Ok, for all those campers out and about what all do you recomend for some gear. We have hiked a lot the last few summers, but non have really been for an extended amount of time. We have gone on a few overnight trips. BUT, this summer we plan on hiking from Silverton to Durango Colorado and that should take about 5-7 day's and we were wanting some lighter weight stuff. What is everyone opinion on lightweight tents and sleeping bags? And what about packs and boots?

We already have Lowe Alpine pacs and Vasque boots, but curious to others thoughts on the equipment.

Any suggestions???

 

I used to live in Alaska and did many extented remote trips. Because of some hard lessons learned, I would never go without:
cell phone
hand gun
100 feet (minimum) of rope or clothesline & clothespins
bear spray repellent
small fire extinquisher
GPS
Bug repellent lotion and spray
water treatment pills
quaility first aid kit (or invite a surgeon along )
sewing kit
Pepto Bismol tablets
any previously prescribed unused pain pills/antibiotics
books/small portable cass player, tapes, plug in speakers*
a good variety of the small liquor bottles
Duct tape
Sho Goo
firestarter bricks, windproof lighter, waterproof matches &
hand held disposable lighter (Bic, Scripto, Coleman)
nicorette gum (for those who smoke and have ever run out)
snow shoes during winter**


*we got pinned down in our tents for 5 days due to relentless 40-50 mph winds. It only laid down at night.
** you can walk on the crust in the morning but afternoon sun will leave you wading out in 36" deep snow

Should get you started!
Jeff

 

I had an Ozark trail 8'x8' tent untill the Husky tore it up. It was pretty light for that large of tent. It was not a great cold weather tent though. I froze my butt of a few nights in that thing. I never used it for hiking, but it was nice to have a tent that didn't takie up a whole lot of space when folded. My next tent will be about 30' long with three slide outs and fully stocked kitchen.

 

Well just sold the 39' Deisel pusher with 3 slides and real cherry oak wood. Have a 3 slide 30' fithwheel right now.

yea, we have some 8'x8' tent and some colman sleeping bags right now, but the weight is a bit much for them. I've been looking at a 3 person 3 season North Face tent thats around 4-7lb and a sleeping bag thats to 15* that weighs no more than 2.5lb.

 

good choice! During that "windy" trip, one of the guys brought a brand new Cabella "Lodge" that couldn't hold up. All ours did fine.
Air mattress (IMHO) is worth the extra bulk and weight too.
Guess if I'd read your post a little closer, I would have included that. It's just that when I saw that post, boy! did it bring back some memories!
Jeff

 

No offense, but you've Obviously never been on an extended hike where you've had to actually Carry your stuff over MANY miles. Needless to say, all that junk adds up to be a LOT of weight. I'd want my pack to be 40lbs a most! That means NO Fire extinguishers..

Split up a two person tent. I like a Wiggys Brand bag. Sub 3 lbs and packs tight. You need a water purification system (MSR is good). Pills won't do it. NO Cotton clothes. Cotton Kills! Dehydrated food and a stove of course. My pack on our winter trip was 35lbs with two liters of water. Poles help a lot, and don't forget the Ibuprofen!

You obviously can't carry 7 days of clothes. I would have a pair or two to actually hike in and a fresh clean pair to change into to hang around the camp and sleap in. That's about it. All the synthetic clothing drys pretty fast. That and a rain shell, hat, knife....

 

yea, hiking/camping can have some good memories.

I think weight is our biggist issue. Going up and down all allong the Cont. Divide can take a toll on your legs and back carrying a lot of weight.

We've camped above tree line in a tent one night, during a storm. That was a little odd.

Owning a clothing/boot store we are covered on clothes. Columbia at less than cost is nice, and the $250 retail Vasque Sundowners at less than cost is nice also.

We do need to find a lighter stove and pans. Got a PURE water filter and going to buy new filters for it. That is some of the best water I've tasted. Purify it that night, let it sit out in the high 30* nights, and in the am its awesome!!! Going to take the camera just in case, even though it weighs more than I want. LOL.

Thanks for everyones help, keep them comming!!!

 

I've got a MSR stove as well. It's like a 1/4 lb and can fit into your pocket! All you need is One pan. If you do it right, all you have to do is boil water in it and never get it actually dirty. Cook the food in the Food "bag". The fuel's a little heavier. My buddy has a Titanium Spoon!, haha.. I use a plastic spoon, again, light but good. It all adds up. You'll feel Every ounce heading over those peaks!

A disposable camera works pretty well. Light, plastic, yet still decent pics.

The new LED headlamps are awesome too. Burn forever, bright enough, and again lite weight.

All the Synthetic clothing's pretty good. Just NO Cotton!

Of course bring a light clothes line, matches, all that kind of stuff. Even a little duct tape isn't bad. It helps to put it on bad blisters and stuff. Not a Role or anything. Just a little wrapped around a stick or something. Hand warmers are a nice luxery as well. Have Fun!

 

ok, it's 3:00 am and I got enuff rum and cokes in me that I'm ready to flame a little. No doubt, weight IS an issue! I am 6'2" 200 lbs. Cowboy Up and pack it! It's only junk until you NEED it, ok? Then what?
My buddy was across a raging stream and needed to get to my side....you gonna throw him a string? Tho it was only 20 feet across, he dam* near drowned getting across cuz we had no rope. Whoooooops.
Yes, weight = burden. And in fact for the most part, my trips WERE fly in with some light day hiking from base. 1,100 pounds in a Beaver Dehaviland float plane, 3 passengers and a pilot included. But, try to watch a fire on dry tundra go suddenly outta control while your buddy goes to get a dishpan full of creek water 100 yards away because it's the "proper" distance from the tents due to bears, to put it out. He made it but I personally don't want to be held responsible for an out of control 4000 acre plus wild fire. A simple squirt from an 8 oz. fire extinguisher would have done it. Look, we knew it was dry, we were careful, but it still happened.
And yep, there is a story for each and every one of my topics.
I've tried the water filtration process, straws,you name it. my 1/2 oz bottle of pills will do the job, np. It's been a while since my life depended on it and maybe a fill and sit system works......don't know. All I know is when I want water, I want it now and without a lot of effort. Filtration = a lot of effort w/o much water. Tho it does taste better.
Polar Fleece will keep you warm no matter what, you can bank on that. And, yes it is light! Air mattress is for the sore back, muscles you get when you back pack, while the others look on green w/envy on their self inflators.
I made a destroyed jon boat work with duct tape and shoe goo....fishing (and dinner every night) would have sucked w/o that boat...especially since we packed in fuel and an outboard for a boat that was in great shape when we left it a year ago. Never did figure out what happened to the boat.....was either a bear or drug crazed teenagers .
Want a good 2 burner camp stove? Here it is! A 1/4" piece of plywood where you attach two bases to your propane tanks which on top have a tank and burner each.
OK, I feel better. Please feel free to flame in return........just remember that I live and breathe because of the simple light weight items I suggested. Wanna do without? OK by me

Ps....the North Face tents only survived the wind cuz they were geometric in design and not squared off, but you knew that huh Phil?
Jeff

 

Did the Stereo system and liquor help save your life too??

"Cowboy up and Pack it" are NOT words from a person that's put in high mileage over elevation. You may do that ONCE, but you'll never do it again...

Pills work, but sometimes the only water you find is a mudhole full of Cow ****. Trust me, I'm speaking from experience.

NOTHING will keep you warm, no matter what. Especially if it's soaking wet and windy.

Just curious? How do you Inflate your air mattress? You gotta carry a bicycle pump with you Too?? Along with your peice of plywood and double burner stove and 10lb propane tank???

I'm just messing around a little, but seriously, The kind of backpacking he's talking about is a Lot different than the stuff you are. I like to load up my F150 and head up into the hills myself and camp in Style! That's when the liquor comes along.

 

I actually remember typing some of that this morning AND points well taken.

All the stuff I listed is pretty light weight really.

All of my hikes were under 5000 feet elevation. (but since I smoke, doesn't that count for 10K feet?

Actually, YES the stereo equipment/liquor DID save a life, not mine but my friend and then tentmate who said he could handle going on of of my remote trips cause he had gone camping "lots o times". He was dam* near crying by the third day of "tent confinement" and babbling things like "I'm not used to this shi*, I wanna go home!" He is alive and well and living in Boulder now.

Mudholes full of mosquitos yes but no cow shi*. You got me there But alive and well thank you very much.

"NOTHING will keep you warm, no matter what, especially if it's soaking wet and windy." Been there too and AGREE!-Hyopthemia sucks till you get used to it, then hopefully you will realize just how much more trouble you are getting into! I did, we lived!
I packed the foot pump, guilty!
Lastly, the propane tanks were the much smaller Coleman versions and yes they stayed in camp. 6 to 9 guys eat a lot of fish!
And as far as my condition this morning, also see LGJoes thread titled "I hate girls"!
Jeff

 

Taking all the goodies and toys along is fine and makes a trip more fun if you are car camping, but if you are planning an extended backpacking trip you have to be realistic about your burden and only take the essentials.

Getting back to the original question of this post:

I'd recommend the MSR international stove. It is lightweight and has never failed me in any altitude or weather condition. It runs better on the Coleman fuel than the suggested MSR "white gas" (I'm not sure you can get "white gas" anymore anyway).

MSR Water Works...excellent filtration system that fits in a small bag, weighs less than a pound, and screws right on to the top of your quart sized Nalgene bottle.

Make sure if you don't already have a quality bag you invest in GOOSE DOWN and not synthetic fill. I just replaced my ancient (used by my uncle to hitchhike from AZ to N. CA in 1972) down bag with the REI Sub Kilo...weighs "less than a kilo" and is good to 20 degrees. The nice thing about the REI is that it is guaranteed for life.

A sleeping pad is also essential to insulate youself from the ground, even if you are in a tent. Therma-Rest makes good ones or the foam "Ridge-Rests" are more affordable and a little bit lighter.

Personally, I always carry a sidearm. A large black plastic garbage bag is also indispensible: it can keep you from wind, rain, and even serve as a shelter.

 

The Sleeping bag

The Tent

As most have said, when you hike up and down mountain ridges all day weight is the worst thing to have, last year we packed way to much and it brings down the value of the hike.

 

I actually did the same trail that you are planning on doing about 10 years ago when I was in boy scouts. It looks like you have it figured out with the tent and sleeping bag. Even in the summer it gets fairly cool that high in the atmosphere. We took the train halfway and hiked to Silverton? I think? It took about 5 days or so and was one of the best times of my life. I would love to get a group of guys to go back someday. I would say that taking the bare essentials is the best idea. The Boy Scout Handbook is a good place to start.

A lot of times they do not allow fires depending on how dry it is. Plan on cooking all meals by camp stove. We did Spreadables with crackers for lunch and then did some backpacker meal for dinner. It was good when you were hungry.

I highly recommend a water purifier, even if you plan on boiling the water. It would suck to get diarrhea or N/V on the side of that mountain.

I used a ridge rest pad when I was 15, but now I might would like to have the thermarest. Just make sure to split the weight up evenly between your friends.

I am sure you know what you're doing. Have a great time and take a digital camera with a big storage card. I would love to see the pictures!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by AWH
[B]A large black plastic garbage bag is also indispensible: it can keep you from wind, rain, and even serve as a shelter.

An excellant idea!
I have used one for a poncho and also on occasion to stay warm.....the dark green (or black) absorbs sunlight and makes it very warm.