Field Notes: Wet, Snowy, Cold – Spring Backpacking with my Son in Wyoming with Lightweight Gear

Nice chill footage Ryan. I miss winter already… my son is 5 and we just did our first overnight for this season…

if you’re looking around for a real small charger I might suggest the smallest Jackery.  It is their smallest “lipstick” size 3350mAh and weighs 3.7oz

i personally use the 6000 mAh Jackery it’s good for what I need it for, long weekends and some week-longs. it has a bonus light that I consider the back up light for Photon II.   it (Jackery 6000)weighs 5.4oz

glad you had a great time out there, minus the cold feet… the underrated stuff sack emergency socks come thru again!

I’ve used both the Lightning and Micro USB versions of the EasyAcc 6000mAh power bank and really like it (it weighs 5.3 oz.). I use a short Lightning cable with the Micro USB version as it charges faster than the version with the built in Lightning cable. I also like it because it can charge 2 devices at once if needed, and it has a built in light like David mentioned for his.

I saw a peek of your tripod at one point, looks like the Really Right Stuff Pocket Pod and maybe one of their ballheads? I absolutely love their gear. I wasn’t sure what the column in between them was though?

What was your rational for going with the Tarptent Notch  when you have many other tents?

Thanks for the charger ideas!

Ken, I took the Notch because it’s probably the best balance of weight and weather protection for any tent I own.

Jon – yes, the RRS pocket and #25 ball head. The column in the middle is a 2-pc telescoping CF tripod extension.

Nice video.

While watching I kept thinking how, for me, this is good terrain for hiking poles. It just goes to show…

I have one flat foot and a slightly shorter left leg, so my balance is slightly off. also, I’m addicted to poles. clearly you and your son are balanced walkers!

Ryan, for these shoulder season conditions I wear Merrill Moab Mid WPB lined boots. Inside I wear thin poly liner socks with 3 mm closed cell neoprene divers’ socks from US Divers. That brand has shaped Left and Right socks (marked) and is factory seam sealed.

This combination or waterproof boots and sweat proof insulated socks keeps my sweat inside and gives me fairly warm boots WITH knee high GTX gaiters. Gaiters seem to add about 10 to 15 F. of warmth as well.

In camp at bedtime I remove boots, put them in a light, non waterproof stuff sack and set them in the vestibule. Then I remove the divers’ socks and sweat soaked poly liners. The liners go into a Ziplock freezer bag for “safekeeping” of the odor. ;o) I turn the divers socks inside-out to dry for a while in the tent and then don new liner socks and heavy “sleep socks”. At bedtime the divers’ socks go into my sleeping bag.

In the morning I remove the “sleep socks” and put on the warm divers’ socks then my boots and gaiters. Now I’m ready for breakfast, No freezing toes or frozen boots.

Jeffrey – I actually wanted to use my poles a lot more (I found myself carrying my camera and tripod most of the time) – I slipped around quite a bit in the slop.

Eric – that’s a great setup for cold and wet. I get a little nervous about stiffer shoes over long distances. Maybe I’ll have to give the Moabs a try at some point, everyone I talked to who has them love them.

I’m really interested to know how you mate an Exped Schnozzle with a Thermarest Uberlite.  I have both but don’t see a straightforward way to connect them.

Hey Tom – I used to use boiling water – dipped the schnozzel valve (female) into the boiling water to soften it, then mate it to the (male) t-rest valve, and let it cool. It worked OK, but not so well when the temps dropped.

More recently, I used a little blowtorch to melt the schnozzel valve, then mated it to the t-rest valve and let it all cool.

Now it works great.

I went through the hassle of doing this because my schnozzel bag is also my in-tent dry bag for storing wet shoes, socks, gaiters, water filter, etc., so none of it freezes at night, and if needed, I can stow in my sleeping bag. Most of the time, I can sleep with this all right next to me and it stays thawed, at least if I’m in a tent and the nights don’t get below 20 or so.

Cool schnozzel hack, thank you!  I will try that myself when my schnozz arrives…

I blew up my neoair a bunch (30 + nights)  over the winter with my  lungs. If there is condensation build up in there does anyone know a way that i could attempt to eradicate/evaporate some of it? Hang upside down? Blow warm air into it with hair dryer on low heat? Or is that liquid water destined to be trapped forever…

I took a dremel to the inside of my schnozzel valve and removed a little bit of material that way. Worked out fine, just don’t remove too much material.

@ryan  Ingenious!  Thank you.

Nice trip report Ryan – makes me wish I was not sitting in the office right now. I’m curious how you pack that little buck saw. I’d be worried the blade guard would come off and I’d open my pack to some damaged gear. Folders don’t give me that worry. Maybe it’s best to lash it to the outside of the pack?

Justin – yep, I carried it on the outside shoved down behind my back pocket and the top strap secured through the saw.

Great report Ryan. Nice to see Chase was with you too. I also appreciated the silences and very judicious use of music. Question: what’s the pack that you are using?

Looks like a McHale – one of the models without the detachable external backpad.

Rachel – it’s a 45L (ish) McHale Windsauk. Guide harness, lenomesh back panel, hybrid DCF fabric, full Dyneema bottom.

What did it weigh?  McHales were kind of heavy last I knew.

The current lightest charger you are likely to find is a modular setup using a Folomov A1 (21g) mated with a bare Li-Ion cell.  18650 cells weigh about 48g, larger 21700 cells weigh around 69g.  These are the exact same cells you will find inside all the powerbanks you are using/considering.  The Folomov setup basically just ditches the weight of the powerbank’s case.

18650 cells: Sanyo NCR18650GA, Samsung 35E, or LG MJ1 will all have similar capacity (~3500mAh).

21700 cells: Samsung 48G (4800mAh) or Samsung 50E (5000mAh).

Keep in mind that cold temps severely decrease the capacity of li-ion batteries, and charging circuitry isn’t 100% efficient (on the charger and on the device side).  So don’t expect a 3500mAh cell/charger to fully charge your 3500mAh phone, for example.

@ryan I’m kind of puzzled by your tent choice as well. You replied to Ken that “it’s probably the best balance of weight and weather protection for any tent I own.”

However, knowing you expected to experience “unseasonably cold temperatures and a winter storm warning,” this seems to totally contradict what you wrote in your Notch Li review:

Having used the silnylon version of the Notch in snowy fringe-season conditions, I can’t say that it’s a shelter I’d recommend for any amount of snow. Silnylon simply has too much stretch, and more structure is needed to support it under even a small snow load. For any conditions where snow is expected, and I had to use a silnylon shelter, I’d upgrade to the Tarptent Stratospire 1 model, which offers additional stability afforded by more fabric stability resulting from an increased number of stake-out points. (my emphasis added)

Please elaborate on what changed your opinion so quickly.

I also believe on Field Note #7 you meant completely solid inner rather than “full-mesh inner”. At least that is what you said at 25:48.