Hiking. Day, Thru, Section, Ultralight to Traditional

[Thunder]

Wow!!
Kearsarge Pass with the little ones?! Can’t wait to take my daughter along on some of these more grueling hikes.

Gotta love Zpacks. Definitely one of the best in the ultralight game.

We trained on trails in the hills near home with increasing weight for about 5 weeks leading up to that trip. By the week before the trip we were carrying more weight in our packs than we would be on the actual trip. But for some reason on the first day of the trip my youngest was in tears because of his backpack before we got out of the parking lot at Onion Campground. I didn't expect that after all that training. I ended up carrying his pack on my chest until the other side of Kearsarge Pass, lol. It was worth it though. At least it was only a few pounds. So many life lessons for kids out there. You can climb a mountain one step at a time.

Hope you can get out there with your daughter soon. Great time spent together.

I really like the Triplex. Since the boys are still too young to carry much weight, it really helps me out having shelter for three that's that light.

 

[WJCO]

Glad to see the kids out there with you doing that. Zpacks is a great company for ultralight gear.

 

[HighwayTrout]

We trained on trails in the hills near home with increasing weight for about 5 weeks leading up to that trip. By the week before the trip we were carrying more weight in our packs than we would be on the actual trip. But for some reason on the first day of the trip my youngest was in tears because of his backpack before we got out of the parking lot at Onion Campground. I didn't expect that after all that training. I ended up carrying his pack on my chest until the other side of Kearsarge Pass, lol. It was worth it though. At least it was only a few pounds. So many life lessons for kids out there. You can climb a mountain one step at a time.

Hope you can get out there with your daughter soon. Great time spent together.

I really like the Triplex. Since the boys are still too young to carry much weight, it really helps me out having shelter for three that's that light.

Very inspiring.

How many days/nights were you guys out there? Do you remember your base weight? My kid is just now maxing out our kid carrier so she’s on her own walking. It’s changing how we do our day hikes (e.g. at a snails pace).

 

[Thunder]

Very inspiring.

How many days/nights were you guys out there? Do you remember your base weight? My kid is just now maxing out our kid carrier so she’s on her own walking. It’s changing how we do our day hikes (e.g. at a snails pace).

It was supposed to be 5 days but we got smoked out by the Rough Fire after the first night.
It was pretty disappointing but we couldn't get out of there fast enough. Just wanted to breathe fresh air again.
I don't remember my base weight but I'm guessing it was creeping up over 40lbs.
I was carrying five days worth of food (Packit Gourmet) for three people and was also carrying more water than I really needed to. Being overly cautious.
I use the ULA Catalyst which fits a BearVault inside.

Our pace can be pretty slow too. With lots of breaks and taking stuff out of their packs and putting it in mine, lol. I'm sure they wonder what the point of it all is sometimes.
We need to get out there again soon!

 

[Thunder]

Glad to see the kids out there with you doing that. Zpacks is a great company for ultralight gear.

Yes, they're city kids so I try to get them out into nature when I can.

I second the Zpacks statement. I can't believe a three person tent can weigh 1.5lbs!

 

[sipafz]

Day hike at the Ice Age Trail. This winter has been strange in Southeastern Wisconsin as we’ve had only a few inches of snow this season. The temps have been cold, but lack of snow and bright sun draw me to the woods. Turned out to me a great day for a hike and drive through the Northern Kettle Moraine:

16 degrees, but no wind made for acceptable hiking conditions.





Not a lot of color in the woods. The only sounds were the occasional bird and popping deadwood.





No matter how hard I tried, the pines were not giving up their scent today.







People suck! Who takes a cup of ramen in the woods and leaves it trailside?



A hour and a half is long enough for me!



Even found a couple gravel roads to roll down.

 

[WJCO]

Nice trip report. :thumb:

 

[HighwayTrout]

This was Rae lakes loop, left out of onion valley and went through Whitney portal, did the loop and 5 passes over 7 days and then back out the east side. Was 2 of us, and met up with friends 2/3 of the way through.

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This is why I now always travel with gel superglue...
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Group shot after we all met up. Meeting up in remote areas based on estimated time tables agreed upon days ahead of time based on guesstimates is always a crap shoot!
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Giving this thread a bump.

I am going to try and spend a week or two out in that general area. For the past three years I’ve struck out on a Whitney day permit and JMT permits are getting silly now too. What year was this trip SDG? Sounds and looks like an amazing time.

 

[Sharkey]

Take a look at the Wind River Range in Wyoming...Cirque of the Towers. It is public so you don’t need permits. Great hiking and fishing.

 

[HighwayTrout]

Take a look at the Wind River Range in Wyoming...Cirque of the Towers. It is public so you don’t need permits. Great hiking and fishing.

Tried to sneak away in the wind river range for an overnighter a couple years ago. We were there the first week of May and it snowed off and on and I wasn’t prepared for snow. So I ended up never going on any backpacking adventures. 3 weeks on the road with a two year old. It was silly to even think I could squeeze in a backpacking get away in the middle of it all.

 

[SDG]

Giving this thread a bump.

I am going to try and spend a week or two out in that general area. For the past three years I’ve struck out on a Whitney day permit and JMT permits are getting silly now too. What year was this trip SDG? Sounds and looks like an amazing time.

Hmmm, this was probably 7 years ago now. I was on a roll back then doing a lot of backpacking. Was planning a trip to do the fun parts of the PCT but my enthusiasm sort of fizzled after a few week long treks.

 

[Sharkey]

Tried to sneak away in the wind river range for an overnighter a couple years ago. We were there the first week of May and it snowed off and on and I wasn’t prepared for snow. So I ended up never going on any backpacking adventures. 3 weeks on the road with a two year old. It was silly to even think I could squeeze in a backpacking get away in the middle of it all.

I’ve been there in July twice, several years apart. Once backpacking and once horsepacking. Both times we received several inches of snow 10 or so miles into the backcountry. It’s a big range and creates its own weather patterns. That’s part of the fun.

 

[Xhisors]

Day hike at the Ice Age Trail. This winter has been strange in Southeastern Wisconsin as we’ve had only a few inches of snow this season. The temps have been cold, but lack of snow and bright sun draw me to the woods. Turned out to me a great day for a hike and drive through the Northern Kettle Moraine:

16 degrees, but no wind made for acceptable hiking conditions.

I absolutely love the kettles! Before I moved out to California, I used to go out there hiking all the time. I love how the area changes as the seasons come and go.

Great place. Though people leaving trash behind is so irritating.



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[sipafz]

6” of fresh powder made for a nice trudge through the woods:







Warmer temps during the week allowed the Milwaukee River to open up:

 

[WJCO]

Got out for a short hike this morning. It was cold but not snowing, so all the trees had this weird icy frost on them. Made for some cool pictures.

 

[CharlesC]

Awesome pictures! Hell, you find 3 more deer legs and a hide, you could have a chair like someone posted this morning[emoji23]


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[sipafz]

Got out for a short hike this morning. It was cold but not snowing, so all the trees had this weird icy frost on them. Made for some cool pictures.

The frost did make for some great photos! Glad to see that you made it out. We just got 5” of fresh snow today, so I might get up early tomorrow and do some snow shoeing.

 

[CrazyTrainJK]

That's about as close an invitation as I'll ever get. I'm not good at the long distance, lightweight hiking you're alluding to. But I still get around.

Panamint City, a long, annoying weekend backpacking trip in the Panamint range. You used to be able to "drive" up there. Alas wilderness. Osprey 65L.
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East fork of the San Gabriel, through trip from Vincent Gap down to Heaton Flat. 17 miles of river bed. GoLite Jam. Hennessy Hammock.
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North fork of the Kings river in Sequoia. A long day if you dawdle. Imlay Canyon "Mystery" bag. Henderson 7mm wetsuit Photo: Sierenphotography.com
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Heaps Canyon, Zion National Park. Last rappel was like fun, but different. Big... big... day. 600ft rope by BlueWater.
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Cave in Nevada. Long hike up a really steep hill. Then rat-poop dust. Lots of it. Photo: Kevin Westervoorde
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Boulder cave in southern California. Stylish nylon cave suit by Lost Creek. Photo: Jansen Cardy
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Mt. Roberts (The long way), Juneau Alaska Cave bag by Petzl. Northface(You must go on sooo many adventures...) jacket Photo: Brian Weed
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Orderville Canyon, Zion National Park. Almost got flashed, so that was fun. Poles: Black Diamond "Expensive carbon edition" Photo: Dominik Nadolski
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30 stories down a borehole, the only way out is going back up. Mine in Nevada. Tripod by Velbon, Canon 5dII in bag. "poop catcher" canyon harness by Petzl Photo:UndergroundExplorers.com
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Pine Creek Canyon. Zion National Park. Childs play in the summer. Those potholes kicked my ass in the spring. Mammut helmet, Sten light. Photo: Danny Ross
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Ruby Canyon. First descent. Los Padres NF. Photo: Steve Sieren
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Wow, very nice :thumb:

 

[WJCO]

Awesome pictures! Hell, you find 3 more deer legs and a hide, you could have a chair like someone posted this morning[emoji23]


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Lol. No kidding. I saw that. This poor fellow likely couldn't outrun the lion, lots in this area.

The frost did make for some great photos! Glad to see that you made it out. We just got 5” of fresh snow today, so I might get up early tomorrow and do some snow shoeing.

Just saw your previous pics, beautiful. You guys have gotten a decent amount of snow recently, way more than us. I attempted snowshoeing once this year with no luck, we just haven't had a decent snow this year.

 

[sipafz]

Lol. No kidding. I saw that. This poor fellow likely couldn't outrun the lion, lots in this area.



Just saw your previous pics, beautiful. You guys have gotten a decent amount of snow recently, way more than us. I attempted snowshoeing once this year with no luck, we just haven't had a decent snow this year.

We finally got some snow. Our seasonal average is around 47”. This year we have had 23” so far, of which 11” was last weekend combined with today. I posted some pictures mid January where there wasn’t any snow at all. Crazy! Looking forward to getting out tomorrow morning!