Backpacking

[Brandi]

Precip . . . precipitation.

Ahhhhhhhhh, duh!

[eofelis]

Canyonlands Needles Backpacking trip March 2008

Day 1: 5 miles to camp spot
Day 2: 7 miles to camp spot
Day 3: Day hike out of camp
Day 4: 7 miles back to first camp spot
Day 5: 5 miles to trailhead

Gear list.
~30lbs total

I don’t have a scale other than my bathroom scale, so I don’t know the exact weights of most things.

Gregory Deva 60 pack. ~5lbs. Not the lightest, but it’s what I have. It’s better than what I had been using, Kelty Zuni, which was too big and had too much capacity for what I thought was my maximum load.
Rain cover for pack.

Alps Mountaineering Orion 1 tent. ~3lbs. Not the lightest tent out there but it is what I have. Heavy plastic cut to shape for ground cloth.

TNF Blue Kazoo 20degree down bag, plus a silk bag liner for extra warmth. ~3lbs.
Fleece top used for pillow.

I haven’t quite settled on a sleeping pad yet. I cut a cheapie closed cell pad down to just my size, it would be rolled up and strapped on the outside of my pack. I could also use it to sit on outside at dinner, etc. I wouldn’t have to worry about punctures, etc. I may instead use a ¾ UL Thermarest that folds and rolls up to about quart bottle size, but space in my pack is at a premium.

Sweetwater filter, extra cartridge, brush, silt filter (they don’t call it the Colorado River for nothing!), nylon water sack for filling and letting sit for the silt to settle out. I will be sharing this with 1 or 2 other people.

I will carry 2L of water while I hike. 2 Platypus 1L containers, plus drinking tube. Spare 2L platypus container to fill in camp.

Black Diamond trekking poles, useful for water crossings.

(Stove, MSR Whisperlite, 2 small fuel bottles, and MSR pot, but another person will carry this and I will share it with him and maybe one other person. Only for heating water. The stove and pump fits in the pot.)

Clothes. Temps 30-55, 20% chance of showers
Wearing on 1st day: REI zipoffs, lightweight long sleeve base layer top, sports bra, Marmot fleece pullover or fleece jacket (I will bring only one fleece and haven’t decided between the two yet).
Smartwool socks, Lowa goretex boots, these are pretty lightweight for full boots. I often hike in trail shoes (Montrails) but there is expected to be a lot of surface water.
Teva sandals. Some have suggested crocs, and I got some cheapies, but I may have some big water crossings and I want something sturdy on my feet.
Either low gaitors or higher goretex gaitors. If I hike in wet conditions even with gaitors my lower legs tend to get wet from my gait so I may like the higher gaitors. May bring both.
Another pair of REI zipoff pants
Buttondown Sportif nylon longsleeve shirt (can roll up sleeves if it gets warm)
Another long sleeve base layer to sleep in
Base layer bottom for sleeping.
Smartwool socks for each day. (Sleep in next days socks)
Nylon undies for each day
One extra sports bra
Sunhat
Warm fleece hat
Light gloves
Marmot Precip rain jacket and pants
I figure that I can layer most of these clothes if it gets really cold!

3 large bandanas; 1 for my head, one for a hanky, one for other misc. uses.

Food for 5 days. 4 Dinners, Mtn House.
3 breakfasts, granola type breakfast food, cold.
Also have tea bags and packets of instant coffee, packets of energy drink mix, one of each for each day.
3 lunches/snacks (I’m a grazer), Primal Strips, foil pack chicken or tuna, my own trail mix (almond m&ms, pnutbtr m&ms, almonds, shelled pistachios), clif bars, salted nut rolls.
I was monitoring my eating on the days I took my pack out for day hikes for practice and have tried to plan for what I might eat, which is more than I thought! I can really use very calorie I can force myself to eat.
Spoon/fork utensil.
Go-mug for drinks.

Small digital camera, extra batteries
Compass with mirror and thermometer
Small med kit in baggie
Contact lense stuff and eyeglasses in case
Sunglasses, hard case for storage
Wet wipes in baggie (for cat hole business). To be packed out with trash.
Small head lamp, small LED flashlight (probably only need one)
Parachute cord for hanging food

[Pedal Wench]

I haven't read through the response (have to work sometimes!) but at first glance, I noticed two things. Do you REALLY need the rain pants? Jacket, sure. But, the pants? Seems like overkill, especially in that region.

And, food. We've found that the weight of an ultralight stove and a small canister of fuel is nothing compared to bringing dehydrated food. We swear by Mountain House. If someone else is bringing a stove, offer to carry the pot, or fuel so you can have some hot water. Compared to non-dehydrated foods, like tuna and chicken, the complete meals are much more efficient.

Oh -- and I would bring the smaller sleeping pad. Every lighter option helps -- anyplace you can save an ounce here or there will add up. Conversely, every time you say that this is only a little heavier, you're adding more and more. Go lighter with every option. They all add up.

By the way, super-jealous of your trip! We don't have any backpacking planned this year, and I can tell I'm going to be missing it.

[DebW]

Good list, and reasonable weight (if that 30 lbs includes food and water). If you want to reduce pack weight further, I suggest less clothing. Don't carry that 2nd pair of zip-off pants. The beauty of the REI pants is that they are nylon and the fabric dries very quickly if it gets wet. You'll have long underwear pants and rain pants as backup. Or replace the 2nd pants with light nylon shorts that can be worn alone or over long underwear. I'd go with fewer socks, but if your feet will be happier and healthier with clean socks each day, take them. You can become very minimalist with clothing and plan to hike in the same clothes each day, changing into camp clothes each evening when you quit hiking. But that takes a certain mindset and a strong stomach.

[Dianyla]

Looks like you've got a pretty good gear list, there!

Some specific observations that came to my mind that you can take or leave, (YMMV ):

Gear:
You might be able to dispense with the silk bag liner by bringing a better sleeping pad. I tend to get very cold at night and find that a sleeping pad with a high R value is essential, since one loses a lot of heat to the ground. Depending on what year your Deva pack is, you may have the side holster designed for a 1 Qt nalgene bottle that can hold a 3/4 thermarest quite nicely.

I always carry a space blanket sleeping bag in my emergency kit as one of my "10 essentials". Besides emergency use, this also can just make a cold miserable night immediately warm and toasty. One of the nights I was up in Denali I shivered miserably for about 5 hours and eventually gave up and popped it over my sleeping bag around 2am and within minutes I was warm for the rest of the night.

For your tent footprint, have you tried Tyvek? It works well, is cheap, and is ultralight. You can get sheets of it at Home Depot.

Can you consolidate your water bladders/bags at all? I generally just use one 3L bladder, and also have an MSR water bag that I use for filtering water.

Clothes:
I tend to just bring two sets of clothes - one for hiking in every day, one for camp/lounge/sleeping. Merino wool can be reworn for days on end without stinking, so that's something to consider. I generally only bring three pairs of smartwool socks. One to wear most days, one spare dry set, and one night set. I know it's a little gross, but I find that I get less blisters when I am wearing, erm, "seasoned" socks that have a nice coating of skin oils on the inside.

I almost always take some sort of dip or cursory rinse-off before changing into my night clothes. Even just a rinse with a liter of water makes a world of difference to rinse salt off and hit the critical spots. Also, if water is more abundant I'll do a little laundry mid-trip for quick-drying synthetic tops and hiking pants, and undies.

Another tip about the underwear - dunno if you've ever used a menstrual cup? I wear mine non-stop when I'm backpacking even if I'm not menstruating. It just keeps things tidier in the underwear dept and I can bring less pairs. (Note: Do not try this with tampons. Wearing tampons without having an active flow can lead to TSS, and besides it's just... really uncomfortable.) In contrast with the socks, I don't recommend "seasoned" underwear!

If you have to bring high gaitors anyways, and you don't anticipate more than occasional bursts of rain or merely light drizzle, you can often get away with just a poncho + gaitors, which is lighter than a full jacket + pants + gaitors.


It sounds like you're going to have an awesome trip!