JMT Gear List 2016 – SOBO in July

[Heather G.]

This is my current gearlist.

It still needs some adjusting, and there are a few things that are still undecided (contents of first aid kit, should I bring a battery in addition to my solar charger, etc.). Is it worth bringing a trekking umbrella for sun/rain protection for the JMT in July? Also, should I bring rain pants?

[Matthew / BPL]

I did not have a positive experience charging my iPhone 6 with my Suntactics S5 on the JMT last June/July. I found it only worked under perfectly ideal settings.

I also found myself too tired to care much about cooking. Next time I do the JMT I will do mostly no-cook meals and I’ll bring a very light mug with a few esbit tablets for when the mood strikes.

I was warm on an R3.9 Women’s XLite. Unless you get really cold I think the XTherm might be too warm/heavy.

I used a Duplex  no need for a groundsheet. Save the time and weight.

I used Sawyer 64 ounce bags. Filtering turned into a real chore and often forced us to take breaks where we didn’t want to stop. We will do a UV filter so we can zap and go. This would save 30-45 minutes per day allowing us to go farther or take breaks in pretty spots rather than next to the creek.

I used my headlamp for all of maybe 10 minutes the entire trip. I know prefer a AAA flashlight with a clip onto the bill of my hat.

I’d renter or buy a Bearikade. You can sell it when you get back for almost full price.

I won’t take my Vivos next time. I got over my fear of wet feet on the JMT. I only wore them at Bear Creek and Evolution Creek.

Be sure you optimize your food. There’s lots of good info on the Yahoo JMT Group written by John Ladd. I can share my food choices with you if you’d like.

[Matthew / BPL]

Oh. Forget the rain pants. Go with a skirt. So much Easier to don/doff and works as a little tarp which can be handy.

[Matthew / BPL]

Our gear lists are very similar…

i wore my BRC hat one evening for only a few minutes. I’ve since upgraded my puffy to one with a hood. I don’t think you need a hat if you have a hood and a buff.

[Kenneth Keating]

+1 on the rain skirt.  Much lighter and easier to put on. Plus you can use it as a ground tarp to place the backpack and other items during packing an unpacking. I would’t bring an umbrella.

I like your list, very similar to mine also, except I have the duplex.  A hat for the sun is highly recommended.

Are you going alone or with others?  If others, you may want to change out the Sawyer mini with the regular with a gravity fed system.  The regular is less prone to becoming slow and the gravity feed will allow much faster filtering, 1 L/Min as opposed to 1L/5 Min.

I didn’t see maps.  You really won’t need phone for GPS as the trail is well marked, but it is fun to use.  The maps allow you see so much more of the surrounding area. The Tom Harrison maps work great for this.

For the Triplex, lengthen the guys with 36″ guy line extensions with micro-locks.  This will allow you a lot of different options when above treeline with hard soil as it allows easy use of rocks in lieu of stakes..

For the cooking system, you may want to considered a Trail Designs Caldera Sidewinder Cone, 0.9 Evernew Pot with the Zelph StarLyte alcohol stove.  Easy to use, can’t really fail unless you step on it, and easy to pack.

For the gloves, I’d recommend also bringing Zpacks rain mitts. For me these have come in very handy to keep my hands dry during thunderstorms.

I agree with Matt on the Bearikade, much lighter than the others and the resale value is great.

K

 

[Heather G.]

Thank you for looking my gear list over! I’m probably ditching the rain pants and vivo shoes (I didn’t bring them last summer when I hiked in Sequoia, and I got rained on every day). I’ve decided not to bring my groundsheet for sure (rips too easily). I’m considering going stoveless, so I’m definitely interested in seeing food options that don’t require cooking!

[Heather G.]

I have the Tom Harrison JMT maps and a compass (forgot to add to the list). I also put the micro line-locs on my tent for greater pitching flexibility (highly recommended to all the others out there who have a duplex or triplex). I’m definitely going to purchase rain mitts so my hands don’t get wet/cold. I’ll check out the one you suggested. I’ll look into a rain skirt, too. Thank you!

[Matthew / BPL]

Seriously I love Harmony House Instant Hummus so much. Add lots of olive oil for calories and some cayenne or a True Lemon packets for variation. We had dinner just past the Evoluton Creek water crossing with hummus, olive oil, lemon, sunflower seeds and wild onions on tortillas. It may be the most enjoyable dinner of my life.

For hot meals I had instant polenta with some FD veggies and olive oil. I had some couscous but it didn’t appeal.

I had a ridiculous amount of Honey Stinger Waffles and Larabars. Those were both a win.

I got extremely sick of Superfiod Slam Probars. #neveragain

Next time I’ll bring more salami, sesame sticks, sunflower seeds, raw/roasted cashews and corn nuts. I craved salty more than sweet.

Tuna foli packs were great. I only brought a couple. A trail friend we hiked with a lot would eat a tuna foil pack with olive oil, crushed Triscuits and macadamia nuts. It’s a delicious combo.

I’LL bring some protein shakes next time.

[Matthew / BPL]

I liked the Nat Geo JMT book more than the Harrison map set. Roleigh Martin has an exhaustive review of the different map sets on trailtosummit.com.

[Jennifer Mitol]

Unlike Matthew, I LOVED my suntastics-5 for my iPhone 5.  As a matter of fact, all my companions borrowed my suntastics at lunch stops every day to charge THEIR iPhones.

I even had good luck on the CT this past summer with tons of clouds – i was able to top up my phone at breaks and other stops, and I kept my delorme plugged into it during the day and it never lost juice even while tracking.

Yes on the umbrella.  I’ll never hike in deserts without it (and the sierra is a high desert).

Ditch the rain pants.  Just get a kilt – works as a great ground cloth for breaks and in your vestibule as well.

 

[Link .]

I think the xtherm is a good idea, I am a woman and I know I can get cold easier than the men I’ve hiked with.I had one friend that did the JMT and saved weight by bringing her xlite instead of her xtherm and regretted it, so go with what you are comfortable with, there is not that much difference in weight if you know that it will give you a better nights sleep.

[Matthew / BPL]

@jennifer – I wonder if the difference is my iPhone 6 vs your iPhone 5? Maybe the minimum input voltage is higher on the 6? I remember a slightly hazy day along Bubbs creek and the phone kept kicking on and off. I was like 99% sun. Other days the phone would kick on and off if the panel was not exactly perpendicular to the sun. Off axis 10 or 20° and I would not be able to charge.

Sorry to derail…

[Jennifer Mitol]

Yeah Matthew I wondered that, too.  My friends also had older-model phones and we could go from 20% to 100% in mostly sunny over a short 20 min lunch break.

If I kept it on my pack then it would click on and off and would take longer, but generally speaking I didn’t charge the phone on the go, just my delorme or my nook (which was great).

I’m sure some other electronics nerdy type can help us out here to see if there might be a difference between older and newer model iPhones…..

Or perhaps I just have an overall SUNNIER personality than you do????!!!!!!

[Matthew / BPL]

FWIW the S5 charged my InReach and two MP3 players like a champ.

[Don Burton]

I like your set up. I’m planning on doing the JMT this July also.

What about dropping the solar charger and you portable battery for 2 or 3 of these batteries?

uNu

These uNu chargers are 5000mAh and weigh 1oz. In theory, you could have 15000mAh for 3 oz. I have one coming in the mail so I’m going to verify the weight and performance. Not sure if it will but I can return it through Amazon easily enough if it doesn’t.

I’m not sure what your pace will be but I’m going to bring a BV450 at 33 oz. I can fit 4-5 days worth of food in there if I repackage meals. I’m planning on getting to Whitney Portal in 5 days after leaving MTR.

[Heather G.]

I’ll keep the X-therm, and likely will take the solar charger. I’m very interested in the uNu charger though, it seems much lighter than what I have! I’m bringing the bigger BearVault because it’s what I already have, and I’m probably going to spend 15-17 days on the trail. Thank you for all the input everyone, it has been really helpful.

[Matthew / BPL]

The Unu charger looks promising. If it’s as light as it claims you could take four or five of those for the weight of the S5.

If you plan to charge a battery from the S5 you should verify the minimum input amperage the battery needs for charging. My 6500mah Anker battery would not charge off the panel because it needed needed slightly more amps (or volts? I’m not an engineer). I figured this out when I talked to tech support at Anker last spring… Anyhow, test it. My Anker 3300mah battery charged fine off the panel.

Sorry to derail this into battery-talk but it was my one gear disappointment on the trail…

[eric schultz]

” I’ll keep the X-therm, and likely will take the solar charger.”

 

The X-therm is what my wife is using on the JMT this July.  It is wonderful.  The S5 is awesome.  I have not used it on a trip, I got it this Christmas.  I did charge all the devices we will take on the JMT.  The devices tested included:

Delorme In Reach, 2 Petzl tikka r+, 2 anker power +mini( one of two battery companies recommended by suntactics , my 2 kid’s Iphones 5(camera) and my wife’s phone (Samsung s5?).  I like the durability and weight of it for a trip this long.  All the devices listed were tested in my backyard in sunny AZ.  The charging times were close to them being charged in wall outlet while in the direct sun.

Thanks

Eric

[Don Burton]

I received my Unu Superpak i2 portable battery. Their website lists it as 1 oz for 5000mAh.  I knew it was too good to be true. I could tell the minute I got it out of the packaging. Turns out to be 4.5 oz. :( I returned it and have an email to the company asking if there is a new version that is the specified weight or if this was a typo. Oh well. Too bad.

[Matthew / BPL]

I was skeptical of the 1 ounce weight. Inside of the case it’s just a couple standard cells… All the brands are similar weights.

Ive notice that Anker seems to get extremely good reviews on Amazon and their their circuitry is more efficient than many brands. I’ve had a great experience with the 3350 lipstick and the 6700 charger (except that the 6700 can’t charge off the S5…)

[Heather G.]

Oh no! I was wondering how it could possibly be so light, and was going to order one soon. Thanks for letting all of us know!

[Brando Sancho]

Contrary to what was said above, I personally LOVED cooking on the JMT. That warm Mountain House lasagna was the sh*t after a long day.

[Ben C]

I think you have a lot of excess water-carrying capacity.  The JMT is full of water.

You have a pack liner so there is no need for a dry sack for your clothes.  You may still need one for all those electronics.

My friends took the Suntactics on the JMT last summer with very good success.  I had an extra battery that worked fine in my Samsung also.

I would leave the camp shoes at home.

I prefer a light, long sleeve knit shirt, such as the OR Echo.  The sun is brutal up there and sleeves will cut down on the amount of sunscreen you need to apply daily.  Keep some sunscreen or gloves for your hands even with the long shirt.

That’s a lot more electronics than I would carry.  I like to keep it a little simpler on the trail.  Just a preference.

I wouldn’t bother with the extra shirt.  Two shirts are going to smell also.

[Heather G.]

Should I use a groundsheet? I don’t have a usable one right now (accidentally ripped it on my last trip), and was thinking that perhaps I don’t need to use one. However, I don’t want to damage the bottom of my tent (not sure how likely that is?).

[Matthew / BPL]

Your Triplex has a very durable floor. I don’t think you need a groundsheet. You’d need a heavy one to provide any meaningful protection. Just take some ZPacks cuben repair tape just in case something happens.

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