Hi guys,
I am getting ready to do my first through hike. I am planning on leaving Lyell canyon in tuolomne on the 25th of August, and finishing on September 12th. I've been working on my gear list for the last 1.5 years on 2-3 night backpacking trips. As of now, I think it is pretty reasonable. My question to you guys is 1) Am I bringing everything I need? And 2) Am I bringing anything extraneous? The only thing I haven't settled on is a bear canister, but it will likely add another 2 lbs. to my base weight.

If it helps, I have a moderate amount of experience backpacking in the sierras in a number of different conditions (heat, rain, snow, mosquitos, etc).

As this is my first through-hike, I want to make sure that I will be safe and comfortable throughout the trek. Thanks for your help!

Item Weight (oz)
PACKING
golite pinnacle 33
Trash compactor bag 1
water proof stuff sack 2.5

SLEEP SYSTEM
WM sleeping bag 29
neo air sleeping pad 13.4
inflatable pillow 2.8

SHELTER
Golite SL2 (+stakes) 25.2
Tyvek ground sheet 3.4

HYDRATION
Platypus (2) 1.7
Sawyer squeeze 3
sawyer squeeze syringe 1.2
sawyer squeeze bags 3

KITCHEN
TI cup 4.7
Caldera cone + fuel bottle 6.2
spork 0.6

CLOTHING PACKED
long underwear bottoms 4.4
sleep socks 1.4
extra walking socks 1.6
Patagonia Down sweater 12.1
Rain Jacket 7.2
knitted hat 2.5
headnet 0.9

SAFETY
headlamp 3
Compass 1.2
Knife 1.4

TOILETRIES
sunscreen, TP, soap 4
Toothbrush+toothpaste 1


Total: 171.4oz, or 10.7125 lbs

Again, this does not include the bear canister, so that will add at least another 2lbs. So I believe Im looking at a base weight of ~13lbs.

As far as what I intend to wear on the trail:
La sportiva Wildcat trail shoes
Dry fit undershirt
long sleeve buttom up wind shirt
REI sahara convertible pants
REI hat

Thanks for your time

Damian,

Rock solid and tight gear list!

One thing that I see missing is a repair & medical kit, which does not have to be much weight.

Lasty year, when I did the JMT, my trail runner started falling apart and I spent about 4 days walking on a heel that eventually fell off, leaving me walking on the plastic shank in the sole.

Gorrilla tape, medical tape....anything I had was used to hold it together.

Did you want to take any photos of this "trip of a life time"?

Sunglasses would be important to have on the trail.

Fire starting material??? (More for safety than having a fire each night).

Can not think of anything else....nice, tight kit that you have going on there.

Impressive in its logical simplicity.

-Tony

Tony,
I really appreciate your feedback. I forgot to put in that i'm also carrying a small bic (dont know the weight yet). Also, I left out that I will have the relevant parts of the JMT map-pack for each section. As for the medical and repair kit, I would love to see what you use, as I may try to replicate it. And finally, I agree that sunglasses are necessary. Ill definitely bring some, Im just havent picked them out yet.

As for pictures, I go back and forth as to whether I want to take a camera. I'm still undecided.

Again, thanks so much for the help. I really appreciate it.

Damian

Damian,

You are welcome...just happy to contribute and give back.

When I started on my own lightweight journey, a lot of people were very patient with me and generous in offering their time and wisdom.

Glad that you are carrying the topo map pack....that is what I took too.

Putting the relavent sections in your resupply buckets will help keep the weight down.

Regarding what I have in my kits, which I keep in the same ziplock bacg and then in a Sea to Summit stuff sack that is relatively waterproof.

Pair of latex gloves

Syringe, which you already have with your Sawyer....I use the old inline version.

Needle and heavy thread for repair of gear...friend used it to sew ripped pants

McDermit Tenacity Tape/Patch for ripped tarp

Few Platypus patches

6 Band aids of different sizes. (never had to use one yet)

Alcohol wipes (also can be used as emergency fire starter) (2 of them)

Iodine wipes (2 of them...wound care)

Small roll of medical tape rolled around a straw for little patch of gauze

(My wife is a nurse, so I have a little more than others might carry)

2 Large metal safety pins and 4 small ones to hold together something like tear in a pack if sewing might not work....never needed to use these yet

Pills: benadrill, asprin, alieve, sudafed, advil, couple of diarhea pills, antibiotics (3 z pack pills....strongest stuff, but might not be useful to carry).

(I have very bad allergies, I am asthmatic, I should never leave the house).

Rolled around my hiking poles....Gorrilla tape 3-6 ft and medical leuko tape....few feet for taping areas of chaffing, blisters, etc.

In kit....some blue kinesio tape for use on fingers and flexible areas.

My kit probably is 4-5 oz in weight....yours can be a bit lighter.

Gorrilla tape is much stronger than duct tape....I walked on it for a number of miles before it fell of my shoe....saved my butt. Home Depot.


As for the camera....I am not the guy to be asking about this.

I took 3900 photos with a cannon pocket camera and video clips. (10 oz for camera and battery....carried extra batteries....rounding up 1 lb penalty.

Memories for a lifetime.

You can get alway with one battery in the carmera and one extra if you are normal and don't take a butt load of photos.

-Tony

You might like Mike Clellands video tips the dinky stuff 1 and 2,but all his videos are worth watching.

You dont need waterproof stuff sack with trash compactor bag -2.5
dont need pillow,use clothing , shoes under head end of pad, etc -2.8
Use polycryo for groundsheet, lighter -2
Use aqua mira instead of filter (wet filter is 4.5 oz) -~7
Get a ridged foster pot and myo windscreen and lighter stove -7
you can get a lighter spoon -.35 oz
Driducks jacket is lighter - 1.8
Peters headnet is lighter -.55
Use derma safe knife -1.1
lighter tootbrush/bk soda -0.5


The way I see it is you can easily drop 25.6oz , ~1.5 lbs from your base wt without sacrificing anything

I disagree about the pillow, 2.8 oz is very light and probably worth the extra comfort. Also, it makes ultralight sense to wear all of your clothing to bed.
With chemical tablets, you can't get water instantly and down a whole liter before filling all the way up.
A razor blade is not a real knife. Maybe it's all you need, but it's still a "sacrifice".
Just my thoughts. Good suggestions though.

just pointing out some possibilities for you. they add up. Have a good hike.
Im planning to do it in 2014.

I found shoes under pad beneath head superior to any inflatable pillow I tried. Very comfortable.Space a little apart so head is cradled.

Edited by livingontheroad on 08/11/2012 15:48:23 MDT.

I leave from Lyell Canyon on the 25th also! Couldn't get a permit from the Valley. Maybe see you on the trail. Just turned 60 and going solo!

Edited by dc on 08/11/2012 20:33:37 MDT.

Good original list. Good suggestions. We all have our own hiking styles. That's why we give suggestions.
.
"With chemical tablets, you can't get water instantly and down a whole liter before filling all the way up." I used the Mike Clelland method of mixing AquaMira drops in a smaller drop bottle (see video of his) and liked it a lot. I found I could treat less than a liter if I wanted to. Just use less drops. Still had to wait the 20 mins.or so but at the same time I drink a lot of untreated water in the Sierra.

I think a camera is worth it. If you are hiking solo just have someone take a picture of you on each summit and any other place you would like.

Scott

Damian, my brother and I are leaving next Saturday on the JMT...Happy Isles to Whitney. I hiked about 165 miles of the trail last year (Tuolumne to Onion Valley) with a list almost identical to yours, so here are a few things you may want to consider.

Patching kit for your Neoair - .6 oz. I use a Neoair also, and have never had a problem in two years. But I'm 48 and my back won't handle hard ground.

Hand sanitizer / soap. small eyedropper of Dr. Bonners - .35 oz. I also carried a 1.4 oz. bottle of hand sanitizer for obvious reasons.

Gloves. It's cold enough after the sun sets, and can easily be in the 30's in the morning.

Rain cover. It rained every day from Red's Meadow southbound last year. Afternoon showers mostly, but you will probably hike in rain at some point. I'd rather add a rain cover than have a wet and slightly heavier pack.

Camera. If you're philosophically opposed to photos, that's one thing. But you're in the Sierras dude! It doesn't get much better than that.

Have a great hike.

JP

Thanks everyone for chiming in,
I appreciate all the feedback.

So I now have a repair kit including some gorilla tape, some platypus patches, and needle and thread

I'm also including some bandaids as well as some alcohol wipes, neosporin, and hydropel (thanks for the link to the dinky stuff Anna)

As for the treatment, I will have a hiking partner for the first 5 days. I'm going to try the aqua mira while she uses the sawyer squeeze, and when she leaves the trail, I'll adopt whichever I feel is more suitable. (one issue that i've had with the sawyer squeeze is the bag that you filter from punctures, so you have to bring backups- which will be in my resupplies at Red's, MTR, and Onion Valley).

As for dropping some weight, I'm going to drop the stuff sack and just pack an extra trash compactor bag. I'm also looking for a lighter toothbrush and spoon. As for the other suggestions, I think I might forego them now, as I don't feel like I have enough time to acquire some of those items and test them before I get going. (my departure date just moved up to August 24th)

As for the camera, I believe I will bring one. My concern is that I only have dSLRs, and they are a bit heavy. However, I think the weight is justified in this case. I plan to recharge at Red's and MTR.

As for people that will be on the trail (Don and John), I hope you guys have a great time. I will not be doing the whole trail, only from Tuolomne to Whitney. But I am really excited!

Thanks again everybody!

Damian