First backpacking trip W/ photos

[Lark Bunting]

Went on our first backpacking trip. Pretty popular trail but we were the only people that camped out.

I believe my wife\'s pack weighed around 45 pounds as she insisted to bring four huge bottles of Smart water. :lolno:

My pack weighed 33 pounds with a full hydration pack and a liter bottle of water.

\"Nature\"

The waterfall at the end of the trail

Huge rock!

We brought a few extras. Hung these right by the stream and enjoyed the afternoon.

This was growing into the two trees. No idea how it hasn\'t decomposed yet.

Camp

Waterfall

Sun was setting

Old train tunnel at the trailhead

 

[Lark Bunting]

What did I take away from my first backpacking trip?

I have been training on this mini-Incline here in Castle Rock and am in much better shape than my wife.

I got frustrated having to stop every 100 yards on the initial incline (.9 miles) which led to us bickering a LOT. :downthumb:

Sleeping system:
I made a ground cloth out of Tyvek and put grommets into it which I thought was supposed to align with the tent poles but they were about 3\" too inward, both top and bottom. For the life of me I couldn\'t figure what the hell I was thinking last year when I built it.
We both froze overnight. I don\'t know what to think about this...I wore my heavy base layer, but forgot to put on my beanie and gloves before bed. Either way, both bags are rated for 20? and it was in the high 40\'s. I bought the Klymit insulated V-or-some-such-crap sleeping pad which was comfortable keeping me off the ground but I question the 4.0 R value rating. So, I need to figure out how to stay warm.

Food:
I might be good with Mtn House meals once per day but I am not a huge fan. My fingers swelled up so much that night from the salt that I almost had a panic attack when I realized at 2:00 am that my ring finger was turning purple from the swelling around my wedding ring. We brought other snacks which was fine but I will come up with better alternatives.

Hiking:
I felt great going in and uphill. I did NOT like the downhill egress until I figured how to use the trekking poles to take off some of the weight. My ITB\'s on both knees got blown to bits years ago when I was doing all those stupid obstacle races. They tend to get hot now especially on the downhill hikes.

Packs:
I had bought a used Mountainsmith something or other pack this spring and used it. It carried well and had more straps than I could ever think to use. I believe it\'s around 5000 Cubic inches and weighs around 5 pounds empty. It does not have a bladder compartment so I laid the Gravity Works hydration bladder on top inside the main compartment and ran the hose out the top. The hose kept kinking up and I couldn\'t get water out of it. Because of my smart-ass mouth and pissing off the wife she refused to help my fix it which required me to take off and put back on the pack a few times. That got annoying. Also, this particular pack has two pockets...the main compartment and the hood, which doubles as a fanny pack. :dk: I didn\'t not like that aspect of the pack as I like pockets to stay organized. The other pack I have is a Lowe Alpine Mtn Guide pack with lots of pockets. I picked it up for free. I think it\'s the nicer pack of the two. I was kind and let my wife carry it. I don\'t know what I am going to do for hunting this fall. I am hiking in a few miles and want my hunting pack. I seriously have my eye on the Tenzing 6000. No way I\'d load this hiking pack with 70-100 pounds of meat. It\'s just not built for hauling meat.

All in all we had a great time and I learned some valuable things going for a night. I will work up to a few nights this summer. Once I figure out how to stay warm at night I will look forward to more experiences. I\'d like to take my son on the next trip to get him prepared for our big hunting trip in September where I am hoping to backpack in a few miles and stay in the woods for a week.

 

[atfrith]

Tom,

Glad you guys had fun! My girlfriend and I try to do multiple overnight backpack trips each summer, glad it\'s something she decided to get into with me; keep it goin!

As for the chill at night, I haven\'t tried them myself but have heard these sleeping bag liners work awesome:

<!-- m --><a class=\"postlink\" href=\"https://www.rei.com/product/797114/sea-to-summit-thermolite-reactor-extreme-mummy-bag-liner\" onclick=\"window.open(this.href);return false;\">https://www.rei.com/product/797114/sea- ... -bag-liner</a><!-- m -->

I have the same sleeping pad and I like it much better than most other\'s I\'ve tried, but in reality, I think they all kinda suck.

 

[iccyman001]

Awesome pictures!
Thank you for sharing. It looks like you had a great time :upthumb:

 

[cohunter14]

Sounds like you learned a lot on the first trip Tom. Looks like you picked a pretty area as well!

 

[WW]

Great post. Keep it up and by hunting season you\'ll be in great shape and you\'ll have all your gear selection ironed out.