I am hiking the Rae Lakes loop in the beginning of Sept and unfortunatly the guy I was going with can't make it any more so I am going solo. I would like some advice on what to bring to save some weight now that I can't split gear.

The tent I have is a mid 5lb 2 man. I have the option of leaving the rain fly at home, do the footprint and rainfly combination and leave the tent, or just suck up the extra weight. Or I can just rent a 1 man tent.

What cloths do I need? I was thinking 2 t-shirts, lightweight longsleeve wool shirt, and my softshell for upper body. Some shorts and lightweight nylon long pants for night. Will this be enough?

Any advice would be great as I don't do alot of backpacking. I plan on doing the loop in 4-5 days depending on how I feel. Thanks so much.

Hey Patrick,
Will you be going clockwise or counter?

This loop shouldn't be too difficult.
I would recomend doing this in 5 days.

This way you go to Videttte night 1, Dollar/ Rea Lakes are for 2 & 3, Upper Paradise 4, and back on the last day, (5).

Or the other way.

You really want to spend the extra day at the lakes for the excelent views.

The climb is not too horibly steep but very consistant, so wieght will be a factor.

Good luck adn have fun!!!

Edited by awsorensen on 07/22/2009 11:59:35 MDT.

A 5 lb tent is EXTREMELY excessive. I can't imagine what your base weight will be with a shelter that heavy. I advise you to go with a lighter shelter so you can actually enjoy the scenery. A Silnylon flat tarp would be very easy and cheap to make and would save you from carrying all that weight.
You are carrying way too many clothes IMO. Why do you need 2 t-shirts? You don't need shorts either, you can roll up your pants.

-Sid

Yeah, I agree with Sid. Every time I've done this route, the weather has been fantastic. In fact, if I were to guess, I would say there is a better than 50% chance you could do the whole trip and never have to set your shelter up once. It seems like a waste to take a heavy tent when you might not end up using it at all. If it does rain, it shouldn't last for more than half an hour. I also think that most of the mosquitoes should be gone in September (which might otherwise have been a good reason to take an enclosed shelter). I don't recommend taking no shelter at all, but a tarp or something else minimalist should be fine.

Thanks for all the help. I was wondering what the bug situation will be in early Sept. If they are pretty much gone by then I might just leave the actual tent at home and just bring the rainfly, poles and footprint. The poles hook into the fly so it should work well and save me a few pounds. It would be great to get a small one man tent but unfortunatly that is not in the budget now.

Hey Patrick I did this hike 2 years ago on Labor weekend clock wise, great hike. The temps at Rae Lakes at night got down to mid to low 20s. Bugs were almost non exsistent If you need a partner I might be able to swing it if you go on Labor weekend, I do recommend clock wise if you can get the permit for it. There was a lot of bear activity though and you will need a bear canister, they rent them at the trail head or you can buy them on line. I have the bear boxer it is half the size of most canisters and I can probally get enough food in it for one person to do the trip. If 2 are going you would need 2 but I also have a Garcia that will hold more than enough food for 2 on that trip. If 2 people go you can split the weight between the tent and the food canister. I have a lighter 2 man tent if you decide you want a partner. This is one of the must do hikes in the Kings Canyon. Let me know if you want a partner I already took the Fri. before Labor Day and the tue. after. If you want to email me I'm at ielliot1@bak.rr.com

Edited by jumpbackjack on 07/22/2009 22:37:38 MDT.

Almost forgot you can rent tents at Eddie Bauer in Fresno I don't know what they have in stock to rent you will have to call them to find out what they have. Jack

I think you meant to say Herb Bauer Sporting Goods, which is a great local store. There is also an REI in Fresno that rents tents.

Edited by Davidpcvsamoa on 07/22/2009 20:17:11 MDT.

Thanks David for the correction its been a long day in this 105 degree heat

Jack unfortunatly I am I got a permit for the weekend befor Labor Day, Aug 29-2. I figured this weekend would be a bit more mellow than Labor Day. Good to know there aren't many bugs that time of year. Knowing that I am just going to bring the rainfly and footprint which should lighten the tent up quite a bit. I didn't realize it got into the 20's up at the lakes. I might have to bring something a bit warmer for my legs as I am used to the nice LA weather.

Hey Patrick! I just got back yesterday from doing the Loop! It was my third time, but it has been 30 years since my last trip. Absolutely fantastic trip, and you picked a great time of year to go. The bugs were DENSE last week. I would try to do the Loop clockwise, and take 5 days. Enjoy a day at Rae Lakes to rest or explore 60 Lakes Basin. Only advice I would suggest is to get your pack weight down as much as possible. Be relentless. I cut 9 LBS the day before I was leaving and wish I had cut more. I found the trip challenging and the only downside (besides the mosquitoes) was the pack weight... One long sleeve shirt is fine. I took a LS and one short and never used the short sleeve. Have fun!

Hey Patrick I might be able to swing that date if you want a hiking partner, if you don't thats cool. Let me know so I can change things around at work to get the time off. Do you know which direction your permit is for? Jack

Edited by jumpbackjack on 07/23/2009 21:04:16 MDT.

bump

Jack. My knee has been bothering me from a past injury lately and might have to have it scoped. I should have my results from my MRI tomorrow. I am going to take an overnight 20 miler in about a week and see how it holds up before I commit to this hike. I will let you know as soon as I am defiantly on for this trip.

Sounds good, I just got over a bad case of Plantar fasciitis and Gout, talk about pain! But I should be good to go. Hope your knee turns out ok. Keep me posted. Thanks Jack

Bad news. MRI shows I have a hole in my cartilage causing my femur and tubula to smash into each other. Surgery on Aug 14th. No hiking for me this summer. Next year.

Sorry to hear that, sounds painfull! So do you have to call and cancal the permit or can someone else use it? Hint hint. Man that really sucks about your knee though hope they can fix it. Maybe next year, or later in the year if the doc. says its ok to hike. I think you can still hike it in late Sept. into early Oct. I'll have to call to find out for sure. The thing with doing it later is the weather might get a little nasty and unpredictable Keep me posted and good luck

I have done the hike counter clockwise.

1.5 days to get to rae lakes, spent some time in the area and hiked all the way back down in one day.

I always use a tarp. The only bug protection besides deet is a head net. I would not leave home with out it.

I wear it at night if the bugs are out. Once it gets cold the bugs go away and if I wake up in the middle of the night I take it off. It is cold enough that the only part exposed while sleeping is my face so the head net works perfect.

I also like to get an early start each morning, around 5-5:30am and get in some miles while it is nice and cool.

For clothes this is what I take.

Two pairs of synthetic socks with liners - forget brand
2 running shorts (i don't use any type of underwear except for this)- unknown brand/nothing special
short sleeve synthetic shirt - patagonia silk weight
long sleeve synthetic shirt - patagonia silk weight
mid weight bottoms - patagonia
wind pants- unknown brand/nothing special
wind shirt - golite ether
synthetic insulated jacket - montbell thermawrap
water proof shell - outdoor research zealot
silnylon rain wrap (skirt)- ULA equipment
pair of glove liners - unknown brand
fleece balaclava - unknown brand
baseball hat

From early to late season and everything in between I have always been comfortable in the sierras with this setup. (I take a WM ultralite bag) I have also hiked the JMT.

Have fun.