Ultrafit: The 9-pound hike (Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune)

[Roleigh Martin-2]

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/65819667.html?page=1&c=y

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ultralightliving/combined3/~3/rjmY2abDArM/65819667.html

I know Rod Johnson, his store, Midwest Mountaineering is fantastic and
a bunch of their employees have done the PCT or JMT (some have done
Everest). Very interesting story of interest to all 3 of these Yahoo
Groups.

Sent to you by Roleigh Martin via Google Reader: Ultrafit: The 9-pound
hike (Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune) via UltraLightLiving Combined
Feed on 10/25/09
Rod Johnson's multi-month wilderness journey on the Pacific Crest Trail
was an experiment in minimalism for the great outdoors. Bubble wrap and
a pillow of camp food helped him along the way.
Things you can do from here:
- Subscribe to UltraLightLiving Combined Feed using Google Reader
- Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your
favorite sites

[James D. Marco-2]

Roleigh,
        Interesting article. He dropped the alcohol stove in favour of the
Jetboil system.... Had some trouble with the bubble wrap. And dropped
his vest for a backpack.
        The jetboil goes about 22oz, as I remember. But, he was looking
for more heat. Probably a fair trade off. I believe he could have done
better, weight/heat/volume, for solo, though.
        I tried bubble wrap many years ago....I would get occasional pops
as I slept...they would wake me up. I could not use it, either. It will
eventually get flat and become no more than a ground cloth. The stuff
IS light though....good for a few nights if you can sleep through anything.
        His vest is an interesting idea. I have used my fishing vest for
camping now and then...mostly fishing trips along a stream. I think he
has the right idea for UL gear. Not real great in hot weather, though. The
vest has felt shoulder pads for some weight control. But, it lacks a hip
belt. The large rear pocket allows bag/pad/tarp storage. The addition
of large front mesh pockets, as the article mentions, to carry stove/pot
and food will make it a real multi-day pack.
        Well done.
        My thoughts only . . .
                jdm
At 01:14 AM 10/26/2009, you wrote:


>http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/65819667.html?page=1&c=y
>
>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ultralightliving/combined3/~3/rjmY2abDArM/65819667.html
>
>I know Rod Johnson, his store, Midwest Mountaineering is fantastic and a bunch of their employees have done the PCT or JMT (some have done Everest). Very interesting story of interest to all 3 of these Yahoo Groups.
>
>
>

[Tim Greiner-3]

James-

Wasn't someone in this group experimenting with a Lumbar pack/UL daypack arrangement where you put heavy/dense gear (cooking, water) in the lumbar and light/high volume gear (sleeping bag & pad, clothes) in the shoulder bag? Sully/Enoch, was that you? I thought it could work well as you wouldn't have to mess with adjusting straps to vary the load distribution between shoulders & hips. Sully, did you ever report the results?

Tim Greiner

--- James D. Marco wrote:
>
> Roleigh,
>         Interesting article. He dropped the alcohol stove in favour of the
> Jetboil system.... Had some trouble with the bubble wrap. And dropped
> his vest for a backpack.

>snip<

>         His vest is an interesting idea. I have used my fishing vest for
> camping now and then...mostly fishing trips along a stream. I think he
> has the right idea for UL gear. Not real great in hot weather, though. The
> vest has felt shoulder pads for some weight control. But, it lacks a hip
> belt. The large rear pocket allows bag/pad/tarp storage. The addition
> of large front mesh pockets, as the article mentions, to carry stove/pot
> and food will make it a real multi-day pack.
>         Well done.
>         My thoughts only . . .
>                 jdm
>
>

[Cara Lin Bridgman]

> Roleigh Martin wrote:
> http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/65819667.html?page=1&c=y


Going light is nice, but one of my main concerns with many ultralight
techniques is the disposable nature of so much of the gear.  Really,
I've two problems with this: 1) it may not be reliable enough for the
trip and 2) garbage.  This second point is my main reason for not being
fond of canister stoves.  They're essentially landfill--although people
and places are getting better about recycling.  Reading through the tips
and tricks at one of the AT websites, I was impressed by how much of the
gear involved one-use items that were carried in the expectation they'd
work well enough to get someone off the trail: ultra-thin plastic rain
ponchos, tea-light stoves, styrofoam cups, chopstick tent pegs,
painter's plastic tarps and ground cloth, bubble-wrap sleeping mats,
balloon sleeping mats.  They are all wonderful exercises in creativity
and ingenuity, but none can hold up to more than a few hours of constant
use on a shaggy trail or a few nights of fairly calm weather.  All can
shed bits and pieces around campsites and along trails.

Going light is nice, but I'm beginning to think there is a minimal
requirement for gear, especially for long-distance hikes and for hikes
at higher elevations.  The problem with higher elevation hikes is that
even in midsummer, you have to plan for all four seasons to occur within
one day.

One thing the article did not post was the guy's final pack
weight--after he added the jet boil, sleeping mat, and pack... and a few
more clothes for the cooler weather...

CL
who is very interested in the vest-as-pack idea.  It ranks up there with
the guy over in PracticalBackpacking who used fanny and thigh packs
because they lowered his center of gravity.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cara Lin Bridgman         cara.lin@...

P.O. Box 013 Shinjhuang   http://megaview.com.tw/~caralin
Longjing Township         http://www.BugDorm.com
Taichung County 43499
Taiwan                    Phone: [phone]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[James D. Marco-2]

Tim,
        Yes, someone was....sorry, I don't remember who.
This also looked OK, but I would prefer a symmetrical load
arrangement on the shoulders...rather than a single strap.
        My thoughts only . . .
                jdm    
At 06:26 AM 10/26/2009, you wrote:

>James-
>
>Wasn't someone in this group experimenting with a Lumbar pack/UL daypack arrangement where you put heavy/dense gear (cooking, water) in the lumbar and light/high volume gear (sleeping bag & pad, clothes) in the shoulder bag? Sully/Enoch, was that you? I thought it could work well as you wouldn't have to mess with adjusting straps to vary the load distribution between shoulders & hips. Sully, did you ever report the results?
>
>Tim Greiner
>
>--- James D. Marco wrote:
>>
>> Roleigh,
>>         Interesting article. He dropped the alcohol stove in favour of the
>> Jetboil system.... Had some trouble with the bubble wrap. And dropped
>> his vest for a backpack.
>
>>snip<
>
>>         His vest is an interesting idea. I have used my fishing vest for
>> camping now and then...mostly fishing trips along a stream. I think he
>> has the right idea for UL gear. Not real great in hot weather, though. The
>> vest has felt shoulder pads for some weight control. But, it lacks a hip
>> belt. The large rear pocket allows bag/pad/tarp storage. The addition
>> of large front mesh pockets, as the article mentions, to carry stove/pot
>> and food will make it a real multi-day pack.
>>         Well done.
>>         My thoughts only . . .
>>                 jdm
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
>
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James Marco
Computer Operations Manager, Desktop Support
Biomedical Engineering and
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Cornell University
B78A Olin Hall,
Ithaca,  NY  14853
Office: 255-7312

[Mark Verber]

I feel really mixed about this story. On the one hand, I appreciate
anyone who does 1000 mile hike... especially if they are over 60.  It
a country wear people sit on the couch, it's always encouraging to
hear about people who get out.  I would love to be able to get out and
do 1000 miles of one of the long trails. Right now though I have
responsibilities that keeps me from doing no more than week trips. I
am jealous. I also appreciate that he took a light weight approach
rather than they tradition 40+ lb of gear sort of trip.

On the other hand, I don't think it's the best PR for going light.
Several of the things he did are likely to get the "oh... one of those
crazy people" reactions from people who aren't already light weight
hikers...  for example using bubblewrap as a pad. My concern is that
rather than people being drawn in and wondering if this is something
they should try, they will conclude light weight is something that the
fringe try... and look, even they don't stick with it. If the article
was going to be about how far things could be pushed rather that a
"giving it a try" I would liked to have seen someone who did really
push it all the way. 5-10 years ago, a 10lb base weight might have
been achieved by  "techniques cut every corner -- and then trim the
edge back some more."  These days, people can go out  and purchase
ready made items (mostly cottage industry) to assemble a 10 pound kit
which is completely appropriate for the PCT that would be up to the
whole journey without having to use bubble wrap or drilling holes in
their toothbrush. If the article was about how far things can be
pushed, it failed to capture this. There are several people like Joe
Valeski who have completed the entire PCT with  base weight to below
5lbs (1/2 the weight suggested by the article).

I certainly understand giving up the bubble wrap (I tried it one night
and decided it wasn't for me).  I also appreciate switching out the
esbits.  Every time I tried esbits I found them inadequate... until I
tried them in a a Caldera cone a few weeks ago and found they actually
can perform in the right system. I am surprised he selected a
jetboil.. most canisters + a decent pot are lighter than the jetboil
from a daily carry weight even though the jetboil is more fuel
efficient.

The one thing that surprised me is that it said that he was on the PCT
for 3 months and finished 1000 miles.  That would be just over 10
miles / day which is a pretty slow pace on the PCT.  [Most of the
people I know who finished tend to average 15-20 miles] I wonder if
the trip touched three months, but was more like a full month plus a
week out of the adjacent months... which would put the pace closer to
15 miles / day.

--Mark

[DonL]

Interesting article, thanks Roleigh. I do wish the information had been more specific about gear but after all it was written as a general interest feature for a newspaper, not for people who would actually go hike and be interested in specifics about the gear (like us!).

So, he hiked a dozen of the PCT's "highlights". Would anyone care to list the PCT sections they think are highlights? No need to list 12 unless you really want to. :o)
Thanks,  Don L.

[Frank Martin]

I started at Campo in 2008 (at age 59) with a 9.5 base weight.  The majority of my gear was purchased on Gear Swap.  It all made it to Canada.  Along the way I switched a cut-off Z-lite pad for a torso lite. I used a Gatewood Cape for the entire trip but purchased a rain parka in Stehekin for the final 3.5 days. This was a smart move as it started snowing after Rainy Pass. I hadn't seen the sun in two + weeks. I'm still using the same gear.

I was light to Kennedy Meadows because I choose not to cook in SOCAL.  After I used a alky stove.  This year I switched to a Caldera (purchased from Roleigh) as I was really impressed by the effieciency.

I'm not a big fan of reducing a trip like this into 'highlights'.  Being a CA Hiker I learned so much in WA.  So many things we take for granted in the Sierra (sunshine every day) just didn't happen.  Goat Rocks was fantastic and Glacier Peak Wilderness.  It rained the entire time thru Glacier Peak Wilderness.  Climbing over 110 massive blowdowns with a Gatewood Cape and keeping it intact was a real challenge.  I really never got to see the beauty of the area as I was in a cloud the entire time but you could just sense there was something so very special going on.  This is one place I am sure to go back to. My gear kit was a ULA Coduit, a Gossamer Gear/Nunatak sleeping bag, a BPL Vapor Bivy. Gatewood Cape and a Montbell UL Inner Jacket.  This stuff is still going strong.

--- In BackpackingLight@..., Cara Lin Bridgman <shokulan@...> wrote:

>
> > Roleigh Martin wrote:
> > http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/65819667.html?page=1&c=y
>
>
> Going light is nice, but one of my main concerns with many ultralight
> techniques is the disposable nature of so much of the gear.  Really,
> I've two problems with this: 1) it may not be reliable enough for the
> trip and 2) garbage.  This second point is my main reason for not being
> fond of canister stoves.  They're essentially landfill--although people
> and places are getting better about recycling.  Reading through the tips
> and tricks at one of the AT websites, I was impressed by how much of the
> gear involved one-use items that were carried in the expectation they'd
> work well enough to get someone off the trail: ultra-thin plastic rain
> ponchos, tea-light stoves, styrofoam cups, chopstick tent pegs,
> painter's plastic tarps and ground cloth, bubble-wrap sleeping mats,
> balloon sleeping mats.  They are all wonderful exercises in creativity
> and ingenuity, but none can hold up to more than a few hours of constant
> use on a shaggy trail or a few nights of fairly calm weather.  All can
> shed bits and pieces around campsites and along trails.
>
> Going light is nice, but I'm beginning to think there is a minimal
> requirement for gear, especially for long-distance hikes and for hikes
> at higher elevations.  The problem with higher elevation hikes is that
> even in midsummer, you have to plan for all four seasons to occur within
> one day.
>
> One thing the article did not post was the guy's final pack
> weight--after he added the jet boil, sleeping mat, and pack... and a few
> more clothes for the cooler weather...
>
> CL
> who is very interested in the vest-as-pack idea.  It ranks up there with
> the guy over in PracticalBackpacking who used fanny and thigh packs
> because they lowered his center of gravity.
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Cara Lin Bridgman         cara.lin@...
>
> P.O. Box 013 Shinjhuang   http://megaview.com.tw/~caralin
> Longjing Township         http://www.BugDorm.com
> Taichung County 43499
> Taiwan                    Phone: [phone]
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>

[James D. Marco-2]

Hi "sriprank and cowshedfrank",
        I think you did a great job.  You knew exactly when you needed to
upgrade to match the trail conditions.  And with no garbage. You set a
good example for all of us broken down old light weight folks. You chose
your gear based on weight and durability and only made some minor
adjustments. And, you were hiking across several states into Canada!
        Yeah. Blowdowns and capes do not get along very well.  Anyway,
I was impressed!
        My thoughts only . . .
                jdm
At 09:08 AM 10/27/2009, you wrote:
>I started at Campo in 2008 (at age 59) with a 9.5 base weight.  The majority of my gear was purchased on Gear Swap.  It all made it to Canada.  Along the way I switched a cut-off Z-lite pad for a torso lite. I used a Gatewood Cape for the entire trip but purchased a rain parka in Stehekin for the final 3.5 days. This was a smart move as it started snowing after Rainy Pass. I hadn't seen the sun in two + weeks. I'm still using the same gear.

[hikelite2000]

The article says he failed.

--- In BackpackingLight@..., Roleigh Martin <marti124@...> wrote:

>
> http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/65819667.html?page=1&c=y
>
> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ultralightliving/combined3/~3/rjmY2abDArM/65819667.html
>
> I know Rod Johnson, his store, Midwest Mountaineering is fantastic and
> a bunch of their employees have done the PCT or JMT (some have done
> Everest). Very interesting story of interest to all 3 of these Yahoo
> Groups.
>
> Sent to you by Roleigh Martin via Google Reader: Ultrafit: The 9-pound
> hike (Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune) via UltraLightLiving Combined
> Feed on 10/25/09
> Rod Johnson's multi-month wilderness journey on the Pacific Crest Trail
> was an experiment in minimalism for the great outdoors. Bubble wrap and
> a pillow of camp food helped him along the way.
> Things you can do from here:
> - Subscribe to UltraLightLiving Combined Feed using Google Reader
> - Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your
> favorite sites
>