All packed up and ready to go. Rae Lakes Loop, Sierras tomorrow. 3 days.

Here's my SUL Durable / Thru Hike kit = sub-6-7lbs baseweight depending on personal height/weight. It's SUL with a rugged exterior and a more fully apportioned list of items for "mountain" travel:

Custom spec'd MLD Exodus pack (no hipbelt), with BV450 bear canister 3-days food, 22* Katabatic quilt, full length 1/8" foam pad, Neoair Xlite Small, Gatewood Cape, UL down parka plus other warm stuff, LiteTrail Cook System, Golite Umbrella and one liter of water. I don't use trekking poles.

Food and canister alone is 8 lbs (6 lbs food, 2 lbs/day).

Base weight: 6 lbs 4 ozs (without water or canister, but everything else)
Total pack weight: 17 lbs (includes water and canister).

Keep an eye out for post trip pictures.

Edited by jhaura on 09/20/2012 23:04:45 MDT.

Hope you have a great time. Would love to see action shots of your gear in use.

Since you do not use trekking poles, what do you use to support your Gatewood Cape when using it as a shelter?

Do you use your umbrella as a sun shade, or just in rain. Do you support it hands-free?

Edited by rambler on 09/24/2012 19:23:43 MDT.

Would you mind weighing everything on a postage scale? Nice looking kit but numbers would be awesome. Good weight though, what is the next step in going light for you?

If he doesn't use trekking poles (I dont) sticks are very easy to come by in the wild.

Edited by bubonicplay on 09/24/2012 21:52:50 MDT.

Definitely looking forward to the trip report and photos on this one!

Yeah spreadsheet would be nice :P

A trip report for Jhaura's and my Rae Lakes Loop hike is posted in the BPL Trip Report forum here:

Rae Lakes Loop

You can see some pics of Jhaura's kit in action.

-N.

Here's my gearlist from that trip. You can download it as a PDF.

Gearlist: SUL Durable Sierras

As you can see, the base weight is 6.4 lbs without the canister or 8.5 lbs with it. It even includes my iPhone. Total Pack Weight was 17lbs.

The only thing not included is a Montbell vest (5.5oz) I threw in at the last minute. I was not needed at all. I did wear it once, just because I had it.

I put my iPhone in the left chest pocket and all the "Access" essentials in the right. That way everything I need for that day on the trail is handy and I never have to take my pack off to get at something. Full days snacks are in the left pack side pocket and 1L water is in the right. Lunch is in the main outside mesh pack pocket with mosquito net, gloves and rain jacket.

Once on day 2 morning, there was enough room in the bear canister to stow the cookset in there too. So that was no longer in the front mesh pocket.

@rambler: I typically only use shelters that require 1 pole to pitch or have an outer hang loop. As such I find a stick or hang it from a higher object like a tree branch or overhang.

@bubonicplay: I've gone with 4lb base weights XUL, SUL and UL and too frickin' heavy. For me the next step is just refining and simplifying my kit. It's not about weight anymore, because it's so light that I've reached a point where changes based on weight don't effect the performance or my energy. So I'm more interested in finding a system that performs efficiently, simply, that takes as little mental effort as possible to use and is robust. I'm pretty much there. Of course there will always be tweaks and as new technology comes into play that will affect my kit too. I don't like fiddling with gear or having it distract from the point of going which for me is to experience nature by foot for multiple days at a time.

Edited by jhaura on 09/28/2012 16:57:56 MDT.

" @bubonicplay: I've gone with 4lb base weights XUL, SUL and UL and too frickin' heavy. For me the next step is just refining and simplifying my kit. It's not about weight anymore, because it's so light that I've reached a point where changes based on weight don't effect the performance or my energy. So I'm more interested in finding a system that performs efficiently, simply, that takes as little mental effort as possible to use and is robust. I'm pretty much there. Of course there will always be tweaks and as new technology comes into play that will affect my kit too. I don't like fiddling with gear or having it distract from the point of going which for me is to experience nature by foot for multiple days at a time. "

that sure sums it up nicely. well put.