A November overnight in Glacier

david, that's what happens when you do a SIXTY mile overnight in the cold rain. :)

Dave,

Your posts often inspire, challenge, and rustle the intellectual feathers of my mind. I can definitely sense the impact this brief retreat had on you, both physically, spiritually, and mentally. A 60 mile solo overnighter in Glacier during late fall encountering the conditions you experienced doesn't roll of the tongue very easily… who does that!? Epic to say the least, or perhaps another stroll through Glacier for you? Either way, killer stuff. It would appear you're in a good position going into winter considering it's only November and your Classic isn't until Spring. Lot's of training time with a solid base fitness.

I'm curious to the newest metamorphosis of the All-Pack, hopefully there will be a posting with images on this soon. Also, would you share some of your gear choices for this outing, specifically your garments. You mentioned you were out with your Fall clothing, which for me would be full on winter attire for our mild "winters". I'm far from versed in dealing with the kind of weather you encounter in Glacier, and I'd like to have more versatility in my clothing kit. I've read your post on clothing and layering for active pursuitsds recently, I'll read it over again.

Nice posting David. I would like to know more about your pack construction projects. The pictures look very interesting.

Eugene – If you have that post from Dave regarding clothing easily at hand, I would like to read it.

Edit – I guess I could search his posts…..

Dave L.,

Dave Chenault (too many Daves in this thread) has this loose series of musings on his approach to clothing and gear for his outdoor experiences, here are 3 of them off hand that I’ve bookmarked, good reads:

Dave’s thoughts on shells…

Dave’s thoughts on base layers for active adventure …

Dave’s thoughts on backcountry footwear for the other 3 seasons…

Thanks…

Thanks everyone! And thanks Eugene for linking to those articles, I did indeed use those approaches on this trip, as my gear philosophies and ability to do a trip like this have evolved hand in hand.

Here's a quick highlight of the gear I took:

Always Worn:
Cap 1 sleevless
Cap 2 longsleeve
90s vintage windbreaker anorak
Cap 2 boxer briefs
Lightweight Patagonia nylon trail pants (name escapes me)
Ultralight Smartwool ski socks
NRS Hydroskin socks
Dirty girl gaiters
LaSportiva Crossleather

Often worn:
Cap 1 earband w/visor
Smartwool beanie
Arc'teryx Alpha SL pullover
Montane Featherlite pants
OR Omni gloves
pile hoody (old Patagonia hi-loft R3 pullover to which I added a hood of R2 fabric)

I also had thick wool sleep socks, my BPL UL60 quilt to which I added a full layer of 5oz Climashield XP, my Trailstar, an esbit stove, Snowpeak 600 pot, etc.

There wasn't much room for error with my clothing on Gunsight Pass. Being able to get in the hut, warm up in my bag, make soup, and put the pile hoody on away from the rain was nice. I would've been ok without all that, but would've gotten wetter adding the layer outside under a stunted tree. I did wish that I had my Endeavor Mitts along. With them my hands never would have been cold. As it was they were wet all the time, but only rarely cold. I wore the pile hoody all the way down to the TH.

Central to the success of this system was the ability to keep moving and thus generate heat. I consider it a perfectly safe approach for me, but going over Gunsight in such tough conditions provided for little room for error.