First SUL Gear List

You should HYOH, as they say, and it seems that in putting together this list, you will already have a good idea about the capacities and limitations of your gear, but going SUL in April in Hell's Canyon carries some risk.

I haven't been there in April before (only in the fall on the Oregon rim and NOT down to the river) so take this only as a consideration.

Thanks for the comment, Steven. I'm basing my expectations on previous trips into the canyon (backpacking and not), a few of which were around this time of year, but as I say, it would be a first with a kit this light.

Are there specific risks you think SUL in this environment would heighten? I've tried to account for a number of scenarios, but likely haven't considered everything.

I don't think that things which are best kept in a pocket counts as cheating. I'd probably put the lighter with tinder in pocket too.

Add a plastic pealess whistle on-person.

I'd bring the Driducks along with duct tape for patching. (My rain gear is either Driducks, or eVent Packa for sustained rain or cold.)

Trail Gloves sounds like some risk without much actual hiking in them yet.

Might need some rain or wind pants?

I'm very skeptical of any matches based on my experience with them. The only ones I somewhat trust are the UCO Stormproof.

If it matters to you, you could probably cut your stove weight by about 2 oz if you use Esbit. That cuts fuel weight also.

Stakes are a luxury item with sticks and rocks around. :)

Have you had much experience with your sleep system in that temp range? It seems a little on the light side if the temps drop near freezing. Obviously you'd be wearing everything together but I think I would be cold especially with the blue foam underneith me. YMMV though.

Good points, all. I should clarify: my reasons for choosing Hells Canyon are it's relatively close to where I live and I'm pretty familiar with the terrain, plus weather in the canyon bottom should be mild for the season, at least compared to upper elevations.

Andy: Good thought with the whistle, and good to hear the DriDucks have worked for you. The matches are backup for the mini-Bic–could just go with a second mini-Bic.

I'm comfortable and experienced with my stove system, so prob. need to stick with it for this trip, but have been thinking of trying Esbit at some point. This will be a shake-down for the Trail Gloves (has to happen sometime) but if I stick to the river trail plus side trips, it's pretty easy to dial back the miles if soreness becomes too big an issue. Again, Inov8 295s worked fine for me all last year, so I hope it won't be too big a change.

"Stakes are a luxury item…" Not sure I want to trust my tarp to the sticks available (it's an arid climate with few trees of any size near the river). The stakes I'm taking are bare minimum for my shelter, so will use rocks if I need a more secure pitch.

Dan: This is a similar sleep system to the one I used last April in the canyon, with an overnight low ~33-34F. I sleep pretty warm–I wouldn't say I was toasty, but never felt too cold. Differences are: the MB down inner has replaced a mid weight fleece, and I was using a 3/4 Prolite (2.2R) instead of CCF. The CCF I have is pretty dense–like Ridgerest foam rather than the plastic-y stuff–if anything I expect a little higher R value than the Prolite. Less comfort though. Still, a backyard test may be in order. FWIW, I measure single layer loft of my quilt at ~2"

Again, thanks for the insight. I'll post a trip report.

I was hiking in the Colorado Rockies last weekend and it got into the mid to upper 20's, I got pretty cold with my 35 degree WM Highlite bag even with a silk liner. I made it but both my water bottles were slush. I hope you stay warm.