Comment from a recent trip

[Franco]

Had the opportunity to stay in Seattle recently as a base for two walks in the area. Did a 72 km loop (3 nights ) and on the PCT, a 114km section. On the PCT we had 7 days of food but did that in 6. My total weight for the 7 (expected) days , about 14kg with one liter of water from a base weight of 8kg. We were ready for weather down to - 5c as we camped a few times close to 2000 meters, however the lowest temp was about 4c.
I installed the expedition pockets to my Aarn Featherlite Freedom, and had all of my rain gear( Montane jacket, Montane Featherlight pants and mittens) /emergency/medical and personal hygiene gear on one pocket and food including my trail munchies as well as my camera,insulated mug (S2S) in the other. On the front of the pockets I had my drink bottles, 2 x 600ml.
I was testing (courtesy of Doug Johnson from BPL) a pair of camo GG Lightrek poles. Two sections with strap and small basket, about 230g for the pair (!!!)
http://www.gossamergear.com/cgi-bin/gos ... _Camo.html
Less than half of the weight of my BD poles but more than strong enough for the trail ( we did some river crossing and several bits on scree) as well as strong enough for my Contrail.
(the previous one piece GG poles were lighter but felt a bit fragile to me and did not have a strap, a "must" for me)
A couple of last minute weight/volume reduction were the Neo Air and the Western Mountaineering Hooded Flash Jacket.
The Neo saved me 2/3ds of the bulk of the Prolite 4 and almost 400g (360g versus 750g). Below zero I would have had to shove my day clothing under it but did not do that on the two trips.
The WM took the place of my Montane puffy jacket (synthetic) and my angora jumper. To saving 460g (WM inc stuff sack 290g, vs 760g)
I used the TiTri Caldera cone/550 pot, boiled about 2 liters per day , spilled some but still had enough for another day from my initial 460-480ml supply of metho.
I know have a snuffer, so I just pour some alcohol in the stove, when it boils I extinguish the flame and pour back the remains into the bottle.
Some pics from the walk and the gear.
Franco
BTW, met a guy that does 20-30 miles in that area with a 30L pack . He eats 4 bars a day.
Most other walkers had bigger packs than me except for the through hikers and some section hikers.. One was 7-8 days away from the Canadian border having started in Mexico in mid April.
( ULA Circuit pack, Contrail, foam mat, WM bag)

[Nuts]

Beautiful looking country franco... What is the little tent in the back there? Are those photos from the pct (its on my 'list' )

[photohiker]

Drat.

Blast you Franco. How much does that cost?

[Franco]

Hi Nuts
We did the Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens pass section, the equivalent of the Overland there except longer...
Very easy walking, the "long scree" sections should be a doodle for any Tasmanian and the "carry" water sections would be described as "abundant water available" here in Victoria...
Not crowded at all, some days we crossed only 2-6 people. We met food carrying dogs and two teams of llamas (3 and 5).
The trail is very easy to follow and never crossed snow as it was the end of the season. I was informed this morning that a storm is raging in that area now...
Those three shelters are my TT Contrail, Louis's TT Rainbow and the Golite Cave (not a particularly clever tarp, IMHO)
BTW, if I were to buy a new 3 season plus shelter now (IE not Tasmanian winter high up...) I would get the TT Moment. A very clever light weight 2 peg only ( you can use more) version of the single hoop design. Much quicker to set up then the other alternatives. ( I don't have one but have lots of pics and drawings to figure out how it works)

Some pics of that area...







BTW, no permits really needed, just register at the trai head. You can camp anywhere except for some designated "re-generation" areas. The last picture is about 1.3 km off trail. We were the only ones there.
There is a lake about 30 meters past our campsite, lots of marmots about.

[Son of a Beach]

The scenery is so different to here but very beautiful!

[Steve]

Looks amazing.

[Franco]

Photohiker
Seattle is a wealth hazard for a gearhead like me...
For a start there is the largest REI store in the USA, 12 cash registers at the checkout as well as at least as many around the store...
Across the road there is Feathered Friends, they stock Hilleberg/MontBell as well as their stuff (high end sleeping bags/jackets/pants and booties)
Outdoor Research and Filson have their factory there too and Patagonia/Columbia/The Nort Face have a retail outlet as well.
The jacket was from this shop, http://www.promountainsports.com/ about the same size as the cash register area of REI... but dedicated to lightweight stuff. Got the MontBell pillow from them as well as the WM Flight. It was $260 plus tax, about $350 AU.
Franco

[Ent]

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Last edited by Ent on Sat 13 Nov, 2010 4:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Franco]

Here is a link to the video of that trip.
http://www.yart.com.au/pa/page.aspx?ID=131
Franco