A gap in my schedule allowed me to whip out the JMT in just shy of two weeks last week and ostensibly do some product testing in the process. I wanted to share some photos from the trip:



This is the bivy pitched at, I believe, Squaw Lake... right out in the open on a flat rock thanks to bluebird weather. One thing I love about my setup is that I keep my NeoAir and quilt inside the bivy at all times. When I arrive at camp I pull it out and roll it out and inflate the mattress - good to go! In the morning, I open the valve, roll the whole package up, and stuff it in the bottom of my pack. Takes 2 minutes and no need for separate stuff sacks. I only removed my quilt twice on the trip to dry out some condensation after bad weather days. Neat, clean, simple, and LIGHT!



At Muir Trail Ranch it threatened to rain but didn't deliver. Here's an unconventional pitch of my 7'x9' Wraith cat tarp that makes use of some natural protection.



This is just a glamour shot of yours truly sporting my custom pack. Full suspension, pivoting hipbelt, cush padding, ventilation, stays, framesheet, cuben drybag: 28 ounces! It drew a lot of inquiry from folks on the trail.



A more typical A-frame pitch of the tarp showing the bivy & gear inside. I find that stuffing the hood of the bivy above my head with extra gear makes for a nice pillow area and actually expands the hood into its 3D shape - significantly reducing claustrophobia (of which I suffer from - I like my freedom!)



And the storm moves in... only two or three days of bad weather, but those days were bad: This one would become several hours of hail and hard rain - fortunately no wind as the A-frame pitch doesn't provide a heck of a lot of protection in that situation. You should see the video I took of this storm!



Yours truly on the second to last day of the trip... a strange, stalled-out storm system had moved in just in time for Whitney.



Wraith pitched in A-frame config and making use of a natural rock barrier. An hour into the storm the wind did a 180 and I ran out during a lull to build a little rock wall on the front end to keep things cozy. One thing I like about A-frame pitches is that they're roomy and it's easy to crawl in from the rear and lay down in the proper orientation. This tarp also easily pitches in a three-sides-to-the-ground configuration even though I didn't use it on this trip.



Same location, the Wraith cat tarp is pictured with a buddy in the background. This is about at 12K and a few hundred feet above Guitar Lake where most folks camp. Notice all the snow dumped at the eaves of the tarp!



A final picture on the second to last day of the trip. Amazingly I had splitter weather the following morning for summitting Whitney - I was first to the top from the JMT side at about 7:15 AM, but I followed a rabbit's footprints in the snow all the way up to the trail junction!

All of these products are available for sale, and I specialize in custom work. For more info, email me at VIRGAOUTDOORS AT GMAIL DOT COM

My prototype quilt (the Wendego), used only on this trip, is washed, as fresh as new, and for sale at a discounted price - see the original post at http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=52038&skip_to_post=439382#439382 and make an offer if you're interested.

Stats:

Bivy: 5.0 ounces
Quilt (Wendego Prototype): 16.4 ounces
Wraith Cat Tarp: 5.8 ounces

Total Pack Weight (minus consumables): 11 pounds. Next time I'm leaving the Nutella and spoon behind and going sub 10 lbs!

Thanks! And sorry about the low-quality photos - the high res versions take forever to upload!

Edited by billygoat on 09/14/2011 20:51:38 MDT.

I purchased the 5 ounce cuben bivy have used it twice now- once under my DuoMid and once in a wooden hut. I have been really, really happy with it and the quality of production is very similar to the DuoMid (high praise indeed!)

Thanks for the tip of keeping your sleeping mat and quilt in the bivy, definitely going to try that one :)

Cool post Billy Goat.

Is this something you made as well? Tell us more about it.

Check this page for more details:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=52274

I wasn't sure how it would work out - it seemed good but I basically took it on the JMT blindly (and risking potential disaster). I can now safely say I'm absolutely in love with this pack!

I have some new ideas and revisions for it, but it worked famously!

That looks like a cool pack. What size of bear canister did you take on the JMT? How did it fit in that pack?

Manfred

I have a carefully mapped out chart of zones on the JMT where bear cans are required (based on a series of interagency maps). What I discovered is that it was possible (for me) to hike between safe zones (ie areas where bear cans are not legally required) or, in some cases, hike to known bear boxes on the trail in areas where they are required). The most challenging stretch for this is Lyell Canyon in TM. This is only possible if you are doing high mileage, and admittedly I had the kindness of other hikers along the trip offering space in their bear cans if need be.

I DO NOT recommend this practice. Always use safe, effective, and legal food storage procedures. There is a REASON why bear cans are required when other methods are effective - people, despite education, still screw up. Bear Cans are nearly idiot-proof (though even those fail). In over a decade of climbing (many months spent camped amongst the worst bears in the world in the Valley), and a lifetime of being in the outdoors, I have NEVER had a bear incident. I attribute this to careful practices and a small degree of luck. The Southern half of the JMT is not a place where you want to lose any or all of your food to an animal.

That said, my pack could accommodate a bear can upright in the dry bag or sideways resting in the harness below the bag, but compression would be useless/impossible.

Billy Goat,
I am curious as to how bad the mosquitos were? One of my reservations about switching to a tarp, especially in the sierras, is the mosquitos. Did you just wear a headnet anytime you were not in your bivy? How much do you sell the tarp for? Also, if you could guess as to what wind speed (mph) the A-frame setup could handle, I would appreciate it. Thanks.
Damian

Edited by damiantrj on 09/15/2011 10:57:57 MDT.

Mosquitos were bad - or worse than I expected. Late/heavy snowfall year in the Sierras I believe. I particularly have no tolerance for them but they really love me. Furthermore I brought an organic spray (hate the agent orange stuff) which was totally ineffective. At Muir Trail Ranch I ended up swapping my spray for someone's abandoned DEET. That stuff really works I must confess.

I didn't wear a headnet, and early on in the trip I decided I'd make one for next time, but by the end of the trip either I was getting used to it or the DEET was working and didn't feel a need for the headnet.

They were troublesome at about half of our camp sites - depending on water, elevation, wind. No problem during hiking/lunches generally. I found that in the areas where they were bad I could deal with them during dinner (they were not an issue on colder mornings but I always begin hiking at first light) with DEET and swatting, and then I'd usually crawl into the bivy and zip up the face mesh (built into my bivy) which worked quite well. Once it was dark I would unzip the bivy and leave it open throughout the night - never woke up in the morning with a bite from after dark. I probably would not enjoy tarp camping in that area w/o some sort of net protection - in my case my bivy design.

Tarp prices vary - email me at VIRGAOUTDOORS AT GMAIL DOT COM for a price list for the standard models.

A windspeed estimate for a good A-frame pitch of my tarp would be a total guess, but I think the cuben is strong and with good staking could handle 40mph - completely guessing here. Cuben was designed originally for racing yacht sales after all... The bigger problem is if there is any precip, wind will blow it in the (wide) A-frame openings.

Just ordered a .51CF Wraith from billy goat....excited to get my hands on one of his creations and these pics helped to convince me. Many thanks!


Damian - a headnet was not suitable for me to have a decent experience under my tarp if I were stuck for hours for whatever reason. I will rock an MLD bug Bivy (BearPaw Minimalist bug shelter would work as well). They give you fully enclosed bug shelter when needed, and when not in bug season you can leave it at home and save the weight.

They also serve as a ground sheet so you can leave that at home and get some multi-use weight savings goodness there as well. GL.

What a pleasant experience, can't wait to get my quilt!

Curious...thx.

Bryce, as we discussed, it was a tarp shelter based on the Ray Jardine design (front/rear beaks). He bemoaned it several times but it seemed OK to me.

I will say that on the particular day that photo was taken he said at one point "I'm curled in the fetal position on my mattress and using it as a life raft". But in all honesty that was because of site selection/lazy pitching... I stayed dry :)

Edited by billygoat on 09/15/2011 14:21:08 MDT.

Right, with the beaks, I remember now. I made a 2-person way-way tarp out of sil way back when. Not a bad design, and nothing is bad when it's made of Cuben! :p

And this is on gear swap why?

Because all the Virga products I make and use are for sale.

Edited by billygoat on 09/15/2011 14:56:08 MDT.

Sorry must have missed that part, saw all the pics and read some of the posts and figured it should been in the gear section.

"Because all the Virga products I make and use are for sale"

Then you should list your company in the "gear deals" forum, which is where commercially-oriented posts for general sales should go. And note the Gear Deals header: "Gear Deals Announcements of online & local sales, coupons, etc. Commercial posts OK, but ONLY if you are announcing a sale or coupon." Note the posts by Lawson for glowire line for an example.

The gear swap forum is for one-off sales by private parties. I doubt anyone would object to occasional one-off bargains-- that's a moderator issue.