Talking Rockies

A Checklist to Help You Lighten up!

Topic: Checklists — admin, 2010/01/14 - 6:21 pm

Some time ago, during my pre-enlightened period, I was trekking along the Uintas Highline Trail with some family members, going from the Kidney Lakes to Painter Basin. As we crossed a gully we met up with a couple of sexagenerians going east. My dad, a septuagenarian, stopped to chat with them. The elderly couple was traveling light — their packs were in the low 20 pounds. At the time, my pack weighed about the same as a smallish German Shepherd — about 65 pounds. Soon after that trek, I started reading about through-trekkers, the ultimate backpacking minimalists. Time to lighten up.

Three years later I did the Uintas Highline Trail, from Lake Chepeta to Hayden Pass, with a pack, loaded with water, that weighed in at 38 pounds at the start of the trek, and probably was in the high 20s 85 miles later. Lighter, but still not as low as our ultra-light trekkers. Light is the way to go!

The first thing to go was the 10-pound, three-man mountaineering tent. That’s overkill. In fact, I got rid of my tent altogether, just to see what it’s like. Instead, I sleep under a lightweight nylon tarp, string between two trees or bushes, and anchored with rocks.

What else did I get rid of?

  • Cooking pot
  • Change of clothes
  • Rain shell

Here’s what I DO take on most backpacking trips:

Gadgets

  • Garmin Rino and a set of three AA batteries for each day of hiking (the Rino is a hog!). Of course, I pack all of those batteries out.
  • Camera
  • iPhone (I need HikeUtah)
  • MSR Pocket Rocket
  • Petzl Tikka headlamp
  • Water filter

Clothes and bedding

  • Ridgerest foam pad
  • Self-inflating pad, like a Thermarest
  • Bivy sack
  • 12′ x 16′ nylon tarp
  • String to rig up the tarp
  • Rain poncho (so far, I’ve used cheapo disposable ones, but I plan on adding Shore to Summit)
  • Microfleece
  • One set of quick-dry pants on clothes. No changes.
  • One set of fresh socks per day
  • Sleeping bag (I’ve used a Big Agnes and a North Face 20-degree dacron bag. A down bag would save me a couple of pounds here)

Other Gear

  • Osprey Aether pack
  • Camp Kitchen with matches, waterproof matches, lighters, strike stick, Campsuds,
  • Map
  • A large, 1-quart enamel cup. Set it on a fire or a stove. If you want to get fancy, get a titanium cup
  • Fishing license
  • Small fishing pole

Personal care

  • A 1-quart freezer zipper bag filled with:
  • Toilet paper
  • Vaseline (some people prefer Bag Balm) for uh, smooth walking
  • Small tube of toothpaste
  • A sawed-off toothbrush
  • 2 1.5-liter nalgene bottles

Chow Bag

  • A large bag (I’m thinking of getting a bear canister this year) filled with
  • 2 spare 1-gallon zipper bags for trash or whatever
  • Freeze-dried meals
  • Jerky
  • Small cans of game terrine from Fauchon. I call this “critters in a can”
  • A couple tins of kippers
  • (I burn all cans in campfires, when we have them, and then put them in my trash bag. In my mind this makes me not as much of a walking advertisement for bears)
  • Chocolate
  • Nuts
  • Bagels
  • Hot chocolate mix
  • Gatorade mix

There it is. You can load up all that stuff and still come in under 40 pounds.

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