I wish I had…

We went last summer (Aug)when it was raining a lot … This may seem unusual, but I wish I took my umbrella with me – it would have provided much better ventilation options than the hood of my rain shell.

I also could have made good use have having a portable "rain shadow" from on & off precipitation we encountered.

I left it behind because of the weight … doh!
YMMV

I can't think of anything I whish I had taken. My 2 luxuries are a Slinglight chair and Golite mylar umbrella. I can say for sure that if I didn't take them, I would have wished I had. I use both of those a lot, and am always glad to have them.

I got a lot of grief from my crew for having a chair and hiking with my umbrella for shade, but our last trek had a lot mileage in the northern burn area with no shade at all. So I used it a lot.

I'm old and have come to the point where I'm going to do it the way I want to no matter what anyone says. And I do like sitting in a comfortable chair and hiking in the shade. :)

Not a single thing, and my gear weighed all of 8 lbs. 12 with a generous 4 lb share of crew gear.

When we go back this year, I'm going to lighten up in a number of ways, but I'll gladly spend a couple of ounces for a little closed cell foamy kneeling pad (like from the garden department). While we were always able to find a nice place to sit and socialize, on some days, a little bit of seat cushion would be a small slice of heaven. I chided one of my overpacked advisors on his pad last time around, but came to realize that it would have been a worthwhile addition.

IWGBTP!

B.

Would you mind sharing your gear list?

When I last went to Philmont, at the last minute I threw in an old (1926) hardcover copy of Dickens' "Great Expectations". I was so glad I had it. Hiking with a group of young adults (the other adult just 21 years old) I quickly grew tired of adolescent company and embraced some wonderful reading. If I go again in 2016, I will gladly take the extra pound or less for a book or kindle.