GGG X Photos and words

Thanks everyone for a fantastic time! It was our first time at GGG, my 2nd ever backpacking trip, the 1st for my two daughters, and we had a blast! You were all very welcoming and encouraging; it was a great experience for us newbies.

Thanks Steve for leading the way for us and leaving us the trail sign!!

David/Manfred – the caribou pastrami & breakfast sausage were delicious and the smoked salmon was incredible!

Kat – your presentation was fantastic! It was so cool to see all the amazing wildlife that’s in the area, and to hear them, too.

Debbie – your brownies were yummy, and your MYOG tent was really cool to see!

Ken – and thank you so much for planning such a wonderful outing!

It was really nice to meet everyone, see all the different shelters, hammocks & gear that I’ve been reading about in person, learn some new tricks & tips. Thank you all for a great weekend!

@Sun It was very nice to meet you and your girls as well. Hopefully we’ll meet again before too long.

I want to thank so many people but then would leave out or forget someone. I had a great time. Thank you all.

@ Greg Mihalik…..If you ever end up in Davenport again do let me know, will ya? I know some great birding spots around here.

Six Moons Design Deschutes 13 oz Solo Tarp

This looks like Cuben vs. Silnylon, so maybe an earlier model???

Yes, its a Cuben Deschutes. Weight was under 8 ounces when I got it. I added eight LineLoc3 and 3mm guylines and the weight is a fraction over 9 ounces excluding stakes.

Really enjoyed meeting people at GGG X, talking about gear & many other topics, and soaking up winter sunshine at Henry Coe.

Many of you got hands on experience with the wide variety of scissors I brought to the event. Now you can read the full story right here on BPL:

https://backpackinglight.com/backpacking-scissors-reviews-sotmr/

I had fun researching and writing this article. Hope you enjoy reading it, and learn something.

— Rex

Well, I wanted to get back to Idaho to sit down and give a proper thanks to all I had the privilege of meeting and visiting with; I just didn’t know it would be an all night white knuckle drive thru a blinding whiteout in the middle of the desert!     OK, so with that behind me, I wanted to take a minute to say thanks…

I really can’t just say thanks to all who came to the event, as the event and the people who made it up were, and are so much more than the sum of the parts. Living in a very very rural part of SW Idaho, it is still a very real struggle to find others who think and enjoy the mindset that evolves into UL. Simple living and lack of many material things are not the status quo!  As rumors of this gathering began, I asked such a profound question: “where are you going?”, and to my surprise, this park I have never heard of is less than 40 miles from my childhood home. Making the decision to travel, to meet new people can be a very stressful and scary endeavor for all of us extroverted introverts. But as age and time creep ahead mercilessly, I went hoping to find maybe another like minded soul.

At the parking lot, introductions started as signature UL gear attached to strangers presented an easy segue into conversation and instant hiking companions! Thanks Tony and Jeremy!  Arriving at the group site I was presented with a pretty overwhelming display of shelters! Wow! There must have been a few HUNDRED POUNDS of the worlds lightest gear! ;)

Over the course of the weekend, I was absolutely humbled by the outpouring of friendship, support, feedback, and acceptance to a traveling stranger. As I wandered around, entering into and out of conversations, gear inspections, and legendary lie telling, I was filled with a sense of real joy that a group of such diverse and varied individuals could find common ground that filled each with a sense of passion. All of the reasons that I love wandering about the backcountry were on display and I was feeding on it; taking in as much of this buffet as possible!

As the weekend ended, I said goodbye to the gathering and headed back to the car, but not before being directed to a side trail by some other GGG guys so I didn’t have to walk the road back again! YES! I walked this contouring trail with a spring in my step, at times, actually humming and whistling happily to myself. Unexpectedly, 2017 was a super difficult time in our family. I cannot even begin to express how much this short weekend get together meant to me.  It was just what I needed, when I needed it. So again, I am just honored that I was able to spend time, words, and feelings with many of you. I am so looking forward to sharing a trail(s) with many of you!

Sincerely,

Steve

Thanks to Ken once again.  And thanks to Danny for reminding me about this trip or I would have missed it.  And thanks to Tony for the photos.  I only exist online as a backpacker because Tony seems to follow me around with a camera.  And thanks to Kat of course for the presentation.

It was great to see a lot of people I have not seen in years, but definitely want to get out hiking with again soon.  The last few years I’ve focused on hiking with my kids, but they are teens now, so they are pretty bored of hiking with me and are planning trips with friends now.  As a result, I will be back in the game looking for hiking partners and will be tracking some of you down!

Also great to meet folks I’ve known online years ago when I actually posted regularly and great to meet new folks too.  Steve from Idaho:  When I got home I did some online research on the Sawtooths . . . when you are done with the mint biz in a couple of years let me know; I may come find you for a hike.

Hope to see you on the trails soon.

Jeremy

Hello everyone.  I’m Susan, a brand-new member here.  I’m the one with the GoPro taking annoying little videos of everyone.  This was my 2nd ever backpacking trip and I’ve cut it into an 18 minute video that I just got up on YouTube.

I want to thank Ken for organizing this.  Everyone was so welcoming and fun.  Debbie’s brownies and David’s Caribou were amazing.  Kat’s presentation “wowed” me.  I can’t believe all that was packed into the event.  Oh, and I got to ride that EBike too!

I included a lot of gear information that people were kind enough to share.  And special thanks to Rick Niemi for inviting Matt and I to join in.

Here is the video link.  Enjoy!

What a delightful video Susan, I think you did a great job of capturing the camaraderie that has been the GGG, and your positive attitude and infectious laughter certainly added to that.

That was a fun video to watch Susan!  Thanks for putting it together.

Your Taiko and Tai Chi video is pretty wild.   Reminded me some of Noh Drama.

Great video even though I tried hard to run from your camera. It was a delight to meet you guys!

Wait a minute.

Susan,

That itsy-bitsy teenie-weenie camera you showed me took the video? That’s incredible.

Susan,

Your enthusiasm for learning all things ultralight was a lot of fun. You captured the joy of learning we all had as beginners and serves as a good reminder that is how we all should continue to listen and learn.

I am confident you’ll have a smooth and light transition in fun in the woods.

Thanks for a great memento.

Susan,

After a long day at work, it was a joy to watch your video.

Hope that you can make it out to future GGGs and post up videos.

Photos are nice, but video is sooo much nicer to get a feel for the gear and to have a perspective of how they might work for someone else.

Great work and it is clear to see and hear that you were having a blast out there.

Thanks for the shared memories.

Tony

Thanks for posting this lovely video (but I’m so glad I was mostly unaware that you were filming when we were chatting)  It really does capture the spirit of the GGG, as well as your joy in discovering all the bits of knowledge from everyone (you were definitely speed-learning UL bping!).  Like Rex’s video last year, it was a great way to relive the experience.

Susan,

Your video was amazing! Loved it! Thank you very much for making and posting it.

Was surprised and pleased that I made it onto the video, since I was only there from 10 p.m Friday to 4 p.m. Saturday. Looking forward to seeing you next year and connecting more deeply.

I just wanted thank you guys for the kind words about the video.  And for being the “stars” of the show.  I really learned a lot from everyone.

I am also enjoying all the photos you guys have shared.  Special thanks to Tony.  You are a great photographer.  And your write up has so much detail to refer to.  Plus I picked up a few more names, which is nice.

Both Matt and I came home really enthused and wanting to plan our next trip.  We may find some great trails out there, but it was the camaraderie that made it so much fun.  Thanks again.

Soooo cute…march of the little people!

Really glad that the GGG has evolved into something that is family friendly…not that it never was, but people have made a point of asking if there will be other kids attending and for parents making a point of bring out their families.

Kristin….thanks for sharing the photos as what I am showing is simply one limited view of what happened at the GGG.

Good to have different perspectives….share your photos!

Tony