3rd Annual Bay Area BPL Hike

I found that house on the MLS for $800,000. The seller is obviously targetting silicon valley's finest CEOs! I'll be there next year for sure. Maybe we should also have a summer gathering?

I too enjoyed the weekend. Thanks to every one of you. I enjoyed the conversations and connections made with other avid fans of the wilderness tribe. You are all doing some cool things with some cool toys! The equipment was remarkable. The conversation, and excitement even more so. My highlight was realizing how most of our gear works adequately well, and that by and large, it's all pretty similar. Gear lust quenched for the most part.

Hope to see some of you on the trails.

Stay in touch!

Dylan, thanks again for the ride and conversation!

I had a great time and enjoyed meeting many new people and catching up with friends. Thanks to Cameron for the beer. Thanks to everyone who supplied and transported wood for the fires. Most of all, thanks to the Ken T and Ken H for organizing another great meetup. See everyone at the 4th annual!

Cheers,

David

Thank you Ken&Ken for another fun, safe gathering.
Can't wait to see what Tony captured. Some great homemade stuff on display along with the newest cottage gear.

7.5 Hour drive each way and totally worth it. Totally glad I didnt miss this one. I got to reconnect with some old friends and to finally meet alot of you. Ken and Ken, thanks for everything man. I scored on some gear, made some really exciting plans for this year, made some new friends, and quite possibly took the award for the worst cowboy coffee ever made. The good fire-side hiker vibe was epic. Henry Coe 2011

What a wonderful weekend of laughter, silliness, and very cool comaraderie. Thanks to the Kens for setting it all up and especially to Ken H for procuring my libation; thanks to Jay for the esbit, that was quite kind of you; thanks to Dave for the ride from the airport and to the hotel; thanks to Aaron's Erin for those wonderful lemon mouth stuffers and Deb for the delish brownies; thanks to the "Kat in the hat" for the warm head and ears; and thanks to everyone else for making this other coaster feel welcome and at home. I enjoyed chatting it up with all of you! I'm already looking forward to next year.

And Devin, dude, I failed you man! Sorry!

I had a great time. Thanks to the Kens for all their work organizing the trip. I really enjoyed meeting all of you. Thanks to everyone who brought something to share. Adan, thanks for the brew.And to all the through hikers good luck and watch out for those icy rocks. I am green with envy. See you at Sonora pass Gregg. Brownies and beer.Jack, make us proud on the AT.

Just wanted to let you all know that I have some of the photos up in the Photo Gallery with more to come over the next few days.

Will need your help with captions to identify people and gear.

Please PM me with your information in the photos.

Ken T. & Ken H…..thank you once again for making this event bigger and better each year.

Hope you are proud of what you have created here….not only an event, but introducing lightweight backpackers to new friends and possible trip mates.

Ken T. can you confirm that the two BPL gift cards were gift/donations from BPL to this event?

Heard that they might have been.

If so, I want to give credit where due in the photo essay.

Was great to see everyone….new and old friends.

So much for the Vortex of fear created about the weather to scare people away!

P.S. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO POST PHOTOS THAT YOU TOOK INTO THE PHOTO ESSAY THREAD.

-Tony

Even though I could only be there Saturday 11-3, I had a great time meeting you all, checking out the different shelters and assorted gear, and experiencing the styrofoamish snow (Ken and Ken, did you arrange to have a punctured beanbag dropped from a helicopter?). Walking out Saturday afternoon and seeing lots of this particulate snow laying around nearer the trailhead was quite lovely, and somewhat compensated for not getting to spend the night shivering in my poorly pitched Refuge. I thought of you all Saturday evening while I sat in a warm theater playing opera!

But what exactly happened at the burn-off?

>And Devin, dude, I failed you man! Sorry!

Nonsense, Doug. I'm just glad you all had a chance to check it out. The finished editions will be on their way presently and folks can have their own burn-off.

Still jealous of what sounds like a fun time. :)

Ken & Ken thanks much for getting the group together. Everyone was really cool; it was a good vibe. I had a great time and getting to meet a lot of new folks was nice. My head is still spinning from all the gear… or maybe it's the Jim Beam and Old Ras. I'll be looking forward to the next event, and hopefully some chances to meet up and hike with other BA-BPL'ers before then.

Jacob.

Tribal get together

Ken T & Dave W

It got down to 24 degrees with light snow day and night. BRRRRR!!!!

Adan at China Hole

* Thanks Ken & Ken for your dedication to the UL community. I heard we had a showing of 44 friends. Where was –B.G.–?

Hi Tony,

Thanks for taking all the photos and uploading them. I took me while to actually find the photo gallery on the BPL site. In case other people have the same problem I’m adding the link here 3rd Annual BPLers GGG: Henry Coe State Park 2011

Manfred

P.S.: The person in photo 21 with the Northface tent is Greg C.

I want to thank Ken and Ken for organizing the Coe trip, Aaron and Erin for sharing their campsite on Friday night and for the delicious lemon treats, Deb for the brownies, Kat for my new hat and thanks for the Home brew. I didn't catch your name.
The trip was a blast! I had a really good time. I only wish the trip was another day or two longer. It was just to short to really see everything and talk to everybody. How about adding a day next year? The highlights for me were meeting the BPL lightweight community, seeing all the shelters and the wood stove cook-off. That was fun! Now when I read a post I can better place the face and personality behind it. Thanks so much and I can't wait to do some trips with the people I met.
Rick

"Where was –B.G.–? "

The overnight event was filled to capacity, so I was left out of that. I thought about dayhiking in for the woodburner contest, but the standardized fuel plan never got finalized, and the time of the contest was never announced, so I couldn't decide when to come. I think that some of us would have manufactured the standardized fuel if necessary, but it would have some notice. I had found which Home Depot stores had stock of the pine dowel rods, and I had a saw.

–B.G.–

Whatever. You expressed no real interest. And you missed out on a good time. But I expect you stayed warm and dry this weekend and posted like crazy.

–WWBGD–

I had a very good time at the event. The burnoff was amazing and it was just fabulous to meet everyone. The Friday night backpack crew, Jack(non-snoring), Dylan and Josh were great to hang out with and discover what an impassable creek really looks like. (Thanks, Duct tape man!)

It was great meeting the whole crew and I hope that my work forces me back to CA in an adjoining week next year. And special thanks to Ken and Ken, especially for adding me at the last minute. Thanks to all!

Thanks Kens for the great time. Been lurking here for quite a while and was glad to meet so many of you. Will post what pics I have later.

Thank You Marc for the monster load of firewood. Everyone who was warm owes you their thanks!

I second Ken on the firewood Marc…thanks!

As for everyone else, thanks for coming! This was a fantastic trip and another success! The weather was a little on the cold side but hey, it was an adventure!

Thanks to Ken T. for all of his help. Ken did a lot of the heavy lifting this time around and I for one am appreciative!

For those that are curious, it took my 2 1/2 hours to hike out on Sunday. Took a different route back to the HQ and added a 1/2 mile to my hike. My feet were killing me but I made it home. Next time I bring meds!!!

I had a blast!

When should we get a group together for this? 1st week of April anyone?

Been there done that, won't do that one again. Sorry

I'm game for Skyline to the Sea but the only weekend in April I can do it is the end of the month.

well another great trip from the bay area bpl ers

it was fun meeting everyone and chatting with most of you

my son had a great time and told me jeremy s home made root beer was very good

total driving milage round trip for us was 460 miles (about 4 hrs to get home sunday)

as to the weather it was a mix of sun light snow flurries and cold wind with low evening temps but we managed to stay warm thru all of it and had a great fire to help keep warm

jeremy thanks for the advice on the superlight bivy i will definatly order a large

ryan teale it was nice chatting with you about my old stomping ground (slo) and camping with you on friday night thanks for the ipa s you left in my ice chest lol

jerry b great chatting with you friday night around our small fire about tents and
bags and what not

everyone i talked to this trip was super cool as always it was again a great group of guys and gals and a fun weekend of hiking chatting and romping around

can t wait until the 4 th anual please pick a spot in central california so we don t have to drive 400+ miles to get to the trail head lol just kidding

thanks to everyone for a great weekend

kevin

This is a little valentine from Andrea and me for all the wonderful friends we’ve made, the many helpful things we’ve learned and the amazingly creative gear makers we’ve met. With long hours at work and a family member ill, we had to do it in little bits and pieces whenever we could.

We hope this brings a few laughs, and helps remind everyone that it’s not just about the gear and technique, but about the friendships and great trips together. And hopefully it also helps us all avoid taking ourselves too seriously at times.

For those sitting on the fence about coming to the 4th Annual SF Bay Area GGG next weekend, don’t be shy – you’ll have a great time and learn a lot.

And for those of you who aren’t yet BPL members, hope this encourages you to take the very modest plunge and help support our community.

Backpackers Gone Wild: BPL 3rd Annual SF Bay Area Gathering of Gear Geeks (GGG) Feb 26-27, 2011 from Mountainwalker on Vimeo.

Some memorable moments:

-The Gear Stove Boil-Off – WARNING this gets HOT!
-What happens in Coe stays in Coe and things that go bump in the night
-How Tony makes it through a cold lonely night
-Richard Nisley guest interview
-Styrofoam snow and picnicking BPL style
-What lightweight backpackers really sound like
-Debbie’s first place win for shared item
-The next Backpackers Gone Wild casting event

[NOTE – the 2011 trip was in January not February, will correct on the video soon]