Camping and Backpacking GEAR thread

Awww!

 

They usually blast that shit with dynamite. It's really cool to watch!

 

Snow canyon, Kolob, cedar breaks, petroglyphs, day spas, Brian head. It's an incredible area for sure!

 

Brian Head! That's my home mountain!

Also, the Tushar mountains, the Henrys, Abajos, La Sals, Pine Valley Mountain, the Arizona Strip... I could go on and on.

 

Not too bad.

 

Just got back from 6 amazing days and 5 nights on the JMT, ending with a summit of Mt. Whitney. The MSR Hubba Hubba NX and my new Enlightened Equipment quilt both performed above expectations and made this trip so much more comfortable and efficient at camp. Even with below freezing temps on 2 different nights (one night left 1/4" thick ice on the top of my collapsible bucket), I was never cold nor did I have even a drop of condensation in my tent or gear. Night 1 even had rain during the day and some overnight and we never had a drop on us.

My Osprey Atmos 65 AG did fantastic, and her Gregory 38 was a gem. I could have gone with a slightly smaller pack, but the Osprey fit the big bear canister so well it was hard not to take it. I never had a single hip or shoulder pain from this pack, and it was my best friend over those miles with that bad knee. I never once fell over, and my balance was better than any other pack I've worn thus far. 35# including water was my starting weight with full food, and my wife was at 27# on day 1.

My WoolX clothing really did an excellent job. I had one of their tshirts, their boxer briefs, and their midweight beanie and all performed excellent with zero stink!

On day 1, at mile 7, my LCL tore on my left knee and the entire side of my knee swelled up and I was unable to step down on it without locking my knee. With 41 miles to go, it was a tough choice to not turn around for safety's sake. I decided to stay on the trail and fight through the pain with Ibuprofen and Vicodin. With the proper pace, and some very careful steps, we made it. Also, on day 3, my wife developed early pulmonary edema from high altitude as a result of crossing Forester Pass. Luckily we camped next to some great people that night, one being a nurse, who provided us with a Prednisone derivative which got my wife quickly back into shape. Miracle stuff.

Here are pics of 3 of our campsites, showing the Hubba Hubba set up in different terrains. I was too tired at the end of the other 2 nights to remember to snap a pic. Yes, the tent is visible in all 3. You have to look hard in the bottom 2 pics:

Central valley, down below Bullfrog Lake


West side of Mt. Whitney, at a small tarn just above Guitar Lake


East side of Whitney the morning after summit day, at Trail Camp




Some pics of our progress:

 

Great photos! And carrying on with a LCL tear is no small feat. Did I read that correctly... You hiked 41 MILES on the torn ligament?!

 

48 mile journey, tore the LCL at mile 7 after getting over and down the other side of Kearsarge Pass. It was either go home and miss my opportunity to summit Whitney this year, or keep going and just deal with it and hope for the best.

 

like a boss. awesome you guys went through with it.

 

Thanks, brother. No regrets here. MRI next week though

 

Obligatory truck pic from the trip, the day before we departed. Mt. Whitney from the east face visible in the background right above my TW sticker

 

#boss

Nice work! Totally understand the reason for continuing. Ligaments will heal.

 

Fantastic hiking! I just love that / this area! Did you get out before the Horseshoe Fire? I was in Bishop and Lone Pine those days working (vol) at the IC. Lots of hikers having to alter plans, but the FS is working hard to get them into other trailheads.

 

The fire started literally as I was getting picked up by my shuttle at the Portal. On the way down the hill, the smoke had just started. There was no smoke when our driver was coming up to get us. We met other hikers who were going out via Horseshoe, and it looks like they were escorting hikers out, just not in.

I also heard that an older man died back in our area later last week and his body was helicoptered out. We saw a large heli leaving the valley when we were hiking. Any news on that?

 

Those death things are usually kept quiet. Nothing is being hidden, but Its generally not front page news around here. If that were the case, Yose would be in the news daily for all the rescues that are done daily over the summer. Deaths on the trails do happen. Theres been at least one on the PCT this spring.

Horseshoe is up to 360+ acres and only 50% contained at this point... no known cause yet, but suspected by human...

 

Keeping a good thought for the people that are responding to, and fighting that fire.

 

Hi @Cuffs , by any chance do you own any north face base camp duffels??? Ordered Yesterday the REI National Park Service in medium and wanted to know your expert advice on them. Probably would have been best to ask you before I ordered, but it was on of those impulsive kind of things at 1:00am . Thanks!!!

 

Absolutely!

My duty for the day... Sitting in a fire tower...

 

HAHA! While I dont have one, Ive always been impressed with their ruggedness! Now that theres a NPS one, I want it all the more! Theyre pretty heavy duty and great for all around toting shit.