Trip REPORT!
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I did it! I broke the 5 pound barrier! I'm a member of the big league of Super UL zealots!
My pack weigh was dainty 4 POUNDS, 1.6 OUNCES when I weighed it without food and water!
I was planning just one night out, and it was a little after 7pm when I left the house. I decided to go camping around 6:30 pm, so it was flurry of packing, subtracting, re-packing and re-weighing! My house was a MESS when I ran out the door!
It was a clear evening so I knew it wasn't gunna rain, so I left my tarp behind, and, I knew I was gunna be out early the next morning, so I left the stove behind too (right on for me!).
I hiked in, it was lovely and I saw a ridge up near Fossil Mountain. So I climbed up as it was getting dark. I did one little boulder move above some crumbly stones. Not bad to down climb, but I would need daylight.
I topped out on the ridge, and it was magnificent. Narrow and impressive. It was at about 10,000 feet, and at about 10:15 it was just as things were getting dark enough to need my headlamp. I found one tiny spot on the ridge just big enough to fit my 6 foot body. I laid out may pad, and I put on my warm clothes, laid out my bivy sack – and went to grab my sleeping bag – but – but – – –
Oooops!
In the flurry to pack up, I left my sleeping bag on the floor in middle of my very messy cabin.
I couldn't retreat until the the sun came up. complaining or grumbling wasn't gunna solve anything.
So, I just climbed in my VERY thin bivy sack, put my feet in my GoLite ION and went to sleep. I added "crunches" to my sleep system.
Lesson learned: Your pack is really light without a sleeping bag.
Another lesson: It was a really beautiful night, I was cold a few times, but not too bad.
And, one more lesson: You get up EARLY when you are cold. I down-climbed that little step at about 4:15 in the morning. I was back at my car by 7: AM.
my lovely bivy site:
43° 39' 29.46" N
110°55' 17.30" W
GoogleMaps public map title:
4.1 pound pack!
(link)
http://maps.google.com/maps?t=p&utm_campaign=en&utm_medium=ha&utm_source=en-ha-na-us-bk-gm&utm_term=google%20topographic%20maps
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FOSSIL MOUNTAIN
(a found image with a LOT less snow)
