Monday, July 6, 2009

Custom Te-Wa Down Quilt


I recently had a custom te-wa down quilt made for myself by Michael Stivers (te-wa) from the Backpackinglight.com Forums. The quilt was made to my specified dimensions and has a good 2-2.5" of top layer loft with baffled tubes which will allow me to shift the down around some. It should be good to right around 25 degrees before layering. Total weight is 18.7 ounces on my scale which is pretty good for something that I can probably push to 10-15 degrees in a bivy or tent. The 800+ fill power down is 10 ounces of the total. I don't want to post the price but I feel it is excellent for what I received.

July 4th overnighter on the AT (Woody Gap to Bird Gap)

Somewhere near the end of last week Jim Bailey (BPL WT3 Class of 2007) and I threw together a quick overnighter for the July 4th weekend. This was our first meeting although we've been trying to get one together since Jim moved down here from the NE many months ago. The trip included Jim, myself, and of course Robin as well. It was not the usual UL trip since we all packed very light on gear but heavy on food.

Anyway, we walked about 7 or so miles before setting up camp at Bird Gap which turned out to be a very dusty and dirty site. Prior to setting up we visited Woods Hole Shelter and filled our Platys at a spring nearby. This was a very small spring erupting from a tiny hole in a rock. That combined with the surrounding terrain and the wonderful green moss the water was flowing over lead us to a group decision to skip filtering. The water was ice cold and as clean as I've tasted since being in Montana where we frequently skipped filtering. Needless to say, none of us got sick. I wish I had taken a photo of the spring.


Food for this trip consisted of a special July 4th dinner of brats with peppers and onions. Jim played bartender and mixed up cocktails with some pomegranate and I think cherry Crystal Light along with Everclear. Jim also brought some red wine and Robin and I brought bourbon. We've developed a tradition of taking along some Elijah Craig 18 year on a lot of our trips, especially during the colder months. As a small surprise, Jim carried in some sparklers as well as speakers for his IPhone. Desert consisted of apple cobbler and was followed a little later by smores. We could hear the fireworks going off down in the towns below but didn't see anything other than our own sparklers and a little tea candle ambiance (Ben Harper and Jack Johnson provided the tunes).

It got a little cooler than the weather called for overnight and we got some short sprinkles although we expected full on rain. Since we were in a gap, we also had some nice breezes blowing through camp. Sunday morning we slept in for a bit since we all walk fairly quickly and knew there would be a short trip back out. We stopped off at the same rock where we lunched on Saturday and lunched again before posing for a Ryan Jordan style group photo.



I don't have many photos and we didn't make a gear list on this trip. We did see a bit more wildlife than usual including quite a few doe and a large owl along with the usual snakes and lizards. There was a lot of gear talk as well as mention of putting together some Intro to Lightweight Backpacking trips for the local outdoor clubs. This was an awesome first trip with Jim and we look forward to many more.

Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/uallas/sets/72157621008786488/

Sunday, June 14, 2009

FootHills Trail/Fork Mountain Loop Overnighter

This weekend Robin and I did a 19 mile loop combining the FootHills Trail, Fork Mountain Trail, and Chattooga River Trail. We tried a few things differently on this trip than previous trips (see food post). We also carried some new gear including a TarpTent Scarp 2, a Caldera Ti-Tri, and we both carried ULA Ohms on the trip. All of the new gear worked very well and now has a permanent place in our duo kit. The trip details were pretty good until we hit a spot on the Chattooga River Trail where it forked. One direction pointed to Bull Pen Rd and the other had nothing posted for it on the sign. We made an educated guess based mostly on where it sounded like the river was and that the trail was headed down. Fortunately we have some experience doing this and were correct. This is why we don't lead trips without scouting them first anymore though. We've come to expect a little work on our part but it would undoubtedly annoy and worry people tagging along. We got a little wet Saturday early on (a welcome relief from the heat) but other than that the weather was very nice for June in the South. We only saw 4 other people the entire trip. This was fairly unusual but we enjoyed the solitude. Despite the lack of people we did manage to enjoy the sounds of several owls Saturday night. Several crow and red headed woodpeckers serenaded us Sunday on our walk out. We also caught a beautiful cascading water fall Saturday. It had a good 7-8 cascades down the side of the mountain, some of which can be seen in the trip photos.



Gear: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=rrS8aYpuMCFqCqxDRle-_6g&output=html
Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/uallas/sets/72157619573187597/

Friday, June 12, 2009

Backpacking food for this weekend's overnighter

Robin and I are doing an overnight loop combining the FootHills, Fork Mountain, and Chatooga River trails this weekend. Usually we wind up planning food pretty last minute but we did a little better this time so I took a snapshot of our menu.

Food for 2
What we have in the foodbag:

2 bags of homemade GORP each (snacks)
2 Balance bars in my bag, 1 in Robins (snacks)
1 bag of whole grain chips each (lunch or snack)
1 bag of oatmeal each (double servings) (day 2 breakfast)
1 bag of dried apricots each (snacks)
1 cranberry and dark chocolate bar for desert (day 1 after dinner)
4 tortillas, mashed potatoes, dehydrated chipotle chicken chili, and mixed cheese (day 1 dinner)
1 pbj flatbread sandwich each (day 1 lunch)
1 apple each (day 1 lunch and not pictured)
1 pepperoni wrap (day 2 lunch)

The dinner for day 1 is a modified version of Sarah's Mashed Potato Burritos found at Trail Cooking. The GORP is double servings of a recipe I found on Eating Well. The pepperoni wraps consist of a sundried tomato wrap filled with spinach, green peppers, onions, pepperoni, sundried tomatoes, and shredded sharp cheddar. These are a homemade version of the Hot Coals Pepperoni Rolls found at PackIt Gourmet.

I haven't weight everything yet but we usually go out with about 1.5 lbs per day.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Dick's Creek Gap to Muskrat Creek Shelter - gear review

Robin and I did an overnighter on the AT with the Atlanta Wilderness Backpackers Meetup over the 5/30/2009-5/31/2009 weekend. We took out some new gear for this trip so I wanted to post some thoughts on it.

ULA Ohm pack - Robin carried this as we're trying to find a lighter replacement for her Granite Gear Vapor Ki. The Ohm only weighs 2.7 oz more than my Conduit (2008 model) and it boasts a fairly simple internal frame. Robin loved the way it carried and since the weight difference is so minor I'll probably be replacing my Conduit with one as well. Definitely recommend this pack.

BushBuddy Ultra stove - I have some mixed feelings here. I love the simplicity of the stove itself and that you don't need to carry fuel. On the other hand, getting it to burn well is time consuming and I'm a fan of speed when setting up camp. I may keep it around for demonstrations but I'm not sure how often it will be used on trips. As a note, it does boil pretty fast once you get it burning well.

Gossamer Gear Lightrek 4 poles - I love, love, love these. They're uberlight, easy to adjust, and never showed a hint of slipping. Highly recommended.

Thermarest Neoair pads - Robin and I both used a new Neoair in the short length in combination with empty packs. I forgot our coupling straps but the pads themselves were great. Lots of comfort for a very light weight. No problems with leaks and no warmth issues but it only got down to 50 F inside our tent.

We covered 24 miles over 2 days and managed to maintain an almost 3 mph pace despite not having been on the trail with packs in many months. All in all, it was a very nice weekend and we couldn't have asked for better weather. On a side note, the famous Oak at Bly Gap is sadly dying probably in part to being abused over the years. We found trash stuffed in holes and a lot of the bark has been knocked off likely due to people climbing on the tree and not being careful. Also, the Plum Orchard Gap Hilton (shelter) was pretty trashy. I found a lot of garbage outside the shelter as well as on the 3rd sleeping level. We cleaned up the Oak and the shelter as best we could and packed out the garbage.

Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/uallas/sets/72157619010846369/

Gear Lists: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=rRaR6gVdOie-swcO-lZpsqg&output=html

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Ultralight Backpacking Gear (vs. Outside Magazine)

The current issue of Outside Magazine has an article listing "Ultralight Backpacking Gear". While some of it is indeed lightweight there are even lighter alternatives so I thought I would post my own list as contrast. My goal is to only list items that function very closely to what Outside has chosen.


1. POLES
I have to go with the GossamerGear Lightrek 4 here. These are a 2 piece pole where the Komperdell C3 chosen by Outside is a 3 piece. The Lightreks come in at 3.4 oz per pole in regular or 3.3 oz per pole in the short. I find them just as sturdy as my REI Peak UL (rebranded Komperdell) poles. $155; gossamergear.com

2. PACK
The Exos is a good choice for the lighweight backpacker but we can do better. To be fair we need something with an internal frame and around 58L. I've chosen the ULA Ohm (57 L) here. For comparable options you would need to add the interior backpad, both hip pockets, and the hydration sleeve. This configuration lists at just under 26 oz. $164; ula-equipment.com

Bonus: I'd add the interior stash pocket in place of the hydration sleeve and keep your water bladder in a side pocket. I find this carry method better for refills.

3. SHELL
The NorthFace Triumph Anorak and it's 5.4 oz weight are hard to argue with. I like a more featured shell myself and carry an older NorthFace DIAD which is 8.7 oz in size large. The Marmot Mica which lists at 7 oz and $130 might also be a good choice. northface.com & marmot.com

4. TENT
Outside lists the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL 2 at 3.4 lbs but the manufacturer spec is closer to 3.8 lbs as delivered. My choice would be the TarpTent Scarp 2 with mesh inner and no extra poles. In that config it should be around 3.25 lbs as delivered. You could argue that the Scarp is not freestanding without the extra poles which add cost and weight. However, with the added poles the Scarp can handle a lot more abuse from Mother Nature vs. the Copper Spur. $325; tarptent.com

5. BOOTS
The RocLite 390 GTX is another good choice and hard to argue with weight-wise. For most cases where boot is necessary I'd go with with the RocLite 370 instead at 13 oz per foot. Gore-Tex lined footwear only works well in very specific instances. $120; inov-8.com

6. BAG
The Marmot Hydrogen is a nice bag at a good weight and price. I'd spring for a Western Mountaineering Summerlite instead. It's speced at 32 degrees and 19 oz. The Marmot is listed as a 30 degree bag but Western is known for conservatively rating their bags. I chose the Summerlite over the Highlite because the Hydrogen boasts a full zipper. $315; westernmountaineering.com

7. PAD
This is where I have to differ some in specs. We need a self-inflatable that's winter capable and full-length ground insulation to compare with the Prolite Plus. For that I'd carry the BackpackingLight TorsoLite at 10 oz in combination with a GossamerGear Thinlight 3/8" foam pad at around 5.5 oz. Total weight would be just under 1 lb. $70; backpackinglight.com & $20; gossamergear.com

8. STOVE
Outside chose a canister stove/pot combo in the EtaExpress and then also chose a separate pot for the cookset below. I'm pretty sure the Dualist pot won't work with this stove. To stick with the auto-igniting canister theme I'd choose the SnowPeak Giga Titanium Auto at 3.5 oz. You can fashion a windscreen from aluminum foil if necessary. $75; snowpeak.com

9. COOKSET
Since Outside chose the Pinnacle Dualist I have to assume it's for actual cooking. Titanium is out since most people will burn their food in such a pot. For cooking and to stay around 2L I'd choose the AntiGravityGear 2 Qt. Aluminum Non-Stick Cook Pot which is 5.9 oz (7.3 with a clamp handle). Throw in a couple of FireLite SUL Titanium Spoons from BackpackingLight at .32 oz each. If you really need separate cups recycle some large cottage cheese containers. I'm not sure what those weigh but it can't be much. For a bonus you even have a lid. Store the plastic containers in your pot to keep them from getting damaged. Please don't use hot water in them either. I won't be responsible if you get burned. $13; antigravitygear.com & $10; backpackinglight.com


If my calculations are correct I'm figuring a savings of around $248 and 4.25 pounds.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

P90X

I've kept it under wraps a good bit but over the last 90 days I've been doing my first round of P90X (you've probably seen the infomercials on TV). Today marked my last day which meant completion photos and a final fit test to have results for comparison to my initial fit test. I wasn't completely sure how I would do with the fit test since Robin and I hiked a 7.2 mile loop known as the James E Edmonds Backcountry Trail yesterday and I irritated a previous injury from an 18 mile run a few weeks ago. In addition to that we got home late due to traffic jams and I had to do my Yoga prior to the fit test. All in all though, I'm extremely pleased with my results and plan to continue a modified version with some running and mountain biking thrown in. Hard to believe I was a size 40 pant and 211 lbs just a few years ago.







Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/uallas/sets/72157616584512553/