Gear List for Hackberry – Paria Utah Loop, March 21st

[Tyler H]

Hey folks,
I'll be taking a trip to southern Utah to hike up Hackberry canyon, cross the Rock Springs Bench and descend back through the Paria River canyon. We're leaving on the 21st.
In full disclosure this is my first lightweight (clearly not UL) packing list. That said I'm not new to backpacking, but just beginning to commit to lightweight. Please don't let that deter you from giving advice or making comments.

Sleep
marmot sawtooth w/sea line stuff sack 45.9
blue foam 11.3

Clothes
smartwool wool longsleeve 9.7

Craft long underwear top 5.4 (worn)
Cap 3 Long underwear bottoms 6.3
Capilene t-shirt 4.7 (worn)
shorts 4.3 (worn)
Precip jacket 12.2
Precip pant 7.8
Briefs 2.4 (worn)
Down jacket 18
wool socks (3) 6.4 (pack) 1.8 (worn)
Cotton Bandana 0.9
fleece hat & gloves 3.7
ascis running shoe 25.7 (worn)

Other
Snowpeak ti mug 4.1
Utensil 0.3
1/2 Frankentarp rainfly/ground cloth set-up 35.4
Golite Jam 25.3
water bladder 3
alcohol stove, stand and ti pot 5.6
Victoronox paring knife 0.8
First-Aid 3
Compass 0.9
AquaMira 3
Sunglasses 3.5
lighter 0.4
ditty bag 0.5
LED light 0.5
Camera
extra cord 0.5
toothbrush 0.1
sunblock 0.5

Total oz. 206.1 59.1 265.2
Base weight= 12.88 Skin-out= 15.87

[Stephen R]

Your sleep system is by far the heaviest part of your setup. The rest of your setup looks reasonable. I think you have the correct amount of clothing for Utah this time of year. A driducks rain suit is under $20. I think the jacket is more waterproof AND breathable than the precip for half the weight. Keep your pants though since the driducks ones will simply tear out.

25 ounces is a lot of sleeping pad for sleeping in sandy Utah. I find that I can get away with a thinner pad in the desert because it is very easy to find nice soft ground. For $30 a 10 ounce z-lite will give you 3/4 length coverage. Even cheaper for a ridgerest, but the z-lite packs up nice and I find them a bit more comfortable. You can use your pack or a small piece of blue-foam from walmart under your feet.

If you want to try out a tarp a big blue tarp from walmart or home depot will cost less than $15. It's not ultralight but a good place to start. Could save you a pound or so over the tent.

I don't see a stove on your list. Make an alcohol stove if you don't have one already. A cat can stove will take less than 5 minutes to make, cost and weighs almost nothing, and works very well.

You can buy some iodine tablets if you want to save weight on the filter, but I can't blame you for wanting to take one along. Some of the water out there can be pretty nasty!
Make sure to use a coffee filter or some kind of other prefilter to keep sand from gumming up your device and making it useless.

The rest of the list looks OK. A lighter sleeping bag is the obvious next step, but that will be a bigger purchase than everything else.

[Andy F]

I'd replace the water bladder with a few lightweight plastic bottled water or Gatorade bottles. Or, Platypus makes very light containers, including ones with hoses.

Add a pealess whistle and a backup lighter, along with some type of emergency tinder.

For utensils, I take only a Lexan spoon which weighs 0.3 oz.

You don't have things like sunscreen, soap, and toothbrush listed.

I'm not sure what temperatures you plan to encounter, but it appears from the clothing that it will be below freezing. That could present a major problem if the residual water in your filter freezes. This would likely cause it to crack and be ineffective. Carrying it in a jacket pocket and sleeping with it contained in a waterproof bag might work. Bring purification tablets as a backup.

[Scott S]

One suggestion might be to get a pair of neoprene socks. I think they'll keep your feet warmer than wool socks will for the zillion cold stream crossings you're going to do. You could wear the neoprene socks and carry just 1 pair of wool socks in your pack instead of 2, for a small weight reduction.

Have fun–that's a beautiful area.

[Tyler H]

Thanks guys for the feedback. I actually bought a scale so I have some exact weights. I also made some changes:
-swapped the thermarest for 5'7" of blue walmart foam (hoping I won't regret it warmth-wise)
-added some non-essentials including camera and toothbrush

Andy, I Appreciate the advice on the water filter, we will have some backup tablets. My Jam has a whistle and our FA kit has an extra lighter, good lookin out. Will take your advice on the lexan spoon.
I will definitely look into the neoprene socks. In terms of the stream crossings I'm starting to think a packraft might be the better solution.

[Dirk Rabdau]

Tyler –

Are you going out at the bottom of the Paria Canyon? I don't know if you've been there or not, but you basically walk through/cross that stream constantly during the trip. Are those boots made for the water? If they are not, I'd just get a pair water shoes of cheap trail runners and know they will be destroyed.

The water in the Paria isn't always safe to drink – it can be pretty darned cloudy sometimes. There are areas where water comes through the rocks and you can basically fill your bottle. There is a map out there with water sources. If you are interested, let me know and I will look for it.

Lovely place, would like to get back there.

Dirk

[Mike Clelland]

marmot sawtooth w/sea line stuff sack 45.9

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Yikes, this is porky! This has gotta be the first thing you revize, there are LOTS of lighter options.

smartwool wool longsleeve 9.7

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Question, are these carried or worn???

Capilene t-shirt 4.7

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Question, is this carried or worn???

shorts 4.3

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Question, are these carried or worn???

Briefs 2.4

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Question, are these carried or worn???

1/2 tent 40.1

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Replace this with a tarp at well under 10 oz

Golite Jam 25.3

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You can take the scissors to this and easly cut of 7 ounces (easy)

Victoronox paring knife 8

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WHAT?!?! 8 OUNCES???

MSR water filter 12.8

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Replace with something lighter, there are plenty of other options under 2 ounces.

lighter 0.7

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Replace with a tiny mini-bic at 0.4 oz

Camera 14.2

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Wow, this is a lot, do you have anything smaller and lighter???
____________________________________

No waterproofing of your gear, I recommend a 2.2 oz Hefty COMPACTOR bag.

No cook gear???

No sunblock or lip stuff?
____________________________________

[Tyler H]

Dirk- Thanks for the tips, I would love such a map and any other beta you can give me. This will be my fist time in UT and my first desert backpacking experience. Too much time in the Boreal.

Mike good catch on the knife, that's .8. T-shirt, shorts, briefs will be worn, likely the long underwear top or wool too.
Some big items, like cook gear, are missing because I'm going with a partner. We probably won't be changing the tent for a tarp set-up this time but it's definitely (along with the old school bag) on the top of the to do list.
Hopefully getting AquaMira in time but as Dirk mentioned it sounds murky. The camera was a difficult call but is important to me enjoying and documenting the time. Will do on the hefty.

Thanks!

[David Chenault]

I highly doubt you'll want rain pants; leave 'em.

I'd highly recommend some NRS Hydroskin socks, and some shoes that will drain better and dry faster. Even some simple running shoes. These two changes will make a bigger difference than any other (by avoiding ice cream headaches when you cross the Paria again and again).

Leave the filter, the silty water will kill it fast. Bring aqua mira or the like, and pre filter water through your bandana to get out most of the grit.

Enjoy, should be a great trip.

[Tyler H]

Alright fellas I'm taking some of this to heart. We've come up with a franken-tarp shelter using the rainfly from a hammerhead 3, 2 poles from the fat frog and a random footprint. It comes in at 62.4 oz (3.9 lbs) which we will split.

Built a new alcohol stove, this time with insulation in the wall, and a stand that together with a MSR Titan Ti pot weighs 5.6 oz. We'll need 300 mL of alcohol too. Debating between that and the JetBoil which is only a few ounces heavier with fuel.

Planning to ditch the water filter for some AM if I can get out of paypal purgatory and get them shipped in time.

Definitely considering some neoprene socks, thanks for the advice. Switched to asics running shoe.

I'm not sure I can ditch my precip pants because they'll be my only pants and I'm expecting sub-freezing temps around camp.

This thread has gotten me from about 15 lbs base to 12.8 lbs with a lot more thorough list. Thanks.

[Dirk Rabdau]

I agree, drop the filter. The water can be full of silt. I'd go here and print out the maps that include some spring information – they aren't all reliable.

The maps are near the bottom
http://www.toddshikingguide.com/Hikes/Arizona/Misc/Misc25.htm

[Alex H]

Hey Tyler,
I just did this exact loop, but but started at Rock Springs creek, last November. Great Hike. If you haven't found it yet, here is the link to my trip report with a gear list and map.

http://40yearsofwalking.wordpress.com/2010/11/25/upper-paria-riverhackberry-canyons-loop-1110/

Definitely get the neoprene socks and the use of Hydropel is a great addition too. We did it, from the top, partly so we didn't have to carry full packs and full water to start. We wanted light packs on that stretch up Hackberry and across Rock springs bench because it is dry for for nearly two days or so (depends on if you take the time to explore Round Valley draw and others or not).

PM me if you have any last second questions as I know you are leaving soon.
Have a great time.

[Alex H]

"I'd go here and print out the maps that include some spring information – they aren't all reliable.

The maps are near the bottom
http://www.toddshikingguide.com/Hikes/Arizona/Misc/Misc25.htm"

Hey Dirk I believe he is talking about the upper Paria drainage and not the lower with Buckskin Gulch. A great walk too, someday I do it again as well.

[Tyler H]

Alex awesome trip report! Very thorough this is exactly what we need. We're considering adding Buckskin Gulch to this loop, starting at White House and doing it upstream. Sent you a PM with some details. What do you think?

[Dirk Rabdau]

Alas, I believe you are correct – sorry, my thoughts were that he was going through the entire Paria Canyon….Thanks for the clarification.

Cheers.

Dirk

[Tyler H]

Dirk- still really appreciate the advice. We've been all over the place with the exact plan so far so it's all good.

Alex – diddo on thanks.

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