High Sierra Trail to Whitney in 3 Weeks!!

[Bri W]

https://lighterpack.com/r/991ga3

This is my tentative gear list for my upcoming trip with my grandpa and brother. We will each be carrying our own food and water. My brother will have a steripen, my grandpa will have a pump, and I’ll have a Sawyer Mini Squeeze. We will be starting July 17 and we have 11 days to complete the trail (we’ll most likely complete it in 7-9 days, but we gave ourselves a few extra days in case we feel like taking it easy some days to recover/fish).

The starred items (**) include things I’m considering purchasing or already own but have not had the chance to weigh, so I’m including advertised weights.

Apparently I’m a very cold sleeper, so I’m likely going to be taking the Cuben quilt and the XTherm. I’ve been looking at a GG thinlight + nightlight torso for weight savings, but I’m worried they won’t be warm enough. I’m also not sure if I’ll need my Hoodlum since the quilt goes above my head, but for now it’s on the list. I haven’t yet tested out the Cuben quilt, but if it’s not that much warmer than my 20° Enigma, I’ll bring the 20° quilt for weight savings and add 6.55 oz. down pants and thicker Smartwool BLs.

I will be eating cold food only. I hate cooking and cleaning when I’m exhausted, so I’m okay with this decision. My grandpa and brother will be bringing stoves and fuel so if absolutely necessary I can bum a hot coffee off of them. :)

I’m still unsure of this, but I’m not going to bring rain pants or jacket, but instead just the poncho tarp. It’s huge on me, so it should provide good coverage. Thoughts?

Initially I was going to wear my Icebreaker hooded dress, but then that exposes my legs to sunburn, bugs, or cold. So I’m interested in convertible pants, and an Icebreaker hooded longsleeve for sun protection but still light enough for all day hiking. It’s the same material and thickness as my hiking dress. Thoughts on this? Should I bring my Tachyon wind pants too, or will the Ferrosi pants be sufficient?

Finally, I think I’ll have to buy a BV500, but I’d much prefer the smaller BV450. I don’t think that’ll be big enough for all of my food and my rehydrating container, though. Either way, it’ll most likely be strapped to the outside bottom of my pack for ease of access and so I can sit on it at rest stops.

Any redundancies? Suggestions? Ways to lose weight without making me cold?

P.S. There’s still a possibility I’ll bring my phone or camera, but I’ll need to lose some weight from my pack first to justify the 9ish oz. :)

P.P.S. My grandpa is carrying the map and bigger compass, and my brother is carrying the cribbage board and cards.

[Matthew / BPL]

just my $.02 but bear can down low sounds lie a really uncomfortable center of gravity.

 

[Matthew / BPL]

Is it too late to rent a weekender instead of the BV?

[Matthew / BPL]

And I’m going to beat a dead horse here but bring a second lamp for when your e+lite jams. Just a little LED keychain light.

[Jonathon Self]

I don’t have a lot of experience in alpine regions, but it looks okay to me. Given your previous thread on staying warm, I wouldn’t suggest going lighter on clothes nor would I suggest switching to the GG pads. I wouldn’t want to go much below freezing with the GG pads, and I sleep reasonably warm. If you were out for a day or two, I might suggest trying them, but 7+ days of cold sleep sounds pretty miserable.

As per clothes suggestions, going without wind pants if wearing long pants would be fine for me, that’s probably a personal call. However, I don’t think it’d hurt to bring the tachyon wind pants; they don’t weigh very much. And I’m unsure about the poncho, but I’d love to hear your experience with it post trip. I’m tentatively planning a trip to the Sierras next year, and I’m considering a poncho.

If you ignore the weight of the bear can, you’re rather light already. You might lose too much comfort if you go too sparse.

Sorry I couldn’t comment more in-depth!

[Art …]

am I missing something ?

you are bringing no rain jacket and no rain pants, and your only shelter is a whimpy poncho tarp ? is your quilt down or synthetic ?

if what I saw is true … why do so many people think they can get away with ” BEST CASE PLANNING ” in the Sierra. oh that’s right, it never storms in the Sierra in the summer.

if you were doing a fast 2 day push and the weather looked good, I’d say maybe. but you are planning on 9 days or so. sh$t happens.

I view my full rain suit as my backup shelter. but then I am one of those negative worst case planners.

[Jonathon Self]

Art, I’ve never been to the Sierra, but what sort of day-time temperature ranges are normal said time of year?  I might not have the correct assumption, but I thought averages in July were in the 60-80 range during daylight.

Given your statement, I should probably qualify my previous comment that given weather of my assumed range, I think what you’re planning to bring sounds sufficient, even in inclement weather, at least for me, especially given that one will hardly have to push for miles when allowing a week to complete the trail.

How common is it to drop in the 40s or so during the day and snow in the Sierra? I guess if it’s common, it should be something to plan for.

 

[Bri W]

Thanks! So the GG pads are much too cold. That’s good to know.

I can potentially rent a weekender, but my grandpa wants to buy my brother and me each a bear cannister as a gift and the BVs are a lot nicer on the wallet.

Art, my shelter is the Cuben bivy (water resistant) with Cuben down quilt (waterproof), and the tarp poncho for wet nights, mostly to keep the splash off. A lot of people on the forums backpack with a bivy/tarp set-up, so I wouldn’t call it wimpy, but to each his own. My grandpa will have a ZPacks Duplex, so if my shelter fails for some reason, I can always join him in his shelter. I also have a Borah Gear Snowyside (waterproof) that I’ve been contemplating bringing instead of the tarp/Cuben bivy option. However, this would not only be heavier (12.9 oz), but I’d also need to bring rain pants and jacket, adding another 10 oz. to the total weight. I also wouldn’t have the tarp to protect me while changing into dry clothes if it were still raining at bed time. I could certainly use my grandpa’s Duplex to change, but that’s not ideal. My hope was that if it rained hard and somehow got through to my clothes, the wool top will still be warm when wet and is light enough that it should dry quickly, and the Ferrosi pants would dry quickly. Sierra storms can come and go, or they can sustain. It just randomly dumped a bunch of snow on the PCTers this week! You never know. But I’m looking for hiking clothes that dry quickly and hoping to hear advice from someone who primarily uses a poncho. Bringing my rain pants and jacket is still an option, but the poncho covers past my knees and most of my arms, so I’m hopeful it’ll work sufficiently.

 

 

[Bri W]

I also have an umbrella, but I’ve been advised against bringing it because of the high winds in the Sierras, especially at elevation.

[Jonathon Self]

You could always bring the poncho plus the snowyside bivy. True, you don’t need the extra coverage, but it might be nice to have it, all the same, perhaps in lean-to style so you wouldn’t have to get in and out of the bivy in the rain. I’ve considered doing the same.

I lhave a poncho and love it, but have never used it in high elevation. Do you have a shock cord belt? At the very least I’d think that’s highly advisable.

[Bri W]

I do have a belt from old shock cord not being used. I was going to use Zline but that shock cord sounds like a better idea. Thanks!

If I’m bringing along the Snowyside, I’m leaving behind the tarp/poncho and just changing in my grandpa’s tent. I don’t have a lot of excess room because I only have the 45L Arc Blast and the bear bin and quilt will take up a lot of room.

I’m also trying to keep the base weight as low as I can because as awesome as the Arc Blast is, even with the lumbar pad it sits right on my surgical scar and bothers me. I’m still playing with adjusting the torso length, but for now I really don’t want to carry more than 20 lbs. With this heavy of a sleeping system + a bear bin, I’m starting to wonder if that’ll even be possible.

You bring up a good thought though: how will the poncho behave in high winds at elevation? I have a lot of risks vs. benefits weighing to do.

[Jonathon Self]

The poncho question in alpine environments is something I’ve considered for a while. Like I said, I don’t really visit alpine regions, but here’s my thoughts. Take them with an appropriate measure of cynicism.

I’d assume that the worst winds would be atop ridges or passes. Also, if there isn’t rain, then the poncho isn’t necessary; a wind shirt is fine. If my assumption is correct, then the worst time to wear a poncho in alpine regions is probably while its raining, during heavy winds, atop ridges or passes. Now, if I were in the Sierras, and I had a poncho, and weather turned bad, I’d probably hold off crossing over a ridge or pass until conditions improved, if possible. So as long as I wasn’t so pressed for time that I couldn’t delay my itinerary, I’d consider taking a poncho, given my assumption. It might be a misguided assumption, but I’m not sure if I can do better without experience.

Also, completely random, but I appreciate your love of bivying, as you’ve mentioned in another thread. It’s rare to find anyone who enjoys it. It’s just so cozy. :)

[Bri W]

That’s actually a good point I didn’t think of. If it does start raining on us while we’re above tree line, I’ll probably be paranoid of lightening and want to get lower very quickly.

Bivy camping/backpacking has been very enjoyable for me, except when animals trod along near my head. :) Otherwise, I agree; it’s very cozy

 

[Derek Weeks]

I backpack in the Sierra a lot and I think for me the unbrella is well worth the weight sure on some of the pass it’s windy, but I  always bring it backpacking!

[Lori P]

I bring an umbrella for alpine sun, which is intense, and the GoLight umbrella does splendid with gusty wind — regular cheapo umbrellas collapse and tear themselves apart.

It has snowed on me every month of the year in the Sierra. Yes, even during the drought. I have every year had to reroute high elevation legs of the journey because we looked up into the alpine and saw lightning. Beyond three days I do not trust the forecast — I have seen it plunge 30 degrees below forecast at night, and watched storms blow in when none was forecast, so I would not have just a poncho that is doubling as my shelter — if you have to pee, how many hours will you listen to the rain until you run out into it and get wet because your poncho is protecting your gear? Are you really good at pitching it that you trust it in a full rainstorm to shelter you adequately? I’ve watched bivy/tarp users turn into tent users over the years, because it does make a difference in comfort if there’s a real storm.

I use a poncho all the time — a Snugpak Patrol poncho, which is more like a really huge jacket that goes over the backpack. It doesn’t blow around.

[Bri W]

Lori P., you said you use your poncho all the time, but you’re advising that I don’t just bring my poncho. Do you think I should bring rain pants and jacket in addition to the poncho?

[Bri W]

I updated the list. I’ll now be sharing a tent with my grandpa in his Duplex (and he’s carrying it! Woo hoo!). As advised, I removed the tarp and added my Helium II rain pants and jacket. Still not sure if I’m bringing my umbrella. I updated my pack, since the Arc Blast just wasn’t cutting it (the Ti-Arc is insanely comfortable, btw). I added my down pants for camp time. I changed out my water purification system from the Sawyer Mini (mine cracked on a rock in the Sierras recently) to chemical treatment (less chance of damaging?). I updated a few weights. I added camp/River crossing sandals (I may remove these). I also added my sunglasses. And finally, I removed the XTherm and added the GG thinlight and nightlight pads. This latter change is just for discussion purposes, and may not be permanent. I wanted to get opinions first

Yes, I run extremely cold, but with my new 0° Cuben Epiphany Quilt with 30% overfill, I’m now OVER-heating! I’m definitely sweating more than expected, which I prefer so much more than shivering! I’ve only tested it out as low as 45°, but even then I found myself opening the quilt to let in cool drafts and draping my legs and arms off the side of my pad to cool off. Since I’ll be sharing a tent instead of sleeping in a bivy, that should add even more warmth. I thought a lower R value pad might cool me off enough to even out the over-heating. The comfort will decrease, but I might save weight and sweat less!

Thoughts on the updated list?

[Matthew / BPL]

I’d like to hear more about your experience with the Ti-Arc, particularly carrying a can. I’ve always been tempted by that pack.

[Bri W]

Matthew King, I’ll be hiking 12 miles to the peak of Mt. McLoughlin next week with the pack, the bv500, and 12-15 lbs. of weight. I’ll report back on its comfort some more. So far, it makes 16 lbs. feel like 6, and the BV500 fits under the pack perfectly. The lumbar pad is super cushioned, which makes my back very happy. The only discomfort I’ve found is the section of the shoulder harness that wraps around the back of my neck; it rubs a bit if the load lifter straps are super loose. But that seems minimal when everything is loaded and straps are all appropriately adjusted. I’ll probably write a more thorough review after my High Sierra trip in a few weeks.

[Lori P]

You missed the part where I don’t use a poncho for a shelter… I take a real shelter. If it rains I like being dry….

[Jonathon Self]

You have Ti-Arc? I have a weird, unrelated-to-topic question….

How would you describe the zipper quality? I generally dislike zippers because of they break at inopportune times, and for that reasons I’ve always swayed away from the Ti-Arc. I do love external frame packs, though.

Would really appreciate your thoughts.

[Bri W]

Lori P., do you just use your poncho, or do you also bring rain pants?

[Bri W]

Jonathon Self, I’ve never had problems with zippers other than on sleeping bags, but they appear to be waterproof YKK zippers. Even when I pack my bivy, tarp, and XTherm, I still have a lot of open space at the top (probably because all of my food is in the bear box which is outside the pack), but I imagine if it’s packed full, it might put some stress on the zippers. Despite being Cuben and having waterproof zippers, the pack is definitely going to need to be seam sealed or taped. I read somewhere on this forum that the ZPacks pack cover fits around it just fine, but I plan to tape mine anyway.

I’ve attached pics

[Bri W]

The day has arrived! We leave for the trailhead tonight and hopefully head out either tomorrow morning or the following, depending on permit availability. Here is the official and final list:

https://lighterpack.com/r/991ga3

Ti Arc seams are taped and it’s now waterproof, so I won’t be bringing a stuff sack for my Cuben quilt. I will have a HMG Stuff Pack for bagging Whitney, Muir, and Russell, but my grandpa didn’t have a dry bag for his sleeping bag and clothes, so he’s carrying the pack. No tarp needed because I’ll be joining my grandpa in his Duplex if it rains. Based on the suggestions here, I’m bringing rain pants and jacket, but I’ll be leaving behind the umbrella. I’m also leaving the XTherm and bringing a thinlight and a Klymit Inertia torso in order to help cool me down with the VBL quilt (who would’ve guessed I could be too warm backpacking!!). Those are the major changes. Thanks for all the help!

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