Hairbear, I absolutely loved it I don't think that this trek would have been possible for me with my standard 50 lbs. pack. I will now be going through the pack and eliminating anything that I didn't use on this trek. (Hacky Sack, Tire gauge, Chair...)Originally Posted by hairbear
Just let me know when you are feeling better and we can do a hike together.
will do my friend. Its coming along ,at least my leg isnt tingling any more.
certainly missed you on this one.!
"nature speaks in the silence between words"
www.mustexplore.blogspot.com
Waiting to take off on a business trip so i wanted to post up.
I won't add any pictures; the other guys have that covered; especially Skygzr.
I will comment on what worked and what didn't in my setup:
-left w/base weight at 8.25 lbs; light is nice, I mean really nice; swapped out to a 3/4 20 degree UQ the night before, added a long sleeve T, extra pair of socks, extra down pull over; smart; had just enough and not a single piece of clothing more
-Zpacks 40 degree sleeping bag made without a zipper; looks like any TQ and it's lighter than anyone out there; worth evey dime; packs light and incredibly small and it was plenty warm since it was used with a 20 degree UQ
-Gossamer Gear Murmer Backpack; best thing since peanut butter; this was my first use of it; was worried the shoulder strap padding was too little; worried the little ribbon of a waist belt wouldn't do any good; I was wrong, the tiny waist belt is actually functional and the pack carries like a dream; loved pulling out the foam in the "outside" back pocket to sit on and to put under my feet at night. This has to be one of the best ultralight backpacks currently on the market
-GoLite Trinity Rain Suite:Sorry guys but as I watched everyone's frog toggs and dry ducks fall apart and soak out on the first day I was glad I'd gotten this suit. They're $245 for the top, another $245 for the bottom and if you pay that you're insane; Skygzr tipped me off last year that they were on sale, I got the set for $120 total. Sound like too much? Well I walked three days in what was almost a permanent rain and never got wet. There was very little sweat build up inside of the suit and the cut and fit is great for hiking; the zipper is waterproof and the sleeves are cut long to fit down over your hand; it's fantastic. Dries super fast so the 2nd night I actually slept in it and since it was dry; again no problem with sweat build up but I was toasty warm...I felt back for the other guys but I was warm and dry under extreme conditions
-North Face Hedgehog shoes; FANTASIC; the tread and traction are great on rocks, the sole is stiffer than many light weight shoes so you don't feel every stone under your feet; these shoes saved me on this trip. They waterproof; everyone says not to go with waterproof but my feet were dry at the end of day one (the only one probly) and they were only damp at the end of day 2 because I took off my shoes and socks to cross a raging roaring stream so when I put my socks on they got damp to slightly wet. I think these shoes are some of the best 3 season lightweight hikers out there
-Esee Candiru knife; has to be the ultimate ultralight knife; weights mere grams; the only down side is the handle is so short it's hard to do any heavier work with hit. Still perfect for ultralight but I cut a few saplings and it was a bit hard on my hand; an Esee Izula II with handle scales would probably be the best compromise
-Darien UL Hammock; can you say "whoa buddy?". 11 oz for everything; comfortable easy to set up...almost sheer perfection in an ultralight hammock. Disco showed me a great mod; use soft shackles to connect the tree straps; the Dutchware tree strap clip is convenient but I woke up after nigh 2 to find the Dutch clip actually poking into my tree strap; literally tearing into it; it could have failed; buy the Darien UL and use soft schackles from Whoopieslings.com to connect your tree strap around the tree
-Hiking with shorts and lights or synthetic long johns underneath; nothing looks quite so dorky but nothing is as practical and comfortable for hiking, nothing so I'll be looking real dorky from now on. It's what I wore under my rain suit, the improved range of motion is fantastic!
I could go on but I learned that my setup is just about perfect except for gloves; i'll use North Face liners with Cuben Fiber rain mittens in the future (thank you Skygzr for the tip!)
Anyway; my gear was great but I wasn't; lifes been hard lately so I let down my guard; hadn't been working out, had gained 10 lbs, hadn't hiked in a while. We can spend all the money in the world and get all the fancy gear but at the end of the day I think it's better to start off with getting in shape, loosing our own weight; may not be as fun as the gear but I think it's just right.
And so I say farewell for just a little while. I have a hard move to Ohio for a new job.
I'll post occassionally but have to really buckledown and focus over the next 4-6 months. To the core group; you'll never know how much you've really come to mean to me; not kidding guys; I count each of you as friends, I pray for you and wish we could do more together; you're good men and each of you are an example to me.
Spiffy guy; I admire you; it was great meeting you and I miss you already
Disco; can't say enough; you set up, planned and guided us on the best hike of my life; you're leadership is quietly yet significantly evident.
God Bless my friends
Gideon
Good luck Gideon!
“Roads go ever ever on,
Over rock and under tree,
By caves where never sun has shone,
By streams that never find the sea;
Over snow by winter sown,
And through the merry flowers of June,
Over grass and over stone,
And under mountains of the moon.
Roads go ever ever on
Under cloud and under star,
Yet feet that wandering have gone
Turn at last to home afar.
Eyes that fire and sword have seen
And horror in the halls of stone
Look at last on meadows green
And trees and hills they long have known”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
"nature speaks in the silence between words"
www.mustexplore.blogspot.com
no... feel free to post pics, we want pics
Last fri I was pissed I could'nt go. Even with the cold soggy weather. It was a
humid cold too, at least here in KC. It went right thru you. Definately need to
get over
there before it gets hot.
Thank you, Gideon. It brings me joy to share these experiences with all of you. We'll sure miss you on the trails.
With beauty all around you, may you walk.
Gideon, it was great meeting you. Good luck on your new job.
Here is my video of day one. Embedding is not working right for me. so here is the link. Great trip. Thanks again for everyone who went. It was quite memorable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyUR7DLlMHQ
nice vid, Spiffyguy! Looking forward to the rest!
With beauty all around you, may you walk.
I'm glad you guys got to go out, and despite the bad weather it was still a good trip! We got a little of that stuff down in Cape but none of the real cold. Maybe next time I could try to make it with you guys. Relatively new to backpacking and hanging but loving what I've done so far.
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