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Sign in to chatWent out in late October with a 30 degree quilt and a wind shirt and spent the night doing sit-ups in my sleeping bag. Learned that shoulder season is the wrong time to shave ounces off sleep. Where do you draw the line?
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Sign in or create an accountBackpacked the Medicine Bow Range and came away wondering why more people do not go. Granite, alpine lakes, real elevation, and a fraction of the traffic you find in the more famous Colorado and Wyoming ranges. Notes: - Afternoon thunderstorms are the schedule-setter. Be off high ground by early afternoon. - Nights are cold even midsummer. I would not take anything above a 20 degree bag. - Water is plentiful but filter everything. - Cell coverage is essentially nothing. Bring a satellite messenger. If you want alpine scenery without a permit lottery, put this one on the list. Anyone have favorite loops in the Snowies?
Isle Royale backpacking, and the moment that made the whole trip was lying down for the night and hearing wolves start up somewhere across the ridge. Not one — a chorus, answering each other, going for what felt like a long time and was probably ninety seconds. The island itself is a fantastic backpacking destination: no road noise, no vehicles, moose everywhere, water on both sides of nearly every ridge. Rough notes: - Ferry logistics dictate your itinerary more than mileage does. - The trails are wetter and rootier than the mileage suggests. Waterproof footwear or accept wet feet. - Bugs in early summer are serious. Head net. - Moose are the actual hazard, not wolves. If you have been, what loop did you do? I want to go back and do a longer traverse.
Went into the High Uintas in Utah expecting cold, got a heavy wet snow overnight instead. Woke up with the tent fabric on my face — the snow load had folded the poles in and pushed the walls flat. What went wrong, honestly: - Three-season tent with a shallow-pitched fly. Snow had nowhere to shed. - I pitched under open sky in a flat meadow instead of using tree cover. - I did not get up to knock the snow off. Two or three passes during the night would probably have saved it. What I do now above treeline in shoulder season: steeper pitch, guy every point, pick a spot with some wind and tree shelter, and set an alarm to clear the fly if snow is forecast. Anyone else had a tent go down under snow? Curious whether people jump straight to a four-season shelter or just manage a three-season better.
Leave after work, hike two hours in, sleep, and be back before breakfast. It has kept me sharp between big trips and it costs nothing. Post your favorite quick overnight loop.
The quilt is lighter and sleeps warmer than the rating suggests if you get the pad attachment right. Get it wrong and you will chase drafts all night. Anyone still preferring a full mummy?
Toe socks under a thin wool sock, shoes a full size up, and leukotape on the two spots that always went first. No hot spots in 300 miles since. Everyone's feet are different but that combination was the unlock for me.
