I have been working on my gear list for awhile thinking towards a 14 day JMT north to south. My son, who packs lighter than I, is going as is my brother and his son. I put this list together so I can impress upon my brother and his son how much work it takes to get a pack weight down.

I am happy with the base weight. Without the Bearicade canister my base would be roughly 8.5 lbs. I still haven't decided whether or not to take fishing gear.

Gear list is in my profile.

Any suggestions/questions are always welcome.

Edited by scottbentz on 04/08/2009 12:39:15 MDT.

A SS #5 wouldn't be warm enough for me. Are you good to go at 28- 32 degrees with your setup?

Yea, that can be a concern. I know it is rated at 40º but I used it two weeks ago while sleeping on a friends porch at Mammoth Mountain. Temp was down to about 32º and i was fine. Feet got a bit cold but I did not have any socks on either. Granted, I was sleeping on a thicker pad. That's the reason I have the UL Down Inner along with a pair of merino wool bottoms. If I had to I could also use my Dri-Duck bottoms. I think that should keep me safe.

I also have a WM Ultralite Super rated at 25º but my son is using that one. I should steal that from him and let him freeze.

That's a similar weight to what I took last year. I did Tuolumne Meadows to Whitney Portal in 14 days. I think that your list looks decent other than having a forty degree bag.

What time of year are you going?

Are you taking a camera?

I ended up leaving my fishing gear at home but there is a lot of fishing opportunity if you do bring it. I saw people catching golden trout and that looked like fun.

Have a good time. It's a great hike.

Funny thing is, I thought my #5 was a 35º bag figuring I had something special. I have never seen a #5 other than a 40º. If I tell myself it's a warmer bag I'll stay warmer, right? If you guys hassle me too much more about it I just may have to go out and get a Summerlite.

I may take a camera if my son doesn't. I think he will.

We're out sometime early to mid August. Can't nail it down just yet.

The SpinnTwinn tarp is to be shared with my son in case of inclement weather. If no weather, we'll be under the stars. Since I am carrying it he may have to carry my canister. Not a bad trade off.

Edited by scottbentz on 04/08/2009 18:00:05 MDT.

I did the JMT with a 40 degree bag the first half of the trail(Resupplied at VVR) and had no problems at all. With proper layering and a good beenie I was warm (enough). The second half I used a 20 degree bag for the much higher elevations and was very happy that I changed out the bags at VVR. It got preatty cold in Evolution Valley and past Mather Pass.... Before and after Forester pass you never know what kind of weather you can get.. I did the hike Aug. 1st to August 16th--two zero days at VVR..I took a tarp.

Good Luck and enjoy AWESOME trail.

-Jay

I will be hiking the JMT from 8/17 to 9/1/09. I was planning on taking a Marmot Atom (40 deg) bag for the whole trip. I have used this bag down to 32 deg with no additional insulation (no baselayer, etc.) and was comfortable. I am planning on carrying a Montbell UL Inner Down Jacket for my insulation layer and could wear this, along with a pair of nylon wind pants, to sleep in, if needed. My alternative is my Montbell Alpine #1 (15 deg) down bag. I would really like to keep the weight down to a minimum, but am not looking at freezing my butt off either.
Forgot to add that I'm planning on taking my MLD bivy too.
Which one is best?

Edited by JimEnnis on 04/08/2009 19:08:41 MDT.

Jim,
I'll be out there starting on 8/13 with my 17YO nephew. Your sure to catch up to us. See you there.

George:
I'll definitely look for you. We may not be going really fast. We'll just have to see how we deal with the altitude.
Jim

You hike in a short sleeve t-shirt and carry a long sleeve shirt. Is the long sleeve the weight of a long underwear top or is it just a light shirt? I usually hike in a t-shirt, but the sun has me concerned. I do not have a lightweight long sleeved shirt yet. Usually my long sleeve is a mid-weight long underwear top. I usually carry a second t-shirt that I just change into at camp, so it is always dry. I carry three pairs of socks. Two low cuts that I switch alternate wearing. One pair is often hanging out to dry on the outside of my pack. The third pair is a warmer pair crew height only worn around camp.
I think waterproof over mitts are important to keep hands warm in a cold rain. Liner gloves alone are loose their efficiency when wet. (NB the recent review of overmitts from MLD) on the homepage.
I was considering wearing these arm sleeves with a t-shirt instead of a full shirt. Wonder if they would be too hot?

http://moeben.com/store.html

Edited by rambler on 04/11/2009 06:58:10 MDT.

I hike in both the long and short sleeve depending upon conditions. In lower elevations in the Sierras I hike with a short sleeve. I don't really have problems with sunburned arms. I do wear a bandana around my neck and a Tilley hat.

I use the long sleeve when the weather gets cooler; bugs; at night for around camp insulation; and to sleep in if necessary. Since I am taking along a down jacket I am not taking long underwear or fleece.

The long sleeve I use is a Mountain Hardwear wicked T (I think that's what they call it). I can hike in this shirt on hot days also. I sweat in long or short. If I want the extra sun protection I will wear this. If the morning is cold I will start out with sleeves down and then just pull them up as the temp. rises.

I sometimes go hiking with a short-sleeved shirt and bicycle arm warmers. The arm warmers are not as light weight as some long-sleeved shirts and they are kind of tight. But the ease of taking off the sleeves is nice.

The problem I usually have is if I can't pull up the sleeve far enough (or keep it there) I might get a nasty burn in the exposed area or get cold there.

I wonder if the runners' sleeves are better than the bicycling sleeves. Possibly less heavy, warm and tight?

I don't see why you couldn't make sleeves yourself from an old long-sleeved shirt and a little elastic or even safety pins if you don't care how it looks. Or even get a fat-lady bathing suit from the thrift shop if you want lycra and nifty prints.

I'm as pale as can be and never hike without long sleeves. I have Pearl Izumi bike sleeves that I use on the bike and in cold weather, some of the Moeben sleeves (from zombierunner.com), and a pair of Zensah compression sleeves. The Moeben sleeves are really nice, but the Zensah sleeves are my hot-weather favorites. They're pretty thin, stay up well, and pack down to nothing. They also sqoosh down nicely around my wrists if I'm not too worried about the sun for the moment but don't want to take them all the way off. I highly recommend either them or the Moeben sleeves.

I'm going to lose girl points for saying this, but the sleeves work out a lot better for pit-drying issues. I also like the flexibility of being able to pull them down a few inches if my hands start to get cold to cover my fists. They're really, really useful pieces of gear.