Backpack trip into wilderness

[yiostheoy]

I don't hunt or bring any weapon. Just the folding knife.

I didn't bring coffee last time. That was a mistake. This time I'll bring instant and just mix some in my water bottle with some powdered milk and drink it cold.

Our coffee at the trailhead in the campsite near the vehicles is always freshly brewed in an old fashioned percolator.

Our coffee on the trail is a premixed concoction of instant coffee, coffeemate, and sugar.

I have found that under any strenuous circumstances, coffee is always the first thing that the body craves.

And scrambled eggs with ham or bacon bits in it is always the second thing.

So those are the fist 2 things I make on any given morning out on the trail.

 

[yiostheoy]

If I'm going up to high altitude I will bring the tube tent as I will find a protected spot and lay the tent down and use it as a ground sheet and cover. I too bring everything in under cover (it acts like a dead air space insulator that way) and many times I have awakened to find myself covered with ice (on top of the tube tent) but I'm snug in my sleeping bag.

The only dangerous thing about setting up your tent directly under a tree is the lightning.

I prefer to be away from the trees a bit.

We saw lots and lots of old dead trees that had been struck by lightning previously.

 

[cnm]

But then I'm hunting off the tracks in this sort of stuff...

 

[yiostheoy]

Speaking of squatting, on this backpack trip we brought poo jugs to pack out our poopoo with.

It was an innovation I made from kitty kibbles jugs.

These are then clipped to the outside of our backpacks.

One jug easily holds an entire week's worth of poo.

Rule #1 for backpacking is "pack it in -- pack it out."

.View attachment 87169

Now that is beyond specific. Singular is the adjective for that one

I am sure that someday everyone everywhere on Federal lands will be required to pack out their poo just like at Whitney.

I should patent a poo jug like the one I designed for this hike.

Nobody packs out their poop. Well, one person.

You have to crap away from lakes and streams. You are required to carry out used paper, which I noticed that lots of people didnt do (animals dig it up). I just put mine in a zip lock and burn it at the next fire pit.

Note that within the Whitney Zone you are REQUIRED to pack out your poop.

This will be a new experience for you.

 

[westwall]

If I'm going up to high altitude I will bring the tube tent as I will find a protected spot and lay the tent down and use it as a ground sheet and cover. I too bring everything in under cover (it acts like a dead air space insulator that way) and many times I have awakened to find myself covered with ice (on top of the tube tent) but I'm snug in my sleeping bag.

The only dangerous thing about setting up your tent directly under a tree is the lightning.

I prefer to be away from the trees a bit.

We saw lots and lots of old dead trees that had been struck by lightning previously.

Not under a standing tree, usually a fallen one, or a cleft in the rocks. The hardest spot I ever slept in was a dry lake bed in the desert. That sucked. I camped on Tableland Meadows one year, which is above the treeline, and other than the fucking mosquito's that tried to suck me dry, I had a good time. I killed 935 of them in an hour!

 

[yiostheoy]

I don't hunt or bring any weapon. Just the folding knife.
...

My ideal is to bring 2 firearms -- one 22LR pistol for small game and one 12 gauge shotgun loaded with alternating slugs and double aught buck for self defense.

But obviously in the Whitney Zone there are way too many people to forage for game.

Elsewhere, I have always seen plenty of grouse, quail, rabbits, squirrel, and an occasional snake for dinner.

I have never tried rats but they must be similar to squirrel. A Chinese babe I used to date said that rat meat tastes pretty good.

 

[westwall]

But then I'm hunting off the tracks in this sort of stuff...

You're a Kiwi? That's North Island near Gisborne. We hunted Sika near there one year.

 

[yiostheoy]

If I'm going up to high altitude I will bring the tube tent as I will find a protected spot and lay the tent down and use it as a ground sheet and cover. I too bring everything in under cover (it acts like a dead air space insulator that way) and many times I have awakened to find myself covered with ice (on top of the tube tent) but I'm snug in my sleeping bag.

The only dangerous thing about setting up your tent directly under a tree is the lightning.

I prefer to be away from the trees a bit.

We saw lots and lots of old dead trees that had been struck by lightning previously.

Not under a standing tree, usually a fallen one, or a cleft in the rocks. The hardest spot I ever slept in was a dry lake bed in the desert. That sucked. I camped on Tableland Meadows one year, which is above the treeline, and other than the fucking mosquito's that tried to suck me dry, I had a good time. I killed 935 of them in an hour!

I have camped on Emerson Lake in the Mojave Desert (on Federal restricted land).

Worse than the mosquitoes are the biting flies called kissing bugs.

I am really spoiled now and won't go anywhere without my 2 person tent, air mattress, sleeping bag, and poncho liner. I like being toasty warm and dry at night, and not getting bitten by bugs of any kind.

 

[Treeshepherd]

Note that within the Whitney Zone you are REQUIRED to pack out your poop.

This will be a new experience for you.

That's just on one mountain, not the PCT in general.

Actually, Whitney doesn't sound all that appealing to me with all the waiting list/permitting, regulations and crowds. I'm sure it's awesome but all that red tape is a buzz kill.

 

[yiostheoy]

Note that within the Whitney Zone you are REQUIRED to pack out your poop.

This will be a new experience for you.

That's just on one mountain, not the PCT in general.

Actually, Whitney doesn't sound all that appealing to me with all the waiting list/permitting, regulations and crowds. I'm sure it's awesome but all that red tape is a buzz kill.

You are correct.

However my buddy really wanted to try and summit it.

But summiting Whitney is always if-fy even on a good day.

This trip we got rained out, with sleet.

Last trip, we got snowed out and could not ascend to the top.

The 3 times I did it prior everything went ok and I made it all the way to the top. But I did not bring a camera. But cameras back in those days were not digital yet.

 

[cnm]

We hunted Sika near there one year.

Sika and fallow are the best eating deer I've experienced, much better than red.

 

[westwall]

Note that within the Whitney Zone you are REQUIRED to pack out your poop.

This will be a new experience for you.

That's just on one mountain, not the PCT in general.

Actually, Whitney doesn't sound all that appealing to me with all the waiting list/permitting, regulations and crowds. I'm sure it's awesome but all that red tape is a buzz kill.

To be honest with you the climb is easy, and the crowds annoying. Far better, at least IMHO, was the hike up Waucoba Mountain on the opposite side of Owens Valley. It's only a bit more than 11K to the top, but there's NO ONE there.

 

[yiostheoy]

I normally prefer rolling mountain country with abundant water from mountain springs and streams.

Summits are generally not preferable because there is never any water up there so you need to bring your own.

I hate dry camps.

I usually plan excursions from one water source to the next one.

Water is great for drinking, for cooking, for cleaning up, and for washing your clothes out.

 

[Treeshepherd]

65 pound packs, canned drinks, percolators, multiple fire arms, daily laundry, two person tents, poop bags...
I'm definitely not interested in carrying all that over 2 passes per day. The people I met on the PCT this month don't travel like that. They typically resupply food once a week and keep the pack around 40 pounds or less.

 

[yiostheoy]

65 pound packs, canned drinks, percolators, multiple fire arms, daily laundry, two person tents, poop bags...
I'm definitely not interested in carrying all that over 2 passes per day. The people I met on the PCT this month don't travel like that. They typically resupply food once a week and keep the pack around 40 pounds or less.

I can do 55 lbs max. But only on flat lands.

40 lbs is my ideal including 5 pints of water.

 

[westwall]

65 pound packs, canned drinks, percolators, multiple fire arms, daily laundry, two person tents, poop bags...
I'm definitely not interested in carrying all that over 2 passes per day. The people I met on the PCT this month don't travel like that. They typically resupply food once a week and keep the pack around 40 pounds or less.

Yeah 65 was a bit much but it was a long time ago, before the technology lightened everything up.

 

[Treeshepherd]

My sleeping bag (2lbs.), obviously, I forgot to list that. And ENO makes an insulating blanket that fits inside the hammock and wraps around the bag. That's mere ounces.

I would take a tent if I did Oregon and Washington. In California you can eek by without one in August. Weather comes in in the afternoon, typically, but clears out at dusk (in my experience). Tents are mostly a type of psychological security. They also provide privacy for intimate couples. But I like to look at the stars and I was plenty warm in my 22 degree bag above 10,000 feet earlier this month.

My next leg of the PCT from Donner heading north won't be as high. Maybe 8,000 feet max. Not sure if it'll be blazing hot or rainy and cool. Looking forward to hot springs around Lassen.

Anyway, happy trails all. My trail name is Squirrel. See you out there.

 

[yiostheoy]

65 pound packs, canned drinks, percolators, multiple fire arms, daily laundry, two person tents, poop bags...
I'm definitely not interested in carrying all that over 2 passes per day. The people I met on the PCT this month don't travel like that. They typically resupply food once a week and keep the pack around 40 pounds or less.

The national parks and state parks do not allow firearms. Thus if you hike through one of them you may not have any. Whenever I cannot carry a firearm I always have my machete with me, shoulder mounted on its own belt across my shoulder.

The national forests and BLM land permit guns, but you need to have a valid hunting license for hunting. Best to have a bear tag also in case you need to shoot one. And a pig tag as well. Deer season is carefully controlled and regulated, besides which you are unlikely to see a hunt-able buck anyway because the mountain lions are killing most of them.

If you get dropped off early enough in the day so that you can start hiking-in right away, then you don't need to set up a trailhead camp with a percolating coffee maker, canned drinks, pots and pans for a real breakfast. But for us each to get to Whitney Portal campground we each had to drive 8 or more hours by car. So we set up a camp and had a nice breakfast in the morning of the first day.

Since bear canisters are mandatory as well as make sense, just a tiny backpacking detergent vial lets you wash your skivis, sox, sock liners, and shirt when needed. This way you are always wearing clean dry clothing next to your skin. And then you don't need to carry as much extra clothing -- just one day's worth. You already have the bear canister so it might as well get full usage.

I like the idea of packing out poop. Squatting all over the wilderness seems nasty now to me.

In the rain and sleet (tiny hail), a ground tarp and tent and rain fly are indispensable. Otherwise you could suffer hypothermia. Our tents each worked well in the 3 days of rain that we encountered.

Each trip is different. Desert is different than mountains. Bear country is different than coyote country. Mountain lions are almost everywhere in California. So a tent is a good thing in most cases anywhere. Tents protect you from parasite insects like ticks, fleas, mosquitoes, and biting flies (kissing bugs) as well. Fleas carry plague bacillus. Mice and rats carry fleas. There are plague warnings all over the Sierra.

 

[yiostheoy]

Rule #1 for backpacking is "pack it in -- pack it out."

Unfortunately most people squat in the woods and don't pack it out.

We pick up after our dogs in town.

So there is no good reason not to pick up after ourselves as well.

Leave the forest as you found it -- pristine.

 

[yiostheoy]

Just finished cleaning up all my gear and doing the laundry and dishes from the trip.

After I took all my gear out of the backpack, I cleaned it and returned it to the back pack. Except for replenishing the dehydrated meals, of which I need more Mountain House dehydrates for my 3 day supply, my pack is always packed and ready to go. It is my 72 hour kit when I am not backpacking with it.

Now I need to run to the store for groceries. Before I leave home for a week I tend to eat everything out of the fridge so that it is empty and nothing can spoil while I am away. Net result, the fridge is completely empty now.

Grocery shopping tends to require getting one or two of everything at this point.

On the trail the dehydrated scrambled eggs and bacon were very good, so now I am hungry for fresh scrambled eggs with fresh bacon in the mornings -- so I'll buy some of that.

I missed bread and also tuna mayo sandwiches. So I'll get more of that for lunches. Tuna and mayo on toast tastes great for lunch.

I got plenty of dehydrated beef and vegies on the trail, so now I will get a corned beef brisket and cook that tonight, with cabbage and carrots. You really miss fresh foods on a backpack trip, although the dehydrates tend to taste pretty good while you are out there since you are hungrier outdoors.

I missed milk. I especially missed strawberry milkshakes, which I make by blending together frozen strawberries with milk in my blender. So I'll get both. These are my main cravings from civilization. I did not miss alcoholic drinks, but I did miss strawberry milkshakes.

I have plenty of booze, so I don't need more of that. My booze of choice is Everclear, which I mix with frozen fruit and make fruit smoothies with. But I have plenty of booze, just need more strawberries, same as for the milk shakes.

I missed fresh vegetables so I will get more of those. Stir fry vegies are my favorites, even though I don't always stir fry them.

For me, returning to civilization is an exercise in gratification of all the food lusts that I missed out on the backpack trail. This is where Epicureanism (my primary philosophy) takes over from Stoicism (my secondary backup philosophy) again.

Epicureanism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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