Early Spring / Late Fall list

[Dave T]

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[Daniel Fosse]

I never thought of that use for a watch. It makes good sense. I’m not much for distance hiking. I’m a stop and smell the roses kind of hiker. That drives my wife nuts, she likes to power walk, but then again she doesn’t camp so she likes to get there and back in a hurry. I like to walk slow, take in the scenery, find a good place to camp, then proceed to drink every last drop of my everclear (Everclear and crystal light lemonade, AKA rocket fuel). If I find a good spot I’ve been known to stay there more than a day. It’s fun to leave all my gear at camp and go for a day hike or find a swimming hole. I like to wake up when I wake up. If I wanted to get out of bed before sunrise I’d stay home where my kids are very effective at making this happen.

I have top respect for the distance hikers, you go! Plus you come up with super clever ways of making my pack lighter.

I think the navigation tools and orienteering skills are more heavily used in the big parks and mountain trails in the west. There aren’t many large parks in the east, but there are a few. A lot of the national parks near me are relatively small and heavily flanked by highways, industry and residence. I usually don’t worry about getting lost as long as I have a map.

As for the pack, I was shooting for a 1 pack does all when I got it. The nice thing about the Pinnacle is that it compresses down to almost nothing. So my gear won’t be rolling around in it. I am waiting on one last piece for my kit to come in the mail and I’ll load the pack up and check it out. Maybe I’ll get a smaller pack next year. If I buy anymore gear right now my wife may kill me.

[Dave T]

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[Ken Helwig]

I with Cary on the bad reaction to AM. I get THE worst smelling gas everytime. I have used the Steripen and filters with great success.

As for a credit card and keys. I bring a small baggy with my credit card, $20, my I.D., and my car key. Common folks that does not weigh that much at all.

Geeeshhh……

[cary bertoncini]

ken,

if it was just bad gas, i'd be all over that – all the more fun to leave the elevator with!
(or sneak into someone's tent & scent mark it)

hey, maybe someone makes carbon fiber key copies?
and you can now get those tiny, keychain credit cards, right? – just adapt the ultralight approach to these things, folks!

[Michael Wands]

I was always an MP1 guy. These pills weigh next to nothing.

BUT, I always carried a 1 liter platy full of water that was working. This in addition to the drinking bottle that was at my hip – average amount of 16 oz. That is over 3 pounds of water. And I still worried about industrial and agricultural runoff in the lakes & streams.

Got a little Katahdyn Mini filter and tweaked it down to 6.5 ounces. Now I carry 16 oz. average of water and a 6.5 oz. filter. In this case more is less.

Still use MP1 in the mountains of New Mexico, but not for weekenders.

The 11 oz. filter is still a weight bargain if it keeps you from carrying 2.2 pounds of water that is not yet drinkable.

[Dave T]

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[Anonymous]

"It's a deep metaphysical need in me, and it feels GOOD to leave 'em behind."
Gee, Mike, you don't have to take 'em out and fondle 'em 3 times a day. Just bury the little devils in your first aid kit and hope that, like everything else in said kit, you don't have to use them. I mean, do you think about your first aid kit constantly?

[Mike Clelland]

It really is a metaphysical thing for me to liberate myself, at least temporarily, from at least a few of the trappings of our front-country world.

I probably spend over 100 days a year in the backcountry in some form or another.

I try to never carry a watch, no iPod, no GPS, no credit card, no car keys, no ID. Sometimes I take a digital camera.

I hide my keys in a spot on my car, and I hide my wallet inside the car. Easy. That said, I live in a pretty tame part of the country. There aren't really any issues with break ins.

I've found my friends cars in the parking lots at trail heads, and I relalize they left the key in the ignition and the car open. So I move their car to the other side of the parking lot – and turn the radio on really LOUD. (and mess with their blinkers, and windshield wipers) I got this idea, because my friends have done this same thing to me more than once.

THis is what life is like in rural idaho.

THe original post (from Daniel) said he was going on a two night weekend hike. THis would be an easy situation to go without the ID and Keys.

If I was hiking the AT, I would carry an ID and credit card.

But, for almost any other wilderness situation, it really does feel GOOD to leave as much as I can behind.

Also – The PINNACLE is a fine pack. The JAM2 is only 4 oz lighter.

[Daniel Fosse]

Mike,
You are a steadfast purist. I’m starting to realize that going light is more mental conditioning than gear selection. I easily get paralysis by analysis. Gear selection is crucial but letting go of things, mentally as well as what you pack, seems to be most important. I’m down with the metaphysical aspect. I appreciate the help in both categories; gear and mind. I generally know what the best choice is, I just need encouragement and advise at times. Dave called me on it “… it sounds like you've got it all pretty well figured out…” . But I am far from knowing half of what most people on this forum know. Thanks for the tutelage.

I was looking at the Golite Ion thinking one day I’ll have my gear simplified to the point that it will fit in that pack. I’m not there yet. The Pinnacle is light and should work. Keep in perspective, I had a 28-30lb base weight last year and a 45-50lb base weight the year before that. I can post that gear list if you want a laugh!

Sorry for my tendency to ramble. I am an admitted scatter brain.

[Mike Clelland]

I am amazingly happy when I have just a small amount of stuff to deal with. THe less I have, the happier I am.

I have a GoLite ION, and it's tricky for solo camping – with a pal, you can share some of the gear, thus a lighter load. I used it with a partner on a 4 day trip in the tetons.

The pack I like is the 5.7 ounce Gossimer Gear G6 WHISPER!

[Author]

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