Fastpacker's Notebook: 10 oz. Shelter System

This is the second in a series I will produce on my quest to find the best techniques, equipment, people or anything else that enhances swift light movement on or off the trail. If I can't find it, I'll build it.

Most of the time I do the Wonderland Trail solo as a fastpack: 3 days or less. In fact, I decided to challenge my old 36 hour trip I did over a decade ago. I may spend up to 20 hours on the trail. When it's time to catch some Z's, I just want to lie down and get on with it. My energy is at a low, and I don't want to spend the time setting up a tent, unpacking my stuff and generally sprawling out in a campsite. Beyond hiking the Wonderland specifically, I want a shelter system where I can catch some Z's just about anywhere, even propped up against a log or rock.

Read More

Fastpacker's Notebook: Packing Cameras

lids open away from the body

 

I ran around with the pack/camera chest pack configuration and I can say it is much more comfortable and stable than any of the other configurations I've used in the past. It balances nicely and doesn't flop forward. I don't need a waist belt to use it. It doesn't obstruct my vision too much when looking down. It's sturdy, light, and waterproof. If I'm not carrying larger cameras, I can simply remove the insert and use the chest pack for food, maps, other electronics, clothing or water (multiuse is always good).

Read More

Kids and Hiking

daughter in the OlympicsOver the years I've had a lot of people ask about how I got my kids to go outside, especially my daughter. This is actually a complicated scenario. Of course it's easy when they're young, you simply take them whereever you want to go and they follow in tow, the good prisoners that they are to their parent's every whim.
Read More

Hiking 2011: end of season observations

Well, the hiking season seemed to pass by almost unnoticed this year, partly because I spent so much of it on snow. Emails and calls especially concentrated on the conditions at Mt. Rainier and the Wonderland Trail in particular, and I posted a number of updates on the trail centered around the snow conditions. However, this post is about things I discovered, new gear and new techniques.

Read More

The Mt. Adams Glissade

I've been to Mt. Adams in Washington a number of times, and I can tell you it's not to drive the lovely washboard pitted and twisty Route 23 or the South Climb 183 road. It's not to endure the dusty parking lot. It's not to contend with people coming and going at all hours when you're trying to get up at 4:30 AM. It's not to hike the rocky scree so typical of the volcanoes. But just like randonee skiers who "earn the turns" the trip to Mt. Adams can be one of the best glissades going, and when you're rocketing down the slopes you soon forget all the negatives and the hours of getting up there. The best time to climb and glissade Adams is usually late June early July when the snow is in good form, but this year (with the late lingering snowpack) even the middle of August provided some entertainment as I introduced my 16 year old daughter to this big mountain. But a video is worth a thousand blog entries......

The B4: ultralight upright and prone bug protection

the B4: room for enclosed bug free lunchI guess the story is the same...after so many years of fastpacking, there's some gear I'd really like to have to fill a need. But what does one do when your coveted gear is not available anywhere for the easiest route of simply purchasing it? Well, sometimes you have to suck it up and make it yourself. I finally buckled down, recruited my buddy's wife, and made my first piece of UL gear as it is nowhere to be seen on today's market.
Read More

Hyperlight Backpacking: Changing the Paradigm

inside the Blizzard Tube: room for 2We all have an idea, a vision about what backpacking is. Spread out your gear, choose what you need, cram all your stuff into your backpack. Now think about a day hike, where you make sure you have some extra clothing and a few essentials, but you're mostly concerned about the food for your lunch in the hinterlands. This is what hyperlight backpacking is for me, akin to John Muir grabbing some tea and hardtack and taking to the woods.
Read More

2011: Late Snows in Washington State

top of the Gondola, Green Valley, Crystal MountainToday my daughter and I went skiing at Crystal Mountain, which will probably be open well into June and perhaps even July this year. They just set a new record for snowfall, surpassing 600 inches for the year. Sure, in some places it was a little grabby, and the water content is high, but there is a lot of snow left on the mountain above 5000'. I couldn't help but think of this year's backpacking season and the amount of snow right now, and based on previous year's experience I think it's going to be a late season.
Read More