packing questions

wow that's a lot of bags and sacks.

I have a trash compactor bag in my pack. I put my down quilt in there, any spare clothes, my puffy, then twist it closed. I put the rest of my gear on top of that, including my food bag (which is all in a single Zpacks cuben food bag). Then I close my pack.

That's it.

All those stuff sacks add up.

Why are your clothes in 3 ziploc bags? What's wrong with just putting them in with your sleeping bag?

"I will be hiking in the CO mts and am assured that it rains every day at least in the afternoon."

You should assume it Could rain every day. It seldom does, especially after July. I have done several 100 mile sections without rain.

Go prepared, but not paranoid.

+1 on Jennifer's methods: one big light bag for food and bear hanging, clothes and sleeping bag in a trash compactor bag— everything but clothes outside the trash bag.

With the top of the trash compactor bag twisted and tucked down alongside, it will handle any rain. The only time to use a separate stuff sack for my sleeping bag is to save space; otherwise, I have this mean lump to manage. The "cloud" system of packing fills all the nooks and crannies and is much more hospitable to frameless or lightly framed packs. There is less time spent trying to jam your sleeping gear into a tiny bag and much better for the life of the fill too.

I use one small bag for my hygiene/latrine kit and another for my emergency essentials— really light one liter stuff sacks. My kitchen kit is in a gallon ziplock to keep soot/food residue off my other gear. My food bag is a large black silnylon stuff sack. That's it.

Start by considering the worst case scenario and make sure that if that happens then maybe some of your gear will get wet, but the core stuff you will need to deal with this catastrophe will remain dry. For some people and/or trips this will only be that it rains for a long time. For other this will be your pack fall off, sinks to the bottom of a stream, and get stuck under a rock for half an hour.

For example I always have my bag and primary insulation layer, usually a down jacket, in a separately sealed dry bag. That way if I fall in a river (and presumably I would also need to roll down the river a mile or two) and my outer waterproof layer, whatever that is, is infiltrated, I can still set up my shelter and get into my dry jacket and bag while drying things out. With a totally reliable, immersion-proof inner protection for the bare minimum you can be as loosey-goosey with everything else as you like, and under most condition it will not matter. Throw away those ziplocks and unnecessary stuff sacks and so on, knowing that it will suck if the worst happen, but it will not be life threatening.

For a classic analysis of the paranoid extreme everyone should read this article by Jim Wood:

http://jwbasecamp.com/Articles/DryGear/index.html

Some of the actual technology analyzed is a bit out of date, but the basic principles are not. This is particularly useful in the way it systematically analyzes the risks and what to do about them – I think he is an engineer. I read his blog when I was just starting UL, even before there was a BPL, but sadly it seem to be inactive now. From this you can decide which level of paranoia to forego.

Whatever method, I make sure there are two layers of waterproof protection for my sleeping bag and other down clothing.

Any one layer can get a hole in it and water always seems to find that hole… and then the down…

Billy

Yep, that is more or less what I have attracted onto – packliner with bag and jacket "high-tech" protection inside that.

For the JMT I have altered this a bit since my bear can is itself waterproof, my pack is highly water resistant, and for rain I use a poncho over everything. In that case i just have my drybag for bag and jacket, and a separate very small dry bag for clothes (this last a paranoid luxury), but no pack liner. To be honest I do have a ziplock for electronics items where I can stash them quickly without having to open my bag up. But that is it for waterproofing.

+1 to what Jennifer and Dale said.

Your zip-loc bags ARE stuff sacks. They don't need to go in another sack.

I use the "cloud" packing system Dale mentions also. I line my pack with a contractor's bag (inspected before each trip for holes, so far 2 seasons and no holes)sleeping bag goes on bottom loose so it will fluff up to fill any gaps, everything else except the tent poles go on top. (Tent poles I strap to the outside of the pack, with tips in my waterbottle pocket). I twist the top, as Jennifer mentioned, tie it off (usually with a heavy duty rubber band) and then push the opening down into the back so any water coming into the top of the pack can't find a way into the contractor's sack. This is plenty good for rain. I would take extra steps if I planned on doing any river crossings where there was a risk of submersion of my pack in water. If that were a risk, I'd go ahead and put my clothes and my sleeping bag into a dry bag.

I usually pack my sleeping cloths (long johns,) sleeping socks, down jacket and bag into one compression/dry sack. I have another dry sack for my food. I do not really care if I dump my canoe and get soaked in rain, I can always hole up under my tarp and sleep. For short trips (<2 weeks) I do not carry a change of cloths.

The stove is waterproof and fuel is in waterproof bottles. My food stays dry. I can still cook under my tarp to have a hot meal. A hot drink, being dry, and, under a dry roof can really cheer you up.

Thanks to all for this advice. I read the article referred to and have now begun unpacking my bag so I can repack using some of these techniques. Thanks! K