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Hungryjack posted:
What's your impression of the Copper Spur? I think I've settled on getting one but I'm now trying to decide between the UL1 or UL2. It'll mostly be for solo backpacking.
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Aug 21, 2016 00:28
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Hungryjack posted:
Would you mind listing your food, or at least one day. I'm always curious. We've been creating our own dehydrated meals, its been fun. I don't want to start the favor v fuel argument.
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Aug 21, 2016 01:19
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Just got back from doing the first section of the Sierra High Route. 8 days, though the High Route was basically the first 3.5 days and then we turned back south to make a loop. Was the hardest backpacking trip I've ever done, though partly (mostly?) because we pushed ourselves hard. Hard miles and pushing things because we knew it'd be tiring but also we knew we were strong enough to do it. Also extremely rewarding and some excellent basins and areas where there are no real trails. Also the single worst pass I've ever been up, Frozen Lake Pass  Just hours of talus slogWill post some more info and pictures tomorrow or something
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Aug 21, 2016 03:22
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I've heard great things about Sierra High Route and I've heard it's hard as hell. Love to see the photos.
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Aug 21, 2016 03:37
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It wasn't like death defying hard stuff or even tricky route finding bushwhacking struggle, just a good amount of steep uphill and powering through climbs and saying gently caress it I'm strong enough to push it some more and do this extra. I did it with my brother in law who is a strong hiker and does some mountaineering and I think we pushed a bit harder because of hiking with each other. Some of the passes further north are a bit trickier I think but Frozen Lake is still one of the harder ones and we looked at the talus field and said "well we could traverse left and then work back to the right...or gently caress it lets just go straight up the gut" so that was fun  e: I think our first day was 7000 feet of climbing over 11 miles Levitate fucked around with this message at 05:29 on Aug 21, 2016 |
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Aug 21, 2016 05:27
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That looks fun as gently caress
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Aug 21, 2016 08:58
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Hungryjack posted:
The Thermarest Z-Lite is a great bit of kit. Love mine, it also fits nicely inside a hennesey hammock when it gets colder. Super comfortable. E: Also I really recommend the Lowe Alpine alpine attack 45 if anyone is looking for a mid size pack, very comfortable, stable and lightweight. https://lowealpine.com/uk/climbing/alpine-attack-45-55-3 knox_harrington fucked around with this message at 12:55 on Aug 21, 2016 |
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Aug 21, 2016 12:53
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SaltLick posted:That looks fun as gently caress It was at first but a hour and a half later I was hoping for some nice slabs or ledges. Also on the way down there was a random rock slide just below us with a boulder the size of a king size bed letting go
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Aug 21, 2016 16:32
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Levitate posted:It was at first but a hour and a half later I was hoping for some nice slabs or ledges. Also on the way down there was a random rock slide just below us with a boulder the size of a king size bed letting go I've never been there myself. I just bought into the hype from this article talking about how hard a hike it supposedly was.
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Aug 21, 2016 17:01
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Hungryjack posted:I've never been there myself. I just bought into the hype from this article talking about how hard a hike it supposedly was. I mean yeah it's much harder than trail hiking, but it's also really fun to have the terrain and passes to be part of the goals for the day rather than just the trail being a way to get to your goals for the day. Doing it in two weeks does sound hard though. Like I said, we pushed ourselves pretty good (though there obviously are people in better hiking shape or faster at navigation than us, we're still pretty strong hikers) but you could easily cut things up and just do shorter bits do keep your energy up. I think we could have kept pushing 10-12 miles per day. That article is kind of...weird though...they planned to do nearly 20 miles on day 1 with over 10k feet of climbing and the guy says "oh and I haven't been backpacking in awhile and wasn't in the best shape", that's just really bad planning, no way around it. Sounds like they were making good time with long days but that's kind of shooting themselves in the foot IMO. Goes from "pushing hard but rewarding" to "pushing hard and being totally exhausted". Kudos for the hard work they did, and I'm no expert on the High Route etc, but again I like that we were able to feel like we pushed hard and were tired at the end of the day, but not burning out. As I said we only did the first section to Dusy Basin before turning back south, but it's probably on my list to complete some day... FYI, since you're headed to the High Sierra Trail soon, I found that it was pretty hot in the late morning/afternoon (hotter than I was expecting), though the altitude mitigated that somewhat. It was also much more dry than I was expecting...lots of lake inlets/outlets were dry and mostly only major creeks were running. Where you're going might be different but I don't think they really got enough snow last year in this more southern area, or have had a real warm spring/summer that melted a lot earlier in the year. No problems with mosquitos though. Nights weren't too cold, probably low 40's maybe high 30's at the worst, but that can always change quickly. No real rain, had a very light sprinkle from a stray cloud one evening and on our last afternoon (Friday) there were a lot of clouds blowing through but no precipitation. Mostly clear every day and with some haze but once we were up high that was really only noticeable when looking at stuff far off in the distance.
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Aug 21, 2016 19:01
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Fall Dog posted:What's your impression of the Copper Spur? I think I've settled on getting one but I'm now trying to decide between the UL1 or UL2. It'll mostly be for solo backpacking. Copper Spur 1 is not the lightest 1-person tent out there. Nor is it the cheapest. In fact, it's one of the more expensive ones. But it's not too heavy and it's very comfy. The biggest perk of it is that it has a side-entry door, which is handy so you don't have to crawl all the way in and turn around like with most other single person tents. Ideally, I won't use it and it will be 2.5lbs of redundant wasted weight (except for the stakes, which I would use to pin down my hammock rainfly). But realistically, I don't expect to find a lot of trees for hanging above 10k' and I'll probably have to use that Yukon Outfitters rainfly as a footprint for the tent. It's a shame, because I sleep like poo poo in a tent now that I've gotten used to hammock camping. Anyway, it's a drat good tent if you don't mind the extra cost and a little bit of extra weight versus the ultralight stuff. The one place I think I could stand to really lose some weight is my sleeping bag. It's a perfectly good bag, but at 3lbs, it's the heaviest single thing in my pack aside from the pack itself. Speaking of which, I'm really interested to see how that brand new Cotopaxi Nepal 75L handles the hike. Everything loads well into it and I especially like the lateral zipper that runs down the side, letting me get stuff out of the main compartment without digging through all the stuff at the top of the bag. If that zipper breaks, then the bag is basically ruined and I have three safety pins to hold it all together. I will renounce god and that pack and I'll be super pissed and miserable. Let's hope that doesn't happen.
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Aug 21, 2016 20:08
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I finally got out for the first time since my daughter was born two years ago. Felt good. I hiked up to Kinsman Pond from Lafayette Place in Franconia Notch with plans to hit the peak. I ended up taking the wrong trail up which added a good 90 minutes to the hike and my hiking buddy didn't have enough gas in him. I didn't want to leave him at the pond to wait for me so we just headed down.  I wore some Altra Lone Peaks and this was my first time in trail runners on some actual elevation. They were super comfortable and my feet held up well for the 8 hours I was out. They were a little slick on the rocks and had a lot of lateral movement. I'm going to try one other shoe with a little more structure but I think I'm off boots or goretex hikers for good. Also, I have a Copper Spur 2 and while it is a great tent I regret buying it. I fits solidly in the middle of a lot of categories. It was expensive. It's roomy for one but top small for two. It's heavy enough to wish I had something lighter. If you're good with the weight and price though it's really solid. Super easy to setup and take down. It has good ventilation if you leave the doors open. Having two doors is nice when solo and a must if you are doubling up. If I was buying again I'd either go with a tarp tent double rainbow for a free standing cheaper option at comparable weight or a hexamid style tent that uses hiking poles and lines for support for something lighter. I only bought the Copper Spur 2 because I needed a tent ASAP and couldn't wait on shipping from a boutique manufacturer.
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Aug 23, 2016 04:19
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Does anyone have any experience with the Sea To Summit Comfort Plus Insulated sleeping pad? I am looking to get a sleeping pad and its well reviewed, but I am not sure if it can stand up well to a heavy person or not.
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Aug 23, 2016 04:35
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funkymonks posted:lake sup NH buddy, how crowded is the lonesome lake area in summer? I'm hiking the presidentials this weekend I'm excited.
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Aug 23, 2016 14:18
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Mode 7 Samurai posted:Does it pack down more if you have a compression sack? The packaging it is in at the store makes it seem big as gently caress, weight seemed ok I was just concerned about how bulky it felt like. Sorry I didn't see this earlier. I don't remember the original packaging but I think it was just the green bag. It can get smaller, the pull straps help cinch it in. You can also pack your poles and stakes separately within your pack and just pack the tent and rain fly loose in your pack. My friend tries to fold his tent like the original packaging where as I just stuff it into the bag as to not create permanent creases.
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Aug 23, 2016 20:50
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Verman posted:Sorry I didn't see this earlier. I don't remember the original packaging but I think it was just the green bag. It can get smaller, the pull straps help cinch it in. You can also pack your poles and stakes separately within your pack and just pack the tent and rain fly loose in your pack. No worries, we ended up getting it. I figured it would be likely that I could put the tent itself in a stuff sack and keep the poles seperate.
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Aug 23, 2016 23:20
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I was trail running in Anchorage, and I looked down and saw a big rear end bear print in the mud. It was the first time when I've been out running where I've thought... I could actually die out here.
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Aug 24, 2016 00:25
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TLG James posted:I was trail running in Anchorage, and I looked down and saw a big rear end bear print in the mud. It was the first time when I've been out running where I've thought... I could actually die out here. It's definitely possible, my friend's wife was attacked by one back in 2014 while they were out running. Probably would be worth carrying bear spray if you're running trails outside of the major ones though town. If you run with a hydration pack or anything similar already it wouldn't even be a hassle.
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Aug 24, 2016 00:36
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Ropes4u posted:We also bought a BV500. I have four days worth of food packed into it so I shouldn't complain to loudly. BV500 for four days of food sounds like a huge waste of space, but maybe I'm wrong. I managed to get four days into a BV450 - it was a pain in the rear end at first but of course it gets easier as you eat. Levitate posted:
Sweet. Rock scrambling is fun. I feel like an Olympian when I do it despite the "what if I make one tiny mistake and break my ankle?" thought in the back of my mind, which makes it extra intense and rewarding after I return.
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Aug 24, 2016 04:24
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or "one tiny mistake and I crush my leg or fall down a vertical boulder field" but nah it wasn't really that scary even though in theory that could have happened
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Aug 24, 2016 04:26
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Mokelumne Trekka posted:Sweet. Rock scrambling is fun. I feel like an Olympian when I do it despite the "what if I make one tiny mistake and break my ankle?" thought in the back of my mind, which makes it extra intense and rewarding after I return. This is like every moment when fishing off of riprap but the rocks are like covered in slime half the time and if you do fall and break your ankle the coast guard and local EMS have to fight over who has to carry your lame rear end out of there. This also applies to getting stuck up to your thighs in a tidal mud flat, it is a jurisdictional nightmare all around.
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Aug 24, 2016 05:51
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I'm so glad I live in a semi desert, gently caress everything about wet/slippery/algae rocks. I mean I'm pretty good at falling with a backpack on at this point, but still.
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Aug 24, 2016 13:22
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if you're not sliding off of mossy rocks in a streambed trail while getting swarmed by biting insects in 95% humidity are you even hiking
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Aug 24, 2016 14:46
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turevidar posted:sup NH buddy, how crowded is the lonesome lake area in summer? Awesome. That should be a lot of fun. It's pretty crowded. The trail up to the lake is full of families but that's only 1.5 miles. All the other trails are pretty empty. One of the guys working at the hut said they had 32 people spending the night on a Sunday night so it definitely was busy. I'd guess Saturdays are even busier. I'm trying to work up to doing the Pemi Wilderness Loop sometime in October. I have some reservations about a couple areas that late in the year, particularly Lafayette the ridge trail . But then I'm a super conservative hiker when it comes to preparing for inclement weather conditions.
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Aug 24, 2016 17:44
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turevidar posted:if you're not sliding off of mossy rocks in a streambed trail while getting swarmed by biting insects in 95% humidity are you even hiking This. None of that clambering around desolate boulder fields getting whipped by the wind...
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Aug 24, 2016 17:56
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Look at you scrubs, not even gasping for breath in low oxygen alpine environments...
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Aug 24, 2016 18:04
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Look at you goons walking on solid ground and not energy sapping sand!
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Aug 24, 2016 18:55
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funkymonks posted:Awesome. That should be a lot of fun. October isn't usually too problematic and there are a lot of spots to bail near the ridge. I hike the ridge loop every year and I've hit it in mid-November without incident... just bring cold gear and spikes and watch the forecast.
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Aug 24, 2016 20:38
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So, I've read a bit about people using their phones as a backcountry GPS unit with no cell signal. Does anyone here have any experience with this?
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Aug 24, 2016 21:35
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Dukket posted:So, I've read a bit about people using their phones as a backcountry GPS unit with no cell signal. Does anyone here have any experience with this? Just put your phone in air plane mode. Should keep the GPS running, and if you download the maps for offline use, it should work. But the battery life isn't the best
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Aug 24, 2016 21:36
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GPS receivers listen to the satellite constellation - if you can see enough of the sky, you can get your GPS location. It doesn't depend on the cell network connection. A cell phone that isn't getting service is going to drain its battery faster than normal. If you're carrying your phone anyway, go ahead and use it if it helps you. But if my plans relied on a dependable GPS receiver I would buy a special purpose device.
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Aug 24, 2016 21:44
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Yes, I used it on my High Route trip. I think most phones (I have an iphone 6) can activate their GPS locator while still in airplane mode so you don't waste battery trying to acquire a data or phone signal. Still not something I'd use all the time to hike to or to record a route, but as a location checker it works fantastic. I bought the Gaia GPS program years ago but never used it a lot until I realized that I could make a route with the website https://www.caltopo.com and then export that route as a gpx file. Then I imported the gpx file into Gaia GPS on my phone, and told the app to download all the relevant maps for that route. That meant when my phone was in airplane mode, I already had the detailed maps on there so I could see the map info and my route. Then whenever I wanted to check my location, I'd just tell Gaia GPS to check it and it would turn on the GPS on my phone and bring up an icon with my location. It seemed vastly superior to a dedicated GPS unit for that purpose (location determination) but like I said I wasn't using it to create a route of where I had already been, or to follow while actually hiking. When I was done I'd close the program to save battery. e: I wasn't checking my location all the time, maybe only once or twice per day over the whole trip, but battery life stayed fine. I recharged my phone on day 6 or 7 I think because it was low, but I was also using it as a camera and for the kindle app to read. Levitate fucked around with this message at 22:01 on Aug 24, 2016 |
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Aug 24, 2016 21:53
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I use my cell phone and GPS apps on day hikes, just to make sure I am not getting off track, they all work just fine on my experience, the battery drain hasn't been too bad either. (I also carry a backup charger just in case it did kill the battery). Here are the apps that I use: Alltrails - Only good if you are going to be on fairly popular trails, of you are going off trail it won't help you that much. You can download individual trails to your phone and use that to navigate. Backcountry GPS - The most reliable offline trail and topographical mapping I have used. The basic map sources aren't the greatest but they are serviceable. You can download sections of map and access them when out of cell range. Gaia GPS - Looks nicer than Backcountry does, but I have had reliability issues with the map data it downloads. On my last hike half of the trail wouldn't show up, despite injad download the entire area around it for seceral miles in every direction. For this reason I ditched it in favor of Backcountry.
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Aug 24, 2016 21:59
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Cool, thanks - I don't think I have time before we leave, but who knows. I
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Aug 25, 2016 00:06
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Just finished Four Pass Loop in Colorado, I would like to say I will post a longer in depth post but I'm lazy and about to mountain the Monarch Crest Trail. We, my wife and a couple of friends, hiked counter clockwise hitting one pass a day with the exception of the last. Weather was great until last night when it rained for 6-8 hours. My lovely six moon designs lunar duo leaked or condensed like mad and we were a bit wet this morning for the last 6 miles to hot food and a shower. When I process photos I will try to post more but suffice it say it was a beautiful hike. 
Ropes4u fucked around with this message at 02:36 on Aug 25, 2016 |
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Aug 25, 2016 02:28
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I think I made a mistake buying a rain jacket without pit zips. Air perm is a joke.
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Aug 25, 2016 13:38
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Ya, if you're going to exert yourself at all you want them.
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Aug 25, 2016 17:11
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Well then... It took me two tries, but I got days 3-7 packed into my bear vault. Day 1 isn't an issue because I'll eat it all before I camp that night. And I know it's cheating, but we have a bear box at the campsite for the first night, so Day 2 will all be eaten by the time we camp the second night. There's quite a bit of wasted space in there, so I'll chalk that up to rookieness at food packing.
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Aug 26, 2016 04:48
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I think your troubles are down to packing 2 lbs of food per day. You're really going to eat that much? I mean it's not going to hurt you especially that you have a few extra days' food but it seems unlikely you really need that many calories, assuming you're carrying fairly lightweight food.
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Aug 26, 2016 05:20
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Vivian Darkbloom posted:I think your troubles are down to packing 2 lbs of food per day. You're really going to eat that much? I mean it's not going to hurt you especially that you have a few extra days' food but it seems unlikely you really need that many calories, assuming you're carrying fairly lightweight food. You're probably right. I guess we'll find out. The first time I try something, I typically overpack. Maybe I'm not up for eating 3000 calories per day.
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Aug 26, 2016 05:56
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