24: Fall Equinox in the Hyalite Cirque of Montana's Gallatin Mountains

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Doing a trip like this requires some advance preparation. I like to keep my pack packed and ready - it hangs on a hook in my garage - so that if I get a hankering to take a 24, I'll just grab a camera, a map, and some food, drop it in my pack, and go. No fiddling around with gear lists or decision making from the gear closet. On a trip like this, gear is the least of my worries (or at least, I want it to be). My 24 pack is thus conservatively kitted - to handle a variety of conditions between March and November (I keep a different pack ready for the cold winter months). As such, I'm carrying a little more weight than I could if I meticulously planned each adventure, but then again, 24's aren't about meticulous planning. They are about dropping the barriers that prevent me from going into the backcountry.

ARTICLE OUTLINE

How To Go 24
My Gear
Shelter, Clothing, and Sleep System
Other Gear
Consumables
What to Expect
About the "24" Series
Related Articles

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# PHOTOS: 11

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Oct 6, 2009 at 2:03 pm #1239969

Addie Bedford
BPL Member

@addiebedford
Locale: Montana

Companion forum thread to:

24: Fall Equinox in the Hyalite Cirque of Montana's Gallatin Mountains

Oct 6, 2009 at 2:47 pm #1533616

David Stenberg
BPL Member

@dstenberg1
Locale: South

This is going to be a lot of fun as we see more and more people sharing their 24 hour trips! I think it is a wonderful series since many of us can't be gone for long periods of time. Thanks for starting off with such a great report!

Oct 6, 2009 at 3:32 pm #1533631

Jay Wilkerson
BPL Member

@creachen
Locale: East Bay

You got me fired up Ryan!!..Thank goodness I am heading out to the Trinity Alps this weekend with a few other BPL members…When will the BPL baseball style hats be available? I want one!!!!!!

Oct 6, 2009 at 5:11 pm #1533664

Doug Johnson
BPL Member

@djohnson
Locale: Pacific Northwest

I loved this story and the video! With two little ones at home, the length of my non-family trips has gotten much shorter and I've settled on the 24 hour trip as a go-to as well.

I have my gear on a big rack and I just grab a pack and start stuffing. All of my small items are in a small bag so the packing is quick and easy. My food box of dehydrated meals, instant coffee, and Clif products makes the whole packing adventure about 15 minutes long. From here it's grab a map and go. Several of my trips have been just about 24 hours- even 24 hours door to door. They are so fun- quick walks into the high country makes for a bit of condensed adventure.

Thanks for sharing Ryan- I hope to contribute to the series!

Doug

Oct 6, 2009 at 5:22 pm #1533669

Amy Lauterbach
BPL Member

@drongobird
Locale: San Francisco Bay Area

Thanks for the series about 24 hour trips.
Reminds me of a Grant Petersen's similar series geared to bike camping. He calls them Sub-24 Hour Overnight (S24O) trips, and his description of the benefits of a short spontaneous overnight trip are similar to what you've described.

http://www.rivbike.com/article/bike_camping/camping_vs_touring

Oct 6, 2009 at 5:48 pm #1533677

George Matthews
BPL Member

@gmatthews

Great idea! A hectic and a constantly changing schedule often derails many of my planned way in advance backpacking trips. I like the 24 hour window, and will try this out soon.

I recently did a three night trip that I took because another week long trip did not work out. My wife was on her way to visit her mother and the day before she left I decided I'd ride with her about halfway, she'd drop me off at a trailhead, and then pick me up three days later. Most of the trek was in heavy rain. However, it has been one of my best hikes.

Your pictures are fantastic and text is excellent.

Oct 6, 2009 at 6:10 pm #1533694

Dan @ Durston Gear
BPL Member

@dandydan
Locale: Canadian Rockies

Amazing photos as usual Ryan….nice work! Great video too!

Neat to see BPL is making a line of packs. Hopefully there is a cutting edge frameless pack on the menu :)

Oct 6, 2009 at 6:26 pm #1533697

D G
Spectator

@dang
Locale: Pacific Northwet

Great article! Because of family commitments etc probably 90% of my backpacking are these type of trips. I first started doing these type of trips after Reading a Grant Peterson article on the sub 24 hour overnight (S24HO). Initially, I would do these on the bike and later with backpacking trips.

In the past I've thought about having a pack ready to go with everything (including food), but have not really figured out a good way to do so. I always put my sleeping bag and puffy jacket at the bottom of the pack and obviously do not want to leave them in a compressed state.

I wonder how Ryan handles this? Just compress the puffy insulation and not worry about it? Or have everything except insulation packed which you insert at the last minute? I wonder if there is any long term damage to insulation if it's left compressed for say 1 month?

Oct 6, 2009 at 6:31 pm #1533701

jim bailey
BPL Member

@florigen
Locale: South East

Ryan,
Thanks for covering this type of outing, perfect timing. About to attempt 30 weekends out back to back for this exact type of backcountry experience.

Thanks again
Jim

Oct 6, 2009 at 6:38 pm #1533705

Luke Schmidt
BPL Member

@cameron
Locale: Alaska

I love this idea, I really should organize my stuff more. I think on one trip it took 3 hours to put everything together (although taking a little brother complicated matters).
I don't want to hijak the thread but I think its about time BPL made a video. Sort of a video equivolant of Ryan's book.

Oct 6, 2009 at 6:46 pm #1533709

Kier Selinsky
Member

@kieran
Locale: Seattle, WA

Just wanted to voice some support for this idea for a series! I know that personally I get too caught up in extensive planning for a trip. It's good to have some encouragement to just get out there.

Oct 6, 2009 at 8:05 pm #1533738

David Ure
Member

@familyguy

I love the idea, but love the video more.

More video please!

Ryan, what stove system did you use on this '24' trek? Thanks,

Oct 7, 2009 at 2:02 am #1533788

Damien Dry
Spectator

@sillymanwithamoustache

That new 2010 backpackinglight frame pack looks kinda like an Aarn featherlight freedom minus the front balance pockets…

Oct 7, 2009 at 4:32 am #1533794

Jonathan Ryan
BPL Member

@jkrew81
Locale: White Mtns

great article Ryan, these are always what my trips have been so it is great to get some new idea's…

Oct 7, 2009 at 5:57 am #1533805

Keith Selbo
Spectator

@herman666
Locale: Northern Virginia

It may be belaboring the issue, but I didn't see a camera on the gear list. You must be like me and build one from moss and bark when you want to take a pic.

What about first aid? Nothing? A knife?

Oct 7, 2009 at 7:16 am #1533817

Joe Clement
BPL Member

@skinewmexico
Locale: Southwest

Must be nice to live within 30 minutes of somewhere like that. The drive for me would take 5-6 hours out of my 24. BPL should sell a UL teleportation device.

Oct 7, 2009 at 7:37 am #1533821

Tom Caldwell
BPL Member

@coldspring
Locale: Ozarks

I live about 30 miles from the nearest trail, so I'm lucky in that regards. I figure on an hour to get there. I can drive to most places in the Ozarks within 4 hours, after that it's two days drive to anyplace better.

You don't actually have to keep your pack packed. If you've got the gear box ready, you can stuff your pack in 3 minutes, which gives you time to stretch after a drive.

Seems rushed to me, but it's a heck of a lot better than not going. I actually do a lot of 55ers, start hiking at noon one day and finish at noon two days later, plus driving time.

The prototype pack sure is purple looking…more purple than my Graper Trail!

Oct 7, 2009 at 7:40 am #1533823

Sebastian Ventris
Member

@sabme
Locale: SW UK

Sweet video. Video journals are a great I idea; look forward to more.

.. by the way can someone remind me what Tipi Ryan's using?

Oct 7, 2009 at 8:09 am #1533837

CW
BPL Member

@simplespirit
Locale: .

He has a custom shorter version of MLD's SuperMid.

Oct 7, 2009 at 8:35 am #1533841

Jonas Bodenäs
BPL Member

@greenjuice
Locale: Göteborg

Hi Ryan,

Since I'm Deaf, I don't understand what you are saying in the video. It'd be great if you can put in subtitles in the video. However, the idea with 24 h-trip is interesting! :)

Jonas

Oct 7, 2009 at 9:15 am #1533851

Ralph B Alcorn
Spectator

@backpack45scb

It would be helpful if your gear list included a link to the item used, or at least brand and model of item, or a note if homemade. With a generic gear list, I am never sure that I am thinking about an equivalent piece of gear. With a brand, I have a standard for comparison. In this gear list, I'm particularly interested in:
Torso-sized inflatable sleeping pad (8 oz)
Synthetic quilt (24 oz)
High loft synthetic hooded jacket (8 oz)
High loft synthetic pants (7 oz)
Waterproof-breathable anorak (7 oz)
Water-resistant wind shirt (4 oz)
Merino wool hoody (8 oz)
Merino wool shorts (4 oz)
Nylon trekking pants (5 oz)

Oct 7, 2009 at 9:19 am #1533852

CW
BPL Member

@simplespirit
Locale: .

I can make a very educated guess on this. Some of it I'm 100% sure on, some only 95% sure.

Torso-sized inflatable sleeping pad (8 oz) – BPL TorsoLite
Synthetic quilt (24 oz) – BPL Cocoon 2010 Prototype
High loft synthetic hooded jacket (8 oz) – BPL Cocoon (possibly 2010 prototype)
High loft synthetic pants (7 oz) – BPL Cocoon (possibly 2010 prototype)
Waterproof-breathable anorak (7 oz) – probably an older Patagonia model
Water-resistant wind shirt (4 oz) – Patagonia Houdini
Merino wool hoody (8 oz) – BPL Beartooth
Merino wool shorts (4 oz) – BPL Beartooth
Nylon trekking pants (5 oz) – BPL Thorofare

Oct 7, 2009 at 10:09 am #1533861

Justin Gunn
Member

@biggunn-1

Great video, Ryan. Les Stroud has NOTHING on you!

I'm also curious what your camera package entails. I'm assuming some sort of solid state memery based HD mini cam with a lightweight tripod/gorilla mount, but would love to know the details.

Thanks,
Justin

Oct 7, 2009 at 10:39 am #1533870

David Lutz
Member

@davidlutz
Locale: Bay Area

Interesting…..no down clothing or bag…….

Oct 7, 2009 at 10:54 am #1533878

Dan @ Durston Gear
BPL Member

@dandydan
Locale: Canadian Rockies

Impressive bit of guesswork there Chris. Looks like you know your stuff :)
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