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RE: [pct-l] pct through-hike questions, equipment list; some thou ghts



brian,

thanks for the comments and suggestions!

my thought on the bivy sack is to start with it and the tarp and the
ground sheet, and then see what works the best.  then mail back whatever
component i don't really need.  i should have written that.

on the stove, i'm surprised there is a lighter stove/fuel combination.
the energy content of butane/propane is the highest i know of, and the
stove itself weighs only 3.5 oz.  the fuel canisters do not add much.  so
i think this is the lightest combination.  fwiw, at less than a pound for
stove + fuel for 3 days, it is 1/2 the weight of ray jardine lists in his 
book.  more days makes it even more attractive because the high
btu/gram of propane/butane.  also, how do you deal with mailing pourable
fuels? the "440g" was for stove plus 215g of fuel (the stove itself is
about 100g, the canister is about 125g empty).

on the umbrella, i used one a lot hiking in rural india -- and so did the
locals.  i've been an umbrella fan since.

on the pastic trowel i go back and forth.  you've got me convinced  --
i'll leave it behind.

on the compass, my watch has time/altimeter/compass, so i'm set there.  (i
find the altimeter more useful than the compass.)

> > 23   small swiss army knife w/ light
> 	[Robinson, Brian A]  Does this model have the little scissors?
> They're quite useful.

yes, i couldn't go far w/o them.

> > 22   plain plastic cup
> 	[Robinson, Brian A]  Can you eat out of the pot?

yes, but i like to cook pasta sauces, pour the sauce into the cup, then
boil the water/pasta, drain, pour cooked sauce on top.  how do you do this
w/o another container?

also, i like to incrementally make things in the morning.  

perhaps i should just figure out how to do w/o it.  one fewer things to
clean.
 
> > 18   bag w/ 7 Q-tips, 8 capsules, 12 200mg Ibuprofen
> 	[Robinson, Brian A]  Vitamins?

yes, i'm taking vitamins.  there are not part of my dry weight, however.
i count them with the 1000g of food per day.

> 	[Robinson, Brian A]  Add some 100% DEET bug repellant.  Nasty stuff,
> but it works.  Also, don't forget your favorite blister repair stuff and a
> little athlete's foot cream.

yes, thanks!  the containers that deet seems to come in seem to large and
heavy.  i was hoping to find some smaller, but leakproof, container.

> 	[Robinson, Brian A]  Do you have poles for your tarp?  I use
> telescoping trekking poles.

hmmm, perhaps i should add this.

> 	[Robinson, Brian A]  I believe most people can get under 15 pounds
> of base gear.  (I don't count food; water; fuel; things like shoes, shorts
> and trekking poles that are never in your pack; or the cold weather stuff
> for the Sierra and northern Washington.)

215g (7.6 oz) of the above is fuel, so i'm a little closer than it might
seem.

> > ice axe (ligher than the one i have, for the first month)?
> 	[Robinson, Brian A]  Don't count this in your base pack weight.  If
> it's a normal snow year, pick it up in Kennedy Meadows and drop it off in
> Tuolumne Meadows.)

great advice!

> 	[Robinson, Brian A]  Add a list of things you'll be wearing all the
> time.  Don't count these as base weight, but don't leave them home either!

that's lower down in my email.

> 	[Robinson, Brian A]  You'll need better protein sources than most
> people can get out of vegetarian food.  25 miles per day breaks down the
> body and you must eat lots of high quality protein for repair.  Even
> hard-core vegetarians almost always lapse during their thru-hikes.  Your
> cravings for meat should not be ignored.

ok.  i do plan amino acid tablets, rice, beans of various sorts.  but
perhaps i should look into this more.

> 	[Robinson, Brian A]  A necessity!  I had spontaneous buy offers in
> Yosemite.  I should have brought an extra! ;-)

ok, it's in.

brian, thanks for the great suggestions (many i deleted in this reply just
to save space).

	rob


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