[pct-l] Trip Report / Ultralight hiking (long)

["Mayer, Jim" <JMayer@crt.xerox.com>]

[Note: I posted this earlier this week on the AT-L -- JLM]

Hi all,

This is sort of a two threaded note.  Partly it is a trip report for a
circuit I made of the Black Forest Trail in north central Pennsylvania.  The
rest, and the part that may interest folks the most, is a report on the gear
I used.  I've been flirting with ultralight hiking for a year or so now and
I recently bit the bullet, decided I'd never get around to making much of my
own gear, and decided to try out Lynne Whelden's "One Pound Series".

The short answer is that Lynne's approach works very, very well.  My
starting pack weight, INCLUDING seven pounds of food and two liters of
water, was under 25 pounds.  I didn't skimp a whole lot either... I took a
fairly full first aid kit (about 7-8 oz), a mid weight fleece, cooking gear,
a repair kit, a water filter.  I did skimp on rain gear (I took a water
resistant shell) but made it through nearly 24 hours of rain and
temperatures in the 40's.  I had some construction problems with the pack
(they'll show up in the trip report), but I am happy to say that Lynne
promptly and cheerfully sent me a new one.  Since none of the failures had
anything to do with the lightweight materials Lynne uses, I am assuming that
whoever sewed my pack was having a bad day.

Anyway, here is the trip report.  After the trip report I'll include a rough
gear list and a small "lessons learned" section.

The Black Forest Trail is a 42 mile (maybe 43 mile) loop.  It is pretty
rugged by north central PA trail standards, and has lots of relatively short
ups and downs.  The area was originally a plateau, and is now deeply
furrowed by hollows... which the trail delights in dipping in and out of.
There are some lovely outlooks and one or two places that are almost, but
not quite, scrambles.

My plan was to start slightly off the trail, hike most of it solo, then join
up with a group from my local Adirondak Mountain Club (ADK) chapter.  I
started Wednesday, June 16, 1999.

Friday, 18 June 1999:

It's just before 11:00 AM on the third day of this trip.  I'm at a beautiful
lookout just past mile 5 -- too pretty not to stop.  I'm trying to dry out
some stuff as well, as most of my clothes got pretty wet yesterday.  There
are a pair of Turkey Buzzards catching thermals and they are pretty to
watch.  The sun is coming from behind me, so the far side of the valley is
all lit up.

[Note: I start writing about the first day of the trip]

I got in a little before two on Wednesday and went about 8 miles.  I would
have gone on another couple of hours but I noticed that a seam on my pack
was pulling -- a manufacture's defect -- so I sewed it up with dental floss.
I saw to interesting animals today: a ruffed grouse which seemed to charge
me (ruffed out feathers and all), and a buck making a "wooshing" sound that
I'd associate more with a train than a deer.

The ultralight getup worked extremely well (except for the pulled seam) and
was very comfortable to carry.  The tarp rigs easily and makes a great space
with the side pull-outs, and the ground sheet with the foot pocket is a
thing of genius.  The blanket is OK -- it would have been better for me if
it was a bit wider and longer [Note: I'm 6'2" tall and weigh a little over
200 pounds].  The concept is fine, though I think a summer bag may be
adaptable over a wider range of temperatures.  Still, it got down in the
40's Wednesday  night (it rained too) and I was OK (though I added my fleece
in the night).

It was rainy and cold nearly all day Thursday.  I saw another grouse (a
female this time, doing a broken wing routine).  I hiked about 16 miles --
the light weight made the miles easy and, besides, it was too cold and nasty
to want to stay anywhere for long.  I finally ended up hiking with a coolmax
T-shirt, a nylon shirt, my fleece, and my windbreaker.  The fleece got quite
wet in spots, which I didn't like.  Perhaps a real light weight rain coat is
in my future!  The night was cold, rainy, and wet again.  I was warm enough
without my fleece, but just barely.

I stopped at most of the vistas on Thursday.  They were wonderful -- great
moving masses of cloud with tendrils of fog rising up out of the valleys.
Sometimes I couldn't see across the valley, but other times I could make out
the hills peaking out of the mists.

Friday started off cold.  I slept about twelve hours and then sat around for
a bit dreading to put on my wet clothes.  Oh -- I had some chaffing
yesterday, and I changed to running shorts under my slacks [Note: instead of
compression shorts].  Luckily the day turned pretty so my stuff will have a
chance to dry out... all except my socks and shoes -- wet blueberries make
that hopeless!

I saw a doe as I was walking and stopped before she saw me and bolted.  She
knew something was over my way, but continued browsing for about five
minutes before wandering off.

I love the smell of sweet fern and blueberry (it reminds me of New
Hampshire).  Also, the Mountain Laurel are in bloom.

[Note: well, that was as far as I got on keeping a journal.  I'll fill in
notes for the rest of the trip]

My original plan was to meet up with the ADK group on Saturday around noon,
but I reached the rendezvous point around 20 hours early!  I decided to hike
back to my car (three or four miles) and meet up with the group at the state
park where they planned to stay Friday night.  The hike back to the car was
on a cross country ski trail (not the BFT) and was all on the plateau.
Partway down I discovered another problem with my pack... the right shoulder
strap was partially detached.  Luckily, the shoulder strap is attached with
three bar tacks, and only one gave way.  I also managed to route myself on
to a side trail... I was supposed to be following blue circles, and ended up
following blue rectangles instead!  I reached my car around 6:00 after a
roughly 17 mile day.

I thought hard about bailing out because of the shoulder strap problem, but
after the trip leader and I looked at the strap we decided it would probably
hold.  Also, there is a load lifter like strap that could hold things in an
emergency.

The rest of the trip was fun but uneventful.  I was a bit cool Saturday
night because I was sleeping right on an old forest road near a stream.  I
was warm enough on top, but I could feel my warmth leaking away right
through my pad.  I need to remember to scrape up some dry leaves to add some
insulation.

We finished up quite early on Sunday and headed back to Rochester.  All in
all, a very nice trip.

---------------- Gear ------------------

[Note: I may well have left some items out]

"One Pound Series" pack (see http://members.tripod.com/lwgear).
"One Pound Series" blanket
"One Pound Series" tarp
Tyvek ground sheet
mesh ditty bag
medium stuff sack
large stuff sack (for food)

[Note: the above gear was purchased from Lynne Whelden]

Z-Rest pad (3/4 length)
Pure Pioneer filter
Polartec 200 jacket
Polyester microfiber windbreaker
repair kit (rubber bands, paper clips, fire starter, matches, Polar Pure,
needles & thread, etc.)
first aid kit
mid weight long underwear top and bottom
two pair wool socks
two bandannas
eyeglass cleaning kit [1/2 bandanna & liquid]
fleece hat
8 Easton aluminum tent stakes (about 1/2 oz each... these are great -- I've
never bent one).
50' bear bag line
100' Kelty "Triptease" line [for rigging tarp]
1 liter soda bottle
1 liter Nalgene Lexan bottle [Note: threads onto water filter]
"Shit kit" [orange trowel, TP, wash'n dries]
Stuff [hand sanitizer, aloe vera gel, toothbrush, stim-u-dents, baking soda
[for toothpaste],
	1/2 comb, etc.]
Headnet
Food
0.9 liter Evernew titanium pot
Home made alcohol stove, stand, windscreen, lighter, etc.
8 oz denatured alcohol in a small Nalgene bottle
compression shorts [I tried these to prevent chafing... I found that I just
chaffed in a
	slightly different place... equally uncomfortably].

[Note: all of the above was carried INSIDE the pack.  The following stuff
was worn]

Wide brimmed cotton hat [like a Tilley hat, but cheaper.  Despite being
cotton,
	it works well as both a sun hat and a rain hat].one pair lighter
coolmax socks
	[Note: my shoes fit better with these than the wool socks, and I
ended up wearing
	them for the whole trip].
Running shorts
Supplex long pants
Coolmax t-shirt
Nylon shirt
New Balance 801AT trail runner shoes

------------- Things I didn't bring ----------------

I usually use a pair of hiking poles, but though I brought them with me I
decided to leave them in the car.  Not taking the poles worked very well.  I
can report that 40 pounds with poles is easier to carry than 40 pounds
without poles, and that 25 pounds without poles is easier to carry than 40
pounds with poles.  I felt so sure footed and light on my feet with the low
weight and running shoes that I will not take them on future ultralight
trips.

I also decided (again at the last moment) not to bring camp shoes.  I
usually bring Walmart brand fake Teva's, but decided that since I was
wearing running shoes I didn't need them.  This worked OK, though cold, wet,
shoes are cold, wet, shoes no matter what kind they are!

-------------- Lessons Learned ---------------

Hiking "ultralight" felt more like day hiking than backpacking.  Lynne's
pack doesn't even have a hipbelt, and I never missed it for a moment [though
I kept reaching down to undo a phantom buckle before taking the pack off!]
In my opinion, Ray Jardine is right when he says that hip belts tend to
immobilize the hips.  I found myself swinging my hips to lengthen my stride
and did just fine.  The pack stayed right on my back and I never felt like
it was going to flop off somewhere.

A Z-Rest pad doesn't provide a whole lot of insulation.  Therefore it works
a lot better on duff or leaves than on bare ground.  I find foam pads quite
comfortable, but have noticed that they are an acquired taste.  The only
good thing to come out of my 6 month ongoing divorce so far is the ability
to sleep comfortably on floors.  When I first tried to sleep on a foam pad I
found that I had to sleep on my back (my arm would fall asleep if I tried to
sleep on my side).  Now I can sleep comfortably in any position, though I
haven't the foggiest idea of why that should be so.

Lynne's "blanket" is really cut for someone a bit smaller than me sleeping
on their back.  It works well enough for me, but if I ever learn to sew I
may try making a slightly bigger one.  Lynne can have larger ones made, but
they obviously weigh more.

Lynne's tarp is great.  It is made from parachute cloth (like Jack
Stephenson's tents and Integral Design's "Sil Tarp") and has exactly the
right tie outs.  It provided me with a light weight, well ventilated,
extremely roomy, shelter.  Since I didn't bring hiking poles, I used Ray
Jardine's trick of looking for appropriate sticks on my way into camp.
Also, occasionally I'd tie one end to a tree.

I've tentatively decided that my fleece will join my long underwear and one
pair of spare socks on my list of "things that I will not get wet."  Yes, it
dries quickly.  Yes, you can shake out much of the water.  But I don't want
to sleep in damp fleece if I can help it!  For now I'll carry my coated
nylon rain jacket and, sooner or later, I'll make myself a rain shirt out of
parachute cloth or buy one from Jack Stephenson.

I liked the PUR Pioneer filter.  It threads directly onto a Nalgene bottle.

For water, I carried both a one liter pop bottle and a one liter Nalgene
Lexan bottle.  As most know, the Nalgene bottles are pretty hefty.  My
current system is to mostly drink from the pop bottle.  I filter into the
Nalgene bottle and pour from it into the pop bottle.  One advantage of the
Nalgene bottle is that I can use it to hold hot liquids (e.g. to warm up a
sleeping bag on a cool night).  I also use it to measure water for cooking,
though I could add measurement lines to the pop bottle if I wanted to.

Bugs were not a problem on this trip.  There were a few, and I did use my
headnet some nights, but they were not heavy.  I plan to try Ray Jardine's
idea of "mittens" and "booties" in conjuction with a headnet, long sleeved
shirt, and long pants.  The "mittens" and "booties" are made of nylon cloth
and, together with the other stuff, make a set of "bug proof" clothing for
hot nights.  Since I haven't tried that system yet, I can't comment on it.

--------------------

All in all, the ultralight approach worked really well for me on this trip.
The next weekend I went on an ADK trip and things worked equally well
(though since my pack was on its way back to Lynne I somehow stuffed
everything into a 2000 cubic inch daypack.  It was a tight fit!).

I don't know how to describe the difference, other than to say that by
carrying less I felt really free.  It just felt good.

Happy hiking.

-- Jim Mayer
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