We are doing the JMT from Onion Valley to South lake the first week of September. My gear list is linked below. We are from the east, and neither of us have been backpacking in the Sierras, so any help would be greatly appreciated. We will be out for 6 days.

JMT Gear List

Edited by HikeUltralight on 07/29/2011 21:16:00 MDT.

Hi Rob,

I like your list but I had a some suggestions/questions.

1. In your "other clothing" you have both Montbell leggings and down inner pants. Were you planning on wearing both while sleeping? If so, combined with a 30* bag it might be a bit much. But you might be a cold sleeper and/or the weather might be a bit chillier then when I'm going (early August). Something to think about though.

2. You already have a beanie and your sleeping bag comes with a hood and draw chord that you can cinch around your head/face. Do you need the balaclava?

3. I have the Caldera Keg GVP too and I only take the cone, keg, graham stand, and lip protector. I have the same spoon as you and I have a small cuben fiber sack. All of this plus a mini bic weighs 3.39oz. Yours weighs twice as much. Maybe you could take out a couple of the accessories that comes with the keg?

4. Have you tried the AquaMira drops? I don't notice the taste at all but some people really don't like it. For a six day trip the amount you'd need to bring wouldn't be any more than an ounce. Also, you wouldn't have to rely on an electrical device (steripen) nor would you need the heavier wide mouthed nalgene bottles. You could use a 20 oz water bottle (1 oz) and a 1.5L water bladder for cooking (1.5 oz).

5. Do you really need a brush/paste and mouthwash?

6. Water, already mentioned above but if you took a 20 oz bottle you'd be carrying about 15 oz less then your current set up. Plus, there is water everywhere on the JMT.

7. Esbit tabs. I don't know how often you're cooking but if you went to one hot meal per day you wouldn't have to bring so many.

8. Is 19ozs of food per day enough? Mike Clelland advocates bringing about 1.4 lbs per person per day which you're really close to but I still feel that that's too little. I'd consider taking another few ounces per day of food and cutting out weight in other ways.

Hope this helps some. Have a great trip!!

Well thought out list.

A couple of glaring omissions: map and compass!

You have a lot of leg wear. Both shorts and long pants in the worn category. And you are doubling up at camp as well with both long underwear pants and Down Insulating pants. You will be fine with one or the other in both cases.

I'd go hungry with only 19 ounces of food per day.

If you are a coffee drinker you might want to bring a cup so you don't have to consume your morning coffee and oatmeal in shifts with only one vessel.

0.42 ounces of hand sanitizer (including the weight of the container) for six days of backpacking is not enough if you want to use it to really clean your hands. Consider bringing more or bring some soap in addition.

Bandana - you don't really want to use the same one as both a pre-filter and a wash rag, bring two of different colors.

Some small things that are worth bringing:
Two safety pins to hang your socks to dry on your pack.
Two plastic bags to wear over your dry socks if your shoes are wet (just while you are walking around in camp.)
A whistle to attract attention if you get injured.
Some string to use for extra guy line, or to replace a broken shoe lace.

Eric, thanks for your feedback.

1. The MB bag is 30 degree but in reality is probably about 35. With people warning me that it might get down into the low 20s, I was curious if the down pants would be needed to extend the temp rating of my bag. I will probably bring them and leave them in the car at the TH if its warm enough.

2. I have needed it before one night when it got down to 22. Figured the weight was worth it for a cold snap. This is probably another game time decision.

3. Great ideas here. I am going to go look at my setup and see what I can leave behind.

4. I have, I hate the hassle of mixing the drops, and the pills have an unpleasant taste. The other guy I am hiking with is taking pills for backup, and we are sharing the steripen. I may rethink this though, as it is quite a bit heavier than my other setup.

5. Short answer is no, I do not need them all. But a luxury I am willing to live with.

6. I have actually decided to switch to carrying just 1 liter based on your advice and advice of some others as well.

7. I usually have coffee in the morning and a hot meal in the evening, so at 2 per day thats 12, figured I would take a few extra just in case. But maybe I will take a few out.

8. Menu is still a work in progress, you are probably right that I need to beef up the food a bit.

Thanks for the feedback!



Kristin, you are absolutely right about the map and compass. I have them, but did not add them to list!

2. You make a good point about the legwear, just not sure if I need the downpants to extend the rating of the bag. Shorts, are in lieu of boxers, may switch back to boxers.

3. I think you are right, and will probably be beefing up the food a bit.

4. You can eat out of the GVP, and the caddy can be used as a cup.

5. Thanks, may add some Dr. Bronners.

6. Good idea.

7. All useful tips! Never thought of the safety pins.

Thanks for your feedback.

With AquaMira you can use a small bottle to pre-mix the drops at the beginning of the day. Then when you fill up your bottle you can squeeze the premixed drops in and not have to wait as long (courtesy of Mike C).

Nice looking list. I think you will be in good shape, although there are a few other options you might want to explore (in addition to the above comments). Just FYI, I tend to add a few more ounces than other just to up my comfort/safety factor...

I'd consider doing a UV resistant Buff (or two) in place of your cap/balaclava/bandana. The Buff can serve any of these functions. I've used mine as a balaclava in severe winter conditions, as a cap around camp, and to prefilter water in lakes. If you don't need to prefilter or have something else, I'd just carry one.

I also prefer wind resistant gloves to fleece. They are around the same weight, but offer better dexterity and protection. Manzella silkweights are pretty sweet.

Back up sparker/cotton balls. My thoughts are that if you are going to be at the temperature limit of your gear, especially if you are carrying down, than it maybe a good idea carry fire making materials.

A dozen aquirmira tabs repackged. I love the steripen, but one bad drop or wrong step would do it in.

Have fun!

Edited by JBend on 07/30/2011 12:18:39 MDT.

I would agree that both leggings and insulated pants are redundant. drop one of em. i would personally drop the leggings and keep the puffy. you can put your railrider pants over them in camp if you are worried about durability.

you should check out dirty girl gaiters too. jmt is very dusty and rocky. even with em you will still get a bunch of dust/dirt though the trailrunner mesh but the gaiters will keep the big stuff out.

If the steripen is the only water purification for your entire group def throw in a few backup tabs.. Im a steripen user and have had it fail twice while on trail. first time, batteries ran out on the very last day of jmt coming down from mt whitney. 10mi & no water=not fun. i was pretty much running down(i did have burger and beer on my mind though). 2nd time i dropped the steripen in the water i was cleaning.. it was still working at first but the water seeped in slowly and there was fog on the inside of the glass and stopped working. I was alone with no back up so i had to boil water. and of coarse it starting working again when i got back to my car..

Did you buy your Hex twin w/floor on gear swap or from zpacks directly?

"Did you buy your Hex twin w/floor on gear swap or from zpacks directly?"

I bought it from Zpacks directly. It is a VERY nice piece of gear. I loved the idea/weight of the Hexamid, but did not like the idea of a mesh floor based on places I camp. It was already so light, that I opted for the twin since my wife comes along sometimes. It is now my extremely spacious, extremely light, shelter. Also, I figured if I would be using the Cuben groundsheet anyway, why not sew it in the bottom? So I requested that from Joe. He had no issue doing that. He even sewed it in a way that water would run down and out the mesh on the perimeter before it got to the groundsheet, which was brilliant.

The ONLY complaint I have is that is has a rather large footprint compared to some shelters. Going with the Hexamid solo would have solved this.

Edited by HikeUltralight on 08/01/2011 13:12:43 MDT.

gotcha.. I have a hex solo but in the spring someone was selling a hex duo with sewn in cuben floor and i was going to get it but somebody jumped on it quicker and he said he was skeptical and would contact me if he was going to pass on it so i was just curious if it was the same one. I like my solo but i have a tyvek groundsheet and its just ever so slightly small for me. I wouldn't mind all that extra room of the duo for 2-3 more oz. If i had the $ i would see if Joe would build me a Solo that is 10-15% bigger with a sewn in cuben groundsheet (although the new poncho-groundsheet is pretty intriguing)..