (including stickers of the logo – which I’m not sure of the legal status of, but the PCTA stopped selling them, so there’s that). Thru-hikers love stickers. What else are they going to put on their roof boxes and water bottles?
Farm to Feet Chester (PCT) Socks
Remember that bit about the PCTA being stingy with the PCT logo? Well, one of the few (official) PCT-branded things you can find are these Farm to Feet Socks (although it is the “vintage” PCT logo and not the current one). And these aren’t just “whatever wear them around the house socks”; Farm to Feet makes great socks and you could even, say, hike the PCT in them.
Yes, this is also on the thru-hiker gift guide, but pooping in the backcountry is a big deal – and it happens a lot on the PCT. Hikers think it’s cool to be uber ultralight and ditching a trowel is a common means of cutting weight. However, on the PCT, there will most definitely be times when a trowel is going to be incredibly useful (if not necessary) in digging a poo hole. The Deuce #2 is lightweight enough that there’s very little room to argue that it doesn’t belong in every hikers’ pack. It’s a lot better than using your heel, a stick, or a rock.
Under $50
Sure, you could hike the entire Pacific Crest Trail with a paper map and compass, but the reality of the world is that all of us have little computers in our pockets (you may even be reading this on one…) and you might as well put it to work. Guthook Guides (or simply ‘Guthook’) is the app for hiking the PCT. From water sources to trail junctions, it has become a near default piece of any PCT hikers kit. You can get it for Android or iOS. The entire trail is $29.99 or you can buy it in sections for $7.99 each (just buy the whole trail – it’s worth it).
What do you get for the PCT hiker who has everything? A PCT puzzle, of course. Yes, there’s a 750-piece 12″ x 36″ (30 x 91 cm) PCT puzzle. Will it help you complete the trail? No. Is it something that you would want to carry on the trail? No. Is it something that would be fun to do at a bar in town during a zero day? Absolutely. If you want your trail name to be jigsaw, you now know what you must do.
A thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail takes a lot of time and effort. Hikers will likely want to rest their weary heads (and legs) at a hotel every once in a while. The biggest barrier to getting a hotel in every single town? The cost. There are some inexpensive hotels along the PCT and for as little as $45 per night (I’m looking at you Motel 6 Big Bear), hikers can get themselves a room to briefly escape the elements.
A piece of gear that I can’t help but include on every thru-hiking gift guide (including the PCT gift guide) is a Thrupack Summit Bum. As far as gifts go, this is a great one – particularly for anyone too afraid to equip themselves with a fanny pack (the most glorious of all packs). The Summit Bum comes in a variety of awesome colors and can (and should) be upgraded with a Comfy Strap as well (worth it and also available in more eye-popping patterns).
For $35 a year, you can gift a Pacific Crest Trail Association membership to someone (or get one for yourself). With this comes the following benefits:
- The knowledge that your membership helps to protect and preserve the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail for future generations (so special)
- The PCT Communicator – PCTA’s full-color, members-only magazine
- A one-year subscription to Backpacker Magazine (U.S. Residents only)
- A Pacific Crest Trail decal
- Discounts PCTA activities
- Invitations to participate in trail classes and volunteer trail projects
How are you supposed to get psyched on your upcoming thru-hike or relive your once glorious thru-hike without a giant map of the Pacific Crest Trail on your wall? You won’t. Which is why every hiker of the PCT should probably have one of these 18″ x 48″ (47 x 122 cm) maps to hang up and point out to every person in their life who happens to walk past it. “Yes, Appa, we know you hiked the PCT, please move on with your life.” But we all know you can’t ever go back.
Patagonia Provisions Dehydrated Meals
Okay, so admittedly not specific to the Pacific Crest Trail, but a great gift nonetheless – Patagonia Provisions Dehydrated Meals. Dehydrated meals are a special treat on a thru-hike (at least they are to me) since buying enough of these meals to fuel the entirety of a thru-hike would be absurdly expensive. That said, as a gift, they can be much appreciated. Patagonia Provisions are sold in six-packs (in addition to individually) and come in five different flavors.
Under $100
If you’re thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, there’s no way around it, you must carry a bear canister. The BearVault BV450/500 (that is, either the smaller 450 or the larger 500) is what most hikers carry (I used the 450 on my last PCT hike). Unless you really want to spend some money and get something that’s four times the price like the Bearikade Scout, the BearVault will serve you just fine. Bonus? They make excellent stools.
Pacific Crest Trail resupply – that is, buying more food along the way to fuel the glorious hiking machine you are – is a huge cost to any thru-hiker. Along the trail (at least in California), you will find plenty of Vons and Safeway supermarkets (they’re the same company). It’s easy to spend upwards of $100 on a resupply depending on how long the next stretch of trail is and how particular you are with your purchases, but a gift card for your favorite PCT hiker can go a long way.
You won’t see many hammocks out on the PCT, but if you’re a fan of hammocks and a fan of the PCT, then you might like the ENO PCTA DoubleNest Hammock. Full disclosure, despite always wanting to, I’ve never tried a hammock in the backcountry and can’t speak to this particular one, but since this is a PCT-themed gift guide and since $10 gets donated to the PCTA for every purchase of this hammock, I thought it worthy of inclusion here.
Over $100
PCT National Geographic Map Pack
They (probably) aren’t going to help anyone out on the trail, but for anyone who is going to hike (or even has hiked) the PCT, the National Geographic PCT Map Pack and provides hours of entertainment and/or useless planning. You can buy the maps individually (there are eleven in total) or as a bundle. If you pick them up individually, they’re around $15 each – you can save around $50 by purchasing a pack.
A truly unique (and awesome) gift for a PCT hiker (particularly one who has already hiked the trail)? An illustration of them at the northern (or southern) terminus. First Row, a PCT thru-hiker is an artist who does incredible illustrations that make equally incredible gifts. She offers all sorts of customizations (you had a rainy terminus day? make it sunny!), so just shoot her an email to get a quote. I hear she even adds dinosaurs that may or may not have been at the border.
Timberline Lodge is unique in that it’s one of the very few stops along the Pacific Crest Trail that’s, quite literally, on the trail. No hitchhiking necessary. Many hikers come into Timberline excited for the hotel’s buffet (which a gift card can be used toward), but most skip booking a room (since they’re a bit more than the Motel 6 referred to earlier). That said, with the right gift card, I think many hikers would happily opt to spend the night at this lodge – rates can run from around $140 up to $400 per night.
Another carryover from the Thru-Hiker Gift Guide, the Garmin inReach Mini is something that you should be carrying if you’re going to be out in the wildernesses on your own (or even with friends). However, since it’s on the expensive side, it can put many hikers off. That said, if you end up needing to use it, it becomes priceless. It required a subscription, so maybe instead of gifting a unit, you can gift the subscription to the thru-hiker of your choice (it will let your child text you, in case you’re a worried parent – you’re welcome, thru-hikers with worried parents).
CURRENT DISCOUNTS
20% OFF at Backcountry on one full-price item (ends November 25).
20% OFF at REI on one full-priced item – Code GEARUP2020 (ends November 23)
Extra 20% OFF on one REI Outlet item – Code GEARUP2020 (ends November 23)
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