Rogue River Trail Fastpacking List

[Bri W]

Tomorrow I’m leading a few friends from my running group on a fastpacking trip along the beautiful 42-mile Rogue River Trail in Southern Oregon. Nearly everyone is injured, so we will be taking it relatively slow (3 days, 2 nights). The first day we will be running and speed hiking approximately 24 miles. The other two days we will play by ear and try to enjoy the scenery, swim holes, waterfalls, and easy milage. :)

Here is the link to my gear list, as well as a photo of my gear laid out, because those are always cool. ;) (a few changes were made after I took the photos)

I am testing out Yama Mountain Gear’s new Sassafras Pack. Also, my sleep system is a new build by Nunatak Gear. I love my winter Raku, and wanted to try something similar for my summer SUL/fastpacking/overnight ultra race trips, so Nunatak built me an impeccable short-sleeved Raku made with 42(o) APEX in the torso and 50(o) APEX in the arms, hood, and legs. The shell is  Robic 7d waterproof breathable fabric, and the liner is 0.66 Membrane. The hood looks more like the Skaha hoodie than the Raku hood, and I asked for the arms to have short sleeves. Essentially, this piece of gear will not only serve as a sleeping bag, but also as a waterproof bivy (eventually I’ll seam seal it) and my insulation piece. For added warmth, at night I will be coupling it with VBL clothes (which double as rain gear). So there it all is! Can’t wait to see how it goes!

 

 

[Bri W]

Also, I forgot to mention that I’ll be cold soaking some of my food, but doing hot food for most of the meals. Our group is bringing two stoves, so I will actually get the luxury of warm food this trip!

Not shown in the pic is my iPhone 7s. I’ll be the photographer for the trip, hence the need for the solar panel to charge my camera/phone.

[Ralph Burgess]

A couple of thoughts.-

An iPhone battery will easily last 3 days even if you’re frequently taking photos.   Constant GPS usage is the only thing that would kill it more quickly.   Are you familiar with how to set it up for minimal battery usage?   With the current OS you leave Airplane Mode switched on the whole time, since it does not turn off the GPS chip.  Location Services on/off toggles the GPS chip, which uses significant power.   Turn off location services completely when not using GPS, and disable location services for all apps other than GAIA or whatever you use.

If you’re still worried about battery life – the weight of your solar panel and cable is more than an iPhone.   It might be a better use of that weight to take a second phone, then you have a completely independent backup that would also cover things like dropping your phone in a river or breaking it.

For 6oz you could take a Hexamid tarp, and not be miserable if it rains, if the forecast isn’t completely clear for 48 hours.

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