First Winter Two-Nighter, 0-30 degrees F, Southern Oregon

Well, it could be cold, but that’s a humungeous amount of clothing. And TWO canisters of fuel for two nights?

One of BPL’s dominant themes is about not ‘packing your fears’. Perhaps you could take another look at what gear you really need AND use?

Cheers

Hi, Roger!

The large amount of clothing is what I’ve worn on my last two trips. The only extra clothes are the VBL pants for sleeping and extra sleep socks and extra waterproof mitts (which I’ve used extensively on the last trips and do not want to eliminate). I’ll remove the Cuben rain jacket bc I forgot that my Lightning Bug jacket is mainly waterproof. Depending on the hiking temps, I may leave bending the Mammut jacket and just wear the Lightning Bug jacket, and the facemask if it’s not expected to be windy. I also found the Smartwool Hunt socks were almost too much for hiking temps above 10°F, so I may just bring one pair for sleeping.

Regarding fuel, my understanding was in winter backpacking you should always bring extra fuel and one day of extra food. Since the cannisters are the second to largest ones, maybe one cannister IS considered extra fuel! :) I’ll reconsider two cannisters, especially since I only heat up water at bedtime for dinner and a warm water bottle, and rarely in the morning for tea/coffee. The bulk of my calories comes from bars, anyway. Thanks for the suggestions! I’ll modify the list when I get home.

I also just realized my Raku doesn’t fit in my largest dry bag (10L), so I’ll be purchasing a XL one from HMG soon.

Hi Bri

Well, I’d boil in that lot! Different metabolism maybe. A good wind layer is always needed though.

Now, fuel. I cook for Sue and me, and in summer I allow 30 g/day for the two of us. I have got that down to almost 20 g by practicing severe economies – running all at low power, but that can be tricky. For winter my rule of thumb is to go up to double the amount just in case. If we can find water instead of having to melt snow all the time, then 45 g/day is usually enough – for TWO people. Bottom line (imho): one 110 g canister should be enough for you (single person) for two nights. One 220 g canister would be a significant overkill.

However, how well the Minimo stove will run at the extreme lows is another matter. I would not be game to try that myself. I would, without any hesitation, use a remote inverted canister stove. The claims that the regulator will let the stove work down to 20 F are mainly marketing spin. You might get it working at 20 F by starting with a brand new 220 g canister with the highest possible propane content, but that propane will disappear very fast. Breakfast on the last morning might be a bit cold. Ah well – store the canister overnight inside your sleeping bag and sit it in a bowl of warm water while running.

Cheers