Backpacking

[Bo Diddley]

Nice!

[bluegoose]

That looks awesome, BP. Glad you didn't die.

[Joe Public]

Nice. That looks like a lot of fun.

[Clark Addison]

Nice. That looks like a lot of fun.

disagree

[Paperback Writer]

disagree

+1. When hiking/backpacking, I have a rule of "No Ropes". However, backpacking in Southern Utah is on the bucket list so I've been doing some research on places to go that don't require much risk and have adequate water. I'll probably backpack solo so need to have a good idea of what I will be facing so I don't end up in an Aron Ralston situation. In retirement, my plan is to backpack lower elevations like Southern Utah in Spring and Fall and hike up to the higher elevations like the San Juans in the Summer.

I do envy those with the skills to rappel or otherwise access remote and scenic locations.

[BigPiney]

+1. When hiking/backpacking, I have a rule of "No Ropes". However, backpacking in Southern Utah is on the bucket list so I've been doing some research on places to go that don't require much risk and have adequate water. I'll probably backpack solo so need to have a good idea of what I will be facing so I don't end up in an Aron Ralston situation. In retirement, my plan is to backpack lower elevations like Southern Utah in Spring and Fall and hike up to the higher elevations like the San Juans in the Summer.

I do envy those with the skills to rappel or otherwise access remote and scenic locations.

That’s a good rule. If I wasn’t with someone that I completely trust, no way I do that stuff. Even so, setting anchors around trees before rappelling 130 ft is still really scary. I wish I would have taken pictures of all the anchors. They took a long time to set up due to the redundancy and thinking everything through about ten times.

also you have to rig it so you can pull the rope down with you at the end otherwise you are not stuck on a cliff. Most times we could pull the anchors down after too for the whole leave no trace thing.

[smokymountainrain]

i'd share my #1 rule about hiking/backpacking, but i'm fairly certain bp is already very familiar with it and it wouldn't be helpful to him at all.

[BigPiney]

Proposed route for this year. https://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=7664719

the first 10 miles on trail and then the last 12 or so on a lightly used trail witha few miles sprinkled in here and there. 50 total miles in 5+days. I love cross country travel in the Sierra.

My wife took my daughters up last weekend to Lamarck Lakes and the Wonder Lakes Basin. They had a 1 great day with no trail. less then 2 miles of hiking and they were in some amazing wilderness.

[Pelado]

Proposed route for this year. https://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=7664719

the first 10 miles on trail and then the last 12 or so on a lightly used trail witha few miles sprinkled in here and there. 50 total miles in 5+days. I love cross country travel in the Sierra.

My wife took my daughters up last weekend to Lamarck Lakes and the Wonder Lakes Basin. They had a 1 great day with no trail. less then 2 miles of hiking and they were in some amazing wilderness.

That looks like an awful lot of walking.

[BigPiney]

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That looks like an awful lot of walking.

We just had a planning meeting, and you are correct.

[BigPiney]

Took my family last weekend out in the White Mountains. Way different than the sierra. Very dry, but still some granite in the pocket we went to, and some nice bristlecone pines.

It was fun, but emphasised that we don't have enough good sleeping bags and that the zippers on our tents are sucking. I was able to do some repair on the zippers when we got back and I think I have those working. Also one of the sets of poles went all weird as the shock cord that bungees it all together, got super stretched out. I ordered some of that and it will come Friday, so more repairs to come. This is the same tent that my wife got for the John Muir Trail, so it probably has about 60+ nights of use.

The bigger issue is crappy sleeping bags. The one I was using is a Mountain Hardwear bag I bought 26 years ago. So after getting home I bought 3 new down bags and am going to try one of the backpacking quilts. I just hop I don't freeze. It only weighs 1 lb 3 oz, so if it works for summer camping it will be awesome. Was 1/2 price at REI over the weekend, so I am hoping it does the job.

But back to the trip. Other than the drive taking a while and the road being pretty rough 4wd it was great. The loop wasn't too long and we didn't see anyone the whole hike.





Old Cow Camp:



Bristlecones:

[falafel]

Looks hot.

[Northwestcoug]

Looks like a unique hike.

Please estimate the age of that last tree please.

[BigFatMeanie]

Took my family last weekend out in the White Mountains. Way different than the sierra. Very dry, but still some granite in the pocket we went to, and some nice bristlecone pines.

It was fun, but emphasised that we don't have enough good sleeping bags and that the zippers on our tents are sucking. I was able to do some repair on the zippers when we got back and I think I have those working. Also one of the sets of poles went all weird as the shock cord that bungees it all together, got super stretched out. I ordered some of that and it will come Friday, so more repairs to come. This is the same tent that my wife got for the John Muir Trail, so it probably has about 60+ nights of use.

The bigger issue is crappy sleeping bags. The one I was using is a Mountain Hardwear bag I bought 26 years ago. So after getting home I bought 3 new down bags and am going to try one of the backpacking quilts. I just hop I don't freeze. It only weighs 1 lb 3 oz, so if it works for summer camping it will be awesome. Was 1/2 price at REI over the weekend, so I am hoping it does the job.

A leader had a quilt on our YM camp activity last week. I couldn't believe how light it was. I sleep way hot at night already and I hate the constricted space of a sleeping bag. In the past I've often just unzipped the bag and put it on top of me and used it like a quilt. I don't go camping/backpacking when the temps drop below 30 so I'm not worried about getting too cold. I'm going to get a quilt for the next YM camp activity (end of July in the Uintahs).

[BigPiney]

A leader had a quilt on our YM camp activity last week. I couldn't believe how light it was. I sleep way hot at night already and I hate the constricted space of a sleeping bag. In the past I've often just unzipped the bag and put it on top of me and used it like a quilt. I don't go camping/backpacking when the temps drop below 30 so I'm not worried about getting too cold. I'm going to get a quilt for the next YM camp activity (end of July in the Uintahs).

I will let you know how it goes.

I got this one for $160 at the 4th of july sale.