Gear List

2-night to Trinity Alps in Norcal this weekend(July 24-26). Temps 95 degrees at the TH, 2300' elevation gains (in steps, thankfully) to 5900' elevation, mid 80s temps at camp.

Never been on this trail before. My big questions are about my clothes/shelter.

-Do I need to bother bringing the base/sleeping layers? I'm thinking no.

- I could swap the Patagonia top for a 3 oz Golite s/s top and sunblock. Is sunblock enough or should I keep the long sleeves for protection.

-I was thinking about swapping out the Golite Poncho Tarp/Mosquito net combo for my TT Rainbow for better shade, but that would add 2 lbs to my baseweight. Considering temps are going to be in the 80s-90s daytime and low 60s at night, and no rain predicted at all, could I forgo any rain protection to save some weight? Then bringing the TT would only add ~20 ozs to my packweight. Or is it the rule you must always bring rain protection every time? I have the windshirt if there is a brief storm.

- 100oz of water to be safe; too much? Not enough?

My stove is an issue, I know. I have a dilemna, I'm moving, and I have two trips left. I only have enough denatured alcohol for 1 of them, and I have one cannister of isopropane left. Neither can be moved. I don't want to buy alcholol just to throw away 95% of it. (Zippo lighter fluid is not alky stove compatible, correct?) So I was going to use the cannister on this trip and the akly stove on the next (Sunrise HSC, 3 nights). Maybe I should bank on cooler temps for the next trip and save the 6 oz on this hot one?

Edited by jrmacd on 07/22/2009 13:55:21 MDT.

i'd get rid of em both. if you're not expecting temps to be lower than 80 even at night, i sincerely doubt you'll need em...

James,

See my post in your Too Hot to Hike thread.

If it were me...

Poncho/Tarp. Main use would be shade during a mid day rest. If it only tops at 95F, I would skip the rest. But chances are it could be even hotter. If I had a cuben fiber tarp at around 3oz, I would take it instead of my MLD silnylon poncho/tarp.

My clothes would be RR Adventure Shirt, (if I was not used to this heat, I would wear a RR Eco Speed T under the shirt during the heat of the day), Eco Mesh Pants, Ex Officio long briefs to prevent fungus build up in the crotch due to sweating all day, Tilley hat, cheap bandanna and sunglasses. Bring the highest rated suntan lotion.

Food: Skip cooking if you can. It is only a two day trip. I do not, I need coffee in the morning. Cat/Pepsi can stove set up.

If no reliable water sources, you may need up to 2 gallons of water a day... if this case, dump any gear you safely can.

Sleeping: I would bring a BPL UL60 quilt. 11 oz. If low temps were around 70F, I would bring no sleeping gear but maybe a Montbell Ex Ultralight Down Jacket at 6 oz, just in case.

Lighest runing shoes you can find. Switch out your socks during the day. I usually don't, but if you are not used to these conditions, it is a good idea.

If you ever wanted to go Sub 5lbs, this is the trip. 2 gallons of water weigh almost 17 lbs. The more weight you carry in the heat, the more water you need. Catch 22. If I was doing this trip with you, I could easliy get under 4lbs base, and carry more water.

I have a dark complexion. Even if I have a good suntan, I take sunblock at altitude, and usually just hike in a T shirt. However if the temps get above 100F, I go with a long sleeve shirt. If night temps are cool, then a long sleeve shirt during the day and night. More and more, my only shirt is a RR Adventure shirt.

re: water. there is a LOT of water in the Trinity Alps, depending where you go. what trail(s) are you taking? many of them following streams up canyons, and then lead to lakes. unless you have a long stretch or two between water sources, taking one or two 1L aquafina-type bottles would be more than enough.

however, i've definitely down a couple long stretches out there in summer when i needed more water (e.g. over caribou scramble and down, from TH over red pass, etc.).

have fun!

Dropped the hat and gloves. Recalled that last weekend I slept fine minus the hat and night temps were similar. I was only bringing the gloves as mosquito protection, I just make with some DEET on the backs of my hands.

Nick, thanks for all the advice. I read that trip report of your Cactus to clouds trip.

Nighttime temps will be around 55, so right at the edge of where I'd feel comfortable bringing only my MB UL Parka, which would save me 7oz. I just wonder if my legs/feet would be warm enough. Throw in 3oz silk baselayer longjohns and an extra pair of liner socks and the weight is equal to my quilt. If it was a one-night trip, I might give the MB jacket a try as my sleep system, because the worst I'd end up is with chilly legs and feet and bad sleep. But if that happened, it'd ruin the 2nd night of my trip knowing what lay ahead. Very tempting though.

I'll definitely go with the l/s shirt. Those RR shirts look nice.

It'll be 3.5 miles from the TH to my first water source, .25 miles to the next one (a watering hole said to be good for an afternoon break. After than, the hike is only 3 more miles with water sources every mile or so according to the guides I've read.

My biggest problem is that I'll likely not make it onto the trail much before 11am, which doesn't give me much time to make distance before the afternoon heat hits (It's a 5hr drive, and the odds of me making it out of the garage earlier than 5am are slim to none. )

Temps right now are predicted as low 90s at the TH and I should ascend enough by afternoon to avoid actually ever hiking in 90 degree temps, not that mid 80s are much better.



I thought hard about dropped the cooking gear and saving 12 oz, but I've done the cold meals before and I've found a hot meal at dinner is worth 3/4 lb.

My biggest impediment to getting a lower baseweight is bringing some kind of food protection from bears. I don't know the tree situation there for hanging. (If I camped near the lakes, it's non-existent). Right now I'm bringing my Ursack with aluminum liner at 20 oz. I'd ask the Ranger if bears are an issue when I get my permit, but Rangers tend to err on the side of caution (read: idiot campers, and I don't blame them for that) and would probably advise bringing a full on hard-sided cannister if I asked.

re: water. there is a LOT of water in the Trinity Alps, depending where you go. what trail(s) are you taking?

Oops, I mentioned that in another thread but not the gear thread. Canyon Creek Trail to Canyon Creek Lakes, Day 1, and Boulder Creek Lake, Day 2.