Gear List for Wind River Range in September

A compass and a watch can’t both be critical since one replaces the other (during the day).  And the phone replaces both of them, so that seems like a lot of redundancy.

+1 on the Victorinox Classic.

0.2 ounces for a lexan spoon looks like an error.  Maybe that little for a Taco Bell spork, but not a real spoon.

Your “4-cup bowl” would be heavy if it is the 1.3 liter ever new pot.  Really cheap and light is the bottom few inches of an HDPE 1-gallon or 1/2-gallon milk container.  Or nested ziplock storage containers – one as a bowl and one as a hot liquid cup, maybe with a single lid with fragile items stored inside during transport.

A small pencil or a sharpie is more versatile than a pen – they write on more surfaces in more conditions.

I’d add an extra Gatorade bottle lid.  They’re easy to drop in the stream and it sucks if that happens.

I think your packing list is solid and will not dwell on suggesting the purchase of new items that might weigh a few ounces less than what you already have.  I will comment on the few areas that you seem to have doubts.

Gaiters:  I have hauled gaiters into the WRR quite a few times and never used them.  They are no longer on my packing list.

Wind Jacket:  This item is one that I am happy to use on the occasions that I pack it; on the other hand I don’t miss it much when I leave it at home as long as I carry a rain jacket.  I don’t think the WRR is windier than any other part of the central or northern U.S. Rockies.

Sleeping Pad:  The xlite plus 1/8 inch foam have served me well for several years.  Not much weight is saved, though, versus your xtherm.

Bear Spray:  I carried spray for many years, never saw any sign of bears.  A few years ago it was eliminated from my list with no regrets.  Last year I finally for the first time saw bear scat near Green River Lakes.  I will leave the spray at home again this year.

Bear Bag Line:  You will likely be camped in the forest at least one or two nights.  Convenient rock hangs are not always available.  I would carry the line and hanging apparatus.

Food Protection:  Always a tough subject, never a good answer.  I have hung silnylon food bags PCT style, hung bags from a single tree, used various canisters.  On at least one occasion I used both a bag hang and a canister.  I recently purchased an S-29 Ursack and will probably treat it as a normally hung silnylon sack (just an extra level of protection).
     For whatever it’s worth I would rank the WRR as a medium tough area to hang; the Bob Marshall area is much tougher :).

You picked a great time to go into the WRR.  Maybe we will bump into each other.

Maybe you have seen Alan Dixons website, but if not you might like it Adventure Alan Wind River High Route – A Guide it includes a gear recommendation section including cook set. I can tell you have looked at Andrew Skurka’s site with your Go Suit category on your list…it made me giggle.

Thanks, all. Very helpful feedback. In response to some of the specific items:

David:

• I do have some redundancy in the navigation department. The phone is also my camera. The compass is a non-electronic navigation device. I could lighten things a bit here, but I’m probably OK with some level of redundancy to stay found.
• Your comment on the bowl is spot-on. I’m planning on taking a 2-cup Ziploc bowl as my mug and a 4-cup Ziploc bowl as my, well, bowl. I plan to make cozies for both.
• Good recommendation on the small sharpie.

John:

• Gaiters: Glad to hear that not everyone views them as essential. I wore them through the 100 Mile Wilderness last September and got a pretty bad rash around my ankles. Maybe due to the dampness and lack of airflow. I’m hopeful that by wearing pants and crew-length socks I can reduce the number of pebbles and sticks that get into my shoes.
• I go back and forth on the Houdini layer. Apparently an age-old debate.
• Bear spray: The outdoor shop guy in Pinedale believes the best protection is making noise so as to not sneak up on a bear (no need for yelling, just don’t be completely silent for hundreds of yards in a densely wooded area).
• Per your suggestion, I’m going to take an ursack and bear hang cord.

Annapurna:

• Good eye – the template is straight from Skurka’s blog. I’ve also referenced Adventure Alan’s list extensively.

Leapfrog,

Just to confuse you a little more I have always been confident in the security of my silnylon bags when properly hung. It is the marginally well hung situations that would benefit from using an Ursack. Above tree line an Ursack would give me a little more peace of mind. If you are camping below tree line, about 10,500 feet, a plain old silnylon sack is good enough. On a side note, some of my best hangs have been from branches that were high off the ground; I carry 50 feet of cord. All of this is just my modus operandi and humble opinion :).

Back to the bear spray issue. Usually bears will run away from you if they see you. The WWR is is not especially brushy, which is great for off-trail travel and also for mutual critter/human detection at a reasonable distance. There are exceptions such as willow thickets along streams. I
worry much more about running into bears in Glacier Park where the brush can, in places, obscure your view of something as close as 30 or 40 feet away. Last weekend we came within about 150 feet of two moose in GNP before spotting them. Based on my experience you are much more likely to see moose than bear in the WWR.

Enough rambling, I’m done.

Thanks, John. I’ll be making camp above 10,000 feet a few of the nights, so I think I’ll go with the ursack. As to whether to do a rock hang or just tie to a tree will probably be determined based on what’s available in the vicinity of the campsite.

It sounds like bear spray won’t be needed – I appreciate your thoughts.

I agree with many of the above comments.

I have never carried bear spray in WRR and the only place I have seen scat is Ranger Park.

I hung my first trip but have taken canisters since as it took quite a bit of time to find a decent place to hang above treeline and there were a few camps after a long day where I wouldn’t be confidant in the bear proofness of my hang. I am thinking about trying a Ursack this year on my trip to the winds the last week of August.

I recommend the Caldera Cone for a cook system.

I use a windshirt quite a bit in WRR, but I sweat like crazy in a rain jacket.

I wouldn’t think you would need the r1 as well as the down jacket. I did take that combo to Alaska and would again but in WRR I have never felt the need.

All in all it looks like a great list and while you might save an ounce here or there it looks like you are plenty light enough to not be weighed down by your pack.

Have a great trip and I hope you share a trip report or pics.

I use ursaks but never have in the WRR.
Here is a typical hang with the trees only 8 ft high at most or no trees at all. Not ideal, but seems to work.

On the sarcastic side:  If there are no bears, of course it works!!!  Like I tell people, “I eat M&M’s because research says it keeps the elephants out of my campsite”.   Works every time where I hike.
Art

Hi Leap Frog,

I don’t really have any comments about your gear list except to say looks like you are on the right track over all. Just be ready for some fairly cold weather which is likely enough that you must be prepared for it, but I’m sure you already know that. Except, did I see you have no groundcloth? No worries about keeping your quilt dry? And you mentioned waterproofing your quilt. Do you mean a WP storage bag, or do you mean a WP quilt shell? If the latter, are you concerned about condensation inside the quilt?

I have made many, mostly 5 day, trips there over the last 30 years, with the majority in the 1st week of Sept. Weather has been all over the place. One was blue bird skys every day with lows every single clear night at 20F. My all time low for this range 1st week of Sept was 15F following a day or 2 of cold rain. My partner on that trip almost froze that night since some of his clothing- which e also slept in- got wet hiking all day in the rain, and the foot of his 25F down bag got pretty wet during the rain all of the previous night. In retrospect, I don’t think rain got into the tent, so much as I suspect he either had condensation or sweat problems. Either way, he woke up with a wet bag foot area, then had to pack up and hike all day in the rain. We had 40F lows or warmer every night until that last 15F night. Another time- though it was June, lows were about 40 or warmer all month until June 27, when it snowed for about 24 hours straight, about a foot or more, and that night the temp dropped to about 24F. We were all pretty damp after hiking all day in the snow ( probably mainly from sweat), so that night was quite a challenge. A snow loaded tree limb broke and punctured the tarp of one friend, dumping a big load of snow right down the face opening of his mummy bag! His comment? “Live and learn”! LOL!

But this should give you an idea of what to expect, though you can have much better weather I suppose. But the above is NOT uncommon. So, you probably know what you need to be safe and warm enough in such conditions.

I have never carried a dedicated wind shirt, I have just always used my WPB shell. Like John said, I don’t think it is windier in the WRR than other places, but that is not to say it can’t be plenty windy and cold.

Enjoy your trip, give us a report! I am starting to think about a Sept trip either in the WRR or Sawtooths, have not been to either in 4 or 5 years now, my longest absence since the 1980s.

Bill

Leap Frog- your gear list is pretty similar to mine. A few differences are I am not planning on bringing a wind shirt as I don’t own one and have been fine with a rain jacket in really windy conditions and I am bringing a bear canister. While not required, I see the canister as a more hassle free option and will also serve as a seat at night before I retire to the tent. The one area I am still not 100% sure about is the need for a light fleece beanie during the day. I have an OR down beanie for at night if needed though.

Brad- in your experience, is a beanie likely needed in the late August timeframe in the WRR? Appreciate any insight.

Thanks

I find a 100wt fleece beanie very handy for nights and cool mornings.