Ultimate SUL gear list in NH White Mountains? 6.8lbs

There is no camping above treeline as per state/national forest regulations.

some sort of bug protection is probably a good idea in the spring-mid summer.

for summer you can probably skip the wool gloves. no need for liner socks(ever imo).

If you want it lighter, I think the obvious replacements are the rain shell, shell pants, and tarp. You can go a lot lighter on the rain shell. I think you can get by with a rain skirt too. 21 oz seems heavy for a trailstar. My cuben version is 12 oz. On the other side, I would want a little warmer bag for 25 degrees with wind under a trailstar. You can drop most of the stuff sacks. No thermometer needed. A photon light weighs a lot less.

But if you're happy with the weight, I have no qualms with your list. 6.8 lbs is a good UL weight if you ask me.

You'll want some sort of bug shelter as mentioned above

Also, a lot of the overnight options you'll come across near tree line will be wooden tent platforms. I prefer a tent over a tarp for these. Especially at popular sites where sharing a platform with others isn't uncommon.

Camping above treeline isn't allowed during the times you'll be there. And 6k ft is at the upper end of the elevations you'll encounter. Still a couple thousand feet above treeline though – so good to be prepared.

In general though much of your equipment is similar to mine.

Firstly, thanks for the suggestions.

Ben – only reason I'm going with SIL Trailstar is because it seems to stand and pitch better in the wind – more options. Have you found that you're not able to get the corners of your cuben trailstar really low?

Nathan, Jake – what do you recommend for absolute minimal weight against bugs? Was looking at Gossamer Gear halfnet at Ruta Locura bivy at 3.1oz or Suluk 46 net bivy at 3.7oz.

What are your thoughts on Zpacks Hexamid Twin vs. Trailstar?

Thanks!

absolute minimum would be a headnet to wear if they are really bad while you are awake and while you're sleeping so you don't get eaten up by blackflies. A bug bivy would be totally fine too for at night. NH blackflies don't just bite.. they chew haha

at elevation there is usually enough wind to keep them away but when you go down to camp they are around more.

after July they tend to calm down but i use a LH solo all the time so i'm always enclosed.

any trips planned? i'm headed up this weekend to do day hikes sat and sun with car camping in between. Cabot and waumbek then Kings ravine (mt Adams) and a few small trails on day 2.

Since moving out here, I hike in the whites pretty exclusively. Bug protection is a must. I would never think of sleeping without a net tent in the summer. I've found the trail star footprint to be too large for most sites and now use a cape and serenity net tent. Gloves are a personal choice, but I rarely use them and hike in the shoulder seasons a bunch. Camping above tree line isn't permitted, but off peak season it would be quite hard to get nabbed IMO. The water is clean and have never had a problem myself.

Off topic, but there's a great camping spot near the top of waumbek complete with great views and chimney.

"Camping above tree line isn't permitted, but off peak season it would be quite hard to get nabbed IMO"

I find this attitude to be disrespectful to the rangers and folks who are trying to keep the area in good condition despite a huge amount of traffic. The rules are no camping above tree line unless there is a 2' snow base. This is to protect the fragile alpine environment. There are plenty of places to camp in the Whites that aren't above tree line and honestly much better for camping.

it's not about getting weather you will be caught or being fined.

Ok jake noted. On the other hand, I camped in a relatively fragile alpine environment on a ridge last weekend because the only other available flat area within 4 miles was leased to the AMC and full of hikers. While there were no available platforms on which i could have pitched my tent, they still would have gladly accepted my $8 at the expense of Inconveniencing someone who was already there.

Do you know what I find disrespectful? Passive aggressive mothering. However, everyone is entitled to their opinion, especially on a faceless internet forum, and mine is that if the circumstances permit everyone should be able to occasionally enjoy a campsite with a great view as long as its 250 feet off trail, they leave no trace, and its not in an alpine recovery environment.

Back to the gear list.

It is one thing to have to make something work in a pinch than to advise people that it's an option with no consequences.

did you ask the campsite/shelter caretaker if there was any overflow areas? Last year I was at Imp shelter and they moved some brush for a family to put their tent down when the platforms were full. you can usually fit 2 tents per platform also.

I find it most disrespectful when people think rules don't apply to them or that they are somehow exempt and who then take offense and get prickly when it's pointed out to them. Your position is seriously undermined by your hypocrisy.

I never advised anyone it was an option with no consequences (see above). I exhausted the afore mentioned options, and more, prior to finding my own campsite, and I'll see you on Waumbek this weekend ;-)

Ok, then I took your intention of the quoted text wrong and i'll put it behind me.

I think i'm going to do Cabot in the morning Sat. since the fishery lot is only open 8am-4pm. then drive down to waumbek and do that before dark. I'll have an orange exos 34 pack and BD poles with no baskets or straps if ya see me say hello. Sunday i'm doing Kings ravine, Chemin des dames, Great gully and possibly down Castle trail if you're interested in something bigger.

If you hike Cabot from Mill Brook Rd via the Unknown pond trail, you can bag it, stay at Unknown Pond, not worry about parking (I'll watch your car for you ;-), then hike down, and drive down to Jefferson and get Waumbek.

that makes an overnight where I don't want or need it. I'm doing other trails sunday.

Yea, I just noticed that you were going to crush everything in one day, then drive to the presidentials.

Didn't get the trail name Speedy for nothing ;) i just hope the trails to Cabot aren't a complete mud bog.

Would be great to get a group of New Englander SULers on a hike in the whites. I'm from Boston and would welcome getting together with some like-minded gear/outdoor dorks.

Any more tips?

If you don't have the NH 4000 footer map then it will be the best 10 bucks you can spend. They might have it at the boston EMS and definitely have it at the Concord EMS

http://www.amazon.com/White-Mountains-Waterproof-Trail-Map/dp/1890060232/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y

This weekend i'm not really backpacking just 2 big day hikes.. July 20th weekend some friends are coming with me on a 2 day backpack trip to the eastern Pemi to finish my NH 4k's then i'm moving on to the Terrifying 25 list of steep/bouldery trails http://www.trishalexsage.com/p/the-terrifying-twenty-five.html#uds-search-results

i'm also planning to do the Pemi loop in a day (31mi) probably early august. I did Presi in a day last year.

other than that if you have a mountain or trip idea you want to do i might have info about it.. if it's a 4k then i definitely will. The gear looks fine to me.. lighter than my list by a bit but more in item lightness than function.

The Equinox Mantis is inexpensive and a light way to sleep with bug protections.
A headnet for around camp taking breaks on the trail. They weigh nothing.

I was considering the Trailstar myself, but went with the Patrol instead.
It is lighter than the Trailstar and is also very good, if not better in high winds. It only fits one person though.
I find it is more comfortable than the smaller/sol mids I've tried. Not as roomy as the Traistar, but comfy for one.

Jake – just got the 4000 footers map off Amazon! Thanks a lot. Going to be digging through that one for sure.

Also looked at the 25 steep hikes. I've been looking for more exposed, above tree line type of hikes for a while, so good to see a list all in one place. Any specific ones you would recommend? So far Gulfside and Boot Spur are my favorite trails, always looking for more options with big, panoramic views.

Have a good time on your 2 hikes. Will be out there in two-three weeks.

Steven – really seriously considering the Patrol shelter now. Have you ever set it up above treeline in other places? Trying to see what it would be like pitching Patrol in windy, exposed, rainy places. I know the Trailstar can handle it, but Patrol takes off almost a pound with MLD carbon poles.

What about lighter options for the inner?

Some of them aren't necessarily exposed.. but steep and bouldery or ladders.

i've done Beaver brook trail(steep wood stairs), willy Ridge (ladder), Wildcat ridge (steep 3rd class in spots), Zeacliff( steep), Mt morgan (ladders/boulders), Mt percival (boulders/caves), N tripyramid slide (rock slab), S tripyramid slide (loose rock/gravel)

Gulfside is exposed and wide open but it's pretty mellow for the most part. i did Presi in a day last summer.

Most of the rest of that list is in the presi's up the side of stuff and should be pretty awesome.

Regarding the the Patrol in the wind,
I haven't had mine in much of a wind this year, but I have had two very similar shelters in very extreme wind on exposed ridges, Golite Lair(Shangri-la) and the Gossamer Gear Spinnshelter.

This style of shelter is well known for being windproof.
A bivy alone would be more windproof, but…
I suspect the Patrol, pitched low, would be even more windproof than the Trailstar.

The smaller foot print, low profile, two poles and shape deflects wind well.
You do have to make sure that it is well staked/attached.

I just need carrigain and whiteface for my 4ks if anybody needs those.