My Gear List

[kahtadin]

Though I'd post my gear list and brief comments on my recent Tassie adventure (2/12/08-19/3/09) with most time spent in the southwest (SWC Circuit, SC Track,PB via Moonlight Ridge and out NR Inlet, Mt.Anne Circuit, Eastern & Western Arthurs) as well as The Labyrinth, WOJ, Mt. Fields, Freycinet, Mariah Is., South Bruny, & Tasman P.. It stood up to all conditions including two blizzards (although without the Dixon's Kingdom hut I doubt I'd be here to tell the tale), hurricane conditions at Cox Bight on 22/1, and the infamous Arthur Plains flood of 24/2-26/2 (nearly drowned crossing Strike Creek !).

Pack: GG Mariposa Plus (Yes, the outside mesh took a beating, but repairing it gave me something to do)
Tent: Tarptent Contrail (w/rear strut) or Double Rainbow (DR used in Arthurs, Mt. Anne Circuit, Freycinet)
Sleeping Bag: Montbell UL SS Hugger #1 (a godsend for a thrash sleeper like me)
Sleeping Pad: Big Agnes Insulmat or Clearview, w/BA pumphouse (PITA)
Shoes: Inov-8 Roclite 390's (Too hard to dry because of Packlite membrane,ditched)
Inov-8 Rolite 315's (Excellent, my go to shoe, scampered up Federation with them even though they were disintegrating at the time)
Inov-8 Flyrock 310's(Good for cycling & light bushwalking)
Dawgs camp shoes
OR Cascadia Gaiters
I used Sole footbeds with all shoes. The sole material of the Inov-8's provided excellent grip on dolorite and granite, not as much on quartzite.
Stove: Trail Design, Red Bull backup (except for the occasional meal of mussels, just used to boil water)
Fuel: Metho in .5L Platypus w/BPL squirt top
Cookset: Highly modified Caldera Keg, Freezer Bags (I like Glad because they stand up to boiling water better, so, Get Glad ! Whoo-hoo !) in custom cozy, BPL Titanium spoon, Evernew 300ml ti mug (double walled, I like my cuppa to stay hot)
Food: Re-packaged off the shelf stuff from Cole's and Woolie's ecxept for the excellent pineapple I found washed up and lying on the beach in front of the middens in Stephenson Bay
Drybags: OR Hydroseal 13L (sleeping Bag)
OR Hydroseal 8L (clothing)
Aloksak Large (food)
Trash compactor bag pack liner
Hydration: 750ml w/squirt top and 1L Franklin water bottles (bought 2/12 and used whole trip !)
Hat: OR Windstop Beanie
REI nylon brimmed hat
Gloves: Patagonia liners (so-so) or EMS liners (the nuts !)
Rain Mitts: MLD eVent (good for wind only, sucked in any kind of rain)
Rain/Wind Jacket: OR Zealot
Thermal Jacket: Montbell Thermawrap (Synthetic & fairly bulletproof) or EMS Ascent Liner (GD & warmer, but a little fragile)
Windshirt: Patagonia Houdini (How do I love thee, let me count the ways)
Rain/Wind Pants: Golite Reed Pants (really dew/wind pants)
Tops: Icebreaker 140 T-shirt
Smartwool Microweight Zip-T
Smartwool Midweight Zip-T
Bottoms: EMS Convertible Pants (only worn as shorts)
Under Armour Boxer Briefs
Patagonia Capilene 300wt Full Length Bottoms
Socks: 3 pairs Darn Tough (the best, baby !)
2 pairs EMS X-Static liners (the secret weapon)
Trekking poles: GG Litetrek IV (Superb ! I walk with only one, but carry two for Contrail set-up)
Misc: TP (cut down and folded blue "shop" towels),Torch (Fenix LOD, da best, I could spot possum's heading for my food stash at 50 meters,those *&%$#! !), Victorinex mini (scissors/file/blade), good tweezers, compass & relevant maps, mucho spare matches, very basic first aid kit (mainly painkillers of every description), needles & thread,compact digital camera, Kelty triptease cord, line loks (check them out !),rite-in-rain journal w/stubby pencil, spare batteries,safety pin/clothespins,sunglasses, toothbrush w/baking soda, small squeeze bottle of Dr. Bronners soap, AquaMira decanted into small BPL dopper containers (rarely used),MSR small packcloth... and on.

I'm probably forgetting some things and some items were stashed (I didn't carry multiple tents,sleeping mats, or shoes, of course).

The most my gear weighed (on Par Avion scale) was 15.1K and that was with 20 days food (10 days to be left in Melaleuca) ,water,and 2L Metho (before PA took it). Probably my pack averaged around 10K most of the time, not that I much cared. Btw, my weight on arriving in Tassie was 76K and bottomed out two months later at 61K. A stretch of 43 out of 46 days in the bush will do that to you !

A great trip with no worries, and if only that ranger on the OT that I'd fallen thunderstruck in love with last year had given me the time of day this time around, I'd still be in fair Tassie !

[stu]

Wow, that's some mega-trip you had yourself kahtadin, almost makes you an honorary Taswegian in my books
A photo journal would be great to see showing highlights of your trip!
Still plenty of Tasmanian classic trips for you to be done;
or come back & walk the overland track back & forth - the ranger may buckle eventually

Cheers for sharing.
Stu.

[tasadam]

my weight on arriving in Tassie was 76K and bottomed out two months later at 61K. A stretch of 43 out of 46 days in the bush will do that to you !

Well, that rules it out for me.
It would not be healthy for me to finish at 46 kilo's.

Sounds like a fantastic time. Looking forward to photos and details - sounds like there were a few interesting times that would be good to read about.
Well done!

[Son of a Beach]

That's a lot of walking in 3 months! Likewise, I hope to hear more about the walks themselves, in another topic, if you'd care to share.

[kahtadin]

I'll get some stuff up in the Bushwalking in Tasmania thread over the next few days. Given the quality of the photos people post here mine are going to be quite mundane and amateurish, but at least you'll know where I was .

[tasadam]

It's not about the quality of photo here, it's about the content. Though there are some amongst us that push for quality too.
Looking forward to your additions.
Loved the sock, by the way.

[Darren]

G'Day
Top list mate. It’s good to see practical application of lightweight philosophy to suit Tasmanian conditions. How did you find your shelters?
Darren

[jules78]

Hi Kahtadin

Thanks for sharing your gear list - always good to see what others are using. I must admit though, the nurse in me is curious (and somewhat concerned) to know more of what your diet entailed. How much food did you allow per day? Did you get any advice about balancing your nutritional needs? Were you carrying much extra weight to begin with? A 15kg weight loss (20% of your starting weight) in 2 months is huge. If I lost 20% of my body weight I'd be seriously ill - my BMI would drop from a healthy 20 down to 15, which is bordering on the level of starvation and carries serious health risks (a BMI of <17.5 is generally considered anorexic, a BMI of 13-15 is the minimum required to sustain life).

I'd appreciate any more info you'd care to share....

Cheers
Jules

[norts]

Am I readying your post correctly, 15kg and that included 20 days food and 2l of metho and water.
2L metho = 2KG
Food, water and all gear 13.1 kg
I would like to see your food list. The norms is usually 800 -900gms per day - at 700gms that is still 14kg and no gear or water. No wonder you lost alot of weight. Your food allowance must have been close to 500 or less.

Roger

[kahtadin]

G'Day
Top list mate. It’s good to see practical application of lightweight philosophy to suit Tasmanian conditions. How did you find your shelters?
Darren

At 54 my days of humping 25K packs over hill & dale and enjoying it are behind me, so thank goodness for all the clever people out there producing well thought out lightweight gear, for me it makes it all things possible.

As to my shelters I was fond of this one:


Since it's presence the evening before saved my bacon on a day when the rain turned to freezing rain, then snow, all backed by winds of 30-40 knots. Passing through Damascus Gate the snow was drifted and packed thigh high and the track was about impossible to follow. I had my Tarptent Double Rainbow at the time and I doubt I would've been able to set it up or recover sufficiently from the experience to prolong my sorry existence if I did. As it was, upon gaining the hut I had to remove my clothes with my teeth. But, who knows, I'm just glad I didn't have to find out.

Otherwise...

The Tarpent Contrail-The sweetest little 3 season home away from home I've ever carried. You look at it and think, no way this is going to work out for extended use under a wide range of conditions, but it's actually quite roomy for a one person shelter and very adaptable.The more I played with it under realtime Tassie conditions the more confidence I had in it's capabilities. It uses a trekking pole (or two A framed if you want to really stiffen it up) for support, and I added the short upright strut modification to the rear that adds precipitation shedding pitch, more interior room, and additional support. You can get by with four stakes, but I used up to eight in a combination of MSR Groundhogs (don't leave home without a few) and light ti shepards hooks. Possible to sit up in at the entry end and the vestibule had plenty of room to put my pack and still go in and out. Very light and packable, 2 minute setup. Well ventilated in normal configurations, but as a single walled tent (silnylon) if you have to pin it to the ground to deal with adverse conditions you'll get plenty of interior condensation.
On PB


The Tarptent Double Rainbow- I packed the 3-season DR if I expected to be in areas where, because of anticipated weather or wanting to travel more leisurely, I knew I'd wouldn't be moving for a day or two...or three. Designed to accomodate two persons, with two entries and vestibules, the DR has plenty of space for one to sit up, lie about, strew clothes around, and roll comfortably from one side to the other in the middle of the night in. Again, a light single walled (silnylon) tent that packs small and ventilates well but does seems more prone to condensation forming than the Contrail. Sets up in 3-5 minutes with a single collapsible tube and bungie pole to form a long axis arch and a minimum of six stakes.
On Freycinet

[kahtadin]

Thanks for sharing your gear list - always good to see what others are using. I must admit though, the nurse in me is curious (and somewhat concerned) to know more of what your diet entailed. How much food did you allow per day? Did you get any advice about balancing your nutritional needs? Were you carrying much extra weight to begin with? A 15kg weight loss (20% of your starting weight) in 2 months is huge. If I lost 20% of my body weight I'd be seriously ill - my BMI would drop from a healthy 20 down to 15, which is bordering on the level of starvation and carries serious health risks (a BMI of <17.5 is generally considered anorexic, a BMI of 13-15 is the minimum required to sustain life).

Yes, my weight loss was concerning and I monitored it, and my general health, regularly. As would be expected I intially lost weight steadily and was clearly converting muscle mass in my upper body into energy. Weight loss slowed after the initial precipitous loss and in time leveled off. I was aware enough of the ramifications to comment at the nadir,"Any more and it's coming out of vital organs". At which point I added more intake to my game. All the while I felt fine, body functions seemed normal, and I wasn't experiencing any more than my normal complement of delusions and hallucinations. I was also walking 6 to 12 hours a day. Oddly, I never experienced hunger or food cravings (except for vita-weat cracked pepper crackers, damn good !). Here's what I ate:
Breakie:Every day on the track the same. My own mix of store bought muesli with added nuts,seeds,flaked coconut, dried raisens, cranberries, and apricots. This I packaged in freezer bags in 160g-170g amounts. I would eat half a bag for breakfast (the other half as I walked during the day) with 120ml dried whole milk to which hot water was added. Sometimes I would add 30ml hot chocolate mix in addition. I also had a cup of coffee (black) with an equal tab. Occasionally, if I had it, a little cheese. I was partial to the Bruny Island "Tom" cheese, and will require that some be sent me for me to continue posting here.

Mid Day:Every day on the track the same. A 100g satchel of Tuna or Salmon with four vita-weat crackers, tea or coffee, and a few pieces dried fruit. While initialy I grazed from the range of satchel choices as I became more aware of the need to boot up my protein intake I basically stuck with tuna in springwater which, as I recall, yeilded about 23g protein per satchel. Again, the occasional supplemental cheese.

Evening:Usually a quality ramen dish that would make up 350ml-500ml when finished, or Woolie's four serving sides (cut in half), Trident(?) Mac & Cheese (cut in half), or reconstituted mashed potatoes to which dried garlic, italian spices mix,dried & crushed red peppers, reconstituted peas and/or green beans, and maybe cheese sauce powder was added. All servings had been repackaged into zip lock bags from their original packaging. I'll put my cooking system into another post (I assume the BIC is on it's way ?) which some may find interesting and maybe even cause them to cast a jaded eye on their noble Trangia caldrons. I would also usually have a cup of Continental style soup. I carried dried chicken stock powder, the spices, and usually dried mushrooms to add in, along with the dried peas and green beans. When available I'd steam some mussels or slurp down some oysters. Tea or coffee followed, and in the later stages of my trip, hot chocolate.

In early February I increased my evening portions and added a few things, such as Cadbury White Chocolate.

Out of the bush I ate normally , with minimal gorging (...well, the folks at Domino's on Macquarie may disagree), and could be found during 1-2 day recovery/resupply stints sitting at a table on the sidewalk outside my favorite Hobart patiserre with an americano (natch !) and, when available, a piece of carrot cake.

This worked for me.

Here's a photo of my reduced self.

And some carrot cake porn.

[Darren]

Thanks for the reply mate
I use a lunar solo or gatewood cape so i can share the joys of a lightweight silnylon shelter. The contrail Ithink may be a little more wind proof though. Is that pic on Precipitous Bluff, looks like you had some nice sunshine as well as some nice snow. Anyway once again glad you enjoyed your time and you have demonstrated that having a thorough understanding of yourself and your gears capabilities (what ever it weighs) is much better than just carrying gear.
Darren

[Tony]

Hi Kahtadin,

Thanks for sharing your Tasmanian adventure and for showing what is possible with lightweight gear in SW Tasmania.

There are many BW-T members that doubt that lightweight gear is suitable for SW Tasmania.

Tony

[dee_legg]

all i can say is thats some amazing weather you woke to on PB! very lucky indeed.

[Son of a Beach]

There are many BW-T members that doubt that lightweight gear is suitable for SW Tasmania.

Please note that the remaining posts discussing pack loads and light weight gear in SW Tasmania have been split off to a new topic.

[north-north-west]

At 54 my days of humping 25K packs over hill & dale and enjoying it are behind me...

Piffle. I've seen walkers even older than me, with bigger (and heavier) packs. If I can, you can.
(Any excuse not to spend too much more on gear . . . )

[kahtadin]

At 54 my days of humping 25K packs over hill & dale and enjoying it are behind me...

Piffle. I've seen walkers even older than me, with bigger (and heavier) packs. If I can, you can.
(Any excuse not to spend too much more on gear . . . )

Yes, I think I passed them.

[north-north-west]

You probably passed me too, somewhere along the line. *shrug* But as I've gotten older, I've learned to slow down and appreciate the opportunity to see the places where I'm walking much better than when I was going through at twice the speed.
Or maybe I'm just using that as an excuse . . .

[kahtadin]

all i can say is thats some amazing weather you woke to on PB! very lucky indeed.

Yes, it was perfect, and I am fortunate. However, the next morning found myself and the group of six scrambling to get down as weather closed in.

Even though I had the luxury of time I tended to move about no matter the weather, except in exposed areas or when approaching areas of great visual beauty where I choose to wait out weather so as to see the sights on a clear day rather than cover ground.

Conversely, on what was a perfect day in that most awesome and beautiful of places, the Western Arthurs, I, having reached High Moor from Lake Oberon a little after noon and with practically every fiber of my being wanting me to kick back and enjoy my idyll there, chose to move on to Haven Lake that afternoon and early evening because I didn't want to get locked in by bad weather. Which is in fact is what would've happened as by the next morning the mist and low clouds had moved in and hung on the range for several days.

[kahtadin]

You probably passed me too, somewhere along the line. *shrug* But as I've gotten older, I've learned to slow down and appreciate the opportunity to see the places where I'm walking much better than when I was going through at twice the speed.
Or maybe I'm just using that as an excuse . . .

To each his own. I do what suits me and brings me satisfaction within the context of using my best judgement and respect for others. I have no answer for someone (not meaning you) who thinks they can tell me what's in my mind or what I'm experiencing.

[kahtadin]

Hi Kahtadin,

Thanks for sharing your Tasmanian adventure and for showing what is possible with lightweight gear in SW Tasmania.

There are many BW-T members that doubt that lightweight gear is suitable for SW Tasmania.

Tony

For me, the bottom line is whether the gear you're using, when combined with a persons experience and judgement, allows you to travel with satisfaction and safety. Easier said than done.

While traveling in Tassie I had no physical limitations and gear that I was familiar with and that should, when properly used, stand up to about anything. That left mental aspects of decision making (and dealing with failed decisions), the vagaries of emotion, etc. to be dealt with to ensure successful outcomes in high risk areas . Having been a woodsman and commercial fisherman all my life has given me a deep well of experience and personal resolve that allows me to do the things I do in the way I do them. A little luck (or ?) from time to time doesn't hurt either.

[alliecat]

Congratulations on a truly epic walking trip in Tas! It sounds like you had a fantastic time. You covered more of Tas in those 6 weeks than many cover in years.

I'd be curious to know how the contrail faired in wet or really windy conditions. I'm thinking of getting a tent specifically for my solo trips and the contrail is on the list jointly with the SMD lunar solo and my main concern is their suitability in windy conditions.

Regarding Dixon's Kingdom hut - did you consider just stopping and putting up the contrail when the weather turned really nasty or was it so bad that wasn't really an option? I'm not criticising, I'd just like to know more about what happened. [Edit - I just realised you did say the conditions were too bad to set up the DR... yikes!]

Your gear list looks really nice to me. I'd love to get some of the GG poles but the aus dollar is a bit rubbish at the moment, so I'll keep waiting. Thanks for sharing that info and details of your trip. Nice one!

Cheers,
Alliecat

[ben.h]

Hi Kahtadin,
Thanks for sharing your amazing adventure with us. I can't understand some of the negative comments you've attracted here because you are obviously more than competent and have seen more of my backyard than I have!

I hope you stick around and continue to contribute to BWT.

[north-north-west]

For me, the bottom line is whether the gear you're using, when combined with a persons experience and judgement, allows you to travel with satisfaction and safety. Easier said than done.

While traveling in Tassie I had no physical limitations and gear that I was familiar with and that should, when properly used, stand up to about anything. That left mental aspects of decision making (and dealing with failed decisions), the vagaries of emotion, etc. to be dealt with to ensure successful outcomes in high risk areas . Having been a woodsman and commercial fisherman all my life has given me a deep well of experience and personal resolve that allows me to do the things I do in the way I do them. A little luck (or ?) from time to time doesn't hurt either.

A good philosophy. for walking or other things.
Glad you enjoyed our little island.