JMT gear list 2013 late July

[Adam Cassis]

Clothing Worn:
ex-offixcio boxers 3.15oz
drifit long sleeve 6.65
shorts 5.75
smartwool phd mini merino 1.25
montrail trail runners 26.3
oakley sunglasses 0.9
hat 2.45
bandanas (2; one for a dew rag, other for camp/cook-kit) 2.3
trek poles 23
Total: 4 lbs. 5.8oz

Packing:
Golite Jam 70L 32oz
bear canister: garcia 44oz
Total packing: 4 lbs 12 oz

Shelter: Tarpent contrail w stakes, guylines 30.5oz
total: 1lb 14.5oz

Sleep system:
Golite down quilt z30: 22oz
thermarest SOLite 14 oz
Total: 2lbs, 4oz

clothing packed:
thermal top polypro 5.6
thermal bottom polypro 5.75
spare synthetic thermal bottoms 6oz (supplement camp/sleeping at night if cold)
jacket MH ghost whisperer down: 7.8
redwoods rain jacket 9.85
rain shell: golite tumalo 7oz
extra drifit tshirt: 5.55
spare hiking socks 1.25
sleeping socks 3.15
fleece hat 1.2
gloves 3
bug net 0.95
total: 3 lbs. 11.8 oz

Cooking and drinking:
skurka cat stove 0.2
fuel (20 oz, inc bottle) 14
Ti pot w lid 1.8
Ti spork 0.5
platypus 1L (x 2) 1.6oz
water purification: MSR tabs 0.15
Total: 1lb, 3oz

Survival:
Maps 3oz
compass 0.95
headlamp 4
first aid 4
knife 1
firestarter 0.5
whistle 0.6
suscreen 3
bug repellant 3
paracord 0.65
total: 1lb, 4.7oz

hygiene kit 9oz (toothbrush/paste, blister Tx, TP, etc)

Camera: 4.7oz
Journal/pencil: 1.5oz

Base pack weight: 16lbs, 2.1 oz
Total Weight (minus consumables) 20 lbs, 7oz

i will pack about 2 lbs of food per day, one resupply at MTR which will be heaviest load (7 days of food).

[Arn Aarreberg]

Your list looks good. I think you can leave a lot behind and still be very comfortable on the trail. You could cut down your packed clothing quite a bit. Why 2 rain shells? I'd leave one rain jacket, extra shirt, extra thermal bottoms, and bug net at home. Thats about a 1.5 lbs off your back. If you have some extra dough, consider adding a windshell. Little extra warmth, bug proof, and only a few oz.

Nix the fuel bottle and just put your fuel in an old water bottle. Save 5 oz.

Maybe I'll see you on the trail, I'll be leaving from Toulumne on 7/26.

[Jeff M.]

Personal preference but maybe consider renting a bearikade weekender or expedition. It would save you close to a pound. They rent them at a 45% discount to thru-hikers (includes JMT), so that would put it at $2.75/day for the weekender and $3.30/day for the expedition. They don't charge you for the days it's shipping to you or back to them.

[Ken Thompson]

No long pants to hike in? I would be concerned with sunburn on my legs, plus bugs. Get rid of a rain jacket and spare bottoms and take a pair of pants.

[M G]

What kind of pencil?

[Adam Cassis]

sorry for the confusion, I am not taking an extra rainshell, but the golite tumalo are rain PANTS. used obv for rain and extra warm or protection. my rain shell is also a good wind barrier, but not super breathable. I may leave the extra thermals at home, but not sure what temps I will experience at night. would a thermal and rain pants suffice?
also my fuel is being stored in a 20oz coke bottle. any good suggestions on how much fuel to take per day? im planning on cooking in morning and night.

I am borrowing the Garcia from a friend to cut down on expenses, well, because im cheap I guess. I do not look forward to carrying that.

I am going to use a golf pencil

thanks for all the tips!

[Dustin Short]

Nearly 2 lbs for the dinky stuff (hygiene + survival) seems like quite a lot.

Repackage into smaller bottles (annoying cost unfortunately) and don't take a tube of toothpaste (make toothpaste dots which you can search for here or elsewhere). If there's anything in your FAK or elsewhere that you don't know what it is…toss it. Also realize that if you need to use survival gear or FAK, your trip is over so you don't need "supplies" for a week but just to you get you to civilization. That should save you a lb or so.

Leave behind some redundant clothing. Two leg termals is likely overkill since legs don't feel as cold as torso or extremities. Again wind shirt and/or pants will go a long way to increasing "perceived" warmth on the move for much less weight (and some in camp warmth). Since you have a plethora of shirts, I'd take the lightest l/s you have and one thermal top. Anything else you may use (t-shirt, spare thermals) but you won't "need." Similar mentality with socks if you want to lighten load there. Wear one all day, wash at camp. Wear dry clean socks to bed while wet (but cleaned) socks dry overnight-next day. Or alternatively just one pair to hike in that dries overnight (if too humid/cold to dry you'll likely get them wet hiking anyway), and your warmer sleep socks.

Also if you wear pants and L/S shirts you drastically reduce amount of bug and sun block you need to carry/apply ;)

All in all you can pare down gear and save 2lbs fairly easy, more if you get zealous. Beyond that you'd likely need to replace items with lighter versions, and additional cost.

[Wim Depondt]

mammoth lakes has an average low of 7.4 c° in july (+/- 2500m altitude) Since you will probably camp @4000m, is your sleeping system not to risky? On average, temperatures go down 7° C° per 1000m altitude gain.

Wim

[Andrew F]

In late July you can expect nighttime temperatures that rarely fall below 30F at 8,000-10,000 ft. Unless you are a cold sleeper, your Golite quilt and solite pad should handle that just fine. I think you can save a lot of weight by not bringing the extra clothing.

It's personal preference, but I agree with Ken's comment about pants. If you wear shorts you'll end up wearing your rain pants a lot just to deal with mosquitos. Personally, I wear quick-drying long pants and don't ever bring rain pants and have never regretted it.

[Eileen Duncan]

I hiked the JMT last summer (late July-early Aug) and will do so again this summer (though leaving Tuolumne, 7/24). As far as temps go, FYI, there was frost/ice on our bags and on the ground in Lyell Canyon and temps dropped to about 27*F just below Wanda Lake/Muir Pass.

I just compared some of your items to mine and noticed a few extra ounces…

1) Headlamp. My Petzel e-light weighs 1oz. (Your current: 4oz)
2) Bug repellent. I didn't use any last summer. Still, I'll probably bring one of those little .5oz spray bottles from REI. If you bring just that much and go through it, you'll likely be able to resupply from the hiker barrels if needed. (Your current: 3oz)
3) Mosquito headnet. Bugs weren't much of a problem same time last year. I'm leaving mine at home this time around @ 0oz. (Your current: .95oz)
4) Sleeping socks. These are a must for me. Why not replace yours with another pair of Smartwool phd mini merinos @ 1.25oz? The phds are actually my sleeping socks! (Your current: 3.15oz)
5) Overall weight of your personal hygiene plus first aid seems a little high. Even with "girl stuff" these items total ~8.5oz for me. Examine the individual items to see where you might find multiple uses for some allowing you to eliminate others. Or post the individual items and get some feedback. (Your current: 13oz)
6) Sunscreen. Will you resupply? If so, I'd cut what you're carrying in half. I brought 1.5oz from Yos. – MTR. (Your current: 3oz)

Potential savings… 9.85+ ounces.

Will you hike in the thermal polypro bottoms? Unless you're considering wearing these on the trail, it seems overkill to have 2 pairs of thermal bottoms.

Socks. I ended up heading into Mammoth for warmer layers and picked up a pair of Darn Tough socks while I was there. They were amazing. I wore them (with Injinji liners) for the rest of the time. Yup, the same pair every day! I'm now a Darn Tough convert. Short of the long… consider eliminating the extra pair of hiking socks, wear the same pair of hiking socks every day and switch them with your sleeping socks after 1/2 the trip. Or alternate as you go (washing/drying every day or two). Basically, I think 3 pairs is too much.

Fuel – if you do some thorough searches, you'll find a lot of good, consistent info online about fuel consumption.

No trowel/dig stake?

Eileen

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