JMT Unresupplied Attempt Pack List

[Aaron Sorensen]

PACK LIST
I previously posted my intentions to attempt the John Muir Trail Un-rsupplied in the summer on the trip announcements.

I finally completed making my list.
Basically I want everything that is going to be carried most of the time to be as lite as possible and still keep me warm down to what I need, (and I am a cold sleeper).
All the gear listed has been revamped in some way to make it as lite as possible.

I believe I will be going lighter than anyone who has attempted the JMT without re-supply. Having less than 15 lbs in my pack at the start means a lot to me. I have put some time into this list and made a lot of the items in this list.

Any questions? Feel free to ask.

WORN OR CARRIED
28 – Shoes ASICS Cumulus VIII Size 11
1.7 – Toe Socks Injinji
1.1 – Gators
4.6 – Tri-Shorts
6.9 – Long-Sleeve Railriders Eco-Mesh
1.7 – Watch High Gear Axis
1.4 – Shades with cover
5.4 – (1) Pole Komperdell C3
2.6 – Water Bottles (2) 24oz Gatorade
0.2 – Bungees to hold Water Bottles
2.4 – Hat
55.6 / 3 lbs 5.6 oz

BASE
6.5 – Homemade Pack 1600ci
5.2 – Tarp 52" x 96" Spinnaker fabric
1.3 – (6) Tarp Stakes
0.1 – Compass Suunto Clipper
1.7 – Ground Cloth G/G Polycryo 40"X 96"
1.7 – Pad G/G 1/4" Thinlite
1.7 – Sea 2 Summit Ultra-Sil Drybag XL
1.0 – O.P. Sack 12.5"X15.5"
10 – All Kits (Water Purification, Bug Spray, Batteries, ect)
4.7 – Light with Batteries Nuwai Lux 1
2.0 – Maps Cash and I.D

8.9 – H/made Down 1/2 Blanket 35"X 45"
8 – Homemade Climashield XL Bottom
7 – Homemade Climashield XL Top
5.8 – Rain Top Drystoppers
0 – Rain Bottom Drystoppers (incorporated with insulated bottom)
1.0 – Chaps from .85 DWR for wind
0.4 – BPL Headsweat
1.1 – Homemade Bomber Style Beanie
1.3 – N2S Gloves
1.3 – Socks warm 1/2 sock
1.8 – Homemade River Shoes
0.1 – Homemade Bug Head-net
75.4 / 4lbs 11.4oz

FOOD & WATER
48- Food GORP 6600 calories
64- Hammer Perpertuim 6800 calories
32- Misc Bars 4000 calories
20- Average Water Carried
164 / 10lbs 4oz

4lbs 11.4oz – A BASE
10lbs 4oz – B FOOD & WATER
3lbs 5.6oz – C WORN OR CARRIED

14lbs 15.4oz – A+B IN PACK AT START
18lbs 5oz – ABC SKIN OUT WEIGHT

[David Wills]

Thats a mighty fine looking list. I'de love to see picks of some of the homemade stuff like the pack, climashield clothes, and half bag. I can see a few ounces that could be cut from your 6.5 oz pack. One could be made for 1600 ci from 1.3 silnylon for 4 oz or less. You could risk the durability of it with spinnaker and get it to 3 oz or so for such a small volume pack. I do like some of the finer points of your list for record setting purposes- 1 watt LED, ready to eat food, river shoes . The 'kit' weight seems heavy. Has it all been weighed, or was it just a guess?
Well done, especially for the warmth it looks like you will have.
This is more of a time saving idea, but have you thought of dropping the tarp and stakes and switching to a bivy like the montbell UL bag cover (6.3. oz). It would add a few degrees of warmth and be quicker than a tarp. You could cover your head with the dropstopper jacket in bad weather. It would definatley be a comfort sacrifice, but I believe you said it would probably be dry when you were hiking.
I think thats what I'm going to do for the MST this summer, out of laziness more than anything.

[Graeme Finley]

The only thing I would question is the need for river shoes. You have breathable running shoes as footwear, and your going to be crossing a lot of rivers/streams. Do you need to change footwear to cross water? I've found that running shoes dry out very quickly and provide better stability and foot protection, besides saving time in having to switch footwear.

[David Wills]

The last thing you want when doing 50+ mile days is wet feet. Running shoes may dry quickly, but the softening up of the feet due to wetness combined with the rubbing wet socks tend to do wreak havoc on the already punished feet of high mileage hikers. Blisters will probably already be pretty bad, submerged footwear will only compound the problem.

[Aaron Sorensen]

Thank you for the initial comments.
Here is a little more info about a few of the items.
I'll also start putting up pictures of the gear on the "Make your own gear" forums.

As far as taking off my shoes for river crossings goes, there aren't that many creek and river crossings that you can't get over by jumping over or crossing on rocks.
After reading other fastpack reports, it seemed like the river crossings may be few, but are spread out so that your feet will never really stay dry for very long. I believe the extra minute or two would out-weigh the benefit of having wet shoes, especially at night.
The river shoes are a lite pair of socks with a lite pair of shoe inserts in them with the bottoms coated in shoe-goo for grip.

The tarp will be used as a bivy, unless it rains. Although it is water-proof, I don't see it building too much condensation with only three hours of sleep. Having the tarp also allows me to be able to bring the down bag without worrying about it getting wet.

The 10 ounces for the kits includes a lot of gear. Deet, sunblock, water treatment, foot treatment, duct tape, extra batteries, 1st aid, a small knife-werner esquire, and hand sanitizer. The extra batteries alone weigh 3.1 ounces. I don't think it will come to the full 10 oz, but as long as I don't go over that weight I'm good.

I am almost certain I will go with the running shoes other than a stronger built shoe. I have run 100 miles on these shoes without 1 blister and my legs just feel so much less fatige while training with them over my trail running shoes.

The climashield top is a vest with velcro detachable sleeves. The vest has 2 layers in the front and sides. The 1/2 bag has 2 1/4" of baffled loft. Total loft for the torso comes to 3 1/4". The 1/2 bag is also wearable as a vest.

I will get some photos posted as soon as I learn how.
I haven't been able to since I have been a member here.

[Jonathan Chiappa]

Hi Aaron,

It seems you are using the O.P. sack for food with no bear-proof container. What is your bear-not-causing-problems strategy? If I remember Al had some critter problems.

Thanks,

– Jon

[Aaron Sorensen]

Hey Jonathan,
The only places you can not hang your bag are on Whitney, Rea Lakes Loop area, about 3 miles around Duck lake, (which is about 6 miles before you get into Yosemite), and the last 55 miles of the trail.

The only time that I can sleep, (or will) sleep on the trail in those areas is in the day in a parking lot along Reds Meadow or Tuolumne, (if possible), because the parking or visitor areas of those areas are pretty much part of the trail. For the rest of it I'll just have to suck it up. I definitly won't be taking off my pack and leaving it alone for any period.

On the parts that I can hang, first off I do not plan to sleep at night in the areas known for bears. So if I have to hang, it will be away from the crowded areas and low-line junctions.
The food will also be in an O.P. Sack and hung by the Sea 2 summit bag.

I have asked about the areas that bear-proof containers are a must. Because I am considered a day-hiker, meaning I will not be stopping or putting my bag down, then I do not need to have the BP Container.

Of course I'm sure I'll have a hard time convincing some of the ranger this, (that I will not be stopping). I will have the emails about it. If they really don't trust me, they can just try following me through to the end of required area, ha ha!!!

I know I will be giving a hard time with them, seeing me with a 1650ci, 15 lb pack and telling them I'm going to Yosemite.

[Jonathan Chiappa]

Hey Aaron,

You seem extremely well thought out! Good luck, and I'm sure just showing the rangers how much you've thought through this will help establish your validity.

– Jon

[Janet Brewster]

Aaron,

Maybe I missed it in the other comments, but how long are you planning on taking? And when are you going? Because that does make a difference. I did it in September, so it was quite cold at night, but it only rained once and being late in the season the rivers weren't raging so I only had one river crossing (did it barefoot).

I do agree with the others about the unpredictability of the weather, and it's especially crucial given that you sleep cold (I do, too). Have you tested out your gear yet at high altitude? Can you do so before your trip, maybe on a quick weekend trip?

Last thought — I brought a small packtowel and little vial of liquid soap. I took a "sponge bath" every night and washed my hiking clothes every one to two days. This may seem like a luxury, esp. for the XUL, but being clean helps you to stay warm. If you're using any kind of down bag or quilt, dirt, sweat, sunscreen, and bug juice will gradually decrease the loft.

[Aaron Sorensen]

Well I have been busy doing some 60 mile weeks.
I am heading over to Yorktown, VA for a month for some training and will not be doing any posting over the next month.
I just want to let everyone know that I'm still good to go for the attempt. I will give some better updates once I get back.

For now I leave you an update packlist. I have been making completely different gear. I just didn't trust my old stuff, and I have found a new love for the Monentum fabric. With the change of gear, I now have a much warmer system. I am not worried about being cold at all with what I have now. The new clothing group is also lighter than the old.

WORN OR CARRIED
29.5 – Montrail Hardrocks
1.7 – Toe Socks Injinji
1.1 – Gators
2.6 – H/Made 4 Pocket Cargo Shorts w/ Velcro legs
6.9 – Long-Sleeve Railriders Eco-Mesh
1.7 – Watch High Gear Axis
1.3 – Shades
10.8 – (2) Pole Komperdell C3
2.6 – Water Bottles (2) 24oz Gatorade
2.4 – Hat

BASE
6.5 – Homemade Pack 1600ci
5.2 – Tarp 52" x 96" Spinnaker fabric
1.3 – (6) Tarp Stakes
0.1 – Compass Suunto Clipper
1.7 – Ground Cloth G/G Polycryo 40"X 96"
1.7 – Pad G/G 1/4" Thinlite
1.7 – Sea 2 Summit Ultra-Sil Drybag XL
1.0 – O.P. Sack 12.5"X15.5"
~7 – All Kits (Water Purification, Bug Spray, Batteries, ect)
3.0 – Fenix Cree L2D w/ Batteries
2.0 – Maps Cash and I.D

12.5 – H/made Down 1/2 Blanket 40"X 48"
6.8 – H/made Climashield Momentum Bottom
8.0 – H/made Climashield Momentum Top
2.2 – H/made Momentum Jacket
0.4 – BPL Headsweat
0.8 – Homemade Bomber Style Beanie
1.2 – Mountain Hardwear Powerstreatch Glove
1.3 – Socks warm 1/2 sock
1.8 – Homemade River Shoes
0.1 – Homemade Bug Head-net

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