Ways to lighten up: 3 night trip to Havasupai

[Jeff Hughes]

So I am new to this forum and lightweight backpacking in general. I’ve been doing Havasupai for 3 years in a row now and this year have started working on lightening my load. Any suggestions to reduce any further? Trip is 2nd week of July so it is warm.

All Weights are in oz.

Shelter and Sleeping Equipment
Flex Air Plus Ultralight Pillow or 1oz equivalent: 1.00
Sleeping Bag (REI +55 Sleeping Bag): 25.26
Tent (Guide Gear Double Bivy Tent (8 x 4.5) Tent only in stuff sack): 35.70
Guide Gear Double Bivy Tent Poles (Front): 6.42
Guide Gear Double Bivy Tent Poles (Rear): 3.60
Guide Gear Tent Stakes: 2.12
Gossamergear NightLite Sleeping Pad: 7.50
Total: 81.59oz

Packing Equipment
Ursalite Ultralight Carabiner: 0.44
Lanyard Cord (Black) to hang food: 1.98
55gal plastic garbage bag: 2.40
Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil™ Dry Sack – 8 Litre: 1.10
Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil™ Dry Sack – 2 Litre: 0.80
Backpack – Osprey Atmos 50: 52.13
REI Thule UL Dayhike pack: 9.17
Total 68.02oz

Cooking Equipment
Pot (Evernew Titanium Pot (1.3L)) w/out stuff sack: 5.78
Lexan Fork: 0.21
Mini BIC Lighter: 0.42
MSR Pocket Rocket Backpacking Stove (Stove Only): 3.10
MSR Isopro Canister – 227 Grams: 12.77
Total 22.29

Drinking Equipment
4 Litre MSR Dromlite dromedary bag with drinking hose: 5.78
32oz Gatorade Bottles: 3.80
Sweetwater Water Purifier: 10.51
Total 20.10

Navigation Equipment
Petzl Tikka Plus LED Headlamp: 2.89
4 AAA batteries (extra): 1.69
Total 4.59

Miscellaneous Equipment
Medical Kit (Adventure Medical Kit Ultralight): 5.57
Miniature Playing Cards: 0.56
Small stuff sack for hygiene: 0.21
Plastic cup (built in measuring cup): 0.71
Contact Lens Case: 0.35
Contact lens solution: 1.94
Goldbond Foot Powder: 0.50
Suntan Lotion (1oz clear bottle): 1.55
Insect Repellant (DEET) in 0.35oz dropper bottle: 0.53
Chapstick: 0.35
Travel Deoderant: 1.76
Travel Toothpaste: 0.85
Toothbrush: 0.21
Travel Soap in 0.35oz dropper bottle (Biodegradeable): 0.53
Towel (MSR Pack Towel): 3.03
Toilet Paper: 0.63
Teva Sandals: 28.29
Small Swiss Army knife: 2.40
Digital Camera w/ Case: 7.97
Total 57.96

Total: 254.5oz (15.91lb)

Thanks,

Jeff

[Anonymous]

what sort of budget are we talking here?

A $50 budget will get you much different answers than a $500 budget.

[Jim Colten]

Just attacking the big 3 without asking you to move far out of the comfort zone implied in your choices:

If you are comfortable with a 55F sleeping bag, you could drop 8oz using a quilt made of a single layer of 3d insulation and 1.1 oz nylon from thru-hiker (my preference) or ray-way.

Granite Gear Vapor Trail is a similar sized pack and 20oz lighter or the Virga is 30oz lighter if you can live without a suspension.

A TarpTent Virga 2 with floor would save 18oz … 24oz if you’re willing to have no floor

Those choices add up to 3-4 lbs

[Mark Verber]

25oz for a sleeping bag good to 55F sounds kind of heavy. If it always above 55F you might think about making or buying an summer weight quilt which would be at least 8oz lighter.

Rather than your double bivy tent you could think about switching to a tarp and some bug netting like the a16 bug bivy. You could cut 25oz or so.

There are a number of packs which would be 1/2 the weight of your Atmos 50. On the other hand, the Osprey Atmos 50 is very nice when hiking in hot weather. You could save weight, but if the atmos 50 is comfortable, I will most likely stick with it.

For a 3 day trip during warm weather (unless you are doing lots of cooking) an alchohol stove would save at few ounces.

You could switch from the sweet water filter to a chemical treatment like aqua mira and save 9oz and a lot of pumping work.

Why are you bringing extra batteries? Before LED flashlights I would bring extra batteries too, but these days the LED will run tens of hours on one set of batteries. I doubt you need extra batteries.

You didn’t list clothing.

–Mark

[Ken Helwig]

Lose the deoderant, no one will know.
Also lose the soap, if you are doing boil in the bag meals there is no clean up. Use handywipes and maybe wade in the water to re-fresh yourself. Also if you are using runing shoes then the sandals are overkill. I second all the other things that Mark suggested too. Good luck!!!

[Jeff Hughes]

Thanks for the comments. With so much information out there on lightweight backpacking I don’t always know where to look.

Budget: Limited right now so would plan for longer term. Recent purchases were the Atmos 50 and pocket rocket. I was using an older North Face pack (7lbs) and an MSR whisperlite. I have yet to try the Atmos so will see how it works out.

Batteries: more of a safety factor. Light was pretty dim after my last 3 day trip. I guess I use the light a lot.

Water Filter: This was an afterthought. Didn’t use one last year as Havasupai has filtered water but this year plan to do a day hike down to the Colorado. I’ll take a look at the aqua mira.

Shoes: Will spend about 80% of the time walking thru water once at the camp site which is why i added the sandals. Plus the day hike to the colorado has 30 or so river crossings. Otherwise I am thinking of using my Lowa Tempest Lows.

Clothing: Pretty much what I wear in is all I am bringing plus an extra pair of socks so didn’t think I could save much there.

Jeff

[David Lewis]

A couple of things that jumped out at me are the Tevas and the stove. You could get a pair of plastic clogs for about 8 oz… and you could switch to alcohol or esbit and a beer can pot… assuming you don’t do real cooking. Also, repackage all of your miscellanous ditty bag stuff… and switch to Aqua Mira for water treatment. Finally… don’t take the whole medical kit… just what you need. These are small changes that won’t cost anything. Of course… a big change… like a new bag and a new shelter could save you pounds! 3 pounds for your shelter (w/ poles and stakes)… that’s huge! A few ideas on shelter…

1. Tarptent Virga
2. BPL Nano Tarp + MLD Bug shelter
3. GG SpinnShelter + bug netting (be careful of scorpions… lol)
4. BPL Nano Tarp + BMW Bivy

Also… you don’t mention your carried gear. If you use trekking poles… look for a shelter that can use the trekking poles instead of having to carry dedicated poles. One other thing… all of the above shelters are NOT self-supporting… so you may need to carry a titanium spike to pre-make holes… Grand Canyon… as you know… is pretty rocky and a bitch to get tent pegs into.

[Phil Barton]

Jeff, in the heat of the Grand Canyon, your Tevas sound great but the running shoes really should work fine. Even for the day descending to the Colorado the running shoes will dry out in that environment.

Also, if you’re carrying a filter there’s a good chance that it can clog quickly with the silt in the creeks and especially the Colorado. It’s a good idea to allow the silt to settle in your water before treatment anyway. Chemical treatment would save you cost, weight, and the hassle of a filter.

[Mike Barney]

Loose the water filter, go to a Chlorine Dioxide based sanitizer.
The water is so clear, you won’t need the sediment removal. Also, there was (2 years ago) a water faucet (a few 100 yards below the horse corral) that rumor has it was cholrinated, and many fill up from without treating or problems(YMMV).

I’d loose the extra batteries, and replace your headlamp with lithium, which are 1/2 the weight of alkaline, and last at least as long.

Have fun!
MikeB

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