These are posts of some questions I have been asked on various aspects of backpacking, including specifics on the Wonderland Trail. Of course, my answers are my opinion only; remember to use your own best judgement and never blindly follow anyone's advice, including mine....always "question"
Q I happen to see a post where you use a cuben bivy. I have been trying to find a good replacement for my bivy bag. I am assuming you are using the bivy under a tarp or in a tent of some nature and not out in the open by itself. What is the durability of the fiber like? I have a gortex bivy which is incredibly durable, waterproof, wind proof, bulky, and heavy. I have been looking to get a better bivy bag with a lighter weight but nothing compares to gortex when it comes to durability. Just curious about your experiences with the cuben fiber bivy. Thanks.
;)
prototype GG cuben bivy at 5 ozsA Hi Matthew, unfortunately I don't have enough time in the bivy to give you a good answer. Last year I tested a prototype cuben bivy from Gossamer Gear in winter conditions here in the PNW (low 30's, rain). I experienced some condensation on the sides of the bivy but the prototype design was actually made by Cubic Tech corp and only had a strip of breathable cuben across the top; the majority of the bivy (the bathtub floor and sides) was constructed of regular cuben. I can attest that the breathable cuben is absolutely waterproof in heavy rain. You probably read my latest blog on the 10 oz shelter system and for this I had a custom bivy made by ZPacks. I specified that only the floor would be constructed of a tougher 1.4 oz/sqY cuben and the remainder of the breathable cuben, so in effect a reverse bathtub where the breathable cuben makes up the majority of the material (and wraps all around the sides). Since this custom bag is only 3/4 length and is to be used with my B4 upper, I don't anticipate condensation problems at all.
I also have an older Feathered Friends goretex bivy which exactly fits your description. Since it weighs over a pound I don't use it much anymore (I have a 1 lb tent) but it has lasted 15 years and is very durable and tough. My advice is to watch for products coming out soon (I hear OWare is going to market a cuben bivy) that use the breathable cuben, or MLD (Mountain Laurel Designs) currently makes a couple of light weight bivy bags at 5 and 12 ozs. In general I would say the cuben materials will be a satisfactory and extremely light weight upgrade to the old goretex bivies. Without getting into the WPB technologies and the conditions required for vapor transfer, I anticipate the breathable cuben will perform at least as good as our old bivies and be plenty tough enough (edit: goretex is only the membrane, any "toughness" will come from the material it is laminated to). I know that ventilation and weather conditions play the most critical role in the performance of these sometimes over-hyped technologies. For now at least, I am taking advantage of the durability and extreme light weight of the new cuben fibers. Hope this helps a bit and good luck!
;)
snow travel in forest: it all looks the sameQ I know at that time of the year (late June/early July) it will still be quite snowy. Snow shoes will def. be needed. My question concerns how easy or difficult will it be to follow the trail? We talked to the Rangers and they mentioned extreme snow navigational skils will be needed. I was wondering if you had been out during this time of the year? If enough snow shoers are out doing the trail to make it fairly easy to follow? I haven't looked into researching too much about hiking the trail during this time of the year and you are my first stop.
Thanks in advance for your time and help.
A Mark, glad you found the site. You say "snow shoes will def. be needed" but this is not the case. The Wonderland Trail in late June/early July can have substantial snow cover in the higher places, but this is different than classic winter snow. By then the snow will be consolidated, you will not be dealing with loose powder. This consolidated snow offers much easier travel, as post holing is rare (depending on where you are, such as near rocky areas that hold heat and tend to melt areas around them more) and most of the loose stuff has high water content from daytime melting....you would usually not sink more than a few inches in these conditions. Therefore, snow shoes are probably not an appropriate mode of travel during this time (I've never used them and have never seen anyone with them outside of the winter months).
The ranger is right about navigation skills, however. The difficult parts are travel in the forest areas, as everything looks the same. The snow is cupped and covered with tree crud and it's hard to discern tracks in these conditions. My recommendation would be to have a GPS with a topo map installed where you can reference the trail location in these trickier spots. Once higher up out of the forest, navigation becomes easier. If you haven't seen them yet, you should watch these (see below) updates to get a feel for what traveling in the early season on Rainier is like, as last year provided quite a bit of snow travel throughout the summer. Good luck in your planning!
Past Updates: 3 reports from 2011 giving detailed descriptions of parts of the WT and what to expect in these conditions...watch the videos!
Q I'm very interested in your zpacks front pack camera case - seems a perfect solution for the gh2. Did you order a custom size and any other non-standard features? Would you mind telling the dimensions so I can copy you!
A Quintin, Joe's website says the chest pack is usually 3 inches deep. I asked him to make me one that was 5 inches deep. He charged me an extra $5. When you order the pack, just tell him what you want and reference the one he made for me, he'll use that info for reference. I suggest emailing him first telling him what you want before you place the order. Good luck in the construction!
Q Two questions if I may: 1. No need to carry a bear cannister as long as you hang your food at the established campsites on the Wonderland? (on those poles) 2. You refer to "mountain chickens" somewhere. Do you mean mountain lions? I'm considering a solo W/T hike and the presence of the big cats would be the only reason that I may not hike it solo. You (and a lot of others) don't seem to be worried about cougars. Thank you, Greg
A HI Greg, Happy New Year. All the established camps in MRNP have bear poles, so no canister is needed. Mowich Lake drive in campground doesn't have poles but they do have bear lockers. Mountain chicken is just a slang name for grouse because they bob their heads when they walk just like a chicken.;)
You talkin' to me? Mountain Chicken
As for cougars, consider yourself very lucky if you even see one. In all my years around here I have only seen a cougar once, crossing the road when my daughter and I were heading to the Cold Springs campground on Mt. Adams....he sauntered into the woods and we had the opportunity to watch him for a minute as he turned, looked at us, then casually continued on his way. Very cool! The chance of being attacked by a cougar is so incredibly low that it doesn't enter my mind as a worry. I simply keep aware of my environment and may make some noise if I'm coming around a blind corner for bears. However, there has never been a fatal bear attack in the park and I've seen many (bears, not attacks!). Usually they run away when they get your scent, or sometimes they ignore people if they are at the appropriate distance while they are foraging. The usual critters I stumble upon during a typical hike are deer, grouse, sometimes mountain goats in the higher regions, and the occasional elk.
Consider that cougar usually hunt in the early morning hours or late afternoon, what you might call the "transition" time from/to dark. If I am running during this period on the trail I do increase my scan of surroundings as this is the best time to see any type of wildlife. I did almost step on a baby skunk one night so my only worry there was where was the mom? Years ago, on my first hike where I was solo night hiking, I had the usual worries about animals in the dark. However, on that same hike I was in the Silver Forest area and decided to take a break and turn off my headlamp. The view was incredible, even with the lights of Tacoma in the background I could see the Milky Way (moonless night). I soon let go of my fears and from that point forward came to embrace being alone in the dark in the woods. What I'm saying is fear of animal attacks and such will eventually go away once you've spent some time in the outdoors and reconnect; however, feeling those fears is very normal if you haven't reached that point yet. Accept that and go with the statistics on your side....any accidents are usually from falling, twisting a knee, rockfall, tripping or some other such thing. I'd concentrate on the things you have control over, like a fairly light load and foot placement. I talk about ultralight but really, if you can keep your pack weight below 25 pounds you will be ahead of most of the burdened hikers. As you probably know by now, I am a huge advocate of trekking poles also. These are the things that will keep you safer and enhance your experience on the trail.
If you want to hike solo, go for it! This is a well established trail, summertime sees a fair amount of traffic...you are not out there in the "wilderness." If you have a trail mishap someone will most likely come across you fairly soon. I've found solitude in the early/later hours on the trail. I talk about it in the video, but hiking before 9 AM and after 5 PM will find the trail almost completely deserted; everyone crams their hiking into the 9-2 time. However, if you want to be sociable on the trail, there will be plenty of people to talk it up with during your hike, especially in the camps if you so desire.
Recap: no amount of reading about other people will completely dispel your own fears, so accept that it's normal and try to put it aside by looking at the statistics. The WT is an excellent trail for solo hiking, well traveled enough to not be feeling "out there" but also secluded for some alone time. You transit 2 major areas (Longmire and Sunrise) where you can buy lunch or dinner and restock on goodies if so desired. Good established camps with bear poles, no canister required. Transit many different zones from lowland to alpine. Once you do it, your sense of accomplishment will be great. Hope to see you out here next summer!
Q Actually now that I think about it the other thing that I'm struggling with is as I try to get my base weight closer to 9lbs is figuring out the difference between a 4 day trip and a 9 day trip. We will be doing the trail in 9 days with a groups of 8 guys and none of them are ultra lighters so we will be taking a little more time. Would you suggest an extra shirt, pair of socks and underwear? I normally would never take this but am wondering with 9 days if it might be nice to have these. To have a clean shirt to wear to bed and clean underwear to switch out to help with chafing and things like that.
A Jon, it looks like you have a nice system. First let me address your clothing. I can't speak for you, but I would leave the BMW pants at home. The long underwear is good for sleeping in but you will most likely not use them on the trail, so there's one part of your sleep system. I would also have a clean (light) long sleeve shirt/capilene/etc to change into at night for sleeping. As far as extra clothing, the most I would do is have one extra pair of underwear and pair of socks; this way you can wash one pair each day if you wanted and dry them during the day for wear on the following day. I think your Hoody and quilt would be fine for sleeping on the WT. The coldest times will be in the evening and early morning, when you are lazing around camp. That's when I put on all my clothing if warranted including a warm hat. When I'm on the trail during the day under locomotion, I'm generating enough heat that I don't need much. If it's breezy and/or chilly, I'll immediately don a jacket and hat when I stop for a break to maintain body heat....I never wait until I'm starting to feel cold, I want to capture whatever heat I'm still generating for the following 15 minutes after I stop. Considering that you will be hiking with more burdened partners, they will probably be slower than yourself and you may find that you are waiting a lot, especially with a group of 8. Just make sure you have adequate clothing to maintain warmth as you'll be at rest a lot. As for the shorts, I usually wear long pants all the time, even when it's hot. You'll be doing a bit of hiking through overhanging brush and I find I like the leg protection, not to mention protection from bugs. Your zip offs sound good in that you could have the option for either. Again, you will probably never have to wear the long underwear during the day for warmth, but it is a good idea to have for evening and sleeping.
Personally, only once have I packed more than a 35 degree sleeping bag, and that was for an October hike. If you've read my blog you'll see that quite a few times I don't even pack a sleeping bag, I use the Blizzard long jacket or the Blizzard Tube. One year I even climbed Rainier using a 40 degree bag for the overnights. If you are not intimately familiar with your body "heat system" then err on the side of more comfort considering the length of time you will be on the trail. I've spent a few chilly evenings but I had only planned on sleeping 4-5 hours anyway. I tend to produce a lot of heat so I can get away with skimpier systems than someone who is a cold sleeper, so you have to figure out what you are if you haven't already.
Lastly, I wouldn't fret too much about ounces. If your base weight is 8-12 pounds, you are good to go. Considering your large group and the amount of time on the trail, make sure you have enough to be comfortable and warm, the social aspect of your trip probably outweighs fretting over going ultralight, and you obviously won't be schlepping a 30-40 pound pack; if you're 20 or less, I think you're good. You may even consider taking your Western Mountaineering bag instead of the Bozeman quilt, as 6 ozs in your situation is negligible and you want to enjoy yourself and your company on the trail without shivering at night...better to vent than to wish you had more warmth in this situation. And I never skimp on food, take what you really like no matter the weight.
Of course, these are just my opinions and I'm talking about what works for me, so make sure you do a good assessment for your own situation. I pack differently every time depending on the trip, the conditions expected, the length, and whether I am solo or with other people. ;)
Fresh snow on PaintbrushQ Could you tell me, in your opinion, what week in the summer is typically the best week for wild flowers on the Wonderland trail. And as an alternate, which week is typically the sunniest?
A Robert, unfortunately there is no good answer for your question. Wildflowers bloom at varying times according to altitude and snowmelt. For instance, this year with the lingering snows, there were wildflowers still coming out in September. However, on the roadsides in the park, there were lots of flowers earlier due to the melt next to the road. Traditionally, the third week in August is the driest, yet this past summer this was not the case and there was still a lot of snow on the ground. If you're trying to book a time to do the Wonderland Trail, the ideal time (for me) is the first few weeks in September. In general, the second or third week of July through September would be good times to come. June usually still sees snow in many places. We're in for another La Nina year, which may see late lingering snowpack. Sorry I can't pin it down but it changes every year. If you check the snow level at Paradise, this will be a good indication for the wildflowers. If the lower meadows and above the parking lot are clear, then the flowers will be in bloom throughout the park at about the 5000' level. If there's still 10 feet of snow, then it's going to be a while.
If I had to pin it down and give you my best guess, I'd say conditions are usually good for weather and flowers throughout August. You can make a good guess by the end of May by looking at the snowpack and snow levels on the mountain, and the predicted weather patterns for June.
Q I was also considering the hike on September 29 through October 4. Is that too late in the season, would it be exceptionally rainy or possible snow? I know you cannot know the future, but what is it generally like at that late date?
A Robert, I have done the trail in October before, and in fact did one section this year on October 5. It can be a wonderful time to be on the trail, just be prepared for colder weather with possible rain and possible snow showers. Of course, that could be July too so all you can do is make your plans and hope for the best. Check out nwhikers.net for trip reports for this (2011) year. I know a number did the trail later in the season due to the heavy snows this year.
Q One of your videos shows you using a pot stand with your alcohol stove. Could you tell me where you purchased the pot stand? I have a "mini trangia" set up. Love the burner, but don't care much for the stand/windscreen. Thanks again and Happy Trails, Greg
A HI Greg. Unfortunately, I purchased the stove/stand combo from Gossamer Gear a few years back and they no longer carry it, so I didn't get the stand separately. I'll bet there are quite a few more options out there though:
http://art.simon.tripod.com/Stoves/
http://www.alcoholstove.net/
http://www.zpacks.com/accessories/ministove.shtml
This site has info on how to construct your own stand using easily purchased standard gauge wire:
http://zenstoves.net/Supplies-PotStand.htm
It seems that most of the stoves for sale include or have a stand incorporated into their design, so the zenstove wire bending kit looks like a great possibility. Good luck.
Q question-- seriously, what type of underwear do you wear when hiking? cotton boxers? cotton-polyester blend jockey style? silk boxers? the reason i ask is i seem to have a problem with chafing and i wonder how you deal with this.
A Hi Larry, I use REI/Patagonia underwear brief style, never cotton. My legs are pretty skinny so the only chafing problem I have encountered has been "ass chap." A nice application of Desitin (baby diaper rash stuff) in the morning before hiking will keep that from happening.
Q next a suggestion- put in a little more about your food for your trips. I noticed that on your 3-day wonderland trip you didn't take a stove, so consider laying out your food selections and specifically say "I take one of these and two of these" etc.
A As for food, if I cook it's usually just a few things. My daughter doesn't eat meat so we buy Mountain House mac n' cheese and pasta primavera, and for dessert we love the raspberry crumble. Coffee and hot chocolate provide the drinks. For non cook food I make a gorp.....cashews, pistachios, dried cranberries and various chocolate covered fruits. Power bars and balance bars quite a bit, and chips, hard cheese, crackers and easy cheese, fig newtons and various forms of gu or powergels. And yes, I always seem to take way too much food so I probably have a few days extra. Oh, I forgot about bagels and Nutella, usually for lunch.
When I'm going solo and moving a lot, I don't like to take too much stuff with me so the hassle of cooking is not worth the value of hot food. Were I going out for more than 3-4 days, I would count on cooking more to keep the calories up. I do always cook if I'm with my daughter, as she likes the hot food and it adds to the fun of being out.
Q I came across your video sent from a friend with "whats in my pack" I was impressed with the light load. More impressive was the video on the wonderland trail and the different shots etc. Can you please let me know the video editing software used. I am an avid backpacker and just purchased a gopro and would like to incorporate some of your techniques.
A Hi Chad, plz excuse typing on a phone. I use FCP (Final Cut Studio) and 3 cameras, a Panasonic GH2, Contour 1080P, and Canon HF100. Many of the shots are from the custom pole mounted 1080, which incorporates a bicycle mount for adjustment of the angle.
Q What shoes were you wearing in your most recent video of WLT (8.13)? Were they the Merrell Trail Glove? I'm doing the WLT in early September and would like to use light weight (barefoot style) trail runners...either Merrell or if they are out in the time the Vivobarefoot Neo Trail (very agressive lugs). Good to hear though that you've always done it in trail runners. My backup shoe is a nicely broken in LaSportiva Crosslite, but even those feel like too mush shoe after going in lightweight shoes otherwise.
A Mark, I left the Merrell's at home for that trip due to the amount of snow. We wore trail runners with Goretex socks because of the soaking we received between Box Canyon and Summerland. It will still be a little wet for you if you go with the (Merrell) gloves; not undoable but maybe a bit uncomfortable. I will finish the trail later in September and will probably go with the Gloves. Good luck!
Q Are there any stores in the Seattle area that carry your Wonderland Trail DVD?
A Carl, they are only available online.
Q I saw your testimonial on Gossamer Gear's website about running with the Murmur. How did you carry water? Have you found any issues with durability? i'm looking for a daypack/overnight pack for fast and light high mileage days. I've also considered the Gorilla because it seems pretty versatile, but really more pack than I need I think.
A Hi Ben. I've used the Murmur for a Wonderland Trail hike and a 3 day trip with some backcountry (off trail). If you are going fast and light this is a great pack. I carry water either in bottles for the side pockets or in a bladder inside the pack. The pack does not bounce too much when jogging and I see no durability problems as long as you exercise care and don't do serious bushwhacking or carelessly drag it over rocks. This is probably obvious as it only weighs 8 ozs. In short, if I am going light and fast this pack is just the right size and has the features I want (outside pockets). If you have perused my site you can see the pack show up in some videos. Check out the podcast "Ultralight Backpacking to the Elysian fields." It covers all the features of the pack in a real world test. The Gorilla is probably too much pack if you're going light and want to cover distance, but it is a good pack if you are in need of carrying a little more weight (say, more than 10-15 lbs).