What am I missing?

[Jeremy Walton]

I am getting ready to do the Superior Hiking Trail up and back in June and am trying to finalize my list. I will be doing several "shakedown hikes" to get all of the kinks worked out as soon as the water starts to flow again up here, but I wanted to get some feedback as this will be my first time doing it UL. I still have some stuff to get that I am undecided on (stuff I don't have weights for). Any suggestions on gear would be greatly appreciated. Here's what I have so far:

Pack Golite Jam2 25.620

Sleeping System
Henessy Hammock 43.400
Looking in to Ti stakes
North Face BeeLine 30 Deg. 21.910
Thermarest Ridgerest (hacked up) 8.75

Cooking System
Alcohol Stove 0.210
Mini Bic 0.385
Fuel Bottle (1L) 1.400
MSR Titan 4.480
Looking into Ti windscreen
Spork .315
Food Bag 0.770
550 Cord 3.745
Carabiner 1.435
AquaMira (repackaged) 1.085
Looking into Frontier Pro filter
2 Platy 2L Bottles 1.960

Clothing System
Bandana .875
Icebreaker Tech T Lite 5.180
Icebreaker LS Half Zip 13.650
Need a second layer of insulation
Pants
Leg insulation
Gloves
Mitten shells
Icebreaker Hiker Lite (2 pair) 5.390
Poncho 6.685
Rain Chaps

Navigation System
Maps (I don't know the weights here)
Compass .945
Petzl Zipka+ 2.205

Safety System
Box of Matches (redundant) 0.245
First-Aid Kit 1.680
Sunscreen
Insect repellent
Whistle 0.140
Swiss Army knife 0.735
Rx Sunglasses 0.665
Sewing Needle(effectively nil)

Hygiene System
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Dental Floss 0.070

Total Weight Thus Far: 7.503 lbs.
SO so far: 8.050 lbs.

[William Puckett]

As a quick response, there are a few small maintenance or repair items (like duct tape, safety pins, spare cordlock)that might be added. I tend to be cautious, so I'd take spare Tikka batteries.

Mosquitoes and ticks are early company along the SHT…a headnet to go along with your bug dope would be good depending on when you're headed out. Tweezers are good for safe tick removal.

You may want a hat for sun/rain protection and perhaps low gaiters as well to keep trail debris out of your shoes.

[Jeremy Walton]

Thanks. I have safety pins in my first-aid kit, and I had thought about taking duct tape but was unsure how to repackage it so I didn't have to take a whole roll. I will most likely put fresh batteries in just before I go so I will be sure to have power for the duration. My knife has tweezers and a toothpick on it. Would it be advisable to take a head net for use during the day? my hammock has built in netting for at night and when I was up there last August I didn't have much trouble with insects, though I will be going in June this year (in hopes that there will be more water then).

[William Puckett]

You'll definitely have mosquitoes in June…more so than in August. You'll also have very long days (i.e. daylight) so you'll likely be in camp with time on your hands before sleep/hammock time. A head-net gives you some choices for a small weight penalty. I doubt you'll need a head net while moving or during mid-day breaks, but many campsites are near ponds/beaver dams/marshy areas with large mosquito populations.

I personally try to minimize use of Deet-based repellent, figuring that if it can eat some of my clothing and stain the rest that I want to be somewhat cautious with it. A head net coupled with with a long sleeve shirt and long pants can do wonders holding off the beasties, especially if clothing has been treated with Permithrin.

RE: Duct tape. I have a couple of feet of duct tape wrapped around a pencil stub. Others have it on a hiking pole.

[Matt Ahonen]

Jeremy –

Are the following itmes going to be used to hang your food at night?

Food Bag 0.770
550 Cord 3.745
Carabiner 1.435

Matti

[Jeremy G]

Few thoughts…

Don't see any type of soap on your list unless I am missing something.

What are you using for toothpaste? Throw some mint Dr. Bronners in and a little baking soda and you have both toothpaste and soap covered.

What is in your first aid kit? Seems a little light to me…

I found sleeping in a Hammock on the SHT to be chilly even with a 3/8" CCF pad under me. This was over Memorial weekend in 2008 and temps down to about 35F. I do sleep a bit on the cold side. Regardless, I returned back to the ground after that trip and sold my hammock. I found I could go lighter with a tarp, bivy and 2.5 in BA clearview pad. FWIW, I had the ultralight explorer…

Don't think you will need the frontier filter as the aquamira covers you.

Shoes?

Hat?

Are your pants zip-off? If not, you may want to throw a light pair of shorts in…

Is your Poncho your windbreaker?

[Jeremy Walton]

That's the idea. I thought that since I would need something to carry my food in I might as well use it to hang my food as well. I'm just hoping that it will have a large enough volume to hold the food that I plan to take. I haven't worked out how long I will go without resupply yet. I'm still going over my maps to see where I think I will be at the end of each day.

[Jeremy Walton]

Looking back at the list, I missed putting in my soap. I have a bottle of CampSuds (0.490) that I will be using, though I may empty it a little, as I might be carrying too much (8 ml).

My first-aid kit goes like this:
8 Sterile Gauze Dressings – 2 x 2 in
8 Knuckle and Strip Adhesive Bandages
2 Butterfly Closure Strips
3 Antiseptic Towelettes
1 Adhesive Tape – .5 in
2 Antibiotic Ointment
1 Moleskin
2 Safety Pins
4 Iprin (ibuprofen 200 mg)
2 Antihistamine (diphenhydramine 25 mg)
2 After Bite Sting Relief

I have spent many nights on the ground and my back just can't take it anymore, I had a pretty significant fall when I was in Afghanistan that I have never really recovered 100% from, plus I like the idea of having the bug net sewn into the hammock.

It would be nice to not take a filter, but my experience on the trail is that you can get some pretty murky/stagnint water, so it's more of a just in case thing for me.

I haven't decided what I am going to take for pants, shoes and a hat yet. I have been waiting until the new lines show up in the stores up here before making any decisions because I like to look around at fabrics and construction quality, etc. of things before I go out and buy them. I will be using my poncho as rain/wind protection/pack cover.

Thanks.

[D LARSON]

This last fall my friend and I where at Blueberry Hill campground between Split Rock and Gooseberry Falls. We had used up the rest of our water making breakfast and decided to get some more. I was sure glad to have a water filter because the many streams around there were all slow, murky, and a little stagnant looking.

I haven't seen the streams in June. Maybe they're running a little better that time of year.

[Jeremy Walton]

That's my feeling. i would rather have a filter and not need to use it than not have a filter and have nothing to drink because the only water I can find is in stagnant pools. Last summer this was the case for me until I got to Split Rock were there was actual running water.

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