LIGHTWEIGHT

Backpacking and Camping

BY

George Cole
Carol Crooker
Alan Dixon
Rick Dreher
Lee Van Horn
Ryan Jordan
David Schultz
Stephanie Jordan
Alison Simon
Bill Thorneloe
Ellen Zaslaw

EDITOR
Ryan Jordan

MANAGING EDITORS
Alan Dixon and Vic Lipsey

© 2006, 2005 by Beartooth Mountain Press. All rights reserved
Printed in China

Beartooth Mountain Press

1627 West Main Street, Suite No. 310

Bozeman, MT 59715-4011

http://www.beartoothmountainpress.com

Email: info@beartoothmountainpress.com

editor: Ryan Jordan

managing editors: Alan Dixon and Vic Lipsey

contributing authors: George Cole, Carol Crooker, Alan Dixon, Rick Dreher, Lee

Van Horn, Ryan Jordan, David Schultz, Stephanie Jordan, Alison Simon, Bill

Thorneloe, Ellen Zaslaw

cover photo: Ryan Jordan carrying 9 pounds of gear, food, and water through

Montana’s Spanish Peaks Wilderness

cover design: Beartooth Mountain Press

layout and manufacturing: Venture Arts (www.venturearts.com)

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any way or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior permission by the copyright holder, except as permitted by USA copyright law.

ISBN 0-9748188-2-8

Acknowledgments

So many hands touched this book that it’s no easy task to comprehend how it came together, let alone acknowledge them all in writing. Putting a project of this magnitude together and considering the various perspectives of multiple enthusiastic authors in the process is somewhat like dropping a bag of marbles off the tip of the Matterhorn and seeing where they land: You just never know. But land they do (and did), and each landing zone featured something very special that you can never grasp when you’re writing a book by yourself: the value of unique and different perspectives.

The last time I read the entire manuscript, this epiphany exploded right in front of me, so the obvious place to start is with the founding authors of the volume: George Cole, Lee Van Horn, Alan Dixon, Rick Dreher, and Dave Schultz—all who joined me in writing this book’s precursor, Lightweight Backpacking 101 (Beartooth Mountain Press, 2003), and who spent countless hours in the planning stages of Lightweight Backpacking and Camping to define its vision and purpose. Also, to the other contributing authors that were either invited to submit content to the volume or who appear in the encore section (part 5) or appendices as authors of some of the outstanding articles and gear lists that have appeared in BackpackingLight.com through the years: Carol Crooker, Bill Thorneloe, Ellen Zaslaw, Alison Simon, and Stephanie Jordan.

This book would not have been possible without the creative energy of Vic Lipsey and company at V Major Creative in Seattle. Their editorial expertise, design prowess, and enthusiasm for the subject are worth more than the lightest gear money can buy. Well, OK, almost.

In addition, Alan Dixon deserves much of the credit for how this project has evolved. Lightweight Backpacking 101 was largely organized, edited, and managed by Alan. His investment in putting that volume together, and in helping guide the initial vision of this one, are greatly appreciated. Alan’s been instrumental in contributing to the lightweight backpacking movement as we know it today with tremendous enthusiasm, willing to experiment off the grid du normale, and an analytical approach to solving various ultralight dilemmas. Alan and I first met on an unnamed ridge in the Tetons in 2001 after exchanging GPS coordinates by email. I’ve enjoyed every moment together, be it scrambling across the Wind River Crest, finding big trout in the Uintas, or rappelling all through the night in defeat off of the Middle Teton.

My family deserves as much kudos for the completion of this book as anyone listed here. My wife, Stephanie, and son, Chase, had to undergo sacrifices that no one in their right minds should have to endure. Remarkably, saying no to them with “I can’t, I have to work on the book” never once invited anything but a supportive “OK, go for it.” I can’t thank them enough. This is as much their book as it is ours, but not by entitlement: by love.

Finally, none of the enthusiasm about lightweight backpacking that was channeled into these pages would have been possible without the unquenchable lust for lightweight gear and knowledge that occupies the minds and hearts of backpackers everywhere. These are the folks for which these books, and Backpacking Light, were written. And so, a tremendous thanks to both the readership and the staff of Backpacking Light for fueling the fire that makes this so much fun.

We didn’t really want to waste a whole page on this, but our attorney said we sort of had to. If it was up to us, we’d keep it brutally simple:

Your mama ain’t watching out for you.
Don’t be an idiot.

But despite the fact that this one line should be sufficient, the legal guys tell us that it wouldn’t be enforceable in a court of law. So here’s the rest. This book is a compilation of information, perspectives, and opinions and is provided to the reader with no warranty whatsoever. This is not a safety manual. In contrast, it provides information about taking more risks when you enter the backcountry. Consequently, it is not intended for beginning backpackers or those that otherwise do not already know how to stay dry and warm in inclement weather, possess wilderness survival skills, and know how to recognize and avoid dangerous situations. Therefore, be warned that you must exercise your own judgment in evaluating the accuracy, applicability, and utility of the information provided herein.

THERE ARE NO WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, THAT INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS BOOK IS ACCURATE OR RELIABLE. THERE ARE NO WARRANTIES OF FITNESS OR TIMELINESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR THAT THIS BOOK IS MERCHANTABLE. YOUR USE OF THIS BOOK INDICATES YOUR ASSUMPTION OF THE RISK THAT IT MAY CONTAIN ERRORS AND IS AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF YOUR OWN SOLE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR HIKING, BACKPACKING, AND MOUNTAINEERING SAFETY.

Preface by Glen Van Peski, founder, Gossamer Gear

Introduction by Ryan Jordan, publisher, Backpacking Light

Part 1: The Art and Science of Walking

Chapter 1: Footwear, by Lee Van Horn

Chapter 2: Backpacks, by Ryan Jordan

Chapter 3: Pack Weight, by George Cole

Chapter 4: Navigation – Lightweight Principles
and Equipment, by George Cole

Part 2: Protection from the Elements

Chapter 5: Thermoregulation, by Ryan Jordan

Chapter 6: Clothing Systems, by Alan Dixon

Chapter 7: Sleep Systems, by Lee Van Horn

Chapter 8: Shelter, by Rick Dreher

Part 3: Eating, Drinking, and Hygiene

Chapter 9: Hydration, by George Cole

Chapter 10: Trail Food, Backcountry Cooking, and Nutrition,
by Dave Schultz, Lee Van Horn, and Ryan Jordan

Chapter 11: Hygiene, by George Cole and Ryan Jordan

Part 4: First Aid and Emergency Preparedness

Chapter 12: Risk Management, by George Cole

Chapter 13: First Aid, by Dave Schultz and Ryan Jordan

Part 5: Proven Lightweight Solutions

Chapter 14: Advanced Tarp Camping Techniques for
Inclement Conditions, by Ryan Jordan

Chapter 15: Superultralight – Breaking the Five-Pound Barrier,
by Ryan Jordan

Chapter 16: Hiking Efficiency – A Day in the Life of
an Ultralight Hiker, by Ryan Jordan

Chapter 17: Lightweight Backpacking with Young Children,
by Stephanie and Ryan Jordan

Chapter 18: Lightweight Backpacking for Couples,
by Alison Simon and Alan Dixon

Chapter 19: Face Off – First Aid and Emergency Gear,
by Bill Thorneloe, David Schultz, and Ryan Jordan

Chapter 20: Especially for Women, by Ellen Zaslaw

Appendices

A: Gear Lists

B: Gear Manufacturers

C: Resources – Books, Periodicals, Websites, and More

Preface:

The Benefts of Going Light

Some hikers, upon converting to the ultralight style of backpacking, become rabid proselytizers for the cause, convinced that everyone needs to get their base pack weight below 10 pounds to avoid the eternal damnation of 65-pound packs. Though it may border on blasphemy—since a good chunk of my recent life has been devoted to creating ultralight gear and getting it into the hands of like-minded enthusiasts—I’m not convinced that everyone needs a small base pack weight. If you are young, in great physical shape, your trips consist entirely of relatively short distances into the backcountry to establish base camps for day trips, and you already own a bunch of traditional backpacking gear, you can probably save yourself the trouble of reading this book.

Good for the Body

For the rest of you, there are many benefits to going light. The most obvious is perhaps the physical benefit. For anyone who is older than 25 (or younger than 16!), whose career and rest of life doesn’t leave as much time as they would like to work out, who has an old sports/war injury, who has some kind of disability (any part of the body that doesn’t work as well as the norm), who has limited vacation time in which to recreate, lightening your pack weight will be a blessing. Your body will thank you for carrying a lighter pack. A lighter pack will

• Be easier on your joints and muscles

• Help prevent aggravating old injuries

• Allow you to maintain your outdoor activities to a ripe old age

I have received many excited letters from graying outdoor enthusiasts who had resigned themselves to giving up backpacking for good, only to find out that with ultralight gear and techniques they were once again able to spend time in the backcountry that they loved.

A lighter pack allows longer daily travel distances, putting more of the backcountry within reach. Now with a three-day weekend you can see countryside that would have required a week off of work using traditional backpacking techniques. As you get further into the backcountry, you get to enjoy less crowded trails and more solitude. The ability to travel further can extend your backpacking into the shoulder seasons of early spring and late fall, where previously the shorter days were an impediment to any serious trip.

Good for the Environment

Besides having less impact on your limbs and ligaments, a lighter load can result in a reduced impact on the backcountry. Many ultralighters, freed from the slavish adherence to short grinds between established campsites, use their ability for enhanced distances and greater flexibility to practice stealth camping. Adopting proper “Leave No Trace” ethics, the ultralighter can reduce their impact on the backcountry. They don’t need to camp near water like everyone else. Their lighter loads allow them to enjoy dinner near the water and hike on a few miles, avoiding overuse of the waterside sites and opening up some new pristine vistas from their stealth site. To the extent that ultralight techniques allow more people to enjoy the backcountry, this can foster a greater base of ownership and involvement in preserving that backcountry, donating time and resources to protect it.

Good for the Mind

Besides keeping your body active later in life, going light helps keep your mind active and healthy. Techniques and knowledge are a big part of lightening your pack weight. Often you rely on your experience to reduce the amount of gear you carry. Some ultralight gear requires a little more thought to use than the standard issue stuff.

For instance, a nice 4-pound tent is fairly easy to set up just about anywhere. But if you are carrying an 8-ounce tarp, you will need to be more clever about where you camp and you will need to know some techniques to fashion the tarp into a worthy shelter. Lightening your load engages your mind in your backcountry adventure. This engagement starts before the trip, as you gather information, analyze options, and refine gear lists. As you educate yourself online and through books such as this, you help to keep the brain cells active. Studies have shown that is integral to a long and healthy life.

Good for Simplicity

Going light helps to simplify your life. Through the tenets of multiple-use items and taking less gear, the number of items in your pack drops with the overall weight. Less gear to pack means it’s easier to get out. In this day and age of busy careers, multiple kid activities, and overlapping commitments, having a simple kit may make the difference of you getting out on a trip or not. Even if you haven’t planned anything, when you’re prepared and flexible there will be times you can jump into a trip when an original participant cancels at the last minute.

Besides the obvious benefit of less weight, having less gear is a freeing experience in that you have less stuff to keep track of on the trail. (On the flip side, with your gear honed down to a minimum, if you lose something, it was probably something that you really needed.)

Good for Relationships

One of the more esoteric benefits of going light is the ability to build relationships with the people who design and make your gear. It is unlikely that the average hiker will be able to pick up the phone and easily get hold of a major manufacturer’s designer for a gear discussion. But since much of the cutting-edge ultralight gear being produced is coming out of cottage manufacturers, you get the opportunity to ask detailed questions of the people making the equipment. In many cases, you have real input into the design of the next generation of ultralight backpacking gear. Many ultralight products on the market today bear the mark of individual enthusiasts who asked for tweaks to suit their own needs. If you value the diversity of small business, going lighter provides you ample opportunity to support smaller shops.

Good for More

Sometimes the benefits of going light aren’t so much that you get that light, but that you make room for your passion. I have photographer friends that will leave home a stove and subsist on cold mashed potatoes so that they can make room for 10 pounds of camera gear. Similarly, climbers who carry ample racks of hardware to ply their craft benefit from going light on everything else.

Since the journey to lightness is largely a cerebral one, where does one start? Self-education is critical to avoid getting in a situation where you didn’t bring enough gear to be safe for your experience level. Your journey should be one of baby steps, learning and trying a couple of new things on each trip, finding what works for you and what doesn’t. There are many online email lists that are a great resource. Basically, any list having to do with long hikes—such as the Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail, or Appalachian Trail—will have a following of experienced ultralighters. There are beginning to be significant books with the latest information on ultralight backpacking, like the book you are holding now. If you have not already read it, I highly recommend the book Lightweight Backpacking 101, also published by Beartooth Mountain Press. So dive in and start your own journey to lightness!

GLEN “HOMEMADE” VAN PESKI Founder, Gossamer Gear

Introduction

Lightweight backpacking is not about sacrificing comfort, safety, or a good time. It’s not some insane practice of walking in marathon racing shorts, foraging for roots, and shivering the nights away under a tarp the size of a handkerchief. Nor is lightweight backpacking about carrying gear with seams that explode when you sneeze. And it’s certainly not about having the best, most expensive gear money can buy. In fact, lightweight backpacking is often quite the opposite of that.

Lightweight backpacking is about doing more with less. On the surface, doing more with less implies that you can go farther, faster, and longer in more safety and comfort with a light pack than with a heavy pack. However, it’s a lot deeper than that. A light pack isn’t enough.

If you put a light pack full of the latest and greatest lightweight gear on an inexperienced hiker and bid him bon voyage into the wilderness, he may very well enjoy the experience. However, if he does not understand the limitations, utility, and function of lightweight gear, he could come back thoroughly frustrated and never set foot into the wilderness again with a pack that weighs less than 40 pounds. Worse, he may never return to backpacking. Even worse yet, he could get injured or die because of his lack of knowledge and experience using lightweight gear in hostile environmental conditions.

(L to R) Alan Dixon, Glen Van Peski, and Ryan Jordan at a high pass near the northern terminus of the Wind River High Route. They left the trailhead with 42 pounds of gear and food — combined — in September 2003 and arrived four a half days later at the southern end, 70 miles, two snowstorms, and temperatures down to 14 °F under their belts.

So lightweight backpacking is about technique as much as it’s about the gear. In fact, proper technique is so important for increasing your safety with a lightweight kit that the two must go hand in hand. Solid backcountry skills allow you to take lighter gear. Virtually anyone can carry a four-season tent, heavy synthetic sleeping bag, plenty of extra food and clothing, a GPS, and satellite or cellular communications devices to survive a mainstream wilderness experience. But if you are going light, you must do so with competency. Lightweight gear does not replace a lack of experience or skill.

The goals of this book are simple:

1. To justify the benefits of lightweight backpacking

2. To present the reader with several options in technique and gear

3. To empower the reader with knowledge to go out on her own

Part 1

Part 1 of this volume builds the foundation to justify the benefits of lightweight backpacking by discussing concepts that present the art and science of walking. It begins appropriately with the category of equipment that is arguably more important that any piece of gear or apparel a lightweight backpacker will use: footwear.

Lee Van Horn’s treatise on footwear (chapter 1) includes a comprehensive discussion of lightweight backpacking shoes. Simply put, shoes have such a profound impact on the lightweight backpacking experience because (1) the type of footwear you are able to wear depends in large part on the weight of the pack, and (2) the type of footwear you choose governs the transfer of energy and shock to the rest of your lower torso and spinal joints. Since this book’s manuscript was finalized, I’ve been diving into research about ultralight footwear and experimenting with shoes lighter than anything the market has previously seen. I’ve been strengthening my feet, hiking in shoes with less support—more akin to slippers than hiking shoes—and have been making some dramatic discoveries. In particular, that with proper conditioning the natural features of the feet (as long as the arch is supported and the heel pad retains its shape for shock absorption) are ideally suited for transferring energy to the rest of your body. I’m finding that I can walk longer distances in less supportive footwear—with a light pack—than I’ve ever been able to do before. Ten years ago, a 30-mile day of backpacking was relatively uncommon except among the elite. Now those kinds of distances are accessible to those carrying lightweight backpacks and wearing the proper footwear.

In chapter 2 I discuss what may be the most sought after piece of equipment by gear junkies: the backpack. However, rather than be a survey of lightweight backpacks, this chapter addresses how a backpack impacts the biomechanics of the body and how the lightweight backpacker can capitalize on certain features of backpack design and packing to get the most out of their packing system. Types of backpacks are discussed, including a regurgitation of the age old “ultralight” debate of frame versus frameless backpacks. The justification is based on load stability and moment-concept physics, indicating why an internal frame pack will—in theory at least—almost always outperform a frameless pack, in spite of the extra weight of the frame.

In chapter 3, George Cole integrates the concepts presented in chapters 1 and 2 to present the definitive conclusions that justify the benefits of lightweight backpacking from the physical, biomechanical, and physiological standpoint of walking long distances over uneven terrain. Nowhere else has this subject been treated in the ways that we’ve presented in chapters 1–3 of this book. Although the reading can be difficult at times (it may actually require you to think about and study the concepts, so don’t expect a lazy read, especially in chapters 2 and 3), it will empower you with the foundational principles that show why lightweight backpacking feels good!

Appropriately, this section on walking closes with a discussion of navigation. Lighter in concept and requiring less studiousness than the three previous, chapter 4 discusses the core tools that make for efficient navigation and why and how lightweight backpackers can both choose and use those tools to the best advantage. George’s navigation presentation is not meant to be a comprehensive primer on navigation tools and techniques. With the advancement of GPS technology and computerized custom mapmaking tools, we’ll undoubtedly see some incredible progress in this field in the coming years. For the lightweight backpacker, I hope that you take home these messages: (1) that navigation is an essential skill to improving your speed and accuracy in wilderness travel, and (2) that an understanding of map reading will allow you to plan trips more effectively so you take less gear. Many a time I’ve sat down and meditated over a planned wilderness route on a detailed topographical map and identified the best potential campsites, cross country routes, and bailout options that allow me to lighten my pack.

Ultralight, Utah-style.The relatively benign summer weather of the Uinta Wilderness in NE Utah provides an excellent proving ground for ultralight backpacking. (L to R) Ryan Jordan, Alan Dixon, and Carol Crooker carrying packs that weigh 6 to 8 pounds each, minus food and water.

Part 2

In this section titled “Protection from the Elements,” we present a detailed discussion of how to deal with adverse environmental conditions, specifically: cold, heat, wind, rain, snow, and insects. To understand how stuff works and why you might select specific components of clothing, sleep, and shelter systems. This section opens up with a basic and simple discussion of thermoregulation, custom tailored for the needs of an ultralight backpacker (chapter 5).

In chapter 6, BackpackingLight.com’s product review director, Alan Dixon, discusses lightweight clothing systems, with specific attention to base layers, wind shirts, high-loft insulating garments, and rainwear. The beginning lightweight backpacker will really appreciate Alan’s presentation of different system weights. There are magnificent advantages to be gained by reducing both the weight and volume of your clothing systems. Intelligent decisions can be made so that you don’t sacrifice warmth or protection when the storm does come.

In chapter 7, Lee Van Horn presents an overview of sleep systems (sleeping bags, mattresses, and bivy sacks) from the most basic fundamentals of design, so the lightweight backpacker understands the limitations of today’s cutting-edge sleep systems (including so-called variable girth and top bags) and how best to integrate them into their own gear kits.

Chapter 8 introduces BackpackingLight.com’s section editor, Rick Dreher, with a lighthearted discussion of shelter systems. This chapter is unique from those in other books, which plagiarize the same section headings from each other: “Tents,” “Tarps,” and “Other Types of Shelters.” Rick takes a different approach, building a foundation of shelter system principles, from design considerations and environmental context (warm and dry versus cold and wet), to moisture control issues, and shelter choices. And unlike other books, tarps are smack dab in the forefront of other choices, rather than as a casual afterthought. We provide you with sound information on tarp selection, pitching, and considerations for selecting tarps versus other types of shelters (see also chapter 14: “Advanced Tarp Camping Techniques”).

Don Johnston, Don Ladigin, and Ken Knight near the northern end of the Teton High Route, which spans 70 miles along the true crest of Wyoming’s Teton Range. Most people hike the High Route in 10 days with a resupply. With lightweight gear and good weather, we finished with sub-20 pound packs in four a half days.

Part 3

If you know why you need to go light and how to do it in the face of inclement conditions, you are most of the way to becoming a lightweight backpacker. And instead of comprehensive discussions of the neat little gadgetry that makes this business so much fun, we dive into the third most important aspect of maximizing your performance on the trail: hydration and nutrition.

In chapter 9, George returns with a great introduction to lightweight hydration options, where we’ve simply done away with the de facto standard of water treatment: the unfortunately ubiquitous pump-style water filter. I will grant that there may still be situations where such filters may be warranted, but most of the authors of this volume have enjoyed wilderness waters from every corner of the world. Pump style water filters have long since been relegated to our gear museums (our spouses call these closets, basements, or attics). Not only does George discuss water treatment gear and supplies, but presents considerations for creating effective and efficient hydration strategies while on the trail (see also chapter 16: “Hiking Efficiency”).

Chapter 10 synthesizes the thoughts of Lee, myself, and Dave Schultz in “Trail Food, Backcountry Cooking, and Nutrition.” It is in this chapter that we not only discuss concepts like caloric efficiency and menu planning, but also more practical considerations of lightweight hikers, including packing food for minimum volume and creating meals that are utterly simple to prepare while remaining tasty and nutritious. Finally, and appropriately, we close the chapter with a discussion of both lightweight and ultralight cooking systems, as well as bear bagging techniques. In this chapter, more than any other perhaps, we wholeheartedly denounce the 1960’s NOLS-esque nutrition theology that has become like religion to some and has infectiously permeated backpacking literature for four decades. I expect more advances in backpacking food, nutrition, meal preparation, and stove performance to come down the pike in the coming years. Combine all of this with light packs and an understanding of how to hike efficiently (using less calories to travel farther distances), and we have a recipe for plenty of new concepts in wilderness travel that are more consistent with the lightweight philosophy.

Taking care of your body is not just about keeping it well fed and hydrated. Particularly on long-distance hikes, hygiene is an important consideration as well. This is presented in chapter 11 by George and myself, with some womanly interjection for those subjects in which we’re less … experienced … by Ellen Zaslaw. Skin, feet, teeth, toilet, low-impact camping, and insect protection—it’s all here, and in the right amount of depth to allow the Linuses among you to plow through it quickly while still picking up some nuggets of knowledge that we’ll all appreciate when we meet you on the trail.

Part 4

By now, you will have understood the basic foundation systems of lightweight backpacking: walking/navigation/ packing systems, clothing/sleep/shelter systems, and hydration/nutrition systems. An in-depth survey of the lightweight backpacking gear market will help you reduce your pack weight to remarkable levels. Many today are now practicing a superultralight style of backpacking, whereby their base pack weights without food and water are less than five pounds. The lunatic fringe? Perhaps, but the perceived reality for the uninformed public and mass media is that people carrying light packs are fools, walking time bombs waiting for a search and rescue crew to come bail them out when the weather turns south. Of course, all of this is utter hogwash. In my lightweight backpacking seminars to search and rescue agencies all over the country, an overwhelming majority of them indicated that most calls for rescues to hikers and backpackers were to those who were either inexperienced or were in trouble because they had overly heavy packs, or both.

However, that does not mean that we lightweight backpackers must ignore the real risks that come with leaving that extra change of clothing at home or electing to use a tarp rather than a tent when traveling to the mountains.

Consequently, part 4 deals very purposefully with two important subjects that must not be ignored by any wilderness traveler, but especially, must remain in the forefronts of minds of lightweight backpackers: first aid and emergency preparedness.

In chapter 12, George presents a basic plan of risk management. I encourage you to read this chapter over and over until risk management becomes a core ethic for pre-trip planning. You must always understand the change in risk associated with leaving, or taking, any piece of gear, altering your route, going solo versus with companions. As important but perhaps the least understood aspect of risk management among lightweight backpackers is to design and know your bailout options, and use them if you have to. Heroes don’t die trying to be heroes while solo backpacking.

Dave and I address first aid in chapter 13. Instead of discussing those first-aid situations that could happen to you, we present those that normally do, with lightweight solutions for dealing with them. Dave and I have a long history of bantering back and forth about first-aid gear (see also chapter 19: “Face-Off, First Aid, and Emergency Gear”), but we agree on the same core principles: Take the gear you need for the emergencies you expect to encounter, and capitalize on your skill, knowledge, and ability to innovate when unexpected situations arise.

By the end of Part 4, you will be ready to hit the trail, rejuvenated and energized with a serious foundation of lightweight backpacking principles! Now grab your gear and do it. No book, magazine, or website can ever hope to replace actual experience. And don’t be afraid to try new things and gain new experiences in low-risk environments. Camp in the backyard when a winter storm warning is issued so you know how your lightweight shelter can handle the wind. Take a walk in shorts, T-shirt, wind shirt, and running shoes on a local trail at night when it’s pouring down rain so you know how your body will react to your clothing system. (Just keep the keys to the car handy.) And, don’t ignore the benefit of practicing lightweight backpacking on overnight trips close to home. Make it easy on your family and job. Leave after dinner, and be back home or to work by lunch the next day. “Just do it” as the slogan says, and become your own expert at lightweight backpacking.

Part 5

Part 5 closes the book with some of the classic articles originally published on the BackpackingLight.com website. We’ve selected those that will withstand the test of time, and thus warrant inclusion in a book format to be enjoyed for years to come. In addition, we’ve tried to select those that will get your thought processes going and possibly invoke some controversy. These cater to more advanced lightweight backpackers (see chapter 14: “Advanced Tarp Camping Techniques for Inclement Conditions,” chapter 15: “Superultralight: Breaking the 5-Pound Barrier,” Chapter 16: “Hiking Efficiency: A Day in the Life of an Ultralight Hiker,” and chapter 19: “Face-Off: First Aid and Emergency Gear).

In addition, I’ve included two chapters that get to the core of what any activity is about: relationships. I love solo hiking and its benefits: Remote solitude provides an avenue for introspection and relationship with God that is extremely difficult to procure in today’s hectic society. But a solo life is a lonely life, and lightweight backpacking opens up new avenues for sharing the wilderness with your family. To that end, please enjoy chapters 17 (“Lightweight Backpacking with Young Children”) and 19 (“Lightweight Backpacking for Couples”) and show others the fruits and fun of going light.

Finally, it’s no great surprise that lightweight backpacking is appealing to those who don’t have the strength of an elite mountaineer—which of course, includes most of us—but especially caters to youth, seniors, and women. To that end, we’ve included a fantastic discussion of lightweight backpacking in the context of women’s issues (chapter 20) by Ellen Zaslaw. Read it and find out how a water pistol or crushed aspirin might find their way onto a woman’s gear list.

Conclusion

My own passion for lightweight backpacking was fueled by seeing how far a thirteen-year-old Boy Scout could walk if I cut his pack weight in half—from more than 40 to less than 20 pounds. I figured he could walk twice as far. I was wrong. He could walk three times the distance. In 1991, I validated the lightweight approach with a group of six High Adventure Boy Scouts ages thirteen to seventeen. When I told them we were going ultralight, they balked. When I told them I wanted us all to walk 100 miles in 4.5 days, and that nobody in the Scouting community has ever done this before, they were turbocharged. We walked out of Camp Parsons with five days of food and no Scout was carrying more than 17 pounds of gear and food. Five days later, we arrived back in Camp after a 112-mile trek, and the boys had become young men—not mules. They experienced a sense of adventure and exploration that no one carrying a heavy pack could have ever appreciated.

Daily I am awed and pleased by the fire that lights up in the heart of someone when they realize they can cut their pack weight in half simply by thinking a little differently about what they want from a wilderness experience. To see light packs, smiling faces, and warm hearts on seventy-year-old hikers in the Tetons and seven-year-old first graders on the Appalachian Trail—those are the real rewards for me!

Godspeed and go light,

RYAN JORDAN

Publisher, Backpacking Light Magazine

Bozeman, Montana

The Art and Science of Walking

Chapter 1

Footwear

Chapter 2

Backpacks

Chapter 3

Pack Weight

Chapter 4

Navigation

Chapter 1: Footwear

By Lee Van Horn

Backpackers can attest to the detrimental effects that the inattention to foot care can have on an otherwise pleasant trip. A tiny blister on your little toe can make it difficult for you to even focus on the wildflowers in the field you might be walking through. Maintaining healthy feet is a primary concern in the wilderness, not only to increase the pleasure of your outdoor experience, but also to preserve the working condition of your only mode of transportation. Using shoes and socks to protect, support, and warm your feet is the primary means to this end. Other prevention and treatment efforts are also sometimes called for to reduce the likelihood of blisters and other foot problems. This chapter primarily discusses aspects of foot care unique to lightweight backpacking.

Why Lightweight Footwear?

“Weight is even more important on the feet than the back.” In his 1906 book, Camping and Woodcraft, Horace Kephart calculated the results of wearing boots just one pound too heavy.

“… in ten miles there are 21,120 average paces. At one extra pound to the pace, the boots make you lift in a ten mile tramp, over ten tons more footgear.” In 1953 the successful Mount Everest expedition came to the conclusion that in terms of physical effort one pound on the feet is equivalent to five pound on the back. A consensus of informed opinion now seems to support that assessment. (The Complete Walker III, Colin Fletcher, 1984, pp 53-54)

Those going back to heavyweight boots after many trips with lightweight alternatives can verify that the difference in comfort over long distances is significant. On one recent trip with only 14 miles and 2,000 feet elevation gain over two days, I wore my old mountaineering boots in response to paranoia over the possibility of encountering mud and snow while visiting a new area. My legs felt worse after that trip than coming back from any of my other overnight backpacking trips with trail-running shoes, which typically included 30 miles of trail and 6,000 feet of elevation gain in two days. Because of its impact on the hiking experience, light footwear is a foremost consideration when outfitting for backpacking.

The Anatomy of a Boot

To understand the differences in backpacking footwear, let’s take a few minutes to dissect a walking boot/shoe. It consists of an upper section that encloses your foot and secures your foot to the rest of the shoe. The upper is then attached to a sole that includes a shank to provide stiffness, a midsole that acts as a shock absorber, and an outer sole that provides traction. In most shoes and boots there is also a removable insole directly inside that provides additional cushioning, arch support, and lateral stability. Together, these components allow the shoe to perform its primary functions: protecting the foot, stabilizing the foot (especially the ankle and arch), absorbing impact, and optimizing propulsion.

The Myth of Dry Feet

The most common myth drilled into our minds by backpacking experts is that you need to keep your feet dry. The necessity of maintaining dry feet is a matter of debate, especially among the lightweight backpacking community. The reasons for questioning this edict are related to the performance costs of using footwear with waterproofing technologies. Typically, a waterproof shoe is obtained by constructing an upper that covers the whole foot with a waterproof barrier. Two technologies are the most common.

• Constructing an upper with treated (e.g., silicone impregnation) full-grain or split-grain leather

• Adding a waterproof-breathable membrane to the material used to construct the upper

Full-grain leather boots, when treated, will repel water at the surface, thus keeping the entire upper dry. However, the treatment tends to wear off quickly in the field. In truly wet conditions, where feet are often immersed in mud, slush, snow, or heavy rain, even the best waterproofing treatments wash out quickly. Further, 100 percent full-grain or split-grain leather constructions are generally only available in boot styles—typically, very heavy and rugged boots.

Waterproof-breathable membranes (commonly, Gore-Tex) that are typically laminated or sewn between the upper’s outer and inner materials are designed to prevent water entry while at the same time allowing moisture vapor and perspiration to escape, keeping your feet dry. Such membranes are prone to tremendous stresses over long-distance walking and commonly fail in their ability to repel water. In addition, because there is no ventilation for the foot, there is a higher likelihood of sweat wicking into the region at the interior surface of the membrane and preventing it from expelling moisture vapor.

In comparing these two technologies we’ve generally found few differences in their ability to keep your feet dry from accumulated perspiration. In other words, they are poorly breathable solutions. In addition, because of the poor drainage of water from the interior of the boot combined with its limited breathability, drying times are generally very long. Most experienced lightweight backpackers consider shoes and boots using such technologies to be suitable only for cold weather and winter conditions, where the risk of cold feet from outside moisture outweighs the risk of wet feet from interior perspiration. Generally, waterproof shoes and boots, regardless of the type of waterproofing technology used, are more expensive than their non-waterproof counterparts.

The extreme alternative to a waterproof shoe is one constructed with an upper made with permeable fabrics that breathe, are well-ventilated, and drain water readily from the interior of the shoe. Such construction allows your foot and sock to dry relatively quickly after the shoe has been immersed and is less likely to accumulate moisture in the sock and shoe interior in response to perspiration. The uppers of such shoes are made with hydrophobic materials that will not absorb water and often include synthetic mesh panels built in the uppers to enhance breathability, ventilation, and drainage. Shoes made with uppers containing a lot of mesh are less appropriate for cold-weather hiking—the mesh does not retain heat as well as non-mesh fabrics. However, for most summer hiking and quite a lot of three-season hiking, these kinds of shoes work very well. Your ability to walk for a while with wet feet—after walking through a stream, thunder shower, or dew-saturated meadow—opens your footwear options to a wide variety of comfortable and very light choices.

For wetter walking conditions—sustained rain, snow-melt periods, or river canyon travel—using mesh-paneled footwear may result in wet feet for days at a time. This may not be as bad as it sounds. Experience will dictate sock and shoe combinations that prevent walking in sponges while providing the right balance of warmth and fast drying times. For many lightweight hikers, the tradeoffs of using footwear with mesh uppers far outweigh the perceived discomfort of walking in wet feet, (a perception that often decreases with experience).

For both physiological and emotional reasons walking with wet feet is simply not an option for some people. Emotional perceptions aside (“I don’t like the way it feels”), some feet are physiologically sensitive to excessive moisture. If I walk long distances in warm, wet socks the skin on my soles crinkles up, like your hands do if you take a long hot bath. After a few hours, walking on the skin folds causes considerable pain. Others are able to walk for days on end with wet feet and never experience this. Conditioning may play a role in this physiological predisposition to skin-fold development. This problem is not as common for long-distance hikers as for the casual weekend enthusiast.

Selecting waterproof versus mesh-vented shoes is a personal choice. Before discounting the notion of using mesh-vented footwear, try it first. In general, lightweight backpackers perceive comfort to be higher while walking in wet feet in a 12-ounce trail-running shoe versus having dry feet in a 32-ounce leather or Gore-Tex boot.

The lightest styles of trail-running shoes suitable for lightweight backpacking (less than 13 ounces per shoe with good lateral stability and midsole cushioning) are made by Montrail, Merrill, Salomon, and New Balance. After using several other types of non-waterproof trail-running shoes, my own shoe of choice is the Montrail Vitesse. They weigh about 12 ounces per shoe (men’s size 9); are constructed with a synthetic and hydrophobic upper with mesh panels; and offer excellent lateral stability, traction, and cushioning. Typically, a pair lasts about 500 trail miles. Although the Vitesse works for me, it may not work for you. Shoe choice must always be dictated by fit, and we all have different shaped feet. Some trial and error will be required before you are able to settle into a model of shoe that works consistently for you.

Winter Considerations

During the winter it is more important to keep your feet dry, not only for comfort, but also for safety when there is a higher risk of frostbite and trench foot. Further, continuous exposure to snow, especially at temperatures near or above freezing, will put the best waterproofing technologies to the test. Using trail-running shoes or lightweight hiking boots with a fabric upper and a waterproof-breathable membrane is one option. While reasonably effective at preventing the intrusion of outside moisture, perspiration accumulates rapidly in the shoe. Your biggest challenge will be keeping your feet warm at the end of the day. After you stop moving, accumulated perspiration in the shoe facilitates conductive heat loss. Cold feet are common. And unless you sleep with your shoes inside your sleeping bag at night, you may have to deal with the prospect of frozen shoes in the morning.

Winter backpacking requires a different footwear mentality if you are snowshoeing in very cold conditions. Some backpackers who insist on lightweight footwear for winter conditions pair them with insulated overboots (e.g., Neos, Forty Below, or Outdoor Research), separate camp booties with down or high-loft synthetic insulations (Sierra Designs or Nunatak USA), or vapor-barrier socks (RBH Designs, GoLite, Integral Designs). For winter snowshoe expeditions Ryan Jordan, BackpackingLight.com’s publisher, uses a light, flexible, and warm system that stays dry for long periods of time in the worst conditions. He wears Brasher Supalite boots, which have 2-millimeter leather uppers, a Gore-Tex membrane, and weigh only 2 pounds. For socks, he wears a thin merino wool liner sock (Smartwool) under a fleece vapor-barrier sock (RBH Designs). Instead of using gaiters, Ryan wears a pair of neoprene overboots (Forty Below). The waterproof neoprene keeps moisture from entering, the overboot’s high gaiter is suitable for deep snow, and the vapor-barrier sock prevents the accumulation of moisture in the sock’s insulation or the boot lining. Insulation is provided by the neoprene of the overboot, the leather of the boot, and the fleece of the sock. The entire system weigh only 27 ounces per foot, which is lighter than the weight of most leather boots alone and far lighter than conventional gaiter-insulated-boot-winter-sock combinations.

For less aggressive terrain, a trail shoe combined with a lightweight overboot may prove useful for snowy, cold conditions. Carol Crooker, editor-in-chief of BackpackingLight. com, snowshoes in lightweight trail-running shoes tucked warmly inside the protection of an Outdoor Research low overboot—less than 1.5 pounds per foot.

Do you need boots?

The second issue that differentiates many lightweight backpackers is their tendency to dogmatically reject leather boots. Traditional backpacking boots are, for the most part, unwieldy 2-3 pound (each) affairs with thick leather uppers, steel shanks, and aggressively lugged outer soles. Leather uppers provide good protection from bashing your ankle bone, are reasonably waterproof if treated properly, and the steel shank provides a protective barrier between your foot and sharp rocks on the ground. In addition, the steel shank provides longitudinal stiffness that can minimize arch fatigue and tendonitis for long distances while carrying a heavy pack. Backpacking boot midsoles tend to be rather firm, and the outer sole has a deep tread, which provides more traction in mud and snow.

But backpacking boots are not without their disadvantages, many of which have been discussed. Boots have their advantages and are indeed recommended for backpacking with heavy loads or when traction for snow and mud is needed.

La Sportiva Trango S: Even “mountain boots” are getting lighter. 48 oz/pr, size Men’s 8.

Boot designs continue to evolve. Even leather boots with lug soles are getting lighter. Climbing boots with synthetic uppers, such as the La Sportiva Trango S, can weigh as little as 48 ounces per pair (men’s size 8). However, for most three-season hiking (spring, summer, and fall), carrying a lightweight backpack while wearing running shoes will be preferred by most—an experience akin to driving a sport car with the top retracted as opposed to a diesel bus.

Other Footwear Options

In addition to boots and shoes, there are a few other options for those carrying a light pack: going barefoot or wearing moccasins or sandals. Hiking barefoot provides your feet with no protection or support. To be successful, this option requires very tough feet that are well conditioned in order to avoid injury. Barefoot aficionados have walked the entire length of the Appalachian Trail and have climbed the Owen-Spalding Route on Wyoming’s Grand Teton—a technical climb typically not attempted by those without specialized rock-climbing footwear. However, if you are unconditioned, barefoot hiking for appreciable distances can cause serious foot problems, including arch collapse leading to tearing of the plantar fascia tendon, dermal separation of skin layers in the foot sole, and excessive skin cracking from dehydration of the skin.

Similarly, moccasins provide only the function of an upper and none of the supportive benefits of a shoe’s sole construction. Since the primary function of a shoe is to give the foot support, stability, shock absorption, and protection, moccasins offer few advantages over barefoot hiking.

Behind boots and shoes, sandals are the third most popular type of footwear. However, they are found on only a twinkling minority of backpackers. With advances in sandal technologies for both supportive strapping and protective and cushioning soles, sandals are gaining popularity among the lightweight backpacking community. Somewhat surprisingly, sandals tend to weigh more than trail-running shoes. Further, they generally lack most of the shock-absorbing qualities of these shoes, owing to their single-density and/or single-material sole construction. And it is difficult to use aftermarket insoles with them. Sandals are occasionally useful as a second pair of shoes carried by backpackers, for camp footwear or stream crossings. And, we are told by traditional backpackers lugging forty or fifty pound packs, that they are useful for hiking when your feet hurt from walking in heavy boots all morning! Backpackers that wear trail-running shoes find sandals to be less useful than those wearing boots, since a trail-running shoe is typically quite comfortable when worn in camp—just loosen the laces a bit. Plus, sandals dry relatively quickly after a stream crossing.

Finally, very light (4–8 ounces each) flip flops or sandals can be purchased at discount stores for only a few dollars. Shoe-clad backpackers wanting to keep their feet dry when crossing streams or wanting a little more air while in camp sometimes carry these.

A word of caution is in order here. Lightweight shoes are best seen as part of a lightweight backpacking system. Wearing trail-running shoes with a 45-pound pack may be possible but requires a level of ankle strength that most weekend adventurers have not developed in their 9 to 5 desk jobs. The change to low-cut backpacking shoes should take place simultaneously with or following the process of reducing your pack weight. Further, it is critical that backpackers remain self-conscious of their foot health. While on the trail you should be attentive of the condition of your feet and ankles. Blisters are most effectively treated in their earliest stages of formation (e.g., before a hot spot evolves to a liquid-filled blister). Likewise, ankle pain is an indicator that the biomechanics of your lower leg are not functioning optimally and should signal the need to diagnose and address the root problem. If your ankles are hurting badly or if they are collapsing—“turning over”—more often than usual, you should consider halting your progress, resting the injury, and trying a different pair of boots or shoes.

Some experienced backpackers consider the use of trail-running shoes to be optimized with a pair of trekking poles. Trekking poles increase stability and balance, and take weight and strain off of ankles and knees. If you don’t currently use them, consider getting a pair before making the switch to trail-running shoes.

Fitting your Footwear

We expect a lot out of a shoe: stability cushioning, traction. The many functions that a shoe is expected to perform are made more difficult by the fact that every foot is different in size and shape. Unfortunately, a single model offering different sizes or widths does not guarantee a proper fit. Variability in foot volume, instep height, arch shape, foot taper, and toe configuration leads to a simple but not always obvious conclusion: There is no ideal shoe. Finding a shoe that works optimally for you over long distances in the backcountry will require that you invest the time to try a variety of different shoes. Simply put, getting a shoe to “fit” at your local outdoor retailer doesn’t guarantee that it will perform to demanding use while hiking long distances. Because of the trial-and-error process that governs anybody’s quest to find their perfect shoe, footwear may turn out to be one of your more expensive purchases when outfitting yourself. And, when you finally find the shoe that works for you—don’t start over—buy a few extra pair. The style may be gone next season.

Insoles

An insole, also called a footbed, lies immediately under your foot inside the shoe. Insoles are typically removable (thank goodness) because those included with most shoes are cheap afterthoughts. A high-quality insole has a heel cup that provides additional support for your arch and shock absorption, holds your heel in place, and keeps your foot from slipping around in the shoe. Another advantage of the heel cup is that it prevents flattening of the heel pad, a process that subjects your talus bone to unnecessary stress.

Several companies make off-the-shelf insoles specifically designed for outdoor sports. Other companies will custom make insoles for your particular feet. The lightweight backpacker should pay attention to insole weight in order to minimize the shoe weight. Generally, gel and neoprene-based insoles are heavier that those made with closed-cell foams.

Socks

Now that you have a pair of trail-running shoes, it is time to get socks. Differences in sock weight relate largely to thickness and yarn material. If you need to keep your feet warmer in cooler conditions, then you might consider thicker socks. If you are hiking in the summer, your feet will stay cooler with thinner socks. The system of using a thin silk or polypropylene sock under a more traditional wool or nylon/ polyester sock has been a popular approach for years but is less so among the lightweight backpacking community. Sock manufacturers continue to improve next-to-skin knitting patterns for better moisture movement and comfort. In any case, there seems to be little need to use a liner sock, which saves a couple ounces on your feet or in your pack. However, an extra pair of liner socks may provide just enough warmth to keep your feet comfortable in cold conditions. And two thin pairs of socks typically dry faster than a single thick pair.

What about the material? It is almost universally accepted that cotton is inappropriate for outdoor performance socks. When cotton gets wet, its fibers lose their resiliency and mat together. Any insulating value and ventilation are lost. Because of this, cotton takes an extremely long time to dry and can thus prove to be dangerous in cold conditions.

This leaves two material categories remaining: synthetic and wool. Synthetics wick water poorly, but they do resist water absorption. This can be a desirable property, especially if you are using a non-waterproof system where you expect your feet to get wet and then want them to dry out quickly. Thinner synthetic socks, such as those made with polyester (e.g., Coolmax), tend to dry very quickly. Synthetics are somewhat effective insulators and lose little of their insulating properties when wet.

Wool socks are warmer than synthetic socks and do a much better job wicking water away from your feet. Wool does take a while to dry when wet, but wool socks generally feel drier to the touch and less clammy than synthetics. In addition, the reaction of water molecules during their adsorption to wool fibers results in heat storage—and release upon evaporation—that makes thin wool socks quite comfortable in warmer temperatures. Most of the wool hiking socks available are actually a blend that includes synthetic yarns as well. When buying wool socks, select those with merino wool fibers. Merino wool fibers are finer, itch far less than traditional “ragg” wools, and wick moisture better.

Trekking poles

Trekking poles have become increasingly popular for backpackers in the last decade. The use of poles is important to lightweight backpackers because they are effective mechanisms for transferring weight and impact stresses from your legs and feet to your arms. Thus, while the use of poles increases the total weight that you are carrying on the trail, distributing the load from your legs to your arms can reduce the amount of work done, achieving benefits similar to those realized when reducing pack weight. In general, lightweight backpackers tend to use poles, but there is a large degree of individual variation due to personal preference. See what works for you.

Poles come in several varieties. The cheapest are homemade walking sticks. To make one, cut down a tree (hardwood) between 1 and 1.5 inches in diameter. Dry out a 4-6 foot section and scrape away the bark for a handle. Lighter poles can be purchased from a variety of manufacturers. They are typically offered in two or three collapsible sections, which add weight and cost but is an essential feature if you are taking them while traveling. There also exists a variety of lightweight poles made with ultralight aluminum alloys and carbon fiber. These weigh as little as 13 ounces per set. A few cottage manufacturers (including Gossamer Gear and Bozeman Mountain Works) have single-piece, carbon-fiber designs that weigh 4-7 ounces a pair.

Winter Footwear

Winter backpacking presents an array of challenges, not the least of which is selecting footwear. Footwear must change in the winter because they must meet the additional requirement of being warm. Cold feet can be dangerous, quickly leading to frostbite. Keeping feet warm during the day is easy enough so long as you keep moving and wear warm socks. But, once you have stopped for the night, how do you keep your feet warm? If there is no snow, the answer may simply be to add more socks. In cold weather with no snow feet will generally stay dry.

In snow, staying warm requires staying dry and providing insulation. Even when wearing gaiters and waterproof trail-running shoes, my feet are wet by the end of a day of snow hiking. This generally leads to an uncomfortable night with cold feet. Full-grain leather boots tend to fare better in the snow, being both warmer and more likely to keep the water out. Although for multiple days you can still expect them to get soaked. And they have the added inconvenience of being very difficult to put on when frozen. Trail-running shoes can be softened by squeezing them to crack up the ice so they will go on your foot.

Several options are available for warming feet in cold weather. The first is the use of vapor-barrier socks. These socks add some warmth, but their real benefit is that they minimize the effects of perspiration on hiking socks and shoe or boot insulation.

A second option involves using insulating footwear for sleeping (e.g., booties with a foam sole and down or high-loft synthetic insulation). Some hikers also keep a dedicated pair of dry wool or fleece socks available for sleeping.

Finding a system that works for you is important and must be done with care. Just because something should work in theory does not mean that it will work on the trail. Try it out in controlled conditions or bring backups along while you are tuning a system.

Finally, in the deep snow of mid winter, backpacking involves the use of some sort of mechanism to keep you on top of the snow (flotation). The option that is the lightest, simplest, and easiest to learn is snowshoeing. Snowshoes are devices that give your foot more surface area, distributing your weight across a larger amount of snow. In theory this enables your foot to stay on top of the snow, rather than sinking. In practice, the efficacy of snowshoes depends very much on the quality of the snow. In powder, you will still sink, but not nearly so deeply. On a hard crust during a spring morning, you may not sink at all. The difference in effort needed to hike in powder versus consolidated snow is immense and needs to be factored into every trip. In any case, snowshoeing is a sport that makes it relatively easy to backpack in the winter, an incredibly rewarding endeavor, although certainly requiring more effort.

The application of lightweight techniques to snowshoeing basically involves finding lightweight snowshoes and a light-and-warm footwear system. There is currently only one company that makes a truly ultralight snowshoe: Northern Lites. Northern Lites offers several models of snowshoes over a wide range of prices and sizes. Mountain Safety Research (MSR) is well known for relatively light snowshoes more suitable for aggressive travel in a mountaineering context. More information on snowshoeing techniques, snowshoe selection criteria, and snowshoe reviews can be found at BackpackingLight.com.

Snowshoeing is greatly facilitated by using either ski or trekking poles with snow baskets. The issues addressed above concerning trekking poles apply even more strongly in the snow. The added balance and ability to get out of holes makes them nearly indispensable. Serious snow hikers, climbers, and skiers tend to favor stiffer, one-piece carbon poles over the three-section aluminum alloy poles favored by trail hikers. One example of such poles are the Bozeman Mountain Works Stix, available as a custom-length pole with EVA foam grips. They have more lateral stiffness than any aluminum pole on the market and weigh less than 6 ounces per pair.

Conclusion

In conclusion, your footwear system is an indispensable part of your lightweight backpacking experience, with weight reductions in footwear having as much or more impact than those in your pack. Perhaps more so than other areas, your final choice of a footwear system will be a personal decision that may change over time. If you approach the selection of footwear as an informed consumer and try the different available options, you will probably have a much better end result than the average backpacker who finds the boot that fits best at the local outfitter and then lives, or suffers, with it until it wears out.

Chapter 2: Backpacks

By Ryan Jordan

State of the Market

In a recent survey of 2000-5000 cubic inch internal frame backpacks distributed in the US, the most popular genre among lightweight backpackers, we learned the following with 48 different models from nine major manufacturers.

The ± range indicates one standard deviation. Thus, statistically speaking, approximately two-thirds of the packs surveyed fall into the range of one standard deviation (lower or higher) from the average, leaving the remaining one-third of the packs as higher (one-sixth) or lower (one-sixth) than this range. From this data, we can deduce, quite arbitrarily, that lightweight backpacks are those in the lower one-sixth of the weight class and in the upper one-sixth of the volume/weight class. This implies that unless you are shopping around for a pack that is less than 3.3 pounds and/or has a volume/weight ratio of 57 cubic inches/ounce or higher, then by industry standards you probably aren’t looking at a lightweight pack.

The Granite Gear Nimbus Ozone focuses on simplicity combined with a comfortable harness and internal frame, and provides a load carrying capacity of more than 40 pounds for a pack weight of less than 3 pounds.

Not addressed in this analysis is an understanding of the pack’s carrying capacity. All packs surveyed feature an internal frame with at least one vertical frame stay. Most, if not all, of these types of packs are capable of carrying 25 or more pounds, which is a typical weight for the lightweight backpacker venturing out for a two- to five-day backpacking trip. However, if your particular lightweight backpacking application requires a higher weight (e.g., to carry a substantial amount of food for a few weeks without resupply), then you might also consider packs with a slightly lower volume/ weight ratio. Those can be indicative of more substantial frames designed for heavier loads.

The ideal parameter that addresses carrying capacity is the ratio of carrying capacity (in pounds) to the weight of the empty pack. However, since carrying capacity is such a subjective parameter that depends on many factors, not the least of which is an individual’s tolerance for discomfort, then trying to identify such a parameter would be a futile exercise. Further, it highlights the inappropriateness of including in our survey frameless packs, which tend to have higher volume/weight ratios than packs with internal frames.

Such a standard (volume/weight ratio) provides a useful baseline for evaluating packs for lightweight backpacking and for comparing different products. However, it should only serve as a baseline. You should recognize several important factors that contribute to a pack-buying decision, including design basics, such as frame and packbag construction. In addition, in order get the most out of a lightweight pack, you must have a fundamental understanding of how to use it—e.g., pack it and carry it. The focus of this chapter is to offer you a foundation of knowledge that will allow you to properly select, and use to its maximum efficiency, a lightweight pack.

Biomechanics of Backpacking

We begin with a discussion of biomechanics, the study of the forces of muscles and gravity on the skeletal structure. Wilderness walking is a process that can be broken down into three primary directions of movement:

• Forward—and, God forbid, backward

• Upward—and downward

• To one side—and back again

Forward progress is usually the primary long-term goal of any backpacker and is the direction with which we concern ourselves most when hiking on a flat, easy trail. When forward direction dominates our walking movements (requiring little upward thrust beyond that of lifting our feet), we are using primarily our lower back and leg muscles for propulsion and our hip and leg joint systems to absorb the shock of impact with each step, which is quite minor. Consequently, while the advantages of a light load are significant over long distances, the short-term effects induced by carrying a heavy load on flat terrain are not particularly troublesome.

In contrast to forward movement, upward movement (hill climbing) places a tremendous demand on the body’s musculature—in particular, the muscles of the lower back, quadriceps, and calves. The motion of step climbing causes the body’s center of gravity to shift forward. Consequently, climbing with a pack that is loaded such that its center of gravity is high in the packbag will induce a moment arm (the perpendicular distance between the body’s center of gravity and that of the pack) that will tend to pull a hiker backward while climbing. Even minor imbalances, while not being particularly noticeable initially, will eventually exact their toll on the body. The classic symptom is mild to severe lower back pain while hiking, resulting from the inability of weak back muscles to stabilize abdominal muscles that are working overtime to keep the body in balance. Minor load imbalances can result in major discomfort after hiking a fifteen- or twenty-mile day.

Downhill hiking deemphasizes the musculature and places extreme stress on the body’s bones, joints, and cartilage structures, which serve to dampen the impact of downward forces resulting from gravity. Pack weight can have a significant impact on comfort when hiking downhill. Heavy loads induce massive impact forces on relatively small shock absorption areas—including the spine, hip, knee, and ankle.

Perhaps the least understood of the biomechanical movements during backpacking is that of lateral (sideways) motion that occurs when hiking on uneven terrain—e.g., cross country travel or very rocky trails. In short, significant lateral motion occurs when one foot placement is lower, or higher, than the other in a motion that might be analogous to climbing a hill with sideways shuffling steps. For a foot placement that occurs lower than the other, the same principles that apply to downhill load carrying and balance apply—the bones and joints bear the brunt of the load. However, the ligaments and tendons now play a much more significant role than in downhill-forward hiking because of the unusual requirements for lateral stabilization of the joints in response to torque on these joints exerted by a momentarily imbalanced load. For a foot placement that occurs higher than the other, the same principles for uphill load carrying and balance apply: The musculature is employed for progress. Again, the ligaments and tendons of the hips, knees, and ankles are taxed in order to stabilize the bone structure as lateral movement occurs, though not as seriously as in a downward foot placement.

Biomechanical Basis for Lightweight Backpacking

In summary, this discussion highlights the important biomechanical processes involved in backpacking:

• IMPACT FORCES absorbed by bones, joints, and cartilage during downward movement —a function of the packs weight

• JOINT STABILIZATION forces borne by tendons and ligaments during upward, downward, and lateral movement—a function of torque exerted by the pack

• GRAVITY FORCES counteracted by muscle contraction for upward movement —a function of the packs weight

The force due to gravity, that is, the force that must be overcome by muscles for hill climbing, or the force that must be absorbed by bone and joint shock while downhill hiking, is defined by the mathematical relationship

F = mg, where …

m = the mass of the object—the sum total of a person’s weight plus their pack weight in kilograms

g = acceleration due to gravity (e.g., 9.8 m/s2)

Thus, the benefits of a light pack are readily apparent. For hiking on a treadmill with no incline, a 75-kilogram person that typically carries a 25-kilogram pack (100 kilogram total) might expend 10 percent less energy (energy is proportional to work = force · distance walked) if they carried a 15-kilogram pack (90 kilogram total). For a 40 percent reduction in pack weight (25–15 kilograms), this difference does not seem large. However, backpacking is not appropriately characterized by perfectly flat terrain. The inappropriate assumption here is that the center of gravity of the body is not changed by the presence of a loaded pack that causes a torque that must be countered by the body. Finally, this 10 percent savings in work assumes that the relationship between pack weight reduction and effort expended is linear. And as the world’s elite adventure racers, alpinists, and ultrarunners will tell you, that relationship is simply not true.

Consider this simple test. Before going to bed, do as many pushups in a row as you can. On the next night, add a pack with 10 pounds of weight and do the same exercise. On each subsequent night, add 5 pounds of weight to the pack and repeat the exercise until you can no longer complete more than 5 pushups.

The results will show that the number of pushups (and energy expenditure on a trek) is not a linear function of pack weight, or even pack weight plus body weight. In fact, it will be clear that at loads greater than X percent of your body weight performance decreases dramatically. Hopefully, this exercise illustrates the importance of reducing pack weight in order to

1. Expend less energy

2. Meet more physically demanding challenges, such as longer distances and steeper trails

This exercise emphasizes the downward force of gravity that exerts itself at the center of gravity of both the pack and the body. The horizontal distance between these two distances is called the moment arm. In turn, the force exerted on the body’s musculature to remain stable by that moment arm, which I refer to as pack torque (T), is defined as the rotational force exerted by the pack on the body

T = Fr, where …

r = the moment arm length

Thus, when you recognize that torque is a function of pack weight and not of body weight, the benefits of carrying a light pack are directly proportional to the pack weight. This is in contrast to pure gravity, which is a function of body weight plus pack weight. Thus, the benefits of lightweight backpacking increase in importance as the difficulty of terrain increases.

For example, consider a pack weighing 25 kilograms with its center of gravity located approximately 25 centimeters behind that of the body. The resulting pack torque in the downward direction (gravity) is 625 kilogram-centimeters, counteracted primarily by the musculature of the back and shoulders while walking. Now, consider the pack torque of a 15-kilogram pack with the same center of gravity: 375 kilogram-centimeters, which results in a full 40 percent decrease in strain on the musculature responsible for counteracting this torque. If you allow the lighter load to occupy a lower pack volume (thinner pack) with a center of gravity located only 15 centimeters from that of the body, it results in a pack torque of 225 kilogram-centimeters. A 64 percent reduction in muscle stress (torque) for only a 40 percent reduction in pack weight!

The discussion of pack torque also highlights the importance of proper packing techniques, which will be addressed later in the chapter.

Suspension Anatomy

One of the most contested debates among lightweight backpackers is whether or not the backpack should have a frame, either external or internal. Obviously, for heavier loads greater than 30 pounds, a frame facilitates load carrying. However, does a frame offer benefits for lighter loads? We’ll start by providing a basic understanding of the anatomy of a typical suspension system.

Pack torque described. A 25 kg pack with its center of gravity located approximately 25 cm behind the body’s center of gravity (left image)exerts a downward pack torque of 625 kg-cm. Reduce the packweight by 40% to 15 kg and simultaneously bringing the center of gravity of the pack closer to the body by 10 cm (right image)and a pack torque of 225 kg-cm results—a 64% reduction in torque on the body’s musculature!

SHOULDER STRAPS

The most fundamental component of the suspension system is the shoulder strap assembly. Shoulder straps should serve one primary purpose only: to keep the center of gravity of the pack as close as possible to that of the body. The shoulder straps do have some load-carrying ability, but 10–15 pounds is usually the maximum comfort range. The body’s collarbone structure does not provide a particularly effective load-bearing surface, due to its small surface area for weight distribution. Consequently, packs lacking a hip belt are usually insufficient for carrying loads of more than about 15 pounds. Although, some ultralight backpackers believe that such simple systems are adequate for carrying 20 pounds of weight over a short distance (e.g., at the beginning of a hike lasting several days).

HIP BELT

Because the pelvis offers a larger surface area and bone structure for distributing a load than the collarbone, the hips are much more capable than the shoulders for load bearing. Consequently, the hip belt’s key design feature should be a large surface area for weight distribution when in contact with the pelvic bone structure. However, most commercial hip belts are too narrow for effective weight distribution. Further, these hip belts are manufactured with technologies that actually reduce their load distribution effectiveness, including relatively inflexible molded polyethylene sheets that are unable to adapt to the wide range of hip shapes and sizes of prospective buyers. Manufacturers will argue that carrying massive loads of 50–70 pounds require stiff belts to prevent their collapse under the load. If you believe this false claim, I suggest that you review packs manufactured by Dan McHale in Seattle, Washington. Dan builds expedition backpacks suitable for loads up to 100 or more pounds with a nice, wide belt that uses no stiffeners in its construction. Manufacturers of products targeting lightweight backpackers would do well to design hip belts with less padding, more width, and more flexibility, so that the surface area in contact between the hips and the belt is maximized.

FRAME: LOAD TRANSFER

Most hikers (and manufacturers) believe that the purpose of a frame is to transfer the weight of the load in part or whole from the shoulders to the body’s iliac crest via the pack’s hip belt. For light loads, such weight transfer can be accomplished simply by effectively packing a tight load into the packbag, resulting in some inherent stiffness that does not collapse when weight is transferred to the hip belt.

For most soft backpacking loads packed reasonably tight in a frameless pack, one can achieve sufficient load transfer capability with loads of up to about 20 pounds. The looser the load is packed, the less weight can be effectively transferred. The addition of foam stiffeners, including foam back pads, or “bivy pads” commonly found in climbing backpacks, can increase load transfer capability by a few pounds. To achieve further load transfer ability in a frameless pack, one can fold a sleeping pad (e.g., in quarters) and lay it inside the pack against the back, so that its total thickness is an inch or more. This trick can also be used with self-inflating air/foam-core pads by inflating the pad after the pack has been loaded. To achieve even more load transfer ability with a sleeping pad, lightweight backpackers commonly roll the pad into a cylinder and then pack the gear inside the core of the cylinder. It is usually accepted that such techniques are sufficient for loads in the 20–25 pound range. Many find comfort at loads up to 30, and less commonly, up to 35 pounds.

FRAME: LOAD STABILIZATION

So if a frameless pack, using creative packing techniques and the judicious application of a sleeping pad, can effectively carry 25–35 pounds in comfort, then should a pack with a frame be considered at all?

It can be argued that the addition of a very light internal frame with enough stiffness to allow complete load transfer between shoulders and hips aids tremendously in load stabilization, where load stabilization is defined as the ability of the frame to prevent the load from shifting in any direction in response to rapid movements.

A good illustration of a frame’s ability to stabilize a load can be made using any internal frame pack by comparing the pack’s load stability with and without its frame stays. Load it to three-fourths capacity with 25–35 pounds, the volume that might occur toward the middle and end of a long backpacking trip and after much of the food has been consumed. Then quickly climb a flight of stairs with a shuffling side step, accentuating the unbalanced movements encountered during hiking on rough terrain, and notice how the presence of the frame maintains the packbag shape and prevents it from working against you by keeping its center of gravity close to the same location.

Ptarmigan showing pad for frame support: The 32-ounce Bozeman Mountain Works Ptarmigan ultralight alpine climbing pack uses a folded bivy pad encased in a mesh sleeve on the outside of the pack’s back panel to provide longitudinal stiffness, frame support, padding, and insulation.

The biggest disadvantage to a frameless pack packed with a significant amount of weight and below its volume capacity is that the contents shift while hiking rough terrain. Consequently, the location of the pack’s center of gravity shifts with each step and the process of load stabilization requires effort (energy) from your body to correct the imbalance. Viewed from the context of a single step, this effect is undoubtedly quite minor. But considering that the average hiker takes around 2,000 steps per mile of trail, and as much as 20,000 (10 miles) or even 60,000 steps (30 miles) in a single day, such miniscule effects can exact their toll on the body by the end of a good day’s walk. The addition of a frame that can potentially prevent movement of a 15-kilogram pack’s center of gravity by only one centimeter can save up to 15 kilogram-centimeters of pack torque with each step. If one were to take 40,000 steps over the course of the day, the cumulative force saved by the body’s musculature, bone, and joint system would be 6000 kilogram-meters, the same amount of force required to stabilize a 6000-kilogram weight (medium duty semi truck) concentrated on a plank held out 1 meter from the body.

FRAME-STAY CHARACTERISTICS

The stiffness of the frame is an important consideration. A stiff frame-stay material (e.g., a carbon fiber tube) provides plenty of support for both load transfer and load stabilization but lacks shock absorption. That transmits greater impact forces to your hips from a bouncing load, and is accentuated when descending a steep hill. On the other hand, a frame stay resembling a limp noodle (e.g., Delrin) fails to provide enough support for load transfer, and provides so much shock absorption that the frame collapses with each step. Your pack loses the ability to stabilize the load, thus requiring extra effort from your body to counteract a shifting center of gravity.

Aluminum is the most popular type of frame stay material, with the 7075-T6 grade considered to be of the highest quality due to its “springiness” and resistance to permanent deformation under load. Both characteristics contribute to load stabilization and maintaining a fixed location for the pack’s center of gravity. Frames that are less stiff than aluminum do not afford any particular advantages. A carbon fiber frame stay (e.g., usually tubing approximately 3/16” in diameter), although very stiff, affords a unique advantage. A set of carbon fiber frame stays with the same load transfer ability as 7075-T6 aluminum can be as much as 600 percent lighter. It is not uncommon to have a set of carbon fiber rods weighing near 1 ounce. However, because of the stiffness of carbon fiber, they are best used in packs that won’t be housing loads greater than about 15-20 percent of one’s body weight.

Factors other than frame material that affect the stiffness of the frame stay include both its cross-sectional shape (tubing cylinders are more stiff than rods or bars) and its dimensions (shorter = more stiff; thicker = more stiff; wider = more stiff).

Suspension Gimmicks

A well-integrated shoulder strap, hip belt, and frame-stay system are the only requirements for a backpack suitable for lightweight backpacking with loads less than 40 pounds. Unfortunately, too many pack manufacturers have added complexity (and weight) to suspension systems, including “load lifter” straps, adjustable straps that attach the top of the frame to the shoulder strap crest. And “hip stabilizer” straps, adjustable straps that attach to the bottom of the frame or bottom corner of the pack to the location on the iliac crest of the hip belt. Both of these features are included by mass market manufacturers primarily to expand the range of fit for a given harness. But they also sell the consumer false claims that they will provide increased stabilization or comfort. The ideal pack should have a harness (shoulder strap and hip belt) that fits the consumer’s body dimensions perfectly. In reality, however, such precise fitting is seldom available in mass market packs and requires that the consumer seek a custom-built back.

In a recent series of suspension performance research studies conducted by BackpackingLight.com, the product review staff discovered that the most important characteristics that contributed to load stabilization were the width of the hip belt and extent to which the hip belt, shoulder straps, and frame were integrated. Load-lifter straps and hip-stabilizer straps played little role in load stability and served only to fine tune sizing. More recently, we’ve discovered that cinching down hip-stabilizer straps to secure the load into the lumbar region inhibits your body’s natural range of motion and increases spinal fatigue over the course of a long day of walking

Ultralight Frameless Backpacks

Although the preceding discussion focuses on justifying the use of a load-control system for even lightweight pack loads, there are situations when frameless, ultralight packs are useful. They offer several advantages.

1. They conform softly to the contours of your back, and thus, may be more appropriate for those with bone structure defects or spinal problems.

2. They are compressible and make a great companion for traveling or to use as a summit/day hiking pack in the context of spending several days at a base camp.

3. For less strenuous hiking, the loss in load transfer efficiency may be acceptable to those who simply want to carry gear that is as light and as simple as possible.

Dealing with Variable Volume Loads

During a multi-day backpacking trek, the volume of the pack contents changes considerably, due primarily to food consumption. There are two approaches to dealing with this. The first relies on the use of an extension collar to the main packbag that allows for extra volume to ride well above the crests of the shoulders during the beginning of a trek. Unfortunately, a full extension collar’s height can cause serious instability on rough terrain.

The alternative approach is the use of a compression system (straps, cord, etc.), used toward the end of a trek for stabilizing under-capacity loads by compressing the pack’s volume and center of gravity toward the back.

The McHale Subpop cord compression system (shown here on a McHale Summit Pack) uses a different means of stabilizing an under-volume load: non-stretch cord laced around the packbag. This is the lightest and most effective load compression system we’ve tried, with the potential to evenly compress the load rather than force a misshaped pack with point compression straps. The weight of the cordage on this pack is less than one ounce.

Packbag Size

Choosing the size of a pack seems to be one of the most personal issues in pack selection. The argument for large-volume packs is that insulating clothing and sleeping bags have plenty of room to loft, since those can be damaged by compression. And there is enough volume to accommodate all of one’s gear without strapping it to the outside of the packbag. The primary disadvantage to large packs is that for under-capacity loads, they can make it difficult to stabilize the center of gravity without an effective compression system. Further, a large load by its very nature results in a center of gravity that is farther from the body’s center of gravity. The result is a pack that requires more energy for the body to stabilize — and more strain on the body’s musculature. Contrary to popular belief, larger packs are not significantly heavier than their smaller counterparts. Much of the weight is found in the suspension system and harness, which is not necessarily dependent on pack volume.

The main disadvantage of a small pack may be the inability to accommodate all of one’s equipment for a particular trek, requiring the use of extension collars and external attachment points. In turn, these destabilize the load and can make for obstructive travel in brushy or mountainous terrain.

Thus, a good rule of thumb for pack sizing is this: Use a pack that is just large enough to accommodate all of your equipment and supplies for a trek, and make sure it has an effective compression system for stabilizing the load as food and other supplies are consumed during the trek. Although some accomplished ultralight backpackers have found a 30-liter pack suitable for weekend trips, the most popular packs for lightweight backpacking seem to fall in the 40-45 liter range for weekend hikes and 55-65 liters for multi-day trekking.

Packbag Fabric

The lighter packbag fabrics range from ultralight spinnaker cloth 0.8 ounce/yard² (e.g., Gossamer Gear G5, a 7-oz pack with 65L of volume) to 8-ounces/yard² ballistic nylon that typically results in an internal frame pack weight of about 4-5 pounds for a 65-liter pack. The tradeoff with weight is fabric durability (primarily abrasion resistance). When selecting a pack fabric, consideration should be given to the type of terrain you expect and how many miles you want the pack to serve you. More durable fabrics are more appropriate for bushwhacking and rock climbing. Greater durability equals longer pack life. Longer pack life equals greater return on investment.

Other Features

A single, one-compartment packbag with a harness provides the basis for any pack. Compression systems and extension collars allow you to adjust pack volume in response to changing load volumes. External pockets, especially top and side pockets, disrupt the load stabilization and pack profile during climbing or bushwhacking. However, the external pockets may be worth their weight for the ability to help you remain organized and allow quick and easy access to some supplies without opening the main packbag, particularly in inclement weather. The addition of any other features should be examined carefully, especially the presence of zippers. They are heavy, prone to failure, and allow points of entry for rainwater.

Loading the Pack

Ideally, a pack should be loaded so that its center of gravity relative to the body’s center of gravity is in a location appropriate to the terrain. For example, the pack’s center of gravity for downhill hiking should be in the upper back to improve the ability for the bones and joints to absorb the impact from gravity forces on the pack. For uphill hiking, the pack’s center of gravity should be as close as possible to the body’s center of gravity (usually the lower back) to minimize rotational motion due to pack torque and, thus, decrease stress on back and shoulder muscles.

However, the backpacker usually encounters many different types of terrain and grades of steepness throughout the day. It would be impractical to repack the pack when the terrain or grade changes. A realistic compromise is to pack gear in the packbag such that the pack’s center of gravity is located a little higher than that of the body’s but as close to the back as possible.

A good approach is to pack the sleeping bag (low-density and provides lumbar cushioning) in the bottom of the pack, the food on top of it (high-density and usually controls the pack’s center of gravity), followed by the rest of the gear, with heavier items close to your back and lighter items away from your back.

The ideal location for the center of gravity for a pack (square) is a little higher than that of the body’s (circle) but as close to the back as possible.

As one decreases the total weight of the load, less emphasis needs to be placed on packing with the center of gravity location in mind. Greater emphasis can be placed on packing with convenience in mind. In such a case, one can pack contents in the order that they are needed throughout the day, rather than worry at all about their relative densities. Such is a significant freedom associated with lightweight backpacking.

Rain Protection

There is no such thing as an ultralight backpack that is also waterproof. A truly waterproof pack is made with heavier materials, such as polyurethane-coated vinyl or PVC cloth with welded seams and a dry bag closure. Those features also result in a pack that is a far cry from ultralight.

There are two approaches to protecting your pack from the rain: pack cover or pack liner. Waterproof pack covers offer few advantages over pack liners. In particular, they are subject to failure because they are exposed to abrasion, tearing, and puncture from brush and rocks. They also limit access to pack contents housed in either external pockets or the main packbag. Finally they fail to protect the pack contents at the location where the packbag is often the wettest: down your back.

Pack liners, on the other hand, afford many advantages. They are protected from external abrasion. They do not interfere with access to pack contents. And they completely enclose the contents within the packbag. Pack liners can be made with waterproof-coated nylon cloth. Fully sealed seams, either factory-taped or sealed by hand with a poly-urethane or silicone-based compound, provide additional moisture protection. Sewn waterproof nylon liners are the most durable and elegant type, with silicone-coated nylon (1.4 oz/yd²) liners providing adequate protection for a 65-liter pack at a scant 4 ounces in weight. There is an alternative solution that is cheaper, lighter, and disposable. A trash compactor bag typically weighs less than 3-4 ounces.

The small fraction of the ultralight hiking community who wear ponchos as opposed to jackets claim that system works the best for keeping a pack dry. Having used a poncho as my primary raingear and shelter for several hundred nights of backpacking in recent years, I find it hard to argue. A poncho, unlike a pack cover, effectively covers the entire pack and body, offering no chance for water to find its way into or onto the packbag.

The Pack as Insulation

When selecting both the clothing and sleep system, the lightweight backpacker should not forget the value of a backpack. Because a pack provides tremendous insulation for the back, one should factor it into their clothing system as insulation while hiking in cold weather.

In addition, the pack can be used as ground insulation for the lightweight backpacker’s bed, especially if it has a built-in foam pad as its back pad. Lightweight backpackers commonly use two-thirds- or even half-length sleeping pads for torso insulation, using the pack as insulation for the lower legs and feet.

Conclusion

The pack can be one of the most expensive purchases by a lightweight backpacker. It’s not uncommon for a 50-liter pack weighing less than 3 pounds to retail for more than $300. Such packs, of a suitable design, are probably the most appropriate for pushing the limits of lightweight backpacking with heavier loads over longer distances.

Has the ultralight backpacker really “arrived” when his pack has become his simplest piece of equipment—e.g., a homemade bag with shoulder straps sewn using $25 worth of materials on a winter weekend? Or is the more experienced ultralighter one who can take a three-pound internal frame pack and carry a load for 500 continuous miles?

Consider that Grandma Gatewood hiked the 2,100 mile Appalachian Trail using a natural fiber cloth gunny sack slung over her shoulder. John Muir often traveled for days in the Sierras with nothing more than a small leather satchel. Even today, wilderness survival enthusiasts travel uncanny distances without packs at all, relying solely on their ability to get by with minimal supplies carried only in a tiny fanny pack or their pockets.

Chapter 3: Pack Weight

By George Cole

Backpackers walk. Some backpackers walk a lot. Along with carrying our houses on our backs, walking is what defines us. Most of us do it without thinking about it, at least until sore knees or blisters draw our attention.

However, walking is not a simple activity. It requires a complex series of interactions between most of the bones, muscles, tendons, and joints of the trunk and lower limbs. These interactions result in relocations of body mass that sequentially and repetitively destabilize and restabilize the body’s axial balance while realigning its structural support. Properly coordinated by the nervous system, the net effect of these interactions is to maintain the body’s upright posture while moving it forward in space.

Interactions are both interdependent—each interaction is dependent on others—and extradependent—each interaction varies in response to the external conditions that exist at the moment the interaction occurs. For backpackers, important external conditions are the slope of the walking surface, surface traction and regularity, wind speed, pack weight, and the relationship of these conditions to each other and to the direction of travel. While we can accommodate various combinations of moderate conditions, an extreme of any one condition can make it impossible to successfully complete a crucial interaction. At that point, we either stop walking or we fall.

As backpackers we prepare for extremes of terrain, weather, and surface, and we plan our routes in order to reduce the probability of encountering those extremes. However, we have no direct control over them. On the other hand, we can control how much weight we carry in our backpacks.

The Importance of the Body’s Center of Gravity

The body’s center of gravity is located at the point where the body’s mass (weight) is balanced in three dimensions. In other words, the center of gravity is located at the point where the mass above the point is equal to the mass below the point, the mass in front of the point is equal to the mass behind the point, and the mass to one side of the point is equal to the mass on its opposite side. When standing still, unclothed, and without a pack, that point is on the axis (mid-line) of the trunk and is roughly in line with the hip joints.

Location of the centerof gravity of a hiker not wearing a pack.

In the context of backpacking, walking can be thought of as controlled falling. To begin walking we push off with one foot while slightly leaning forward, moving our center of gravity forward of its original base of support. Then, in order to avoid falling, we lift the other foot and swing it forward, seeking a new base of support. If we can plant the leading foot and successfully establish a new base of support, we then pivot the leg above it under a now moving center of gravity. At the same time we swing the other foot forward into a position where it, in turn, can provide a new base of support.

To continue walking we repeatedly stride underneath a moving center of gravity, first with one leg and then the other. Throughout a stride (gait cycle), the center of gravity does not travel far from the horizontal plane of the hip joints, although it does move side to side—first over one leg and then the other—as each leg becomes the body’s primary supporting member. It also rises about two inches above the walking surface as each leg pivots underneath it.

The speed with which the center of gravity moves forward in space also varies during the gait cycle. When pushing off at the beginning of a stride we force the center of gravity to speed up, and when planting the other foot we force it to slow down. The center of gravity attains its greatest speed immediately before we plant the leading foot.

Weight carried in a backpack has two major effects on the center of gravity. First, assuming that the pack is firmly affixed to the back and that the pack load is balanced from side to side, the center of gravity will move upward and to the rear relative to its “unloaded” position. How much the center of gravity moves upward and to the rear will depend upon the weight of the load and its top-to-bottom and front-to-back distribution in the pack.

Comparison of the location of the center of gravity in a hiker without (square)and with (circle) a backpack. Wearing a pack shifts the center of gravity upward and backward, the extent of which depends on the weight of the pack and how it is loaded.

Second, because pack weight increases the total weight of the body and all that the body is carrying (e.g., the system weight, commonly known as the “full skin-out weight”) it also increases the momentum of the body mass, expressed through the center of gravity. The increase in momentum is directly proportional to the increase in system weight. An increase in pack weight—and momentum—has profound implications on backpacking because it is directly proportional to the forces required to be exerted by your joints, bone, and musculature to decelerate your body’s movements as you hike.¹ Important decelerations that every hiker is familiar with include catching a fall if one foot slides off the trail, or the constant pounding that occurs while hiking down a steep incline.

As indicated above, walking is the act of propelling our center of gravity forward. So in order to walk, backpackers must compensate for the rearward shift in the center of gravity caused by the weight of the pack. We do so simply by leaning forward from the waist. When leaning forward we pivot the trunk around our hip joints so that the shift in the location of the center of gravity associated with a slight to moderate forward lean (e.g., 0–45 degrees) is horizontal. Since “normal” walking without a pack requires a small amount of forward lean at the beginning of each stride, this act of adjustment is familiar and easily accommodated.

A moderate forward lean induces a horizontal shift in the center of gravity, which increases stability. The center of gravity shifts from an upright position (square) to a leaning position (circle) by moving down and forward in response to leaning.

However, backpackers are unable to make adjustments that accommodate the upward shift in the center of gravity. While leaning far enough forward eventually lowers the center of gravity (e.g., when the angle of the trunk is between 45-90 degrees), the usefulness of that adjustment is limited by how far we can lean without doing a face plant or making forward progress impossible. Thus, conventional thinking has taught us that the best way to make adjustments for our system center of gravity in the vertical dimension is by redistributing the load in our pack.

Redistributing the pack load is not a complete solution. While it is more energy efficient to carry heavier items close to the body, making changes in vertical load distribution offers mixed results.

If heavy items are carried high in the pack, then we won’t need to lean forward as much to adjust for the rearward shift in the center of gravity (better posture for walking). However, the upward shift in the system center of gravity will be greater, resulting in more energy expended in order to maintain balance. Conversely, if heavy items are carried low in the pack, then the upward shift in the center of gravity will be less (better balance), but more lean will be required to adjust for its rearward shift (poorer posture for walking).

Because of these contradictory effects, there is always a sacrifice—optimize walking posture (high center of gravity) or improve load balance (low center of gravity). Thus, perhaps the best way to minimize the effects of both excessive forward lean and poor balance is to minimize the effects of gravity on the system. In other words, reduce pack weight.

That is not to say that individuals cannot accommodate the combined effects of a “heavier” center of gravity to an amazing extent. Foot soldiers and Sherpa porters regularly carry as much as 100 percent of their body weight in their packs. In many cultures, men and women alike walk with staggering loads balanced on their heads. Even inexperienced backpackers can make instantaneous changes in their posture and gait and set out with sixty pound packs. And, we’ve all encountered that hearty mountaineer laboring up the side of a peak with as much as eighty pounds on his or her back.

These feats are made possible by the fact that human beings are not born with walking skill. We don’t even try for the first nine months or so. Then we spend the next six to eight years learning and practicing the basics while accommodating our particular physiological limitations and the constraints of our environments. Consequently, we are quite used to learning to accommodate (terrain, physiology, loads) in the act of walking.

However, learning is not the only issue in carrying heavy loads. For porters and foot soldiers it is a job requirement. For those amazing individuals who can carry forty pounds or more of food and water on their heads, it is a matter of survival. As a result, all of those individuals spend a good deal of time doing it. Over time they condition their bodies to its demands. Their muscles and bones adapt to the movements, they get stronger, and their coordination and dynamic sense of balance improves.

On the other hand, recreational backpackers carry weight on their backs for fun. Most do it too infrequently to benefit from any sort of meaningful, long-term conditioning effects. Therefore, backpackers who carry heavy loads are more likely to suffer from a variety of immediate and long-term problems.

Problems Carrying Heavy Packs

As any veteran of carrying a heavy pack can attest, maintaining balance (resisting falling) is the most immediate problem. A higher center of gravity makes balancing more difficult. When standing still, we can compensate for a higher center of gravity by moving our feet apart for a broader base of support. But walking requires a constantly changing and limited base of support. We tend to stand and walk with our feet closer together. In a “single-stance phase,” or at the point at which one foot bears 100 percent of the system weight and the other foot moves forward, the base of support can be as small as the ball and toes of a single foot.

The single-stance phase of the gait cycle is that point where 100% of the weight of the hiker + pack is supported by a single foot (and sometimes, only the ball or heel of that foot). This is the point in the gait cycle where the center of gravity is the most difficult to control because it is at a point of maximum acceleration or deceleration.

Not only is more force needed to get a heavier center of gravity moving, more force is needed to slow it down. While walking, we can either

• Walk in a controlled fashion so that we can easily decelerate the forward motion of the center of gravity with each foot plant (e.g., hiking down a steep incline)

• Walk too fast, such that the center of gravity moves outside of its base of support and we fall

In addition to accelerating and decelerating the forward motion of the center of gravity, we must also accelerate and decelerate the side-to-side motion of the center of gravity as it moves over the supporting leg during each stride—or outside of the base of support, as is common on uneven terrain. Otherwise, it moves beyond its base of support far enough that we are unable to decelerate it. Again, we fall.

Forcing muscles to repeatedly overcome the momentum of the center of gravity results in muscle fatigue. Muscle fatigue results in a loss of muscle strength. And a loss of muscle strength results in a loss of control over a moving center of gravity. That is why we are more likely to fall at the end of a long day. And despite how well conditioned we are, a heavier center of gravity results in greater muscle fatigue.

Finally, when walking on level ground we have only a fraction of a second in the course of each stride to change our minds about where we want to plant our leading foot. Our ability to do so depends largely on being able to alter the trajectory of the center of gravity as it descends from its peak in the gait cycle. The heavier a pack weighs, the greater the momentum that its center of gravity exerts, and greater is both the force and the time required to alter its trajectory. Since backpackers regularly seek out places where the surface is irregular and the traction poor, even a tiny delay in response time can result in an insecure foot plant. Down we go. This particular problem is complicated by the fact that backpackers who carry heavy loads often wear heavy boots. A heavy boot greatly increases the momentum of the leading foot and, therefore, increases the time it takes to change either its trajectory or its orientation.

On an ascending slope, the descent of the center of gravity from its peak in the gait cycle is shortened. Therefore, if we’re maintaining our pace, we have marginally less time to change our minds about where our heel should strike the ground. However, because the center of gravity has had less time to gather speed as it falls from its peak in the gait cycle, and because we usually walk slower when going uphill, planting the leading foot is usually less problematic while walking uphill than when on level ground.

A downhill slope lengthens the descent of the center of gravity from its peak in the gait cycle. While this does give us marginally more time to change where and how we plant the leading foot, it also gives the center of gravity time to gather speed. Because most backpackers are not accustomed to slowing a heavier center of gravity as it falls, it is likely that it will be moving faster when the leading foot strikes the ground. High-school physics teaches us that force equals weight multiplied by acceleration. So the force with which the leading foot strikes the ground will be greater than if only the “weight” of the center of gravity increases. In fact, when stepping off a log or a rock, this force may be equal to six or seven times the weight of you and your pack. Therefore, an insecure foot plant, one that allows the ground reaction force to be translated into a sliding motion, is much more likely to result in a fall, especially on an irregular or slippery surface.

Carrying heavy loads can have other immediate and long-term implications: joint or musculature failure. A muscle that is not strong enough to overcome the momentum of the center of gravity can tear. As indicated above, a fatigued muscle loses strength. More seriously, an overstretched tendon will pull loose from its attachment point on a bone. A bone forced beyond its elastic bending point will break. And a misaligned joint subjected to too much pressure will shear. Even an aligned joint subjected to excessive pressure will fail from a compression fracture or rupture of its shock-absorbing pad of cartilage.

It would be bad enough if an increase in pack weight increased the probability that these problems would occur in a simple linear fashion, but the stress on muscles, tendons, bones, and joints increases at an escalating rate as the angle of a joint gets more acute. In order to better absorb the shock of impact when the leading foot strikes the ground, it is natural to have the knee slightly bent at impact, letting the thigh muscles act as shock absorbers. When walking on level ground without a pack a normal knee joint is bent about two degrees at the moment of impact. A knee joint bent at two degrees is subjected to a compressive force that is equal to about half the weight of the body.² Following impact, the joint continues to bend another 13 degrees while slowing the descent of the center of gravity to its lowest point in the gait cycle. A knee joint bent at 15 degrees is subjected to a compressive force that is equal to about 1.5 times the weight of the body.

Now add the weight of the pack. It will take longer to slow the momentum of the center of gravity as it descends to its lowest point in the gait cycle. The knee will be forced to bend more after impact. The heavier the pack, the more the knee will be forced to bend. If the angle of the knee reaches 20 degrees, it will be subjected to a compressive force of about twice the system weight (body + pack). And that’s just while walking on level ground.

Step up on a rock or log or step down off a ledge. It is not unusual to bend the knee 90 degrees or more. A knee bent at 90 degrees will be subjected to a compressive force equal to three to four times the system weight. A knee bent at more than 90 degrees will result in a force that can reach six to eight times the system weight. Multiply that by the weight of you, your clothing, and your fully loaded pack and think about descending a steep and rocky trail. Even just a few extra pounds of pack weight can have a dramatic effect on the force that is translated to your joints.

Fortunately, however, the most common weight-induced injury is neither severe nor life threatening, just painful and tedious to remedy: blisters. Unconditioned skin that is forced to move against a surface while under pressure will eventually blister, especially when moist. All backpackers subject the skin on the foot sole, edge, and between their toes to greater pressure than normal. The heavier the pack, the greater the pressure. Since most backpackers who carry heavy loads also wear hot, heavy boots that aren’t properly fitted or broken in, the risk of getting a blister is high. And how about those black toenails that result from the constant pounding of your toes in the footbox of your boot? What a relief when they finally fall off!

Choice of Footwear

While every backpacker has his or her particular reasons for carrying weight in their pack, at least one of the following applies when someone chooses to wear heavy boots.

• The first reason is probably unconscious. Wearing heavy boots at the extent of the lowest limbs lowers the body’s center of gravity and compensates somewhat for the raised center of gravity of a heavy pack. Mathematically, the theory has no substance, and the beneficial effect is negligible.

• Wearing boots is traditional and universally accepted. “If you’re going backpacking, you should wear boots,” the retailers tell us. In fact, boots have become as commercially symbolic of the backpacking experience as the backpack itself.

• There are related issues of traction and cushioning, and the perception that boots are superior in both regards.

• Many backpackers indicate that their ankles need support when carrying a heavy pack.

• A boot offers protection from the intrusion of sharp or hard objects.

We’ll address the last two issues: perception of ankle support, and protection of sharp/hard objects.

Pack weight magnifies shear forces in the ankle joint. Those forces can cause a misaligned ankle to deform to one side or the other, resulting in a strain, sprain, cartilage rupture, or break. A boot with a high collar that surrounds the ankle can provide it with some support to resist ankle deforming. However, unless a boot provides absolutely rigid side-to-side support (e.g., a plastic ski boot) only compression of the ankle collar, via the lacing system, supports the ankle. If the collar is laced tightly enough to compress the ankle and stop it from deforming, it will also decrease the movement of other joints (e.g., knees). This results in substantial deterioration in the function of the joint and the inability to transfer impact forces throughout the entire leg and back.

The ankle, despite the fact that its range of motion is small relative to that of the knee, serves a number of important functions in helping us get from here to there. First, the ankle helps absorb the force with which the heel strikes the ground, smoothing the transition of the leg from its swing-through phase to its weight-bearing phase in the gait cycle. Second, the ankle allows us to pivot the leg while keeping the foot flat on the ground, making full use of the foot as a base of support. Third, the ankle allows us to use our calf muscles in toeing-off. Fourth, the ankle allows us to lift the toe of the foot so that it clears the ground during the leg’s swing-through phase. Finally, it allows us to adjust rapidly to changes in the front-to-back and side-to-side slope of the walking surface, helping to maintain balance.

In tribute to the Designer of the leg, it is indeed possible to walk with both ankles completely immobilized, although there are costs for doing so. It is generally accepted among the physiological research community that such a motion requires about 4–5 percent more energy per step (8–10 percent for a completed gait cycle). And it makes losing our balance more likely. Certainly, most of us have walked behind a boot-clad hiker and noticed how often a fall was initiated when he or she stubbed the toe of one boot on the ground as it swung forward. And, we also remember how many times we’ve fallen when we could not get the sole of our boot flat on a slippery inclined surface because of the inability to flex our ankle enough due to immobilization of the ankle by the boot collar.

While compression of an ankle collar can protect the ankle from a sudden side-to-side force, that force will have to be absorbed further up the leg. In a slip or fall, a booted hiker is more likely to initiate a strain or sprain in the knee, hip, or back. Worse results can occur. The knee or hip can dislocate. And there is always the dreaded top-of-boot break—a totally immobilizing injury that nearly always requires assisted evacuation.

Although you may live long enough to get rescued, and while you will usually recover well enough from breaks and sprains to be able to continue backpacking, such injuries can really take the fun out of a hike! And they don’t happen often, but they usually happen in a setting where medical help is not immediately available. If they also result in a fall where other injuries occur, they can indeed be life threatening. In preparation for them, many backpackers carry extensive first-aid kits and supplies, often including ankle injury management items, such as inflatable splints and compression bandages. Those make a heavy pack even heavier.

In reference to the less serious collisions between the ankle and hard or sharp objects, we’ve already discussed how a heavy pack and boots limit your ability to precisely target the ground to plant your leading foot. How many side and top-of-foot collisions result from poor foot targeting? Frankly, we don’t know. It is our experience that wearing lighter boots, or better yet, lightweight trail shoes, while carrying less than a total of 25 pounds has resulted in far fewer side and top-of-foot collisions than when we wore boots and carried 50 pounds.³

Due to the force required to accelerate and decelerate the weight of your boot or shoe at the end of a swinging leg—since this location is farther from the center of gravity than any other place in your body or pack—a shoe or a boot takes a far greater toll on energy expenditure than an equal amount of weight carried in a pack. In fact, walking in a shoe or boot takes about 4-9 times the energy it takes to carry the same shoe or boot. This is calculated by considering the differences of the length of the moment arms—the perpendicular distance between the body’s center of gravity and that of the pack—around the center of gravity for a shoe on the foot versus a shoe in the pack. Add this to the extra energy and joint stress resulting from walking with both ankles immobilized by compressed boot collars and the penalties are even more severe.

Consider that even a desert backpacker walking along mudflats in moderate temperatures while wearing heavy boots will expend more energy than if he or she is wearing lighter footwear. Now, factor in cooler temperatures that require more energy to stay warm, mountain terrain and more energy to go up and down hills, and higher altitudes that require more energy to maintain physiological function. The impact of footwear weight becomes even more important. It’s no wonder that the manufacturer of the 9-pound expedition backpack was overheard saying to his banker, “The more you carry, the more you need to carry.”

Energy Expenditure

The physical work performed by a backpacker while carrying a pack results primarily by counteracting the force of gravity. We do work when we lift weight off the ground. When we walk we do two types of lifting.

We’ve already discussed the first type of lifting. The average unloaded walker lifts his or her center of gravity off the ground a few inches with every step. If he or she moves forward 24 inches with every step, a typical trail stride, then in a surface mile he or she will take 2,640 steps. If the walker also weighs 100 pounds, then he or she will do 100 footpounds of work with every six steps, or 44,000 foot-pounds of work every mile.⁴ Strap a 20-pound pack on that walker and he or she will do 52,800 foot-pounds of work covering the same mile. Increase the load by 20 pounds and the work required will be 61,600 foot-pounds.

The second type of lifting performed by backpackers occurs when ascending a slope. Let’s say our 100-pound backpacker carries a 40-pound pack up a continuous mile-long slope that gains one hundred feet in elevation. The increased work imposed by lifting 140 pounds one hundred feet will be 14,000 foot-pounds. Therefore, the total work required of our backpacker will be something less than 75,600 foot-pounds. We say less because the slope’s incline will account for some of the distance that the backpacker has to lift his or her center of gravity with each step.⁵

More realistically, let’s say that our backpacker climbs a total of three-thousand feet during the course of a ten-mile day in mountainous terrain. Carrying a 40-pound pack he or she will have performed about 1,000,000 foot-pounds of work by the end of the day (e.g., walking ten miles with 40 pounds plus lifting 140 pounds three-thousand feet). However, had our backpacker been carrying a 20-pound pack he or she would have performed only about 900,000 foot-pounds of work. That’s a difference of 100,000 foot-pounds, or the work it would take to lift a fully loaded tractor trailer one foot off the ground.

What about descending? After all, gravity is now doing the work for you, right? And shouldn’t a heavy pack afford some benefit on downhill slopes?

The short answer is no. Of course, descending any slope is easier than going up it. Less work is required because we’re not actually lifting any weight. However, it’s not as easy as walking on level ground, because whatever amount of weight we’re carrying is trying to fall down the slope. We have to stop it from falling (decelerate it) with each step. The braking that we do with the leg muscles takes energy. The heavier the pack, the greater the energy required to decelerate it. In fact, when a downhill slope exceeds a pitch of about 6 degrees, then progressively more energy is required to descend the slope with each additional degree of downward incline.

So don’t think that descending three thousand feet with a heavy pack negates any of the energy cost of ascending three thousand feet with the same pack! The descent actually requires more energy than if we had climbed three thousand feet then walked the rest of the distance on level ground. That’s why we didn’t correct our estimate above for slope efficiency. It’s also the reason why we believe it’s misleading when planning a route to only consider net elevation gain.

Length of Stride, Pace, and Mileage

Please recall that even an inexperienced backpacker can instantaneously adapt his or her posture and gait and set off with a 60-pound pack by leaning forward to compensate for the effects of pack weight on the center of gravity. So what other adaptations should be considered?

When walking, a backpacker’s neuromuscular system automatically attempts to find the combination of stride length and firequency that requires the least amount of energy to continue moving forward. Given the combined effects of slope, surface traction and regularity, wind speed, and pack weight, that’s why we shorten our stride and slow our speed when we’re going uphill: It minimizes the energy required to take a step. Less obvious is why we shorten our stride and slow our speed when walking on a sandy or slippery surface. Not only does a shorter stride and slower speed give us more control over our balance, it allows us to minimize the amount of energy that is expended with each small slip of the foot.

We respond similarly with weight on our back. When we shorten our stride, we decrease the distance that we must lift the center of gravity with each step. To prove this to yourself, stand next to a wall. Step forward three feet in a single stride and hold still as soon as you plant your leading foot. Have a buddy make a pencil mark at eye level. Then return to your standing position. Now step forward two feet in a single stride and make another eye-level mark. The vertical distance between the two-foot mark and the three-foot mark is the amount of lifting you will avoid by shortening your stride length from three feet to two feet. Of course, in the field you won’t shorten your stride that much. The amount will vary according to other conditions. However, the energy savings per step will be proportional to the amount you shorten it.

“Wait a minute. If I shorten my stride, I’m going to have to take more steps to cover the same distance and I’ll end up expending the same amount of energy.” There is some truth to that presumption, but the automatic mechanism that controls stride length doesn’t factor in how far we’re going to walk, only how much energy will be required for us to take the next few steps. If we concentrate, we can override the automatic mechanism for a while. But sooner or later it will again be subconsciously controlled. Fighting this system of neuromuscular regulation will ultimately result in excess energy expenditure because of the physiological inefficiency that results in taking strides that are too short or too long.

Because stride length (distance per step) and pace (distance in a given time) are strongly related, the net result is that we slow down when carrying weight. The more weight we carry the slower we walk and the less distance we can cover in a day. If we’re planning just three miles on Friday and then camp for the rest of the weekend, this doesn’t matter. However, carrying more weight will appreciably shorten the distance we can expect to cover in a day if we plan to walk from dawn to dusk.

Conclusion

Is backpacking simply walking? While it does seem a simple activity, it is far more complex than most have given though to, especially when you encounter extremes of terrain, weather, and surface. Add to this pack weight and you have a body constantly seeking to restabilize and keep from falling. While earth and weather are still uncontrollable, what you wear and what you carry is fully within your power. Pack weight, clothing weight, and distribution play an immense role in just how far you can travel in a day.

End Notes

¹ If the load is not balanced from side to side, the center of gravity will move upward, to the rear, and to one side of its unloaded location, depending on which side of the pack is heavier. If the load can shift inside the pack or the pack is not firmly affixed to the back, each stride will result in the center of gravity moving up and down, backward and forward, and from side to side relative to its loaded and unmoving position. All of these conditions will make the act of walking more energy consuming.

² The compressive force on a bent knee is the force exerted by the kneecap trying to keep the joint from rupturing. This force is supplied by muscles contracting against the resistance of bones and is directed over the kneecap through tendons.

³ OK, so you’ve been listening and you get your pack weight down to 25 pounds. You are now considering giving up your 6-pound mountaineering boots for 2-pound trail runners. Still worried about that protruding ankle and all those nasty rocks? Wear a crew type sock and roll it down to form a partial cushion around the ankle joint. If the sock has a high percentage of moisture transporting fibers (e.g., merino wool), it will also make a reasonably effective sweat sump.

⁴ A foot-pound is a standard measure of work. One foot-pound of work is the amount of work it takes to lift a 1-pound weight one foot off the ground.

⁵ A hiker most efficiently ascends slopes with an incline that eliminates most of the two-inch descent of the center of gravity during each step. For the average backpacker, that incline will be approximately 8 percent slope (e.g., one that rises about two inches for every twenty-four inches traveled). Over a surface mile a continuous 8 percent slope amounts to an elevation gain of about 440 feet.

Chapter 4: Navigation
Lightweight Principles and Equipment

By George Cole

Perhaps nothing settles the issue of one’s relationship to the wilderness as clearly as getting lost in it. We may emerge from the experience unscathed, but no one comes back unchanged. And from that time forward we will either look toward the backcountry or away from it when seeking refuge. Of course, luck notwithstanding, the quality of the experience will depend in large part on our mental and physical preparation for it. The wise backcountry traveler will prepare him or herself accordingly.

However, unless we want to, there’s no need to ever come to the realization that we have absolutely no idea where we are. Several hundred dollars will buy a half pound of high-tech hardware that will allow us to walk almost anywhere on earth without getting lost. While there are veteran backpackers who swear by navigation arts that predate Western civilization, at this point in history we can choose whether to rely more on science and technology than art in finding our way. High-tech backcountry navigation will require a level of artistry on our part, but we’ll only have to learn to read the sun and stars if we have a mind to.

As you might expect, we’re defining navigation as the art and science of knowing where we are in relation to where we want to be. The science part has to do with choosing the right tools for the conditions we expect to encounter. The art comes in learning to use the tools in a variety of situations, and using our wits.

The Science: Choosing the Right Tools

There are two principles that guide our selection of navigational gear. The first is a basic, ultralight gear-selection principle: Carry only what you are likely to need. The second relates to the necessity of backing up high-tech and potentially fragile gadgets with more robust, low-tech ones. However, whatever level of technology we choose, we can still put together a system that qualifies as ultralight. There’s at least one top-of-the-line, ready-for-all-contingencies, fully redundant, high-tech system that is not much heavier than a basic low-tech system.

Start with a pre-trip analysis. First, note how familiar you are with the area you’ll be traveling in. Then, decide whether you’ll be traveling on or off trail. If going on trail, do a bit of research to find out if the trail is maintained and marked; and if marked, how well marked. Also, determine what the terrain will be like, the maximum elevation, and whether you’ll be doing lots of ups and downs. Knowing the region, season, and elevation, do more research to find out if you can expect fog, rain, snow, or sunlight, and if you’ll be spending a lot of time under dense tree cover or deep in canyons or gorges. Then determine whether water is within a day’s walk of any point in the area. Finally, decide how much night travel you’ll be doing.

Having assembled the above information, answer the following questions:

1. How likely is it that I will become lost?

2. What are the likely consequences of becoming lost?

Then you can decide what navigation gear to take.

There are two categories of gear that we consider. The first is gear for finding your location:

• Compass

• Altimeter

• GPS receiver

• Maps

• Mapping software

• Telescope

• Trail-tracking supplies (e.g., paper and writing implements)

• Trail, route, or area guides

The second is gear that controls the amount of light we’ll have for navigation:

• Lighting devices

• Sunglasses

• Sunshades

For example, if we’re going on the Appalachian Trail (AT) in summer, we know the trail will be well marked, well maintained, frequently used, and easy to follow, even in the heaviest fog or rain. If we stay on the trail, it is not likely that we will become lost. And if we do become lost, we’ll have ready access to water and shelter, should not be in constant danger of hypothermia, and will probably quickly encounter someone who can tell us where we are. Therefore, if we’re familiar with the section of trail we’ll be walking, we may take no navigation aids at all. If we don’t know the area, we’ll take a current map or trail guide and a wristband compass to keep us headed either southwest or northeast. We’ll also take sunglasses or a brimmed hat. If we’re going to walk only during the day, we’ll carry one or two single-bulb LED lights.

On the other hand, if we’re going into an unknown alpine wilderness area in winter, we’ll know that we may need almost constant help in finding our way, as there will be no trails to follow. We’ll also know that blizzard conditions could render us virtually blind, and the consequences of becoming lost could be irrevocably severe. Therefore, we’ll take the best waterproof, GPS-compatible, topographical maps we can find; waterproof writing paper and implements; and the highest quality barometric altimeter, magnetic compass, and GPS receiver we can afford. We will have prepared our maps with route and GPS waypoint markings, will have uploaded route and waypoint markings to the GPS receiver, and will have spare batteries on hand. We’ll also take snow-tested sunglasses or goggles and a headlamp that will allow us to navigate hands-firee at night or in whiteout conditions. We may even pack a telescope for good measure.

As indicated previously, however, this full-bore system doesn’t need to weigh all that much more than a basic AT system. A Suunto wristband compass and a good AT map or trail guide will weigh 2–4 ounces, and a couple of Photon Freedom LED lights will add another ounce.

Alternatively, a Garmin eTrex Vista GPS receiver weighs 5.5 ounces with lithium batteries, can be preloaded with Garmin MapSource topographical maps, and includes an electronic compass and barometric altimeter. A backup Brunton Eclipse GPS-compatible magnetic compass weighs 2 ounces, a Rite-in-the-Rain all-weather mini-notebook weighs 0.6 ounces, a Fisher Space pen weighs 0.5 ounces, and a belt pouch to carry it all weighs 1.5 ounces. A good winter-capable headlamp, such as the Princeton Tec EOS, may add another 4 ounces or so. And a Zeiss Mini-Quick monocular weighs less than 1 ounce. That’s a grand total of about 16 ounces, including spare lithium batteries for the Vista and a handful of waterproof Teslin synthetic maps custom-prepared and printed by National Geopgraphic’s TOPO! mapping software.

Even lighter alternatives are available. You can bring a smaller GPS unit (e.g., Garmin Gekko 301), altimeter watch/ compass (e.g., Suunto X6), and maps that all weigh less than 6 ounces. By using an integrated GPS altimeter/compass watch (e.g., Suunto X9) and a lightweight map with an Photon Freedom LED light, the total weight of your navigation gear can weigh less than 4 ounces.

The Art: Using the Tools

Learning to use the navigation gear is not something you leave until the night before the trip. Otherwise, as with first-aid gear you’re not familiar with, you’re better off leaving it at home. sing it incorrectly—or not at all—can get you into trouble. We’ve found it best to develop the art of backcountry navigation when you don’t need it, such as on walks around the neighborhood or weekend trips to well-known backpacking areas. Further, use your navigation gear as often as you can and in every situation you can. Some of the higher tech gadgets may take awhile to master and may have quirks that only become apparent in certain situations.

There is a wealth of information available on how to use any piece of gear you choose to carry. Whole books have been devoted to the subject of backcountry navigation, and there are now numerous websites that address virtually every aspect of navigating with any combination of tools. However, none of this information will be of much use until you make it work. So, set out to become a practical student of modern backcountry navigation—before you need to be. Here’s a plan for doing so, starting with the lowest tech arts you’ll need to master.

LEARN TO USE A TOPOGRAPHICAL MAP

Get a topographical map of an area you know well. If you can obtain a map of your neighborhood, start with that. Spend fifteen minutes looking carefully at the map and its associated legends, scales, and indicators. Refer to a reference on topographical maps if you encounter things that are not intuitively clear.

Then walk about the area with the map in hand, stopping every hundred yards or so to look around you. If you don’t have good sightlines where you stop, move to where you do. Locate where you think you are on the map, and orient the map so that it conforms to what you’re seeing. Then turn to each of the four major compass headings and, while keeping the map correctly oriented, note which features of the terrain correspond to which markings on the map. Try to acquire a sense of what the map really represents, especially as it relates to elevation and the contours of the terrain.

LEARN TO USE A MAGNETIC COMPASS

Purchase or borrow a magnetic compass. If you choose to purchase a compass, we’d recommend that you purchase a GPS-compatible one, as you’ll probably need the compatibility later. Refer to a reference on using a compass. It’s not rocket science, so almost any reference that’s intelligibly written will do.

After you have a basic understanding of how a compass works, take the compass with you on a walk around your neighborhood. Stop every hundred yards or so and determine what your heading is—the direction you’re facing relative to either magnetic or true north). Then pick a feature of the terrain and determine its bearing—what direction the feature is from the spot where you’re standing relative to magnetic or true north). Pay particular attention to how the compass behaves when you’re close to a magnetic object, such as a manhole cover.

Once you’re bored with walking around the neighborhood, go to a large open space. Put a quarter on the ground. Walk several hundred yards away from the quarter, making at least four turns on the way. Note on a piece of paper the exact direction you’re heading on each leg of your route and the number of steps you take in each leg. At the end of the route, reverse your direction. Use your notes and your compass to find your way back to the quarter. Practice in different spaces until you can find the quarter every time.

Then move to a wooded area. Up the ante by trying to find a dollar bill left under a stone. Use objects as landmarks to help you move in straight lines.

USE YOUR COMPASS AND TOPOGRAPHIC MAP IN ROUTE TRACKING

Obtain a topographical map of a nearby, contained wild area (10 to 25 square miles) that you don’t know well. If you can obtain a map of a nearby state park, start with that. Spend half an hour studying the map carefully. Knowing what season it is, imagine what the terrain will actually look like, and note features that you’d like to find. Pencil in a bushwhacking route on the map, being careful not to route yourself off a cliff.

Make a copy of the marked map. Indicate on the copy when you intend to return home, and leave it with someone you trust. Then, starting early in the day, go to the wild area with the map, a compass, water, and snacks. Make sure that the compass is corrected for declination. Starting in the parking lot, take bearings on all the major terrain features you can identify. Identify those features on the correctly oriented map, and do a rough estimate of your position. Using the map and the compass, determine where you are in relation to the beginning of your route and guide yourself to it.

Using the map and compass, follow your intended route. Take headings frequently. If you can see terrain features well enough to identify them, do the following exercises sequentially every hundred yards or so:

1. Take bearings on at least two terrain features you can see from your position, identify them on the map, and calculate where you are on your route (or off your route, as the case may be)

2. Get bearings on terrain features from the map (relative to your suspected position on the route), and try to locate them on the landscape. Correct your estimate of your actual position, and return to your route if necessary.

If you can’t see terrain features clearly, use your route-tracking skills in order to get to and from a position where you can see clearly. In addition to tracking the route, use the contour (elevation) lines on your map to establish if you should be going up, down, or traversing a slope.

ADD A BAROMETRIC ALTIMETER FOR ROUTE TRACKING

After you’ve survived and/or sufficiently recovered from the experience, go back out and do it again. However, this time, take a calibrated barometric altimeter. Use the altimeter and the contour lines on the map to add a third dimension to the two-dimensional information supplied by the compass.

USE YOUR GPS RECEIVER, BAROMETRIC ALTIMETER, AND
TOPOGRAPHIC MAP

The lightest backcountry GPS receivers that we’ve tested so far are the eTrex and Gekko models made by Garmin and the wrist-mounted X9 by Suunto. In particular, the Garmin eTrex Vista, eTrex Summit, Gekko 301, and the Suunto X9 are attractive because they incorporate a barometric altimeter and therefore satisfy another axiom of the ultralight creed: multi-functionality.

Two of the most popular - and effective - ultralight GPS units on the market. The Garmin Geko 301 (left)provides full GPS and environmental sensor functionality into a tiny package that weighs 3 oz with lithium batteries, while the Garmin Foretrex 101 (above)offers wrist-wearable convenience at less than 3 oz with lithium batteries when ready access to the GPS has the ability to increase your hiking efficiency.

Take plenty of time to learn about the UTM grid system and how your new receiver works. You probably won’t wait more than ten seconds to use it after you first take it out of the box, but if you spend some time with the user manual, you’ll discover it can do all sorts of interesting things.

If you can afford it, buy one of the major mapping software programs. Spend plenty of time learning how to use it by uploading routes and waypoints to the receiver and printing your own custom maps with it. Some programs allow you to duplicate the route and waypoint markings on the GPS with similarly marked paper maps. For the ultimate in weatherproof maps, use one of the synthetic map sheets as a substrate, most of which are ink-jet printer compatible.

Finally, get outside and use the receiver in conjunction with an altimeter, your custom maps, and your GPS-compatible compass. Based upon your experiences with map and compass alone, you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to find your way. In fact, it’s too easy. So never rely on a GPS by itself. Always take your compass. After all, you will have invested a lot of time in learning how to navigate with just a compass, and knowing how may save your life when you discover you forgot to pack extra batteries.

Conclusion

Navigation is the art and science of knowing where you are in relation to where you want to be. For the ultralighter, there are two principles to guide you: Choose the right tools for the conditions you expect to encounter, and only carry what you need. High-tech navigation may require a certain level of artistry, but remember to always back up high-tech, and potentially fragile, gadgets with your wits and reliable low-tech, tried-and-true systems.

Protectionfrom the Elements

Chapter 5

Thermoregulation

Chapter 6

Clothing Systems

Chapter 7

Sleep Systems

Chapter 8

Shelter

Chapter 5: Thermoregulation

By Ryan Jordan

The term thermoregulation refers to the regulation of body temperature. The literature on physiological thermoregulation and how clothing can affect it is already vast. If you’re interested in a comprehensive review of thermoregulation in an outdoor context, refer to the excellent Secrets of Warmth by Hal Weiss (The Mountaineers, 1992).

This article focuses primarily on specific classes of apparel, shelter, and sleep systems for cold, wet conditions. We’ll cover clothing systems for hot and dry weather elsewhere. Specifically, this chapter covers three major topics:

• Mechanisms of heat generation

• Mechanisms of heat loss

• The design of equipment to minimize heat loss

Mechanisms of Heat Generation

Even in cold conditions, heat generation can be a problem. Excess heat generation from vigorous activity can result in sweating that leads to rapid evaporative cooling and the eventual breakdown of the body’s thermoregulatory capacity. We’ll consider this problem later. For now, let’s assume that conservation of every bit of the body’s heat is a desirable condition and address the primary means by which the body gains heat in cold conditions.

METABOLISM

Your best source of heat is generated internally by your body’s metabolic engine. It is fueled by calories gained from the metabolism of food. When you reduce caloric intake, you can reduce your body’s ability to produce heat. In a recent alpine climb in Wyoming’s Teton Range, Alan Dixon and I spent 38 hours without sleep and with only enough calories for a 12-hour climb as we engaged in a difficult descent out of a summit snow-and-ice storm. By the end of the route, as we approached our car on a sun-warmed trail in 60-degree temperatures at the valley floor, we were still shivering—while wearing our PolarGuard 3D-insulated belay parkas. Our metabolic engines, which had been fueled by more than 300 calories per hour for the first twelve hours of the climb, had slowed to a crawl.

It’s a futile exercise to calculate the proper number of calories needed for a given level of exertion while simultaneously trying to account for environmental factors—such as temperature, wind, and precipitation. The National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) has devised elegant predictive models for caloric consumption that significantly overestimate the amount of food required for most individuals. This results in extra comfort but not necessarily extra safety. Consider that the 2–5 pounds of extra food recommended by NOLS could be better spent on warmer insulation or dropped from a pack altogether to reduce the energy expended to carry the extra weight. Such conservative predictions do not necessarily make sense from a safety standpoint.

It is well known via any of a variety of textbook formulas that the basal metabolism (minimum calories a body needs each day) of an average male of 150 pounds, 5´8˝ in height, and 30 years of age is approximately 1,600 to 1,800 calories—with an average level of active metabolism adding 400 to 800 additional calories. It can be assumed that a hiker carrying a light pack and who understands the processes of walking efficiently, regulating both their metabolism and activity level, should be able to hike several miles a day across moderate terrain and expend as little as 2500 to 3000 calories per day. One must keep in mind that caloric needs will increase in response to colder temperatures, higher altitudes, a faster hiking pace, more body mass, or a change in body mass to a higher muscle/fat ratio that occurs on a long-distance hike. However, most people make the mistake of overestimating these needs, especially on hikes of less than two weeks in length.

Lightweight backpackers wishing to reduce their food weight must learn to hike efficiently, carefully monitor their exertion rate, and maintain its constancy. Thus, they will be able to expend energy that takes maximum advantage of the body’s walking momentum, rather than expend excess energy to fuel rapid changes in momentum resulting from accelerating and decelerating the body.

Another approach is to design a balanced diet with a high caloric density, a subject that is addressed adequately in many other texts.

RADIATIVE HEAT ABSORPTION

Sunlight provides some ability to add heat to your body. You can easily notice this if you are wearing dark exterior clothing on a cold, sunny day. Due to weather variability, however, you can’t rely on the sun as a heat source in the backcountry.

ACTIVITY

Exercise creates heat. Increased use of muscles leads to increased metabolism. While some of the caloric burn is used to fuel muscles, much of it is wasted as excess heat, which is then lost through conduction, convection, radiation, respiration, or evaporation.

EXTERNAL HEAT

In the winter, you may want to consider artificial heat sources. Chemical hand and toe warmers are among the most popular gear items in the overnight kit of a backcountry skier, snowshoer, or mountaineer. Firebuilding, of course, is the classic example of external heat and remains a skill that has probably saved more individuals from hypothermic death than we care to acknowledge, especially in an outdoor culture that increasingly eschews the skill, art, and joy of firebuilding as part of a utopian no-trace ethic. Finally, it is well known that core treatments of hypothermia include warm drinks and shared body heat with another person.

Mechanisms of Heat Loss

In order to design appropriate clothing and sleep systems, we must first understand the primary mechanisms of heat loss.

CONDUCTION

Conduction is defined as the transfer of heat from a warmer object to a cooler object when the two objects are in direct contact with each other. Backpackers experience conductive heat loss anytime the body is in direct contact with cold ground. While hiking, the primary source of conductive heat loss is out of the feet via the soles of your footwear. While at rest, conductive heat loss occurs while sitting or lying on the cold ground. Conduction is also a major source of heat loss in wet clothing, due to water’s excellent conductive properties.

CONVECTION

Convective heat loss occurs in response to the movement of a fluid or gas. In outdoor clothing systems, convective heat loss occurs when warm air next to the body and in the clothing is displaced by cool air from the outside. The biggest factor contributing to convective heat loss, of course, is wind.

In addition to wind-induced, “forced” convection, “passive” convection occurs via the chimney effect: when cool, dense air moves into our clothing at pant cuffs and waist hems and replaces the warm, light air exiting out of our neck hems and other vents.

RADIATION

Radiative heat loss from the human body occurs primarily as a result of infrared emission. Often it occurs on cold, clear nights and is readily noticeable after sunset. Cloud cover dampens the effect of radiative heat loss by reflecting a significant portion of radiant heat back to the earth’s surface. A backpacker carrying a properly designed cold-weather clothing system will not experience a significant amount of radiative heat loss.

EVAPORATION

Evaporative heat loss is a desert hiker’s best friend and a winter traveler’s worst enemy. Evaporation occurs when a liquid (e.g., sweat) changes phase to a vapor. This phase change requires heat. Unfortunately, your body heat drives this phase change. Evaporative heat loss may be most noticeable in context of the “flash-off” effect, which occurs after a period of intense physical activity and sweating in cold conditions, followed by rapid evaporation and chill after stopping to rest.

Evaporative heat loss from perspiration can occur in one of two ways. Sensible perspiration is caused by the formation of liquid sweat droplets at the skin surface in response to excessive heat. This heat is usually the result of being dressed too warmly for a given activity level. Insensible perspiration is the direct emission of sweat vapor from the skin in response to a humidity gradient (e.g., your skin is drying out). Insensible perspiration is most significant while at rest or sleeping, while sensible perspiration is most significant during periods of activity.

RESPIRATION

Technically, respiration combines the processes of evaporation (moisture in the lungs) and convection (displacement of warm air in the lungs by cold air from the outside environment). Because humidity in the lungs is at 100 percent, respiration is an important heat sink in cold, dry conditions. Significant moisture, and thus, body heat, can be lost when that moist air is exchanged with drier outside air. In addition, some body heat is lost to the process of warming the cold air entering your lungs.

Minimizing Heat Loss with
Apparel and Equipment

By now you should have already thought of obvious ways to use your clothing and other equipment to minimize the various mechanisms of heat loss. We’ll explore some of the principles for preserving your body heat below.

MINIMZING CONDUCTIVE HEAT LOSS

Recall that conductive heat loss occurs when your body is in contact with the ground surface or other cold objects. These can include shoes, sleeping pads, ice axes or trekking poles, sunglasses or goggles, and even metal zippers, which have been known to induce frostbite on the chin of more than one winter mountaineer.

Minimizing conductive heat loss through the feet simply requires a barrier between your bare feet and the ground. This barrier will include socks, insoles, and the sole of your shoe or boot. Thick, minimally compressible socks made with a high-density wool, synthetic, or blend, combined with insoles made of closed-cell foam or loden (felted) wool provide good in-shoe protection. Shoes with thick midsoles and those with lugged soles minimize direct contact with the ground surface and provide the basis for good winter footwear. Of course, sole design to prevent conductive heat loss through the feet is only part of the story. Convective, evaporative, and to a lesser extent, radiative heat loss also occur in the feet.

To preserve heat while sleeping, an insulating ground pad is a must. Ground pads that entrap dead air by minimizing passive convection within the pad are typically the most effective. Consequently, one usually sleeps warmer but not as cushioned on a closed-cell pad, than on an inflatable pad. This is because significant passive convection can occur through the inflatable pad’s open-cell foam insulation. To minimize pad weight while still maintaining comfort, consider combining a torso-sized, closed-cell (or inflatable) foam pad for the main part of your body with a backpack for the lower legs. Rest the head and neck on shoes or clothing to prevent conductive heat loss in those areas.

Conductive heat loss can be minimized by sitting on your sleeping pad or backpack. You will also lose less heat when sitting and sleeping on forest duff than on rock, gravel, or snow, due to the higher thermal conductivity of rock (and frozen water) than organic materials. Here, the author is sitting on a closed-eell foam sleeping pad to prevent unnecessary loss of body heat to snow, and nsulating his stove system on a heat-tolerant plastic snow shovel (“Snowclaw” type).

Conductive heat loss through the hands is well known among backcountry skiers and climbers. This occurs when the blood vessels in the hand constrict while gripping an already cold tool or pole. In general, the best prevention against this type of heat loss is the use of minimally compressible insulation in the palms of your gloves or mitts. Some manufacturers have recognized the need for this and are offering handwear that is insulated with easily compressible insulation for the back of the hand (to minimize weight and maximize warmth) and with minimally compressible insulation (e.g., fleece) for the palm side.

MINIMIZING CONVECTIVE HEAT LOSS

Convective heat loss occurs in response to wind (active convection) and the chimney effect of air movement in clothing (passive convection). Windproof clothing worn over insulating clothing capable of trapping dead air in its thickness provides reasonable insurance against convective heat loss. The value of a very thin windshirt for outdoor activities cannot be emphasized enough. The windshirt should be highly breathable to minimize overheating and speed moisture vapor movement out of the clothing system, and very thin so as not to contribute significantly to the insulation of a clothing system. Insulation weight is most efficiently spent in other areas.

Convective heat loss occurs most prominently in the presence of wind. Consequently, a wind-resistant jacket is commonplace in the kits of alpine hikers. Passive convection (the “chimney” effect) can be better controlled in a garment that includes plenty of ventilation options, including adjustable wrist cuffs and hem, torso vents, a full-front zipper, pit zips, and a hood. This plethora of features can be found in lightweight garments like the Feathered Friends’ EPIC Jackorak (8.6 oz, size M) or Montane Lite Speed Jacket (shown here, 5.2 oz, size L).

Clothing should be evaluated for its ability to control, rather than just prevent or minimize, passive convection. Clothing with adjustable cuffs and hems that can be fully opened or fully closed provides the most versatility. Tighten the cuffs and hems to preserve heat, and loosen them up to vent heat and cool down.

In a sleep system, you can minimize active convective heat loss due to wind by using a bivy sack, pitching a low tarp, or sleeping in a completely walled shelter (e.g., a pyramid shelter staked to the ground or a tent). Passive convection in a shelter is usually desirable. Many are designed with strategically placed low and high vents to promote the chimney effect, which minimizes accumulation of humid air in the shelter to reduce condensation.

MINIMIZING EVAPORATIVE HEAT LOSS

Vapor-barrier clothing is the only sure way to prevent evaporative heat loss. Vapor-barrier fabrics are not only waterproof, but completely impermeable to moisture vapor as well. Consequently, evaporative heat loss cannot occur, because the microclimate inside the vapor barrier is a closed system that approaches equilibrium between water and vapor phases. Vapor-barrier clothing requires a high level of attentiveness to your body’s physiology and firequent fine-tuning of your clothing system to prevent sweating. Thus, it is not very popular among mainstream outdoorsmen. Accumulation of liquid moisture in a vapor-barrier microclimate creates a new and significant method of heat loss: conductive cooling as heat loss to water in the system. Because of this, vapor-barrier clothing tends to be wholly impractical for high-exertion activities.

MINIMIZING RADIATIVE HEAT LOSS

In inclement conditions, some assume radiative heat loss to be negligible relative to other heat-loss mechanisms (e.g., wind-induced convective heat loss and evaporative cooling). In windless conditions when the body is not active, it can be significant—especially at night. Radiative heat loss can be minimized by one of two methods. The first is by wearing a reflective barrier (such as aluminized nylon or Mylar) near the skin capable of reflecting infrared radiation back to the body. The second is by wearing thick clothing (e.g., down or high-loft synthetic fill garments). The latter strategy is effective because infrared radiation cannot travel through thick insulation, and thus, most of the infrared radiation lost by the body can remain entrapped in the clothing system rather than exiting out to the environment.

Radiative heat loss is most significant between sunset and sunrise, when the atmosphere loses tremendous amounts of heat that was absorbed by sunlight throughout the day. The best defense against radiative heat loss is thick insulation, like this Rab Quantum Endurance Down Jacket (22 oz, size M).

MINIMZING RESPRATORY HEAT LOSS

Respiratory heat loss can be significant in cold, dry conditions. And not breathing is an impractical heat conservation strategy. In theory, respiratory heat loss can be minimized by breathing air that has been pre-warmed and/or pre-humidified prior to taking it into the lungs. High-altitude climbers and Arctic travelers know that breathing through a fleece balaclava or face mask can improve respiratory comfort by increasing the humidity and warmth of air entering the lungs. Some innovative “heat exchange face masks” specifically designed to magnify this effect are now appearing on the market.

WARM WHEN WET?

This chapter would not be complete without addressing a common marketing claim prevalent among manufacturers of synthetic insulation: “warm when wet.” The presence of liquid moisture in any insulating material results in

1. More rapid conduction of heat from the body than in a dry material

2. Displacement of air volume normally used to house effective insulation (dead air)

3. Evaporative cooling that results from the use of body heat to induce a phase change from liquid to vapor

In addition, the absorption of liquid moisture into a knit, woven, or high-loft insulation causes fiber structure to collapse, decreasing the insulation resiliency. This reduces the thickness of the insulation further and magnifies the effects listed above.

While there are both natural and synthetic fibers more resistant to fiber-structure collapse induced by liquid moisture, there is no fiber in existence, be it natural or manmade, that can fairly make the claim that it is warm when wet.

The Impact on Lightweight Backpacking

The most important impact of thermoregulation on lightweight backpacking is rooted in the skill of the hiker. Hikers who understand thermoregulation, the body’s response to metabolic and environmental stress, and the response of apparel and sleep systems to moisture and heat resulting from physiological activity and environmental conditions, can effectively and safely reduce their clothing and sleep system weight in the backcountry. On the other hand, failure to understand the complicated relationship between thermoregulation, physiology, environmental conditions, and equipment can result in a failure of the hiker’s body, the hiker’s gear, or both. This can lead to hypothermia and death. You must understand that as you reduce the weight of gear that keeps you warm and dry, you must also accept some reduction in safety margin.

Chapter 6: Clothing Systems

By Alan Dixon and Ryan Jordan

More backpackers agonize over what clothing to take on a trip than probably any piece of gear. The agony is justified. If your clothing system works, you’ll be warm, dry, happy, at peak mental and physical performance, and most importantly, safe. However, if it fails, you may be cold, wet, and miserable, reducing your physical capability and mental acuity. At worst, improper clothing decisions can leave you hypothermic and in a life-threatening situation. To stay warm and dry with light clothing requires careful attention to each piece and how all of your garments will work together and with your sleeping gear and shelter.

Saving Weight

Most backpackers take too much clothing. You don’t need five, six, or seven torso layers to stay warm in the backcountry, even in the winter. Consequently, the most fundamental lightweight backpacking principle related to clothing is: Take fewer garments. Most ultralight backpackers agree that it makes little sense to carry more clothing than you can wear at any given time.

Taking fewer layers also means selecting individual pieces that offer great versatility. For example, a waterproof-breathable shell with excellent ventilation may serve well as both a rain jacket and a windshirt. Likewise, a high-loft (e.g., down or Polarguard) insulating garment not only keeps you warm in camp, but you can wear it to bed and possibly get away with a lighter sleeping bag.

The second fundamental principle of selecting lightweight backpacking clothing is: Select lighter clothing with fewer features. Do you really need handwarmer pockets and zip-up collars on every torso layer? Will an 8-ounce rain jacket serve well enough for summer backpacking, instead of the 24-ounce parka you used to climb Mount Rainier? View each piece of clothing as part of a larger system. Then step back to take a look at the functionality of the system. You’ll be able to discern which features are important and which features aren’t so you can start shaving weight.

Often there will be a lighter garment that performs as well or better than what you are currently carrying. There are a lot of apparel options in the specialty outdoor industry, with new entries to the market appearing every spring and fall. Research the market thoroughly, and don’t necessarily rely on your local outfitter to advise you on what clothing is the lightest available for your needs. Your efforts will pay off.

HIDDEN WEIGHT IN CLOTHING SYSTEMS

Alan recently compared his gear lists from two nearly identical backpacking trips taken before and after his conversion to ultralight backpacking. Expecting the dramatic differences in the weights of the backpack, shelter, and sleeping bag, Alan was most surprised at the differences in weight of his clothing system—more than 6 pounds. On the late-season ultralight trip, which was a visit above 10,000 feet in the Sierras with subfreezing nighttime temperatures, Alan was never cold or uncomfortable using his newer, lighter clothing system. The keys to lightening his load were including fewer garments and taking the lightest in the class.

Table 6.1 illustrates how much weight can be saved by invoking these key principles to develop a lighter clothing system:

Before taking the plunge and throwing out all of your clothing, exercise some caution. As you decrease the amount of clothing you bring, you need to be smarter about how and when to use it. Understand the limitations of lighter clothing (less durable, not as water resistant, etc.), and realize that you may be creating less margin for error if you aren’t carrying spare dry clothing to change into when a severe storm leaves you wet and cold. The smart backpacker will test lighter clothing systems on shorter trips with backup clothing and a realistic bailout scenario before committing a new ultralight system to more serious inclement weather conditions in a remote environment.

Basics of Clothing Integration

Garments layered over each other in different combinations give a hiker the ability to adapt to a variety of environmental conditions. Clothing can be used to manage heat (from both the body and the outside environment), cold, and moisture (from both perspiration and precipitation). The ultralight backpacker understands that only a few pounds of clothing, judiciously selected, can be used to survive not only the blazing heat of the desert, but also the freak torrential downpours of a summer thunderstorm and the cold snow of early fall.

It’s important to keep in mind that a May hike in the slot canyons of southern Utah requires a different clothing system than a January ski backpacking tour in the Canadian Rockies. But the system concept remains essentially the same. A versatile layering system usually includes three basic components:

• Next-to-skin base layer

• Insulating garment

• Wind/precipitation shell garment

The Base Layer

The base layer, commonly known as “long underwear,” is typically worn next to your skin. Its primary function is to manage the next-to-skin temperature and moisture microclimate. It is typically the most important piece of clothing with respect to managing your body’s internal temperature while active (thermoregulation).

BASE LAYER WEIGHT

Many flavors of base layers exist. Manufacturers in the outdoor industry have generally come to a consensus about base-layer nomenclature, with different weights of garment fabrics for different conditions. The most popular weights include silkweight (summer), lightweight (two-season), midweight (three-season), and expedition weight (winter). However, such naming conventions have done more to confuse backcountry travelers than to help them, luring them into thinking they need base layers that are heavier than necessary for a given set of conditions.

In general, we have little utility for base layers other than the absolute lightest and thinnest we can find. Midweight or expedition-weight knitted garments should never be worn next to skin, especially in the winter. When you sweat or get wet from precipitation, they absorb copious amounts of water and take a very long time to dry. They can sap significant quantities of body heat while evaporating that moisture. In colder conditions, two ultralight base-layer garments will typically be warmer. They trap warm air between the layers, dry faster, manage moisture better, and offer more versatility in a wider range of temperatures. It’s no accident that the most respected mountaineering guides on the earth’s coldest mountains encourage their clients to layer several light layers next to skin, rather than wearing expedition-weight base layers as the first layer.

BASE LAYER FABRICS

The three dominant fabrics used in base-layer garments are polypropylene (e.g., Lifa), polyester (e.g., Capilene, Cool-max), and merino wool (e.g., Smartwool).

Polypropylene is the oldest of the synthetics and is still the lightest base-layer fiber available. Polyester has replaced polypropylene as the de facto standard material because of the ease at which its surface can be modified through chemical treatment to promote varying degrees of wicking. In addition, polyester is not as heat sensitive as polypropylene, and it can be successfully laundered by careless backpackers who have better things to do than read fabric care labels.

Prior to the development of next-to-skin synthetic fabrics, wool was the standard for many years but earned a reputation for itchiness. When polypropylene was introduced in the 1970s, hordes of backcountry enthusiasts embraced the synthetic and filed their woolies into basement closets. However, advances in sheep engineering—that is, genetic engineering—wool fiber processing, and wool knitting have resulted in the resurgence of merino wool base-layer garments. The US manufacturer Smartwool has established its brand and reputation on this fabric.

Merino wool and superfine merino, a merino wool with a fiber diameter less than 18 microns, are now offered as base layers by most major long-underwear manufacturers. There are two distinct advantages over wool base layers from a generation ago: Its fine diameter does not induce itching (for the vast majority of the population, at least), and it manages moisture far better than its thick-fibered great uncle.

But the primary advantage of merino wool is its ability to absorb water molecules into its protein structure—a covalent chemical reaction that is capable of storing and releasing heat. Consequently, merino wool is the poster child for thermo-regulation and is well known for its ability to “keep you cool when it’s warm, and warm when it’s cool.” Manufacturers of synthetic fibers have been trying to replicate this unique property of wool for decades. They are still falling short.

Nonetheless, synthetics have some advantages over wool. They absorb less water per weight than wool, so they dry out faster. Advocates of merino wool claim that wool absorbs moisture into its fiber structure, so it leaves you “feeling” drier than the non-absorbent synthetics, well known for feeling “clammy” or “sticky” when you are sweating. In addition, synthetics are still a bit lighter than merino wool, although the gap is closing as advances in wool processing and knitting technologies move forward.

Perhaps one of the more noticeable differences between merino wool and synthetics is that synthetics are famous for their ability to stink to high heaven after a few hard trail days. Merino wool seems to manage body odor far better. It remains the base layer standard for Arctic explorers who may wear the same shirt for weeks at a time.

Silk has also been used for ultralight base layer garments. Like wool, silk is a natural fiber that offers some temperature regulating potential due to its ability to absorb water molecules into its protein structure. However, unlike wool, which retains its crimped fiber structure when wet, silk fibers collapse more easily as water absorbs into them. Water displaces air in the fabric interstices and effectively eliminates any insulating ability. Like cotton, wet silk can take a long time to dry and can rapidly conduct heat away from the body. Silk garments are most appropriate for midsummer backpacking in moderate and warm climates.

In the backpacking world, polypropylene remains the king of ultralight base layer fibers. A pair of ultralight polypropylene tights is available from the Early Winters Company, and weighs a scant 1.5 ounces in a Men’s size medium.

BIDIRECTIONAL WICKING FABRICS

Bidirectional wicking is the process by which water moves through a fabric along a capillary gradient driven from large pores (low fiber density) to small pores (high fiber density). Some manufacturers make garments with bidirectional fabrics that are designed to promote moisture movement away from the skin and into the outside environment. Examples include Patagonia R0.5 and R1 fleece and Paramo Parameta S. Because less fiber ends are in contact with your skin in a bidirectional fabric, many users perceive them to be more comfortable. Their primary advantage is the ability to promote wicking of moisture off the skin and dispersion of that moisture to the outside face of the fabric, where it can more rapidly evaporate.

BICOMPONENT TEXTILE CONSTRUCTIONS

A bicomponent fabric consists of two fabric layers having different physical properties. The classic example of a bicomponent construction is the Pertex-and-pile garments on which Buffalo Clothing Systems of the UK has built its reputation. As is the case of the Buffalo O3 Shirt, an inside face of polyester fishnet is mated with Pertex Quantum, a tightly woven microfiber nylon, to create a single garment that can be worn next to skin but provides functional wind and water resistance. Similar two-layer bicomponent constructions are available from Patagonia’s Zephur and Stretch Speed Ascent Jackets, Marmot’s Driclime Windshirt, and Rab Carrington’s V-Trail Top. The primary benefit of these garments is their versatility in cool conditions. A single layer can be used to provide next-to-skin wicking performance, insulating ability and wind and water resistance. The nature of their construction — open weave or knitted inner faces with tightly woven outer faces—means that these garments also possess bidirectional wicking properties.

Perseverance Mills of the UK has developed an innovative fabric that has both bidirectional and bicomponent properties woven into a single fabric layer: Pertex Equilibrium. Used in hiking clothing and wind jackets, Pertex Equilibrium is manufactured with large-diameter yarns in a more open weave on the inner face, and fine diameter yarns with a tighter weave on the outer face. We’ve been testing the fabric in hiking pants and wind jackets for about a year and are pleased with the results. Pertex Equilibrium has proven itself to be exceptionally comfortable next to the skin. It offers excellent breathability at high exertion levels and manages mild to moderately inclement wind, rain, and snow very well.

Hiking Clothing

Your selection of hiking clothing will be dictated primarily by personal preference and style, and secondarily by the climate at the geographical location where you are hiking. This combination will govern whether you hike in short sleeves or long sleeves and shorts or long pants. Any of these garments can be made with lightweight woven fabrics (nylon or polyester), soft shell fabrics (e.g., stretchwoven nylon), or knit fabrics (synthetic or wool). Because of the plethora of styles and fabrics that are available, we cannot hope to treat them all in this short chapter. Therefore, we will instead focus on one particular system of clothing that offers significant weight advantages when taken into consideration with your entire system of clothing, sleep, and shelter systems.

HIKING SHIRT

We like hiking in our base-layer shirt. Most commonly, this is a long-sleeve, fitted (but not tight), lightweight merino wool knitted crew.

The advantages of merino wool have already been clarified, but the most important reasons for using a merino wool crew as a hiking shirt are that

1. It plays a key role in your body’s thermoregulation, so it keeps you cool when it’s warm and warm when it’s cool

2. You are wearing your base layer instead of carrying it, saving weight in your pack

3. It adds simplicity to your layering system. As it gets cooler, you are already wearing your base layer. There is no need to take off a hiking shirt and replace it with your base layer, which is the normal limitation of conventional summer layering systems.

The primary concerns hikers have about wearing a merino wool base layer are overheating and the lack of mosquito protection. We’ve found the lightest merino wool shirts on the market (e.g., Smartwool’s Microweight and Lightweight series) to be remarkably comfortable in warm conditions, even as high as 80 degrees. At higher temperatures, most hikers will opt for thinner shirts that entrap less insulating air, including two-layer Supplex nylon (e.g., Railriders Eco-Mesh shirt) and silkweight polyester (e.g., Patagaonia Silkweight Capilene). Other options for very warm temperatures include open mesh, or fishnet, fabric constructions, such as those manufactured by Brynje in Norway (polypropylene). The additional advantage of fishnet fabrics is that they can be easily extended for cool weather. When worn as a base layer under other layers, the interstices of the fishnet construction entrap warm air pockets.

The concern over lack of mosquito protection afforded by knitted garments, such as a merino wool base layer, is justified and is the primary motivation for wearing tightly woven garments made from fabrics such as two-layer Supplex nylon. However, merino wool base layers can be used successfully in mosquito-rich areas simply by treating the base layer with Permithrin, a very effective insecticide appropriate for next-to-skin clothing use. In areas where mosquitoes are severe, an ultralight, highly breathable windshirt (e.g., Montane Aero Smock or Rab Quantum Top) can be used over the base layer to ward off the little buggers.

HIKING PANTS

For virtually all conditions, we recommend wearing hiking pants. The advantages of pants over shorts are numerous. Pants protect your legs from poison plants, biting insects, the harmful UV rays of direct sunlight, and abrasion from rocks and brush. Pants also offer more versatility, as they may provide enough protection from light rain, wind, and cooler temperatures, when many shorts aficionados will be scrambling to don a second layer. Finally, pants offer the appropriate modesty when you get off the trail and visit town for resupply on a long-distance walk. The exception to this general rule of thumb is on shaded trails where the exposure of bare skin to direct sunlight is not so severe and where skin contact hazards such as biting insects or poison plants is minimal.

Pacific Northwest mountaineers are famous for the “Cascade Hiking and Climbing Uniform,” which consists of a pair of base-layer bottoms under light nylon shorts. Fashion consciousness aside, this system offers the advantages of being able to wear your base layer as part of your hiking apparel, saving weight in your pack. However, most base layer bottoms are knitted pieces that are not durable enough to withstand much abrasion. Consequently, many hikers are moving to more robust fabrics in their hiking pants, with Supplex nylon and various lightweight stretch woven nylon fabrics leading the charge.

Two of the most interesting new hiking pant fabrics to hit the market are Cloudveil Inertia, the lightweight stretch woven fabric used in their Rodeo (12 oz) and Prospector (10 oz) pants, and Pertex Equilibrium, licensed for use to a number of manufacturers. Inertia is a bidirectional fabric with a tightly woven outer shell and a brushed inner face for next-to-skin comfort and good wicking properties. More important, it offers some stretch, making it a supremely comfortable pant for more active hikers and climbers who need more mobility from their clothing without a baggy fit. Pertex Equilibrium, which appears in the GoLite Synergy Pant (10 oz), is a bicomponent, bidirectional fabric that also offers excellent next-to-skin comfort with slightly better weather resistance, and slightly less wicking, than Inertia.

Both fabrics offer significant performance gains over the de facto standard in hiking pant fabric: two-layer Supplex nylon used in most “cargo-style” hiking pants from Railriders, REI, Columbia, and others. Supplex pants cling to your skin uncomfortably when wet, and their lack of a textured inner surface can make them abrasive when worn next to skin. Inertia and Equilibrium are more weather resistant and more insulative than Supplex, while retaining breathability that is on par with Supplex.

For most summertime hiking in temperate climates like the Continental US, most ultralight hikers who wear pants will pack only one extra layer for their legs—either rain pants (using their hiking pants as a base layer) or a knitted base layer (using their hiking pants as a shell layer). The former strategy is most appropriate for wetter climates like the Pacific Northwest, while the latter strategy is ideally suited for drier climates, like the northern Rockies.

HEADWEAR

Hats protect you from the sun and rain, and depending on design, may provide some protection from biting insects. For general use and sun protection, select a light nylon hat with a wide brim to shade the eyes and face. Many backpacking hats also have a drop skirt to give almost complete sun protection to face and neck. A high-collared shirt combined with a hat that provides plenty of shade may eliminate the need for sunscreen for your face and neck. Lightweight nylon hats that provide plenty of shade usually don’t weigh more than 3 ounces.

Even if it’s not made with waterproof fabric, a nylon hat coated with a DWR finish can shed a reasonable amount of rain and snow. Some hikers like a broad-brimmed hat (e.g. Tilley or Seattle Sombrero) used with hoodless rain jacket, preferring the freedom in vision and hearing relative to wearing a jacket with a hood. For long periods of driving rain in cold weather, most hikers will find that only a good rain jacket hood will keep your head warm and dry. Unfortunately, many jacket hoods have short, flimsy brims that do not provide adequate protection for the face. This is especially true if you wear glasses. A hat with a good bill is great to wear with a deficient hood. It will keep the hood off your face and rain out of your eyes.

Some hikers think that a balaclava is one item that should never be left behind, whether for a basic day hike or a multiday winter trip. Balaclavas perform many of the functions of a hat but also insulate your head and neck, and provide better wind protection—at the expense of overheating in the neck area.

The human body loses a disproportionate amount of heat out of the head and neck because of the close proximity of the major arteries and veins near the skin surface and because of the relatively high surface-area-to-volume ratio of the head and neck. In addition, since many hikers don’t like the confining nature and inhibited breathability/ventilation caused by wearing a shell hood, a balaclava provides some wind protection for this part of the body without requiring you to don a fully windproof shell. This makes a balaclava useful for regulating your body temperature quickly and easily while hiking. You can take it off and stuff it in a pocket for hiking uphill, and pull it out while at rest or traversing a windy ridge.

Thin, base-layer balaclavas that weigh 1–2 ounces provide far more versatility than thicker fleece balaclavas. They are more breathable and can be used in a wider range of conditions. A thin balaclava provides enough temperature regulation to prevent taking it on and off as frequently as a fleece balaclava.

The standard hat (often called a “watch cap”) usually weighs 1–2 ounces, is made of fleece or merino wool, and provides plenty of head insulation for mild summer conditions. Its simplicity, low pack volume, and usefulness in regulating temperature make it an essential component of most ultralight hiking kits. The primary disadvantage of thin poly and merino watch caps is their lack of loft—usually less than 0.2 inches.

A relatively new product to hit the US market, the PossumDown Beanie Hat, blends merino wool with high-loft Australian possum fibers to achieve a very warm hat that weighs only 1.4 ounces. Other high-loft watch caps are typically made of 300 weight fleece and weigh 2–3 ounces.

Combining a thin balaclava with a high-loft, low-weight watch cap offers more versatility for three-season hiking than a single, heavier “bomber cap” or fleece balaclava more sensitive to overheating. When wet, the fleece dries slower than the two lighter layers, which can be separated to dry more quickly.

For very cold weather, breathing through a face mask keeps humidity near your mouth high. That can help reduce evaporative heat loss during respiration and reduce the heat loss associated with rewarming inhaled cold air. A face mask works both by warming the air you breathe, by storing heat released during exhalation, and by increasing the moisture of the air you breathe by minimizing moisture lost during exhalation.

GLOVES

“Always carry spare gloves,” goes the mantra of the mountaineer, one that has unfortunately instilled fear into anyone who picks up a backpack for any kind of journey. “Gloves are easily dropped, blown off windy ridges, mislaid in a pack, and otherwise lost.”

The reality for the backpacker is quite different: If you lose your gloves, grin and bear it. Just put your hands in your pockets or withdraw them into your jacket sleeves. For colder conditions, get creative. More than one mountaineer who has lost their gloves has worn their spare socks on their hands and used stuff sacks for mitten shells.

Gloves are an incredibly useful piece of equipment. Their primary functions are to keep your hands warm and to protect them from the numbing effects of wind chill, especially in wet conditions. In the winter, gloves are absolutely essential for preventing frostbite. In the winter, or in the high mountains of Alaska, the Andes, or the Himalaya, carrying a spare pare of gloves makes perfect sense. You want to keep your digits.

But for most situations that backpackers face in temperate climates, especially during the summer months, gloves are primarily a comfort item. As the temperature approaches 45°F and lower, wearing gloves prevents your fingers from going numb and greatly improves your dexterity for performing camp chores and handling navigation equipment on the trail. Gloves are by no means required to keep your hands warm, but they do make life easier.

Perhaps the most versatile handwear you can include in your backpacking kit is a pair of lightweight, breathable fleece or wool gloves. Fleece offers more loft than merino wool, but fleece and high-loft ragg wool gloves weigh 3 ounces or more per pair. Like the unique PossumDown Beanie Hat, the PossumDown Gloves provide more loft than 100 percent merino and weigh less (1.2 oz, size M) than many base-layer, synthetic liner gloves from other manufacturers. A pair of lightweight gloves provides plenty of hand protection for most summer trips.

In windier climates, some hikers like windproof fleece gloves. However, windproof fleece at its lightest weights is not particularly warm and is typically slow to dry because of inhibited breathability through the windproof membrane. In addition, construction methods for windproof fleece include bulky interior seams that can be uncomfortable while hiking with trekking poles or ice axes. One of the more comfortable, and lighter, products on the market is the now discontinued Outdoor Research Windstopper Tech glove (2.2 oz, size M), which offers a polyurethane-patterned palm that improves durability and friction when handling tools or poles.

In general, two-layer glove systems work well enough. Many ultralight backpackers also pack a very light pair of waterproof shell mitts for rain and wind protection. A homemade pair can be made using silicone coated nylon, at a weight of less than half an ounce. For a more robust and comfortable system, the Outdoor Research Rain Mitts and Lobster Claw Rain Mitts (1.5 oz, size L) provided waterproof-breathable protection in a very compact package. They’ve since been replaced by a heavier, more durable mitt shell that weigh twice as much.

Gone are the days where three-season, lightweight backpackers carry the old standard of liner gloves, windproof gloves, and gauntlet style shell mitts. For the ultralight fringe, simply withdrawing your hands into your poncho or rain jacket sleeves can provide enough protection to allow you to forgo the use of rain mitts. Simply using a pair of high-loft fleece or possum-wool gloves often provides plenty of warmth while hiking, even when your gloves are very wet.

Mittens may be your only option to stay warm if the weather goes wintry or you have hands that run cold. Gloved hands provide substantial surface area for heat loss relative to mittened hands. In addition, fingers in a mitten can share (conserve) body heat, where fingers in a glove are essentially isolated and insulated from each other. It follows that a pair of 3-ounce mittens can be far warmer than a pair of 3-ounce gloves. For maximum warmth/weight ratio, a pair of lightweight fleece mittens may be all you need if you value finger warmth over dexterity.

Fingerless gloves are a way to provide warmth and dexterity. They are great when you need to do things like tie a knot in fishing line or operate a stove. A pair of windproof fleece fingerless gloves can weigh as little as 2 ounces. Combined with thin liner gloves for colder conditions and/or a pair of lightweight mitt shells, fingerless gloves are the core item in many hikers’ handwear systems.

Mitts and gloves insulated with high-loft insulation, such as thick fleece, goose down, Primaloft, or Polarguard, are typically useful only for winter conditions. Even so, most models are still too heavy to consider in the context of lightweight backpacking. Notable exceptions are the Integral Designs Down Mitts (4 oz, size M) and the RBH Designs Ultralight Vapor Mitts (6.5 oz, size M). The Down Mitts provide excellent insulation at rest stops or in camp, while the Ultralight Vapor Mitts (vapor barrier, fleece lined), with their leather palm, long gauntlet, and waterproof silnylon shell, are more suitable for active conditions in severely cold or inclement weather.

Wind and Rain Protection

People have strong feelings about staying warm, dry, and comfortable in inclement weather — and for good reason. The ideal shell fabric for inclement conditions has the following properties:

• Waterproof enough to withstand a Tasmanian rain

• Windproof enough for the Dakota Badlands

• Breathable enough so you didn’t sweat while climbing north out of Bly Gap

• Durable enough for slide alder bushwacking

• Compressible enough to fit into a water bottle pocket—with your water bottle

• Fashionable enough to make you look like a million bucks on a gray and rainy day

• Light enough not to aggravate you because it sat in the bottom of your pack for the length of your 10-day trek during a freak drought period.

The ideal shell does not exist. Manufacturers of shell garments almost offer as much unsubstantiated marketing hype about the performance of their shell garments as the manufacturers of backpacks.

Ultimately, you’ll need to select a shell that performs well in areas that are important to you and hope that it does a reasonable job in other areas. Because of the multitude of shell garments that are on the market, we can’t hope to discuss even a fraction of them here. Nor can this text hope to provide information about technical fabrics that won’t be out of date next season. We’ll simply discuss the overall features of shell categories, provide examples of exceptional products in those categories, and arm the reader with as much information as possible to allow them to make a reasonably informed decision.

CLASSES OF SHELL FABRICS AND GARMENTS

Highly breathable, wind-resistant, microfiber windshirts

The following fabrics fall into the class of garments commonly referred to as “windshirts.”

• Ultralight, 1.1-ounce ripstop nylon—used in the Wild Things Windshirt and one of the favorite fabrics of the make-your-own-gear community

• Pertex Quantum—used in the Montane Aero Smock and Rab Quantum Top

• Pertex Microlight—Montane Featherlite Smock and Montane Light Speed Jacket

• Microfiber polyesters — GoLite Bark and Marmot Chinook

Windshirts typically weigh 3.5 to 6.0 ounces, with lighter models offered as pullover styles without hoods. These windshirts are made with fabrics that weigh as little as 0.9 ounces/yd², and compress to a volume smaller than a typical mug of coffee. A common feature is that they offer more breathability, faster drying time, lighter weight, and more compressibility than virtually any other garment on the market. Their primary performance advantage is realized when they are worn over a single base-layer shirt. The windshirt adds surprising warmth, wind protection, light rain and snow protection, and a barrier against biting insects.

Moderately breathable, water-resistant, coated nylon “shower shells”

A new class of windshirt fabrics has emerged in the past few years. These are typically woven nylon fabrics with a light acrylic (e.g., GoLite Helios) or polyurethane (e.g., Ibex Bug Wing) coating. Such fabrics are more water resistant than microfiber, so they are marketed primarily to the running and day-hiking community. If you get caught in a squall, they offer enough rain protection to get you back to the trailhead reasonably dry.

For the backpacker, they are useful when combined with a poncho: Wear the shower shell for light to medium rain, donning the poncho only for more severe storms. Because of their limited breathability relative to fabrics like Pertex Quantum or 1.1-ounce nylon, they are less suitable for high-exertion activities, such as vertical climbing and rigorous uphill hiking, or for use in warmer conditions. Their key advantage is the added water resistance. Like their more breathable cousins, shower-shell fabrics are also very light in weight and highly compressible. Hooded, full-zip jackets typically weigh 4.0-5.5 ounces.

Low-water absorption, fiber-encapsulated fabrics

Low-water absorption fabrics were popularized by Nextec’s EPIC technology, which encapsulates individual fibers with a very thin silicone-based coating that minimizes the absorption of water into the finished fabric structure. Their key benefit is not the water resistance of the fabric, but rather the rapid drying time. In fact, the water resistance of EPIC-treated fabrics breaks down rapidly as the coating fails (e.g., gets dirty from sweat, body oils, and dirt). However, because EPIC-treated fabrics hold so little moisture at the fiber surface and in the interstices of a finished fabric, they dry remarkably fast. This feature is a significant benefit when hiking in conditions of intermittent rain and snow.

One of the disadvantages of EPIC garments is their limited breathability, especially when wet. Tests performed by the US Army’s Natick Lab suggest that EPIC breathability is less than many of the other similar fabrics on the market.

EPIC is used in shell jackets from Wild Things and Go-Lite. Similar encapsulation technology is used in garments by Patagonia. However, one of the more innovative designs in EPIC shells is the Jackorack from Feathered Friends in Seattle, Washington. The EPIC Jackorack weighs 8.6 ounces (size M), has huge torso vents and pit zips, a roomy hood, and a long hem. We’ve used the Jackorack with great success in a variety of conditions and find it to be one of the most versatile, fully-featured wind shells available.

Stretch-woven soft shells

In spite of childish arguments among outdoor specialty manufacturers regarding the definition of a soft shell, a recent survey indicates that more than 85 percent of backpackers identify the term with stretch-woven, non-waterproof fabrics. This is the foundation for the popular line of Cloudveil’s soft shell apparel that uses stretch-woven textiles manufactured by Schoeller of Switzerland. Since that time, virtually every major outdoor specialty manufacturer has entered the soft shell market with lofty promises of “weather resistance and unparalleled breathability.”

Although some light soft shell garments exist (e.g., Cloudveil Prospector Pullover, 8.0 ounces, size M), few of them are going to save weight in a clothing system for most three-season backpackers. Much of the time, they will simply be dead weight in the backpack, especially during the summer.

The real utility of soft shell garments is realized in fringe seasons — late fall, early spring—and winter conditions in the mountains, where a backpacker is wearing a jacket all of the time while moving. Because soft shell fabrics have a more open weave, they are more breathable than microfiber nylon and polyester fabrics used in most windshirts. In addition, because many soft shell fabrics are multilayer weaves (e.g., Schoeller Dryskin Extreme) or bicomponent constructions (e.g., Ibex ClimaWool or Polartec PowerShield), they offer some insulating loft.

Soft shell fabrics are not waterproof. They are woven so that the fabric face is tight and naturally promotes water shedding. This, combined with their excellent breathability, means that soft shell garments can often be more comfortable than windshirts during high-exertion activities in cold, inclement conditions short of a downpour. Skiers, winter climbers, and snowshoe backpackers are particular fans of soft shell garments because of their ability to regulate temperature in cold conditions and provide plenty of protection from falling snow.

Soft shell fabrics offer several disadvantages that make them impractical for most summer backpacking. They are heavier and generally warmer to hike in than windshirts—the lightest jackets range from 12-18 ounces. They absorb quite a lot of water, relative to the ultralight windshirt fabrics, and take a long time to dry if they get wet.

A range of soft shell fabrics exist, offering the consumer a variety of different weights, levels of breathability, warmth, and moisture protection. In order of decreasing breathability and increasing wind and water resistance, notable fabrics for lightweight backpackers include:

• Cloudveil Inertia—used in the Prospector Jacket, 12 oz

• Schoeller Dynamic —used on the Black Diamond Alpine Shirt, 14 oz

• ClimaWool—Ibex Icefall Jacket, 16 oz

• Schoeller Dryskin Extreme—Cloudveil Serendipity Jacket, 17 oz

• Polartec Powershield Micro — GoLite Momentum Jacket, 15 oz

Waterproof-breathable rain jackets

Waterproof-breathable fabrics typically offer less breathability than windshirt fabrics. Commonly used in what backpackers recognize as “rain jackets,” they include Gore-Tex, eVENT, and others. The objective of waterproof-breathable rain jackets is simple: to provide protection that is completely impermeable to water and wind. Because of their limited breathability, these garments are intended primarily for inclement conditions and to protect the body against the chilling effects of wind and cold rain during low-to-moderate exertion activities, such as level hiking or performing camp chores.

Waterproof-breathable fabrics use a variety of technologies that most commonly include some combination of microporous polyurethane coatings and PTFE or nonwoven polypropylene membranes.

• Nonwoven polypropylene membranes—used in Rainshield, Frogg Toggs, and DriDucks garments— are among the most breathable and least expensive

• Next are PTFE-only constructions—e.g., eVENT

• PTFE-polyurethane laminates—e.g., Gore-Tex Pac-Lite III and XCR

• Polyurethane coatings—e.g., Marmot Precip, Patagonia Specter

Because the primary disadvantage is the limited breathability of the fabric, it is worthwhile to add ventilation features, such as pit zips, full-front zippers, and vented torso pockets. Also, waterproof-breathable fabrics are, as a general rule, heavier than the windshirt fabrics. Notable exceptions include the polypropylene laminates, which are used in full-zip hooded rain jackets weighing as little as 5 ounces (e.g., Rainshield O2 Jacket) and Gore-Tex Pac-Lite Matrix (used in the Haglöfs LIM Jacket, 8.6 oz).

Generally, most waterproof-breathable, woven nylon fabrics are durable enough for trail backpacking and intermittent or occasional bushwacking or rock scrambling. Nonwoven polypropylene laminates must be used with greater care, as their tear strength is less than that of nylon.

A more comprehensive discussion of waterproof-breathable technologies, advantages, and disadvantages is available in the article, “Waterproof Breathable Fabric Technologies: A Comprehensive Primer and State of the Market Technology Review” by Alan Dixon. (February 10, 2004; www.backpackinglight.com; ISSN 1537-0364).

Waterproof-nonbreathable rain jackets

Long before waterproof-breathable nylon fabrics came on the market, rainwear was made with polyurethane-coated nylon, a nonbreathable class of fabric that was better known for its ability to retain sweat and soak you from within than for its ability to repel rain. Waterproof-breathable fabrics heralded the death of these rain jackets, at least in the outdoor specialty industry. However, recent innovations in waterproof-nonbreathable fabrics that have driven price and weight down are keeping lightweight backpackers interested in this category.

The Sierra Designs Backpackers Rainwear Jacket (12 oz) offers pit zips, torso vents, and a full-zip, hooded jacket that fits comfortably and works well for less than $70. Lighter options exist but are rare outside the cottage industry. A rain jacket made from 1.4 ounces/yd² silicone-coated nylon is manufactured by Dancing Light Gear of Georgia and weighs less than 5 ounces. Similar offerings are made by Stephenson’s of New Hampshire and Equinox of Pennsylvania.

Ponchos

Ultralight backpackers have long been a fan of ponchos, and more specifically, poncho-tarps, those dual-use items that can double as both raingear and shelter. Ponchos are most commonly made with waterproof-nonbreathable fabrics, with 1.4 ounce/yd² silicone-coated nylon being the fabric of choice among the ultralight hiking community. Silicone-coated nylon poncho-tarps typically weigh 7-10 ounces and are offered by GoLite, Integral Designs, Equinox, Dancing Light Gear, Oware USA, and others. Hilleberg makes a waterproof-breathable bivy sack that doubles as a poncho, but its utility as rainwear is limited by a copious amount of fabric and relatively heavy weight (24 oz). Lighter ponchos that do not serve double duty as tarps are available from Stephenson’s (silicone-coated nylon, 7 oz). And a lighter poncho-tarp made with silicone-coated sailcloth, the SpinPoncho (6.5 oz), is available from Bozeman Mountain Works.

The primary limitation of a poncho is taming its fabric in the wind. Having used ponchos in extremely windy conditions on the coast and even above treeline in the mountains, we offer some guidance in dealing with this challenge. Look for ponchos that have strategically placed side snaps or zippers and a rear hem drawcord that can be tied to the front of its wearer like a belt. These ponchos go a long way in offering you a warm, dry haven in a wild storm. In addition, because ponchos are made using nonbreathable fabrics, significant condensation can build up in the shoulder area, where the fabric is in contact with the rest of your clothing. The benefits of ponchos are numerous:

• They can serve as a pack cover

• They are generally lighter and cheaper than a rain jacket

• They offer excellent ventilation—aiding comfort and keeping you cool during high exertion

• The poncho-tarp is probably the lightest possible combination of shelter and raingear that can be carried by the ultralight backpacker

Umbrellas

Considered by some to be the summa cum laude of breathable rain protection, the umbrella is worth considering under the following conditions:

• You are creative enough to affix it to your pack so you don’t have to carry it for hours on end

• You are not trying to use it in very windy situations

• You are carrying a rain jacket as backup

Umbrellas may be considered the icon of eccentricity among the ultralight community. But used properly in mild conditions, there may be no more comfortable way to hike in the rain.

USE YOUR SHELL INTELLIGENTLY

Many backpackers unfairly blame manufacturers on poor raingear performance. Often, backpackers simply don’t understand how to properly use a rain shell. Most dissatisfaction stems from overwhelming the garment’s capacity to breathe, resulting in the accumulation of excessive moisture that wets the base and insulating layers. Even highly breathable windshirts and soft shells can cause excessive moisture accumulation, clamminess, and discomfort under the right conditions.

Unfortunately, you can’t teach someone how to use a rain jacket through a book or magazine article. Experience is king, and only by understanding the complex relationship between your body’s physiology, level of exertion, environmental conditions (wind, humidity, and temperature), and garment functionality (fabric breathability, ventilation features) can you begin to understand the limitations of raingear in terms of how it manages internal moisture. So we offer here only the basic framework for managing moisture in shell garments:

• When making adjustments to your clothing system in inclement conditions, your singular goal in terms of regulating body temperature should focus on keeping your base layer as dry as possible.

• While wearing a shell, start by layering it only over your base layer. It will provide a surprising amount of warmth. A mistake that is commonly made by backpackers is to stop when it begins to rain, perceive the potential danger of hypothermia, and add a fleece jacket and a waterproof-breathable rain jacket. The result is often an overdressed hiker who begins to destroy the insulating properties of his base layer and clothing by overheating and sweating.

• Take full advantage of your shell garment’s ventilation features to exchange warm, moist air building up inside your shell with cooler, drier air from the environment. Pit zips, torso zips, front zips, hood openings, wrist cuffs, and hem drawcords can all be used to regulate both moisture accumulation and body temperature. Ventilation is a far more effective method for reducing moisture accumulation than garment breathability alone.

SHELL RANTS?

Most of the previous discussion applies to shell pants as much as it does to shell jackets, with one notable exception. While active, the body loses much more heat in the torso than in the legs—although while climbing, quadriceps can produce a tremendous amount of heat. Consequently, you are more prone to overheating your torso than your pants. Thus, two general lightweight backpacking philosophies exist:

1. Because the body loses less heat through the legs, shell pants are not as critical as a shell jacket while hiking in the rain. Many ultralight hikers don’t even carry shell pants during the summer. Exceptions exist. In very cold, wet, and windy conditions, shell pants that provide full leg coverage are essential to prevent the upper legs from getting wet, either directly from external precipitation or indirectly from the wicking of moisture up the legs of hiking pants.

2. Because the legs are less sensitive to heat loss, they require less sophisticated temperature regulation. Consequently, for moderate backpacking adequate shell pants can be made with lighter fabrics, fewer features (e.g., ventilating side zips), cheaper materials, and/or less breathable fabrics (e.g., silicone-coated nylon, instead of waterproof-breathable Gore-Tex).

Some hikers prefer rain chaps under a long jacket or poncho. Silicone-coated nylon rain chaps, which weigh around 3 ounces for the pair, are available from Moonbow Gear in New Hampshire.

Insulating Garments

FLEECE

For many years, the standard material for insulating garments has been polyester fleece. Lightweight fleece pullovers and jackets of reasonable quality are manufactured by dozens of outdoor specialty companies that offer them at impossibly high prices considering that garments having a similar degree of functionality are now available at discount and big box stores for less than $20. The wide availability of cheap fleece remains the reason why outdoor specialty manufacturers are spending less energy developing innovative fleece products and more energy on other insulating garments.

Although fleece has the lowest dry insulating value, it still has a place. Fleece breathes well, and retains most of its insulating value (loft) when wet. Because of its breathability, it may be the best insulation for use under a shell in cold weather. In this application, its breathability and moisture transport may outweigh its inefficiency as an insulator.

Fleece is the least compressible of the insulating materials discussed here and takes up a tremendous amount of room in the smaller packs coveted by most ultralight backpackers.

Windproof fleece is offered by most major outdoor specialty manufacturers. However, due to its limited breathability, it is not a particularly comfortable garment for high-exertion backpacking. And it’s heavy. Windproof fleece jackets weigh 16–32 ounces or more. If you want a windproof insulating garment, you’re better off with high-loft insulation.

Chief among insulating garments are those with high-loft insulation.

• High-quality goose down

• Primaloft—a short-staple synthetic fiber

• Polarguard—a continuous-filament synthetic fiber

HIGH LOFT

High-loft insulating clothing offers the highest warmth/ weight ratio of any clothing available. You’ll use your high-loft apparel on cool evenings and mornings in camp, and probably at rest stops in cold weather. High-loft clothing provides insurance if you run into extremely inclement weather. It can supplement a lightweight sleeping bag, providing core warmth to extend the comfort range of your bag to cooler temperatures. Used alone with a bivy sack, high-loft insulating clothing can be suitable as a sleeping bag, common for alpine and adventure racing bivouac camps.

The ideal high-loft insulating garment includes the following:

• Warm enough for the coldest conditions

• Maintains its insulating loft when wet

• Manufactured with ultralight shell and lining fabrics for minimum weight

• Highly compressible

• Absorbs little water and dries quickly

• Has durable insulation that lasts forever

The ideal high-loft insulating garment does not exist.

High-loft insulating garments are distinguished primarily by their style (vest, pullover, jacket, pants) and secondarily by their insulation and shell materials.

Insulated vests are the lightest high-loft garments available. The Western Mountaineering Flight Vest (850-fill down with a full-front zipper and handwarmer pockets) weighs a scant 5 ounces in a size M. Synthetic insulated vests are available from GoLite, Patagonia, Moonstone, and others, and typically weigh 8–12 ounces.

Lightly insulated pullovers are the coveted darling of the ultralight backpacking community, typically offering the highest warmth/weight ratios of any insulating garment. These no-frills apparel pieces typically weigh between 10–16 ounces and are filled with Primaloft or Polarguard synthetic insulation. Examples include

• MEC Northern Lite—Primaloft PL1, 12 oz

• Rab Photon Smock—Primaloft PL1, 12 oz

• Patagonia Micro Puff—Polarguard Delta, 11 oz

• Berghaus Infinity Lite—Primaloft PL1, 9.7 oz

• Bozeman Mountain Works Cocoon—Polarguard Delta, 8.0 oz

The Rab Photon Smock certainly offers the most features, including handwarmer pockets, a drawstring collar and hem, and a deep 2-way zipper. The Bozeman Mountain Works Cocoon achieves its very light weight by using unscrimmed Polarguard Delta insulation that is not subjected to the compressive destruction induced by a quilting machine, along with a Pertex Quantum shell and lining.

Lightweight synthetic jackets and hooded jackets are also available from companies such as Wild Things, GoLite, Patagonia, and others, with weights ranging from 14–18 ounces. Ultralight down jackets from 10–12 ounces are available from Western Mountaineering, Feathered Friends, and GoLite. Notable in this category are the thinly insulated MontBell Ultralight Inner Jacket (down) and Thermawrap Jacket (synthetic). Both weigh about 8 ounces. Also notable is the Western Mountaineering Flight Jacket, which offers three times the loft for only 2 additional ounces in weight.

More options exist for those looking for winter backpacking insulation. Hooded, “belay jackets” are available from Rab, Integral Designs, GoLite, Nunatak, Feathered Friends, and Wild Things, and typically weigh 22–28 ounces. At the lighter end of this spectrum is the Rab Quantum Down Jacket, which offers a Pertex Quantum lining and shell, sewn-through baffling, and 850+ fill goose down. At only 21 ounces, this may be the highest warmth/weight ratio of any insulated jacket in its class.

DOWN VERSUS SYNTHETIC

Down is hydrophilic. It absorbs moisture, resulting in consolidation of plumules that collapse the interstitial space responsible for trapping warm air for insulation. In contrast, synthetic insulations are generally hydrophobic and do not absorb moisture. Loft collapse is less sensitive to moisture.

The choice between down and synthetic depends on the climate at your destination, length of trip, and intended end use.

Generally, wet and humid conditions—such as those found in the Scottish Highlands, New Zealand Alps, or Pacific Northwest of the US—demand synthetic insulation. Drier areas—such as the desert Southwest of the US, Rocky Mountains, or during the winter—allow for the use of down garments.

Even in wet areas, the well-outfitted ultralight backpacker will have both down and synthetic insulating garments ready, making a final decision after reviewing a last-minute weather report.

Garments filled with down will nearly always be lighter than garments filled with synthetic insulation. High-grade down (800-fill or higher) is expensive, but garments and sleeping bags made with it are on the top of the wish lists of every ultralight backpacker seeking to bring pack weight down as low as possible.

PRIMALOFT VERSUS POLARGUARD

The choice between the two high-performance synthetic insulations is made more difficult by each manufacturer’s marketing strategies, which claims that one is better than the other. For the purposes of this discussion, we’ll focus on each manufacturer’s premier product in terms of warmth/weight ratio for ultralight garments: Primaloft PL1 and Polarguard Delta, both of which are available in various weights.

Primaloft PL1 is a short-staple fiber, which means that it requires a scrim layer during the quilting process to stabilize the insulation and prevent it from shifting. This scrim adds about 0.5 ounce/yd² to the insulation weight. In contrast, Polarguard Delta is made with continuous filament fibers and does not require the additional weight of a scrim. In reality, both insulations are nearly always manufactured with a scrim layer. A scrim is required for machine quilting and makes the manufacturing process simpler and cheaper.

Because PL1 is a short-staple fiber, it may suffer more loft degradation than Delta. It is well known that PL1-insulated garments and sleeping bags have a shorter life expectancy than Delta-insulated garments. However, this may not be so important to ultralight backpackers, who commonly replace their insulating garments as new styles and technologies hit the market.

Also, a garment made with PL1 is softer and drapes more comfortably than a Delta-insulated garment. Because PL1 “feels more like down,” it is an excellent insulation to use if your primary distribution strategy is to trigger feel-good sales in a retail floor!

Other factors aside, the primary battle between the synthetic insulation champs is fought in the area of water resistance and warmth when wet. The differences between PL1 and Delta are related primarily by their water absorption capacity drying time, and ability to maintain loft when wet. In our tests, garments insulated with Polarguard Delta generally absorb more water per unit weight than equivalent garments insulated with Primaloft PL1. However, if soaked, Delta-insulated garments are easier to wring out to a lighter weight, take less time to dry, and are restored to a higher level of loft.

In reality, the chance that you’ll completely soak your synthetic garment is slim. Garments made with either Primaloft PL1 or Polarguard Delta are likely going to serve your insulating needs equally well, with a slight advantage given to Polarguard Delta-insulated garments due to a higher loft/ weight ratio and life expectancy of the loft (durability).

Other synthetic insulations do exist, but they cannot match the loft/weight ratio of PL1 or Delta and are not generally found in higher quality outdoor specialty goods.

Fortunately, insulating garments aren’t as complex as shells. There are only three main types of insulation: fleece, synthetic fill, and down. For most hikers, a synthetic-fill jacket is probably the best choice. It combines the best combination of insulating performance, safety when wet, and cost.

Summary of Insulating Materials

The following table summarizes the comparison of fleece and high-loft insulating garments.

FLEECE

Pros

• Excellent breathability, wicking, and wet-weather warmth (loft retention)

• Good for use under a shell as insulation in cold weather at high exertion levels—e.g., winter mountaineering, cross country skiing

• Low cost

Cons

• Poor warmth/weight ratio

• The poorest insulator in dry conditions—by a large margin

• Not very compressible or

• Not very windproof—needs a shell to achieve full insulating performance

• Not a good choice except for high-exertion activities or limited funds

SYNTHETIC FILL

Pros

• Probably the best all-round insulation

• Generally, 3x more loft than fleece for the same weight

• Good wet-weather warmth (loft retention)

• Far more compressible than fleece

• Windproof

• Thinly insulated garments are useful layering pieces

Cons

• When dry, not nearly as good of an insulator as down

• Higher cost than fleece

• Insulation breaks down and will lose loft over time

• Much less compressible than down

• Shelled construction can inhibit breathability

DOWN

Pros

• When dry, 800+-fill down offers up to 4x the loft of an equivalent weight of synthetic fills and up to 12x the loft of fleece

• Shelled design makes it windproof

• Most compressible of the three

• Very durable insulation that retains loft for years with proper care

Cons

• High-fill down is very expensive and requires more expensive manufacturing processes.

• Down insulation is very sensitive to humidity and moisture—must be kept dry to retain insulating performance.

• Dries very slowly if at all, in the field.

• Shelled design can inhibit breathability

A NOTE ON FILL POWER

The insulating performance of down is measured in fill power. A known weight of down is placed in a graduated cylinder with a lightly weighted disc resting on top of the down surface. The volume of the cylinder occupied by down is then measured and noted as its fill power. Lower quality down is usually in the range of 550-650 cubic inches per ounce. The highest quality down is rated as 850+.

Clothing Systems

As one might expect, the combination of layering pieces that can be used for a comfortable clothing system in the wide range of conditions you will encounter for three-season backpacking is overwhelming. Most ultralight backpackers keep their clothing systems relatively simple. By far, one of the lightest and simplest systems, suitable for June-August backpacking in most of the US, is comprised of:

• Thin, synthetic, long-sleeve, base-layer crewneck shirt (e.g., GoLite C-Thru, 4.5 oz)

• Synthetic insulating pullover (e.g., Bozeman Mountain Works Cocoon, 8.0 oz)

• Waterproof-breathable, nonwoven polypropylene rain jacket (e.g., Rain Shield Multi-Use Jacket, 4.5 oz)

• Bidirectional woven nylon hiking pants (e.g., GoLite Synergy, 9.0 oz)

• Waterproof-breathable, pull-on rain pants (e.g., Go-Lite Reed, 4.5 oz)

• Knit wool gloves (e.g., PossumDown Gloves, 1.2 oz)

• Knit wool beanie hat (e.g., PossumDown Beanie, 1.4 oz)

Substitutions or additions to a clothing system like this will depend on personal preference for garment styles. Some people prefer jackets to pullovers. Depending on expected weather, a 3-ounce windshirt might be added if you’re venturing into a dry, windy area. Or you might replace the rain jacket and tarp/tent with a poncho-tarp. And depending on the terrain you’ll be hiking, a more durable rain jacket may be preferred for a fair bit of bushwhacking.

Clothing systems for winter conditions where temperatures are always below freezing are not all that different but do demand a few notable changes. Waterproof-breathable shell jackets and pants are often replaced with water-resistant, windproof garments, or soft shell garments. Insulating garments are nearly always heavier. In more extreme conditions, such as winter Arctic snowshoeing or mountaineering, more layers may be desirable, focusing primarily on additional lightweight, fast-drying base layers and more robust hand and headwear.

For very wet conditions, lightweight rain mitts, a broad-brimmed rain hat, and waterproof gaiters might be added. The next section focuses on managing moisture in wet and cold conditions.

Moisture Management

Moisture management is a critical skill for cold weather hiking with ultralight gear. If an article of clothing gets saturated, it will likely take a long time to dry. In the meantime, the moisture works against you, sapping body heat and creating a general sense of emotional and physical discomfort.

For example, a pair of gloves can get pretty sweaty during a day of winter hiking. If you take them off at a rest stop and lay them on a stump for ten minutes while you eat a snack, they may be frozen solid when you return. A better strategy is to tuck them inside your shell against your chest, where they’ll stay warm until you need them again.

One of the only ways to dry wet clothing in cold weather is to take it into your sleeping bag with you at night. But this can have serious consequences. Too much damp clothing in your sleeping bag may overwhelm the breathability of your bag, and you’ll compromise the bag’s insulation—dangerous in cold conditions. With ultralight down sleeping bags, taking a significant amount of wet clothing to bed when you expect outside temperatures to be less than 40°F will cause serious moisture accumulation in the down insulation. Below 40°F, the dew point (where moisture vapor condenses to water) can be inside the sleeping bag’s insulation, although it’s also dependent on humidity, wind, and other factors. If so, moisture evaporating from your wet clothing will simply reform as liquid in the sleeping bag insulation.

The best option is not to get your clothing wet in the first place, a learned skill requiring careful attention to moisture management when hiking—and sweating—in cold and wet conditions. Other more reactive measures that can be employed in wet conditions include:

1. Stop early to set up camp. It’s far easier to set up camp and keep your gear and clothing dry in the daytime than after dark.

2. If you are a fan of sleeping in a bivy sack under a tarp, consider bivy sacks that are more breathable than waterproof (e.g., those made with Pertex Quantum shells or EPIC). More breathable fabrics let moisture from wet clothing pass, rather than condense on the inside of the bivy sack shell and wet your sleeping bag.

3. If you carry a poncho-tarp for both raingear and shelter, include a more water-resistant windshirt in your clothing system (e.g., GoLite Helios or Ibex Bug Wing). It will keep you dry enough in the short time required to remove your poncho and set it up as shelter while it’s raining.

4. You will always dry clothing the fastest with body heat during active periods. Often, a wet base layer will be dry after only the few minutes required to set up camp and perform basic chores. Take advantage of this period of activity to both burn and ventilate a significant amount of moisture out of your clothing system, and minimize the amount of moisture you take into your sleeping bag with you.

5. Direct sunlight is a godsend on trips characterized by constant rain. Take advantage of any break in the weather to hang and dry sleeping bags, insulating clothing, and other wet items.

VAPOR BARRIERS

Moisture accumulation in clothing caused by perspiration is more of a problem in cold weather. It is commonly believed that (waterproof-nonbreathable) vapor-barrier clothing worn next to the skin prevents sweating and thus, keeps outer clothing layers dry by blocking perspiration. Nothing could be further from the truth. Vapor-barrier clothing used while active causes overheating, increases the body’s perspiration response, and results in the massive accumulation of perspiration in clothing as a result of sweat wicking out of the vapor-barrier clothing and into the other layers.

Vapor-barrier clothing is best used to block insensitive perspiration—the dominant form of moisture loss through the skin when you are not active (sitting in camp, sleeping, etc.). As such, cold weather adventurers and mountaineers have long known the benefits of using vapor-barrier sleeping bag liners in their sleeping bags to protect the loss of loft of their insulation on extended trips in subzero weather.

The use of vapor barriers in insulated hand and footwear has profound implications. Because heat loss through hands and feet is so significant in cold conditions due to a high surface area/volume ratio of the extremities and their distance from the warm blood of the body’s core, the ability to keep hand and foot insulation as dry as possible to minimize conductive and evaporative heat loss is very important. For very cold conditions, vapor-barrier hand and footwear is extremely useful.

Vapor-barrier clothing is manufactured by Stephenson’s, Wild Country, Integral Designs, and RBH Designs. Only Stephenson’s makes vapor-barrier shirts, and RBH Designs makes a complete line of excellent vapor-barrier handwear. Wild Country, Integral Designs, and RBH Designs offer a variety of insulated and non-insulated vapor-barrier socks.

In the context of designing an ultralight cold weather sleeping system, vapor-barrier clothing—shirts and pants—is more appropriate than vapor-barrier liners. With vapor-barrier sleeping bag liners, one must sleep naked or wearing only a single thin base layer. This prevents the use of other pieces in your clothing system and requires a heavier, warmer sleeping bag. With a vapor-barrier shirt and pants, one can wear the vapor-barrier clothing next to skin and layer over it their remaining insulating clothing. Plus, it does double duty as in-camp wear. Ideally, this offers several advantages: Moisture emitted by the body during the night (insensitive perspiration) does not accumulate in your clothing or sleeping bag and the entire system dries itself. In practice, it doesn’t quite work this way, because most currently available vapor-barrier clothing is not waterproof enough at the seams to prevent the wicking of liquid moisture from within the vapor barrier to outer layers of clothing. Also, some of the fabrics assumed to be vapor impermeable allow enough moisture to pass through them to result in condensation. Thus, the ideal vapor-barrier clothing must be waterproof, vapor impermeable, have sealed seams, and offer adequate seals at cuffs and hems to prevent the escape of moisture.

Dealing With Heat and Sun

Even in the most temperate months the desert is a harsh environment. One can see daytime highs that reach 90 degrees and nighttime lows down to fireezing. The classic example of these extreme conditions is a backpacking trip from the south rim to the north rim of the Grand Canyon.

The same principles we’ve outlined for selecting and using a clothing system apply to desert travel, with a few important exceptions. During the day, your main goal is to stay cool and protected from the sun. At night and in the early morning, you’ll want enough warm clothes to keep you comfortable while standing around in the freezing temperatures of a shady narrows or canyon rim. The desert is warm and dry for much of the day, so moisture management is not as critical as in other environments. If you get anything wet, it will usually dry on its own after a few hours of hiking.

For a hiking shirt and pants, select the lightest fabrics you can find. Some hikers will prefer shorts over pants but that choice will depend largely on the desert locale and the nature of environmental hazards (e.g., thorny desert plants, rock sliding, and intense sunshine). UV exposure from direct sunlight is a real concern in the desert. To keep things simple and avoid reapplying sunscreen to your entire body, a long-sleeve shirt with a high collar, long pants, and wide-brimmed hat comprise a clothing system beloved by many desert travelers.

Choose light-colored hiking clothing. It will certainly show dirt a bit more, but the difference in comfort over black or dark clothing is dramatic.

In a desert, precipitation is rare. If you do get rain, it will most likely be from a desert thunderstorm in the middle of the day, when temperatures are very warm and the risk of hypothermia is very low. You may be able to get by with a water-resistant shell, such as a windshirt, as your sole rain garment. A poncho is another great option. Few experienced desert ultralight backpackers take rain pants. As always, check the long-term weather forecast before making final decisions on raingear, and be smart about your choices.

Conclusion

Your clothing is one of the most important pieces of equipment you take on any hike. With proper selection you’ll be warm, dry, happy, at peak mental and physical performance, and most importantly, safe. With poor selection, you may have some very cold, wet, and miserable nights, and you may face diminished performance in critical conditions. Even so, ultralight backpackers agree that it makes little sense to carry more clothing than you can wear at any given time. Therefore, they take fewer garments, making sure each one offers great versatility and functionality.

Desert and high-mountain summer headgear: a wide-brimmed hat, like the Tilley LT (3.0 oz), made with microfiber nylon, offers a good balance between breathability for warm conditions and wind / water resistance when the weather turns sour. On a hot day, soaking the hat in a stream and then wearing it wet provides comfort through evaporative cooling of the head.

Chapter 7: Sleep Systems

By Lee Van Horn

Ultralight backpackers covet a high-quality sleeping bag more than any other piece of gear. Any item that, when stuffed, is smaller and lighter than a loaf of bread and can keep you warm in temperatures in which you would otherwise freeze to death warrants high praise!

After spending a long day hiking in inclement conditions, the comfort that a warm, dry sleeping bag provides causes many backpackers to shell out hundreds of dollars on their perfect nighttime cocoon.

In addition to a backpack and a shelter, significant savings of a hiker’s total pack weight can be accomplished by simply replacing their sleeping bag. For example, many synthetic bags rated to 30ºF weigh about 2.5–3.0 pounds, but a high-fill down bag with ultralight shell materials rated to an equivalent temperature can weigh 2 pounds less.

An ultralight sleeping bag can be the most expensive purchase a backpacker makes. The lightest sleeping bags available use ultralight shell materials that require a tight enough weave to be downproof and are relatively expensive. Plus, high-fill down requires extensive and expensive processing. In light of this, we’ll discuss features to look for in the ideal ultralight sleeping bag, and also evaluate some alternatives that won’t break your back—or your bank account.

Sleeping Bag Warmth

Sleeping bags, like insulating apparel, keep you warm by minimizing the loss of body heat. As discussed in the chapter on thermoregulation, heat that is generated by your body escapes via four processes: evaporation, conduction, radiation, and convection. Evaporation is the energy lost when liquid water (sweat) changes to vapor. Conduction is the transfer of heat to anything you touch that is colder than yourself (e.g., snow, rock, ground). Radiation is the emission of thermal energy from uncovered body surfaces. And convection is heat loss due to air movement around your body (e.g., wind).

In the construction industry, the effectiveness of insulation at retaining heat is known as its R-value. This describes how well a type of insulation can resist heat loss. R-values are proportional to warmth: Warmer insulations are designated with higher R-values. Since R-values are also proportional to the thickness of the insulation—thicker insulations have higher R-values—it follows that thicker sleeping bags are warmer.

The thickness of a sleeping bag’s insulation is called its loft and is most often reported as the thickness of the entire sleeping bag. Loft can be calculated by laying a sleeping bag on the ground and measuring the thickness of the bag. In practice, the thickness of the bag varies slightly along its length. Loft is thinner at the baffle seams and thicker at the baffle midpoints. Differences in loft along the length of a sleeping bag are more pronounced in overstuffed down bags than in synthetic fill bags.

Unfortunately, total loft isn’t a fair indicator of a sleeping bag’s warmth. Much of the insulation on the bottom of a sleeping bag remains compressed while lying in it. So insulation in the lower layer may not contribute significantly to the overall insulating capacity of the bag. Consequently, measuring the sleeping bag’s upper-layer loft is a more accurate predictor of a bag’s warmth.

Although many factors contribute to how warm you will sleep—including physiology and metabolism, sleeping bag design, clothing, and weather—some general rules of thumb apply to sleeping bag thickness and warmth. Typically, experienced ultralight backpackers use sleeping bags that have an upper-layer thickness of

• One inch for camping at nights between 40°–55°F

• Two inches for the range of 25°–40°F

• Three inches for 10°–25°F

Convective heat loss results primarily when your shelter is not protected from wind, but can be minimized by the sleeping bag’s shell material. Convective heat loss becomes significant in down bags that have sewn-through baffling, or in synthetic bags that have sewn-through stitching of the insulating material. This results in zero-loft areas at the stitch lines, causing dramatic losses of heat when the sleeping bag is exposed to even slight winds.

Tarp campers are well aware of convective heat losses. A sleeping bag that can keep you warm on a windless 20°F night may result in a cold and uncomfortable 35°F night in the wind. To address this, the experienced tarp camper pitches a windward tarp wall directly to the ground and/or uses a bivy sack over the sleeping bag, which reduces the impact of wind on heat loss by creating an additional still layer of insulating air between the sleeping bag’s outer shell and the inner surface of the bivy sack. Even where the bivy sack comes into contact with the sleeping bag shell and eliminates any air space, the double layer adds enough wind resistance to dramatically improve the performance of the sleeping bag system in windy conditions.

Conductive heat loss also needs to be addressed by your sleeping system. That is the reason why most backpackers use insulating, closed-cell foam sleeping pads in cold conditions or when camping on snow. It only takes one night of trying to sleep on cold ground before you realize the utility and comfort provided by a sleeping pad that is incompressible (to preserve the thickness of the sleeping pad under body weight) and porous (to entrap insulating air).

Finally, heat is also lost through evaporation while you sleep. You lose moisture through perspiration and respiration. The process by which your body heat is used to change this water from liquid to vapor causes evaporative heat loss. It is easily observed in the form of condensation on the walls of your shelter in the morning. This is caused by your emitted moisture vapor condensing onto the cold wall of the shelter.

Although there are methods to minimize evaporative heat loss, they are usually add-ons to your sleeping system, rather than already incorporated into the sleeping bag. And they are rarely used. Examples include vapor-barrier clothing, sleeping bag liners, and heat-exchanging face masks.

Sleeping Bag Designs

Now that we’ve reviewed the basics of staying warm at night, we can discuss the major design features that allow a sleeping bag to live up to this task in combination with the rest of your clothing and sleep systems.

RECTANGUAR VERSUS MUMMY

The most obvious difference in sleeping bag types is the shape: rectangular or mummy.

A rectangular bag is just that: an insulated rectangular sack that is usually zippered on one side and the bottom. The top remains open for your head.

Mummy bags are shaped more to the contours of the human body: wide in the torso and narrow in the legs. Often they include a hood with a drawstring that allows you to close the bag around your head, leaving only a small hole from which to breathe.

The primary advantage of a rectangular bag over a mummy bag is that it provides plenty of room in the legs, a benefit for bigger folks or for those who like to roll around a bit, cross their legs, pull a leg up to their chest, etc. In addition, rectangular bags can be completely unzipped into a quilt, giving the hiker flexibility on warmer nights, or allowing one bag to be shared as a quilt between two friendly people.

Rectangular bags, however, are not terribly popular among ultralight backpackers. Their excess interior real estate means that they are less efficient than mummy bags at keeping you warm. Comparing two bags with a similar temperature range and similarity of construction (shell material and fill type), the mummy bag will be lighter than the rectangular bag by 20–40 percent. In addition, a hooded mummy bag is usually more efficient at keeping you warm than a rectangular bag, which is often hoodless.

Some backpackers will find a compromise in hybrid designs that offer an efficient mummy shape and a hood, but with a less aggressive torso-to-leg taper.

TOP BAGS AND QUILTS

At the other end of the spectrum from a mummy bag with a contoured shape is a simple, rectangular, insulated quilt that can simply drape over you at night. These designs are primarily suited to mild conditions. Few backpackers find quilts efficient enough to keep them warm at temperatures below about 50°F.

One step up from a rectangular quilt is a tapered quilt— wide in the shoulders, narrow in the footbox—with the bottom edges and part of the lower side edges sewn into a footbox for maximum efficiency. This concept addresses the need to keep the feet and legs warmer at night, an area less insulated than the torso simply by nature of the clothing systems used by most backpackers. Such quilts can be effectively used down to temperatures around freezing when combined with proper warm headwear and other clothing.

Adding a few straps to the side edges and a drawcord at the neck of the sewn-footbox-quilt design gives the hiker the ability to secure the straps under a sleeping pad. This eliminates cold spots at the pad edge, common when using quilts that are loosely draped. Such arc cross-section designs are capable of keeping you comfortable in temperatures well below freezing when combined with appropriate warm headwear. The adjustable straps provide variable girth control to accommodate a wide variety of clothing systems.

The variable girth, arc cross-section quilt is certainly one of the most versatile sleeping bag designs. It was originally proposed, and has since been further advanced, by Don Johnston, a lightweight backpacker from Maryland. Nunatak USA of Twisp, Washington, has commercialized the concept in their Arc Alpinist. Don has graciously offered his design concept to the public domain, so expect similar designs from other manufacturers to appear in the near future. More information and history about the design is detailed in “The Arc Bag Concept: Saving Weight with Variable Girth Sleeping Bags Having an #8216;Arc’ Shaped Cross Section” by Ryan Jordan (BackpackingLight.com, April 29, 2001).

Hybrid designs modeled after mummy bags but eliminating bottom insulation, have been around for several years. They include designs from Macpac of New Zealand and Rab Carrington of the UK. More recently, Western Mountaineering, Big Agnes, and Sierra Designs in the USA have created similar products. Some of these replace bottom fill with a fabric sleeve into which a sleeping pad can slide, effectively creating a cohesive sleeping-bag-and-pad unit that addresses the problem of sliding off your sleeping pad while moving around at night.

A variable girth sleeping bag, like this design from Nunatak USA, weighs 22 oz and has tapered loft ranging from three inches (single layer) of 800+ fill down in the torso to more than nine inches (double layer) in the footbox. This bag is used by Ryan Jordan in conjunction with normal threeseason clothing for temperatures down to the single digits (Fahrenheit).

The Rab Carrington Elite Top Bag weighs only 14 ounces and provides an inch and a half of top-layer down in this fixed-girth, hoodless design with no bottom insulation.

ADDITIONAL FEATURES

We’ve discussed many of the features common to typical ultralight sleeping bags. Here are a few more features to consider.

As mentioned earlier, sleeping bag typically consists of an outer shell, an insulating layer, and an inner shell. Often, there is a zipper down the side that allows for entry, ventilation, and joining of two similar bags. On bags designed for colder weather, the zipper may be backed by an insulated draft tube that prevents warm air from escaping through the zipper. Some cold-weather bags also have a draft collar, an insulating tube across the upper chest and neck that prevents warm air from escaping your torso and out the hood opening.

Down sleeping bags contain baffles, which are pockets or boxes of down insulation. Baffles prevent the down feathers from migrating around the bag, eliminating cold spots and maintaining an even layer of insulation across the body. On some bags, baffes are created by sewing the outer layer of fabric to the inside liner, called sewn-through baffles. Down insulation fills the pocket between the seams. The primary advantage of sewn-through baffles is their lower cost of construction and weight savings. But warm air can escape through any non-insulated seam, creating cold spots that are noticeable on very cold nights and in windy conditions. Sewn-through baffling is usually for sleeping bags designed for temperatures above freezing.

Down bags designed for cooler temperatures have interior vertical baffles commonly made with noseeum mesh fabric. The baffles hold the down between the inner and outer shells in a box, rather than a pocket. Box baffles can be continuous tubes that run completely around the girth of the bag, or be blocked at the sides with a side baffle. Continuous baffles allow down to be shifted between the top and bottom layers of the bag, which provides some versatility across a wider temperature range. Blocked baffles, however, provide better down control, eliminating the shifting of down out of the upper baffles during the night.

DOWN VERSUS SYNTHETIC FILL

The argument between down and synthetic fill insulations for sleeping bags is not unlike those discussed previously for insulating clothing in the previous chapter. Keeping sleeping bags dry in the summer is usually less challenging than keeping insulating clothing dry, even in inclement conditions. With prudence, care, and some experience, virtually anyone can enjoy the weight-saving benefits of a down sleeping bag, even in the wet climates of areas like the Cascade Mountains of British Columbia or the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Synthetic bags have their place, even for ultralight backpackers. For extended outings in wet and humid climates where the risk of being able to dry your bag is minimal, synthetic insulation makes sense. In addition, climbers and hikers that spend several nights in a row in a waterproof-breathable bivy sack will soak a down bag in short order, if only from condensation of moisture that does not pass through the poorly breathable fabric of the bivy sack. The combination of wet weather, high humidity, lack of sunlight, and cold temperatures that increase condensation of moisture in your bag’s insulation can be particularly problematic for down bags.

Synthetic insulations retain far more loft than down bags as they absorb moisture, and thus, can retain a great deal of their ability to insulate (even after wringing out the bag following immersion in water).

In spite of the extra care required to keep a down bag dry, the advantages of a down bag over a synthetic bag are significant. High-fill down is far lighter for an equivalent thickness than even the best synthetic insulations. Down compresses to a smaller size, saving space in your pack. They are also less sensitive to insulation damage after repeated packing. Thus, they have a longer lifespan. A synthetic bag will lose 50 percent or more of its loft after a hundred days of continuous use. A properly cared for down bag will retain 75 percent of its loft for ten or more years. These advantages make down bags the primary choice of most ultralight backpackers.

To protect your down bag while packed in wet conditions, don’t rely on ultralight silicone-coated nylon stuff sacks. Typically, they are only waterproof to 1–5 psi. Higher pressures can be exerted against the stuff sack wall when in the pack. Perhaps the lightest option for keeping your down bag dry in the pack is to find the lightest stuff sack and line it with a Mylar turkey roasting bag or lightweight plastic garbage bag. The stuff sack will allow you to compress the down bag into a manageable size and keep it organized in your pack. The liner bag will provide water protection. An ultralight sleeping bag stuff sack, such as the Bozeman Mountain Works SpinSack (0.5 oz, size M), combined with a Mylar bag (0.2 oz) is a lighter combination than most ultralight stuff sacks that claim to be totally waterproof.

More aggressive options at keeping your sleeping bag (and your other gear) dry is to use heavy-duty trash compactor bags (2.5–3.5 oz) as pack liners, waterproof silicone-coated nylon pack covers (3–6 oz), or a poncho long enough to cover your backpack.

TEMPERATURE RATINGS AND SHELL MATERIALS

As indicated earlier, a sleeping bag’s loft is a reasonable measure of how warm a sleeping bag will keep you at night, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Sleeping bag features, individual physiology and metabolism, clothing worn, and environmental conditions are the primary factors contributing to how warm you will sleep at night. Considering the complexity of these relationships, you can begin to appreciate the range of temperatures for which any individual sleeping bag might be applicable. Still, one of the first questions that an inexperienced backpacker wants answered about a sleeping bag is, “What is its temperature rating?”

Most customers assume that sleeping bags are rated by the manufacturer according to the lowest temperature at which they are expected to keep you warm. In reality, because no reliable industry standard exists, bag temperature ratings are nothing more than indicators of relative warmth within an individual manufacturer’s product line. People sleep differently. Some are always cold and need more insulation, and others sleep warm and need less. The bottom line is that the bag needs to keep you warm, so everyone needs to buy a bag to suit his or her individual needs.

The key determinant of the bag’s warmth is the thickness of the loft. Measuring loft is, therefore, a useful way of comparing the warmth of different bags. However, a comparison of bags of different manufacturers will find a large degree of variability. Plus, when designing a lightweight gear kit, most ultralight backpackers combine the temperature rating of a bag with their clothing system. Thus, a bag with a temperature rating to 30°F may provide plenty of warmth when used in conjunction with insulation clothing for a mild winter night.

As mentioned earlier, temperature ratings depend on more than just loft. Controlling drafts is important, as well. Insulating air inside your bag, warmed by your body’s metabolic engine, is hard-earned. Many ultralight bags on the market today seem designed more to release this insulating air than retain it. There exists quite a debate regarding the relative warmth of a hoodless quilt versus a traditional, zipperless mummy sleeping bag of the same weight and materials—which is thinner but seal drafts better. By talking to experienced users of both systems, it appears that the effectiveness of the hoodless quilt depends on the ability to maintain an adequate seal at the sleeping pad and to maintain sufficient loft in the shoulders while keeping the neck closed to seal drafts. After surveying the market for designs that met these criteria, we found several manufacturers offering version of hoodless bags and quilts for ultralight backpacking, including Fanatic Fringe, Nunatak, GoLite (now discontinued), Rab, and Big Agnes. Imperfections in all of them leave the market wide open for innovation in this category.

Adding a windproof outer shell can have significant benefits to maintaining the insulating value of a sleeping bag in cold, windy climates, especially for tarp campers. The addition of a highly windproof shell, such as a tightly woven microfiber (e.g., Pertex 6 or EPIC) or a fabric with a microporous laminate or coating (e.g., DryLoft, Pertex Endurance, or eVENT) to a bag can decrease the temperature at which the bag is comfortable.

While such shells provide additional protection against wind and moisture, they must be breathable, or excessive perspiration will build up in the bag and condense on the inside surface of the outer shell, soaking the insulation. On long trips in cold weather, the consequence of this can be severe. There are reports of Arctic explorers with sleeping bags that accumulate five to ten times their own weight in ice over the course of several weeks.

The need for these shells for summer backpacking is debatable. Hikers that camp in traditional double-walled tents certainly don’t need them—their shelter largely protects them from wind, and condensation on the inner walls in such shelters is minimal.

Tarp campers find windproof sleeping bag shells to be more useful, but usually only in mountainous areas or during colder seasons. Of greater benefit to tarp campers is the additional water resistance windproof shells provide, affording additional protection from errant rain spray and allowing for a smaller, lighter tarp. However, the current trend among tarp campers looking for more stormworthy systems is the use of ultralight sleeping bag covers and bivy sacks.

The market for wind-and-water resistant sleeping bag shells is dominated by winter camping products, where frost, spindrift, and spilled foods tends to wreak havoc on the ultralight gossamer materials of lightweight summer bags.

Fitting your Bag

Your sleeping bag must fit, and you should pay no less attention to this matter than if you were fitting a piece of tailored clothing. If a bag is too small, you will compress the insulation from the inside and the bag will lose some of its ability to insulate. If it is too big, there will be extra space to warm up, and you’ll be carrying more bag than you need.

Ideally, the bag should be as tight as you can fit into comfortably—considering your normal nighttime body movements—without compressing the loft on the top or sides.

INCREASNG EFFICIENCY

There are several ways that you can greatly improve the efficiency of your sleeping system. The most obvious method is to combine it with the insulating qualities of your clothing, which can be used in three distinct ways:

• Clothing can be worn normally inside the bag

• It can be draped over you inside the bag

• It can be draped over the outside of your bag

Wearing clothing inside the bag provides the best mobility, eliminating the need to shuffle layers around every time you turn over.

Layering clothing over you inside the bag provides the most efficient method of heat retention. It allows body limbs to share warmth, like fingers in a mitten, while increasing the overall loft and draft control in your sleeping bag. Effective layering techniques inside the bag include wrapping an extra shirt over and around your shoulders to help seal the hood opening, or layering a full-zip down jacket over your chest to increase loft. Be watchful of adding too much clothing inside your sleeping bag. You’ll run the risk of compressing loft from the inside and reducing the warmth of your system.

Layering clothing outside the sleeping bag, on top, is simply not recommended for down bags. You’re more likely to reduce the overall loft of your system than enhance it. Further, with the exception of winter-class down parkas, lightweight clothing doesn’t lend itself to efficient layering over a sleeping bag. The exception to layering over a sleeping bag is the use of a waterproof-breathable rain jacket draped over the foot or head ends of a sleeping bag during a severe rainstorm—a bivy-camping trick that has been used by mountaineers for decades.

A second way to increase the effectiveness of your bag is to sleep with your spouse, child, or climbing partner. Sleeping together allows you to share heat and get away with a lighter sleeping bag. Adding a partner is sort of like putting a second furnace inside a house: Neither one has to work as hard to keep the house warm. Even mummy-shaped sleeping bags mate well. Just get one right-zip and one left-zip bag—the same type to ensure the zippers will mate.

Sleeping with a partner is not all it’s cracked up to be. Spouses are notorious for sleeping comfort differences. One may sleep warm and kick off the covers, while the other may sleep cold. This can be partially addressed by having the cold partner layer on more clothing. Children, especially toddlers and preschoolers, are noted for their ability to kick, thrash, and otherwise prevent a snuggling adult from a peaceful night’s rest. And climbing partners—well, let’s just say you need to be awfully good friends to pull this off.

Another way to increase bag efficiency is to use a face mask. This reduces evaporative and conductive heat loss. There are several options, from a simple silk scarf wrapped around your head, to full-face balaclavas with fancy heat exchangers built in to the mouth and nose areas. Drugstore face masks that reduce the inhalation of particulate dust and allergens are very light and also quite effective at warming the air you breathe and reducing evaporative heat loss.

Mattresses

Not long ago I was on a winter trip with a friend, camping on snow. We hit the sack early, and not an hour afterward, I awoke to a terrible chattering sound. After several minutes I realized that this chattering was my friend’s teeth. Torn from my blissfully warm state I really started worrying. Although his bag was at least as warm as mine (it was rated to 0°F and mine was a 25°F), the problem was in the ground insulation. He was using just one thin inflatable mattress while I slept on two closed-cell foam pads. After he put his backpack and all the other gear he could find under his bag, he was able to make it through the night in reasonable comfort. This example of heat loss through conduction was especially dramatic. The snow quickly drew the heat away from his body through the inflatable pad and the compressed loft of his sleeping bag.

Thus, the primary purpose of a ground pad is to reduce heat loss due to conduction. It’s a nearly indispensable part of the sleeping system in cooler conditions. A secondary purpose of a ground pad is to provide a softer sleeping surface. The degree to which a sleeping pad is needed for comfort depends on the sleeper. When I used to camp as a child I used no sleeping pad and never had a problem sleeping right on the ground. Now, I’m happy to carry a closed-cell foam pad, as my bones tend to ache a little more.

There are three types of sleeping pads used for backpacking:

• Air mattresses

• Closed-cell foam pads

• Open-cell (self-inflating) foam pads

AIR MATTRESSES

Air mattresses are more comfortable than sleeping on the ground, but they provide little protection from conductive heat loss. The reason is that there is only one layer of air underneath you. It quickly loses any heat that you generate into the ground. However, Stephenson and Exped both offer air mattresses filled with down fibers, and Big Agnes and Pacific Outdoor Equipment offer air mattresses filled with short-staple synthetic fibers. Both down- and synthetic-filled air mattresses dramatically improve their cold-weather insulating ability. Some can be used successfully on snow in the winter.

The gold standard for lightweight backpackers is the closed-cell foam pad, incarnations of which are manufactured by Gossamer Gear, Cascade Designs, Pacific Outdoor Equipment, and a host of other companies. Most of them are derivates of EVA foam, which provides good flexibility at low temperatures, low water absorption, and excellent insulation. Lesser quality closed-cell foams are available. They are typically distributed through big box and discount sporting goods stores. Generally, they are less durable, absorb more water, and are brittle at cold conditions.

Closed-cell foam pads provide the best insulation/weight ratio and are also the lightest type of pad available. However, many hikers find that closed-cell foam pads do not provide enough cushioning on hard ground. This discomfort spawned the invention of open-cell foam with an air mattress, thus creating the category of self-inflating mattresses. These have the ability to passively inflate simply by opening the valve and waiting several minutes. Self-inflating mattresses are made by Slumberjack, Cascade Designs, Pacific Outdoor Equipment, and others. Open-celled foam pads require far more weight—in foam, valve, and mattress shell—to provide the same insulating ability as closed-cell foam pads. So their advantages are primarily limited to compactibility and ground comfort. They are also more expensive. High-quality, lightweight pads cost $70 or more, compared to $10–$30 of most closed-cell foam pads.

Open-cell foam pads come in different sizes. The most common widths are 20˝ (standard) and 24˝ (wide) and three pad lengths: 78˝ (long), 72˝ (full) and 54˝ (3/4). Full-length pads provide insulation from head to foot for most. The 3/4-length pad insulates from your head to your thighs, recognizing that not as much insulation or comfort is needed for the feet and lower legs. They can be propped up on a backpack or on unworn clothing.

Ultralight backpacking equipment manufacturers are beginning to recognize the demand for “shortie” pads that insulate only from shoulders to hips—torso length. Some options include the NightLight, a convoluted (egg crate), closed-cell foam pad offered by Gossamer Gear, and the TorsoLite, a self-inflating mattress from Bozeman Mountain Works. These torso pads rely on other gear to pad the head and legs.

Finally, recall that you don’t always need sleeping pads in the wilderness. I went many years without any sleeping bad and slept fine—not in the winter, though. Sleeping in soft campsites atop a thick layer of forest duff can be both warm and comfortable, even on cold nights. So if you are able to sleep on the ground, and you need very little insulation, feel free to leave the ground pad behind. Going without is the cheapest and most effective way to reduce pack weight.

BIVY SACKS

Bivy sacks are typically waterproof-breathable bags that form an outer layer for your sleeping system, enclosing you, your bag, and your sleeping pad. Most bivy sacks are one-person shelters with no pole structure. They are discussed in this chapter because they add insulation to your sleeping system and are commonly used by ultralight hikers in conjunction with a tarp, poncho, or snow shelter.

Bivy sacks are generally made of windproof, woven nylon and can lessen the convective heat loss of your sleep system. In still air, a bivy sack provides little added benefit for its weight, considering that it could be better spent on additional down fill for your sleeping bag. However, in windy, wet, or snowy conditions where the shell of your sleeping bag could compromise its down insulation, the use of a bivy sack can add tremendous warmth.

Bivy sacks that have added features to improve their livability, including elaborate hooped poles and complicated zipper configurations, are essentially single-wall tents that require a very small footprint. A small footprint is one of the primary advantages of using a bivy sack as a standalone shelter. But such configurations, which typically weigh 2–3 pounds, can be as heavy as a far roomier and more comfortable solo tent.

A simple bivy sack should not be used to reduce your bag weight, but to improve your sleep system performance in stormy or wet conditions. Thus, there are lighter, breathable (but not waterproof) bivy sacks that are meant not as shelters, but as protective covers for a sleeping bag. The degree to which these are waterproof varies, but they are generally at least water and wind resistant. Breathable bivy sacks tend to be much lighter than their waterproof-breathable counterparts because they use lighter fabrics, less weatherproof zippers, etc. The primary purpose of a breathable bivy sack is to decrease convective heat loss from wind and protect against occasional exposure to water. In addition, they dramatically improve the performance of sleeping quilts and hoodless bags. Breathable bivy sacks are useful in situations with very high condensation—single-walled tents, snow caves—or where you expect to get splashed under a tarp. Breathable bivy sacks can be as simple as two sheets of fabric sewn together and can be made easily as a homemade project. Commercial versions with zippers, mosquito netting windows, hoods, and contoured footboxes are available from the likes of Bibler, Bozeman Mountain Works, Equinox, Outdoor Research, and Oware.

The biggest complaint reported by bivy users is the accumulation of condensation. Because the formation of condensation in any shelter is driven more by the interior ventilation of the shelter and outside wind, which helps the shelter pump out internal moisture, it makes sense that poorly ventilated bivy sacks are more prone to condensation than other shelter designs.

If perspiration can’t escape through the bivy fabric, then insulation and down bags will lose their insulation rapidly. The worse possible combination of a sleeping bag and shelter is an ultralight down bag with a gossamer fabric shell in a waterproof-breathable (e.g., Gore-Tex) bivy sack on a night that is cold, clear, and still. Several nights of this without the ability to dry out your bag will be far more detrimental than the inability to stay dry getting in and out of the bivy sack during a rainstorm.

Bivy sack users report that if the sleeping pad is placed inside the bivy sack, rather than laying the bivy sack atop the pad, a warmer microenvironment is maintained and condensation decreases. I use a homemade breathable bivy sack for tarp camping, snow cave camping, and occasionally, in my single-wall tent. The bag is made of Activent (formerly manufactured by Gore and similar to Gore-Tex). It weighs 8 ounces. However, I find that the material is not breathable enough and does get some condensation on the inside, particularly when I sleep under the stars on a clear night. My breathable bivy sack also has a hood made of wedding veil material to control insects when sleeping under a tarp, a 0.5-ounce addition that can help solve one of the biggest problems of tarps: bug resistance.

Other materials used in breathable bivy sacks include EPIC by Nextec. It absorbs very little water, dries fast, is highly weather and wind resistant, but breathes poorer than most microfibers. EPIC is used in bivy sack designs by Bibler (Winter Bivy) and Oware (EPIC Bivy). Lightweight, uncoated nylon is poorly weather resistant but highly breathable and is used in simple and affordable designs by Equinox. Pertex Quantum, an ultralight nylon microfiber commonly used in ultralight sleeping bag shells, provides some balance of weather protection with exceptional breathability and is the lightest of the alternatives. It is used in the Bozeman Mountain Works Vapr Bivy, a 6.5-ounce bivy sack with a waterproof floor large enough for a winter sleeping bag with a full hood. It also has a two-way zipper that accommodates a netting window for buggy nights.

The Sleeping System

Now that we’ve discussed the theory of sleeping warm and the different components of a sleeping system, you need to decide what will work for you. Your sleep system will depend on where you hike, your awareness of your body’s own physiological nuances, your level of experience, and how much money you’re willing to spend. And don’t forget about how your sleeping system will integrate with your clothing and shelter systems.

A good place to start is to determine the lowest temperature you are likely to encounter on the trail and use it as the starting point for how warm your sleeping system needs to be. Second, try to determine how warm you sleep while in the backcountry. Only experience can provide you with this data. Unfortunately, there are no meaningful generalizations. Backyard camping, car camping, and single overnight backpacking trips won’t give you the physiological data points you need to predict your body’s response to cold on longer trips. Keep in mind that your body adapts to cold conditions over time, so you should be sleeping warmer on the fifth night of your backpacking trip than on the first. However, long-distance hikes reduce fat and generally degrade physiological performance, so you could be sleeping cold again as the weeks and months of a hike tick by.

An ultralight sleep system by Bozeman Mountain Works, ideally suited for tarp camping in comfort and style: a self-inflating torso-sized mattress (TorsoLite, 10 oz), variable girth sleeping bag (Arc X, 16 oz), and a Pertex Quantum bivy sack with silnylon floor (Vapr Bivy, 6 oz).

The basic components of any sleep system include a sleeping pad and bag. The ultralight backpacker recognizes the ability to integrate other gear and clothing for warmth and padding, so that full-length pads are generally unnecessary. Tarp campers require a ground sheet, the lightest alternative, but more are finding that the wind and rain spray resistance of a breathable bivy sack with a waterproof floor is a better option, especially in buggy or mountainous environments. A typical minimalist sleeping system for three seasons in the mountains of the Western US (Rockies, Sierras, Cascades) that integrates clothing can weigh as little as 2 pounds. And it doesn’t have to give up the comfort of down insulation, a self-inflating mattress, or protection from biting insects.

Adding a few simple items can extend the basic three-season system described above to colder temperatures. A closed-cell foam pad, face mask, and warmer insulating jacket can help you sleep comfortably into subfreezing conditions without buying a new sleeping bag. But at some point a dedicated winter system may be desirable for simplicity.

Chapter 8: Shelter

By Rick Dreher

One of the happy challenges that hikers tackle is finding shelter for the night. Yurts and lean-tos, tarps and teepees, igloos and snowcaves, tents and hammocks—they all aim to keep you comfortable during your nights in the wilderness.

Your shelter can be more than simply a spot to sleep. In the best of times it’s a place to reflect on your journey and consider the rewards of being out in the wilderness. Sometimes it’s a comfy cocoon while a storm howls and rages inches away. Sometimes it’s a window on a 100-mile panorama of mountaintops. Or a ringside seat to the inner workings of an elk herd. Sometimes, your shelter is a respite from clouds of shrieking bloodthirsty insects.

Not every night goes according to plan. Fierce winds rip tents and tarps from their moorings and threaten to send them to the next county. Rain insinuates itself through seams and zippers and doors and floors, making you cold, wet, and worried that morning will never arrive. Relentless mosquitoes on a hot muggy night force you to button up so much that you end up in a puddle of your own sweat. Snow piles onto walls, pressing in until you’ve scarcely got room to turn over. Rodents large and small cavort, chew, and tap dance in and out of your dreams—and your gear and your food.

For the lightweight backpacker, shelter is a three-part challenge—all while maintaining the minimalist approach to weight and bulk.

• Select the right shelter

• Master how to use that shelter in a wide range of conditions

• Choose the right place to set up camp

Shelter Basics

Shelter can be a roof; a roof and walls; or a roof, walls, and floor. Shelter can be a feature of your destination, something you carry with you, or something you create when you arrive. Different destinations dictate different shelter types, depending on campsite and conditions. Most commonly, campers need to get out of the weather — the cold, wind, rain, or snow. In other regions and times of year, it might mean sun, heat, and dust. Sometimes, even in the most pleasant of weather, shelter is needed to keep nature’s critters at bay—including the two-legged hominid type as well.

As is emphasized throughout this book, planning is paramount to the lightweight backpacker. We have to research the conditions we’ll be facing before making our shelter selection. You don’t lug a full mountaineering tent to the desert, and you don’t tote a tarp to Everest camp 3.

The al fresco approach. Many hikers prefer nothing at all, sleeping out in the open when they can. It simply requires that you predict conditions as part of your trip planning, and size up conditions in the field as you get ready to select your sleeping site for the night.

A ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD

A wilderness shelter can be tight as a 55-gallon drum or as gauzy as one of Salome’s veils. When and why do you choose one over the other? Cozy/sweltering/clammy/frigid—what can happen during the night?

Our primary focus here is on fabric shelters for the backpacker. With some exceptions, these take one of five forms:

• Tents

• Tarps

• Bivy sacks

• Teepees

• Hammocks

When selecting a shelter, the lightweight hiker keeps in mind the following ratio: pounds per sleeper (PPS), as in, pounds of shelter carried per person who will be sleeping in it. Summertime conditions can often accommodate a PPS of less than 2 and even less than 1. Wintertime travel, or a trip into chronically unsettled climes, can dictate a PPS far higher. Only after you’ve determined what conditions you’re facing can you sink your teeth into shelter selection.

The successful lightweighter looks at shelter one piece at a time. What comprises a shelter? Simply put, it’s everything that combines into creating your home for the night:

• Fabric body—be it a tent, tarp, teepee, or hybrid

• Groundcloth—your floor, if not an integral part of the body

• Skeleton—generally, any support poles

• Rigging—lines and stakes

If little lightbulbs are glowing above your head as you think, Hey, I can use something I’m already carrying for one of these parts, you’re on the right track. A poncho can serve as a tarp for one, or as a groundcloth if used carefully. Trekking poles can support tarps and certain tents, as can handy sticks. Sometimes poles are avoided completely by rigging a ridgeline between trees or dropping a topline from a handy overhead branch. Rocks, sticks, or bags filled with gravel or snow can fill in as stakes.

Nothing weighs less than … nothing. If sleeping under the stars appeals to you and you have confidence that conditions warrant it, carry no shelter at all. Just you, the ground below, and the sky above. What could be simpler? You can even skip the groundcloth if you carry a pad that won’t be damaged foam-a-terra. It’s not at all uncommon on longer trips to choose sleeping al fresco, even if shelter is at hand. But in most parts of the globe, if the trip is going to be longer than a night or two, it’s not the smartest approach to leave everything to chance. Our good search-and-rescue friends would certainly encourage you to be prepared for the unexpected. This book does the same. We will show how you can carry a complete shelter system that won’t weigh you down.

WARM AND DRY VERSUS COLD AND WET

Fabric shelters provide warmth by fending off moisture, protecting us from the wind, and in the case of tents, trapping some of our body heat. Even tarps may play some role in capturing heat radiated from the earth and our bodies, but not a lot. On a cold, calm night, temperature readings taken inside and out will show that the tent is several degrees warmer. Windy weather will carry tent heat off more quickly, but the protection from wind chill might be even more important. We have to be careful, though, not to let this temperature advantage be overwhelmed by moisture. Think of the worst-case scenario: an unventilated tent entirely made of impervious material. Our respired and perspired moisture would begin condensing on the walls the minute we closed the door. After a few more minutes the condensation would accumulate into drops that would gather and run down the walls in rivulets and drip on us from the ceiling. Quite soon, this water would pond on the floor.

Not a big bother, though, because we’d soon be passed out from the accumulation of carbon dioxide.

The opposite of the impermeable tent is one made entirely of netting, with a separate fly that’s used in cool or wet weather. In fact, most so-called, three-season tent designs use considerable mesh in their bodies to aid airflow and carry away excess heat and moisture. The question remains, what happens to that moisture when it gets to the top of the fly? Does it accumulate there and inevitably condense, or can it disperse? A few tents have one or more vents atop the fly. Others rely on the circulation afforded by the gaps between tent body and fly and the fly and the ground. In practice, the effectiveness of these strategies depends on conditions.

Some staunch tarp advocates consider this drenching to be the inevitable fate of all tent dwellers. But there are at least as many staunch tent dwellers that have never been soaked out in this fashion. There are too many variables to declare either side as entirely right. The proof is too tangled up with all those variables—tent design and location, climate and present conditions, the occupants and how they use the tent, the position of Jupiter and the price of a cup of coffee in Duluth. Vancouver Island’s soggy west coast presents an entirely different set of challenges and requirements than the high and arid Gobi Desert. Chances are good that you’ll be doing most of your camping in conditions somewhere between these extremes.

MOISTURE CONTROL

Moisture is an excellent conductor of heat. Air, by contrast, is an insulator and doesn’t conduct heat nearly as well. To stay warm we must stay dry, and that is shelter’s most important role.

Moisture sources can be obvious. Rain and snow are the prime culprits, and much of our shelter’s responsibility revolves around keeping it away. Fog is another source and, traveling quietly like a cat, can invade your sleeping quarters in spite of the roof. California’s coastal redwood forest ecosystems depend on fog as their moisture for the otherwise dry summer and fall. The trees accumulate moisture in droplets that gather and literally rain from the drooping redwood branches. The lush redwood undergrowth—home to the famous banana slug!—is testament to the system’s effectiveness. In this elegant model, we find there’s a way to get wet without a drop of real rain. Heavy fog can wet everything in an open-walled shelter.

Even without visible fog, humid air can be wet and cold enough that our breath and insensible sweat will nudge the air to the point where condensation forms on tent ceiling and walls, on sleeping bag shells, and inside sleeping bag insulation. Tarps and well-ventilated tents are generally best at dissipating hiker-generated moisture. Tight, impervious, waterproof tents and snow shelters are the worst. Single-walled, waterproof-breathable tents are an interesting case and discussed in more detail later.

The science behind condensation is simple: The colder the air, the less moisture it can hold. Condensation forms when moist air is either chilled—fog—or contacts a cold-enough surface—surface moisture, or dew. The temperature at which condensation forms is called the dew point, something we’re all familiar with from the local weather forecast. Greater altitudes with lower barometric pressure wring even more moisture out of the air.

The primary means of combating condensation in a shelter is to improve ventilation. To this extent, flat sheet tarps are the most condensation-resistant shelters. They do not restrict airflow by forcing it through vents, doors, or around beaks.

The other major source of moisture is the ground. Saturated soil and springtime snowpack can pump lots of water into the air and microclimate of your wilderness bedroom. Your groundcloth, bivy sack floor, or tent floor seals this moisture out.

Tarps

Nylon, twine, stakes, poles, some creativity—voilá, a bedroom! The humble tarp represents shelter at its most basic, yet at its lightest and most versatile. Fabric advances give us astonishingly light and strong tarps that can, for example, shelter two or three at less than a pound. If you’re in an area with enough trees or brush to leave your poles at home, the addition of lines and stakes along with a groundcloth completes your shelter.

A tarp is a flat piece of fabric with grommets or loops at the corners and at intervals along the sides. Sometimes, there are one or more loops down the center as well. Some tarps are square, but most are rectangles. Sizes vary, with a generally acceptable minimum being 5´ x 8´ feet to perhaps 10´ x 12´. An 8´x 10´ tarp is a popular size that can easily shelter two and even three sleepers if need be. A typical 8´x 10´ tarp made from silicone-coated nylon weighs 1–2 ounces under a pound and costs a little under $100. Folded, it takes up a tiny portion of precious pack space—a dinner-sized burrito’s worth. And what a burrito!

Other tarps, made of the more common, urethane-coated nylon are available at perhaps half the price and twice the weight of the silnylon. Even at 2 pounds, a bargain tarp is still a lightweight trail home. Don’t hesitate to use one of these, especially if you aren’t sure whether or not tarping is for you.

Even cheaper are tarps of plastic sheeting or even Tyvek. A sheet of 4-millimeter plastic can make an adequate shelter. The challenge is attaching your lines so that they’ll hold and won’t tear the plastic or pull off. There are several ways to accomplish this. One is to tie directly to the tarp with a sheetbend knot. This works pretty well on the corners, less well along the sides. The second method is to form a pocket in the plastic with a smooth pebble or small pinecone, for example, and tie it off with a piece of line. The third is to use one of the devices sold for this purpose. One such device is called the Visklamp and is a variation on the second method above. It’s a wire “key” that fits over a small rubber ball that you place behind the sheeting. The guyline ties to the wire.

TYVEK AND THE BLUETARP

Tyvek is a brand of spun polyethylene made by Dupont. There are a myriad of Tyvek varieties, but the one that commonly interests backpackers is the HomeWrap type. Tyvek is quite tough, being both tear and puncture resistant. The problem with HomeWrap is that it’s uncoated and, therefore, porous. This makes perfect sense in home construction, where its breathability prevents the damage of moisture buildup in wall cavities. It makes less sense for its potential use as rain protection. Nevertheless, Tyvek has its adherents and is suitable for shelter in all but the hardest rain.

The ubiquitous bluetarp—the grommetted, fiber-rein-forced, plastic jobs sold by the millions at discount stores everywhere—are a legitimate waterproof shelter option. They are neither lightweight nor especially compact. Their stiffness makes them challenging to set up and extraordinarily bulky. Groundcloths made from bluetarp fabric wear like iron but, again, are heavy.

GROMMETS OR LOOPS

Grommets in your tarp can fail by tearing out. They’re especially troublesome in silnylon, because the fabric is particularly thin and slippery. In urethane-coated nylon they’re more likely to stay put under stress. Silnylon tarps are better when made with webbing loops instead of grommets.

SEAM SEALING

Fabric tarps wider than 5 feet will have a center seam running down their length. (Five feet is a typical maximum width for bulk fabric rolls.) Generally, the seam is flat-felled and does not need to be sealed for silnylon tarps, but it definitely needs to be sealed for urethane-coated nylon tarps. In the case of standard coated nylon a number of sealants are available. They come either in a bottled liquid that can be brushed or daubed, on or in a thicker form in a tube that is squeezed, brushed, or spread on using an irrigation syringe (McNett Seam Grip is a popular and effective brand).

Silicone nylon requires silicone sealant. This can either be a commercial preparation, such as McNett SilNet, or a homebrew made by thinning silicone sealant with a solvent, such as paint thinner or even white gas. A complete seam-sealing job covers the fabric joints and the stitching lines on both sides. For the common flat-felled center seam, you’ll want to coat the two stitching lines and the seam itself—where the two pieces of fabric meet. Sealing the tie-out points is not necessary to prevent leakage, but it protects the seam from water absorption and increase seam strength when under stress.

Stealth 1 Tarp by Bozeman Mountain Works; Madison River, Beartrap Canyon, Montana.

TARP CONFIGURATIONS

There are a lot of ways to pitch a tarp: some simple and obvious, some rather complex and elegant. Cut a sheet of typing paper to 8 x 10 inches and you have a practice tarp that is a miniature replica of a full-size 8-x-10-foot backpacking tarp. What options do you have? You can practice all of the following. An office meeting is a highly recommended place to practice.

THE A-FRAME

Think pup tent without the front and back doors and floor, and you’ve got the basic A-frame tarp. At a minimum, you need a ridge-line and attachment at the four corners. In practice, it’s generally necessary to use more anchoring lines, especially if there’s any wind or rain.

An 8’ x 10’ tarp pitched as an A-frame shelter with trekking poles. A minimum of six stakes are required, but 8-12 stakes adds stability in high winds. Guylines can be used at the corners and sides (shown here] for more interior room and better ventilation, or the corners and sides can be staked directly to the ground for better wind resistance.

One set of end corners of a tarp pitched in A-frame mode can be drawn inward and staked to create a closed end for more weather resistance.

THE FLYING DIAMOND

Turn your tarp 45 degrees, making one corner the foot and the opposing corner the entrance, and you have the basics of the flying diamond. Useful in foul weather, the flying diamond doesn’t provide the maximum living space but protects from weather on three of four sides. The opening is generally the only corner supported by a pole. The flying diamond works best with a square tarp—a 9´ x 9´ is ideal. But it also works with rectangles if the length and width aren’t too different.

Pitched in the Flying Diamond configuration, an 8’ x 10’ tarp provides terrific headroom, shead, overhead rain protection, and wind resistance from two sides. However, if the wind shifts and weather is stormy, the massive open front leaves you exposed to the elements. Use creativity in pitching the flying diamond according to weather and the number of people under your tarp. Lower the peak for better weather resistance, increase the height of the sides with guylines for better ventilation, or add trekking pole(s) to the interior (shown) to improve headroom and stability.

THE FLAT ROOF AND LEAN-TO

It’s possible to string your tarp as a flat roof— an awning. This is a good method in fair weather, especially if sun protection is desired. If you’re lucky enough to be able to do so from trees and bushes, you can have a high ceiling and no guylines to trip over. The flat roof is the worst configuration in the rain. Not only will it allow the weather in from all sides, water will pool in your awning and either bring it to the ground or gush off in multi-gallon surges.

A flat tarp gives you maximum creativity in creating a shelter that meets your needs, adapts to the environment, and reflects your style. Pitching a tarp elegantly is as much about art as it is about technique. Here, dual trekking poles are used to create more headroom in an 8’ x 10’ tarp, with two and a half sides pitched directly to the ground for weather resistance.

A variation, the lean-to, has one side—usually a long side—guyed or staked directly to the ground and the other elevated as the opening. The lean-to, with its ground-level “foot” pitched into the wind, is simple, roomy, and offers good weather protection.

In truly foul weather, you may have neither the means, the time, nor the desire to make an elegant tarp home. It’s possible to quickly make an effective shelter by loosely guying down the four corners and raising a pole in the center. Once you’ve claimed this space out of the rain, you can arrange your gear underneath and adjust your shelter as time allows and needs dictate. While it will protect against stormy weather from all sides, the tarp teepee isn’t the simplest to get in and out of.

TARPS THAT AREN’T FLAT

The simple tarp is a noble thing, providing a myriad of shelter possibilities. But there are weaknesses inherent to that flat sheet of cloth. First, it is impossible to rig them to be perfectly flat, with no sags, folds, or wrinkles. Beyond the aesthetics of not having a picture-perfect pitch, the sags and folds reveal high and low stress points, indicating areas of weakness. Rain can collect in folds, causing further sagging, and the whole works will flap in the wind. Lots of guy points and clever rigging reduce but never completely eliminate these flaws.

In response, some tarp designs incorporate angled ends that form small downward sloping “porch” areas at the head and foot. These help strengthen and stabilize the tarp, and enable it to better shed rain and wind, increasing protection for the sleepers. Other tarps incorporate catenary designs that provide a natural curve along the ridgeline or sides. Think of a chain spanning two fence posts: It always is bowed in a curve described as catenary. By replicating this curve in the ridgeline, the tarp’s natural tendency to sag down its center is incorporated into the design. Such wing-style tarps pitch beautifully and can be guyed drum-tight. They are probably the strongest of all tarp-style shelters. They can’t, however, be pitched in the many variations of the flat tarp.

Stealth Poncho Tarp by Bozeman Mountain Works; Lost Coast, California

Stealth Poncho Tarp by Bozeman Mountain Works — Spanish Peaks, Montana — pitched in a hybrid style: A-frame at the foot end, and lean-to at the head end. This pitch provides the better protection of an A-frame pitch while still affording the views and ventilation of a lean-to pitch.

WHEN THE WEATHER TURNS FOUL

Anybody who tarps often enough will be blessed with a stretch of awful weather. You can keep wind and rain at bay by first picking a high or sloped piece of ground that won’t channel or puddle water into your sleeping quarters. This can be a challenge, especially in established campsites that typically have several well-used tent sites forming perfect little ponds in the rain. If it’s already raining, you can easily spot these sites and avoid them, but if rain is still only threatening, you’ll need all your observation skills to find the right site.

Become a weatherman. Try to determine which way the prevailing winds are blowing, and set up your shelter with the foot end into the wind. Pitch the foot and sides as low as possible without actually contacting your sleeping bag. If your tarp has guy points on the sides and in from the edges, using them will pull the walls up and away from you, add interior space, reduce flapping, and prevent rain from pooling on the tarp itself and coming off in waves.

If it’s raining while you are setting up, use your basic pitch to gain fast shelter for yourself and your gear. Once out of the rain, you can get organized, change out of your wet clothes, and watch the conditions to decide how to do the rest of your rigging. You might even cook dinner first or have a hot drink to take off the chill. Then take as much time as you need to fix your home, even if it means making the head end the foot, and vice versa. In the mountains especially the wind can shift and swirl, channeled by the land’s contours.

In the half-pyramid configuration, a tarp provides outstanding weather resistance when pitched with the foot of the tarp into the wind. This 8’ x 10’ tarp requires only four stakes (peak, two front corners, and rear center), with the rear corners tucked inward to provide a dry place for gear storage, useful when camping on snow or wet ground.

If your tarp is large enough, segregate your wet and dry gear. Hang wet clothing from the ridgeline (if you use one). Footwear is kept by the front door, out of the rain, and safely away from your sleeping area. It’s sometimes advisable to keep wet gear on a small tarp or plastic trash bag. Don’t keep anything that’s dripping wet on your main groundcloth, lest water run toward your dry clothes and sleeping gear. If you have a poncho, you can extend your tarp’s front entrance for a really large, protected sleeping and relaxing space. Finally, once you’re battened down, enjoy the storm from the comfort of your bed and perhaps think about the less fortunate folks back home trapped in their boring houses.

BUGS

Into every tarper’s life some bugs crawl. Be it resolute carpenter ants skidding audibly down your nylon sleeping bag or incessant whining clouds of mosquitoes, your missing walls, doors, and floor open you wide to the invading hordes. (Okay, you’re the invader, but the better you sleep, the sooner you’ll leave.) Some bug netting can stave off the invasion. There are several options.

Headnet

A netting sack large enough to cover your sleeping bag’s head is the minimum to keep bugs out of your bag and off your face. You may need to sew Velcro patches to the bag and netting to keep it in place. If you’re hot and need to sleep partway out of your bag, you’ll defeat the netting’s protection.

Netting bivy

Several framed netting shelters are available. Some cover the sleeping bag’s top two-thirds, allowing you to leave your arms out. The framework keeps the netting well off your face, meaning that mosquitoes can’t bite you through it. The A-16 Bivy cleverly collapses into a disk that packs away easily. The Outdoor Research (OR) Bug Bivy is full-length, with a single hoop and coated nylon floor. While heavier than some of the competition, the OR bivy gives complete protection and can replace your groundcloth. It even provides a (tight) space for changing and allows you to sleep completely out of your bag on hot nights. Most bivy manufacturers offer netted openings to keep the bivy sack ventilated in warmer, buggy conditions.

Netted tarp

Netting doors and skirts can be sewn to a tarp and give surprisingly good protection while keeping ample ventilation. An added benefit is the netting catches rain splatter and slows the wind. Long netting skirts can be tucked under gear, rocks, sticks, the groundcloth—anything to hold it in place and keep your neighbors at bay.

Suspended netting shelter

You can fashion a netting tent underneath a tarp. This can be anything from an informal length of gathered netting suspended from the ridgeline to a full-blown netting tent with doors and floor, such as those made by GoLite and Oware.

THE GROUNDCLOTH

If the tarp is your roof and walls, then your groundcloth is your floor. You’ll want one large enough to accommodate your sleeping area, gear, and clothing. If two or more are sharing the space, it’s best to have a single cloth big enough for all. Groundcloths are, to an extent, sacrificial. They are, after all, what’s between you and the cruel earth. Depending on what, where, and how they’re used, a groundcloth can last a few nights or an entire PCT thru-hike. The cautious will begin simple, light, and cheap, and move up as the need arises.

There are several types. Groundcloth can be made of plastic sheeting, Mylar, Tyvek, fiber-reinforced plastic, or coated nylon.

Plastic sheeting ranges from thin, painter’s dropcloths (1–2 mm), to the heavier weights used in the construction industry (3–6 mm). The thinner dropcloths are light, cheap, and compact, but puncture easily. Heavier weight plastic is plenty strong but can be quite slippery and heavy. All plastic attracts a lot of dirt.

Mylar is strong for its thickness and very light, but crinkles underneath. The Mylar used in emergency blankets punctures easily. Stronger Mylar sheeting is used in the construction industry and can be purchased at big box home improvement stores.

Tyvek, discussed earlier, is very strong. Crinkly when new, you can run it through a washing machine to soften it before using. A gentle rinse cycle is sufficient. Remember not to rely on Tyvek if you’re going to be in very wet conditions.

Fiber-reinforced plastic is heavier than most of the other options, but is nearly indestructible. The emergency blanket version, which is aluminized on one side, is often purchased on the premise that some heat will be reflected back to the sleeper. Don’t count on it.

Urethane-coated nylon groundcloths are among the more expensive options but do a good job without being slippery. Silicone-coated nylon groundcloths are lighter, strong enough, exceedingly slippery, and effective dirt magnets. The slipperiness can be reduced by applying a pattern of silicone sealant in dots or stripes across the surface. The silicone might slow the sliding if the bead is large enough, but it will add weight.

Tents

The most popular of all wilderness shelters is the tent. And why not? Tents are the closest thing to a home away from home that you can carry on your back. There’s something almost magical about unrolling the wad of nylon and string from its sack and in a few minutes having it become your own little fabric fort.

Tents vary from the miniscule to airy multi-room palaces. Some are single skinned and others are double walled. Tents without floors are discussed elsewhere. For our purposes, a tent, at a minimum, has a floor, door, roof, and walls.

It’s the separation from the outdoors that many tent detractors dislike, preferring as they do, to sleep in the open, or at most, under a tarp. They have a point. There is perhaps more a sense of being outdoors when the view is 360 degrees from under a tarp. But when the storm is lashing, the bugs bombing, the wind ripping, or the neighbors’ eyes prying, a tent can be the better place. Tent detractors also maintain that tents are fatally flawed because they drench their occupants in condensation. It’s certainly possible and does happen. But proper tent design and correct use can keep this problem under control in most situations. (And lest we kid ourselves, under-tarp soakings happen too.)

The TarpTent by Henry Shires is one of the most aesthetic and effective singlewall shelters available. The two-person Squall model, shown here in the Spanish Peaks of Montana, weighs less than 2 pounds and provides effective protection from weather and insects with excellent views and ventilation through the mesh front door.

TENT TYPES

We’ll focus primarily on double versus single wall, and free-standing versus hoop tents.

Double wall

Most common of all tents, the double-wall combines a tent body (floor, walls/ceiling, and door) with a separate waterproof nylon or polyester rainfly The floor is most commonly made of nylon waterproofed with a heavy urethane coating, and the walls, doors, and ceiling of noncoated nylon—either ripstop or taffeta. Floor seams, either across the floor or up the sides and corners, are factory taped in all but the least expensive models, making them impervious to water. Most floors extend some amount up the walls, the theory being that this “bathtub” keeps striking rain and even pooling water at bay.

All but the most serious mountaineering tents are fitted with netting-backed vents and windows. Airflow, as we shall see, is important. Schemes to keep both the air flowing and the insect world at bay are an important part of tent design. The rainfly will stretch at least over all windows, doors, and uncoated portions of the tent body. Some rainflys completely enclose the tent, extending sideways well beyond the doors to form vestibules— like little front porches. Rainflys must never touch the tent body. The airspace between body and fly is needed to carry away moisture and to prevent condensation from forming inside the tent. Fly edges also have to stop short of the ground to allow air to flow underneath, lest they smother the tent occupants and trap moisture.

Single wall

Simpler and generally lighter than double-wall tents are single-wall tents. These fall into two camps: breathable and ventilated impermeable.

In the first kind, breathable fabrics, similar to those used in waterproof-breathable raingear, comprise the walls, doors, and ceiling. Designed and used correctly, they keep rain out yet don’t collect significant interior condensation, since interior moisture can be driven through the walls. Those made of impermeable fabrics take the other route: adding extensive and aggressive ventilation schemes to keep airflow high and limit accumulation of interior moisture and subsequent condensation. In-between are mountaineering single-wall tents of fabrics that breathe well enough in the mountains where the air is typically drier.

Single-wall tents were on their way to claiming a large portion of the backpacking market when, in the 1980s, they were hit by US federal regulations requiring fire-retardant tent fabrics. The Gore-Tex fabrics commonly in use at the time didn’t meet the regulations, and the tents disappeared from the market. Today, there are a few waterproof-breathable tents available. They are mostly freestanding models, and many are aimed at the mountaineering market. They are reasonably light and are certainly worth considering. It should be noted that they also tend to be expensive.

In use, single-wall tents require some different techniques than the typical double-wall design. They sometimes have doors exposed to the elements, meaning that there is no vestibule. Ventilation is usually provided by vents, windows, or netting-backed doors. However, there’s another trick that dates back to the Gore-Tex tents made by Early Winters. They recommended that, if the tent were suffering from condensation, to shut the doors and windows. This traps more heat and increases the temperature differential between indoors and out, driving the moisture through the fabric. Remarkably, given the right combination of environmental conditions, this does the trick and can be helped along considerably by a candle.

Single-wall impermeable tents make no concessions in the need for aggressive ventilation. The best scheme is to let in air at ground level and vent at or near the tent’s high point (hot, moist air rises). Some are equipped with massive awning-protected windows that usually vent quite effectively.

Freestanding tents

Freestanding tents are supported by a crisscrossing set of poles that completely support the tent and fly without significant guying. These take a bewildering variety of shapes. The simplest have rectangular floors and use a pair of poles that attach at opposite corners, crossing overhead dead center. As poles are added to the tent design, complexity abounds. There are many, many three-, four-, five-, and even six-pole designs. The poles are sometimes erected inside the body, especially with single-wall tents, leaving a smooth exterior that doesn’t catch the wind or easily trap snow and rain. More common is to crisscross the poles as an exoskeleton over the outside body, attached using external fabric sleeves or suspension clips. The pole tips normally clip into grommets in webbing tabs sewn to the tent floor. The fly is draped over this assembly and oftentimes clips to buckles on webbing extending from the pole attachment points at the tent floor. Defying this description of “freestanding,” the flys on these tents generally need guying to create adequate space between canopy and fly, minimize flapping in the wind or sagging in the rain and snow, and keep the whole works from blowing off the lip of that ridge. Freestanding tents filled with gear take flight surprisingly often.

Hoop tents

Hoop tents are a variation of the canvas covering on a Conestoga wagon. A series of hoops, usually two or three, runs essentially parallel to one another. In a tapered design, the pole at the foot will be the shortest. If a double-wall tent, the fly extends beyond the door to create a vestibule and to keep rain off the inner door itself. Recent hoop tents often have a front door that’s along one side, rather than dead center of the head end. This arrangement can help reduce the rain or snow that gets inside when entering or leaving.

Solo tents

The solo traveler has several small tents to choose among, but at a fairly high PPS. Some one-man designs exceed 5 pounds of trail weight. Most ultralight models are coming in at 2.5-3.5 PPS. Thus, a tent seldom offers the best PPS for the solo hiker, but can compare favorably for parties of two or more. In addition to a high PPS value, most solo tents severely cramp living space. They are best suited for those who hike all day and only need a place to sleep at night, rather than to hang out and camp. Spending a few days hunkered down in a tiny tunnel solo tent while waiting out a storm will certainly cause you to come back to this book and star the margin here.

FOOTPRINTS

Nearly every tent made offers a companion footprint, a piece of coated nylon that goes under the tent’s floor. The rationale is that the tent floor needs protection from the ground, lest it spring leaks from punctures and wear spots. Costing from $30 to $50, these footprints beg the questions: Is the tent floor strong enough? And if not, why?

The extra weight and expense can be avoided two ways. Keep the tent floor healthy by carefully selecting tent sites and not wearing shoes inside. Or take along a thin sheet of plastic, perhaps a painting dropcloth or Mylar rescue blanket, and fashion your own lightweight footprint. In areas where sharp rock or thorns can’t be avoided, this second floor might be necessary. Trim the sheet to be smaller than the tent so that it doesn’t funnel water underneath.

Another possible reason to opt for the footprint is that certain tents can be pitched using the fly, poles, and footprint only. In some cases leaving the tent body at home can save several pounds. How well this arrangement works depends on the tent’s design.

CHOOSING A TENT

How do we choose among the hundreds of tents on the market? Because of our focus on weight, most of them will fall off the list right away. Many have PPS weights of 4–6 pounds, with that solo-tent PPS among the highest of all.

There are two issues:

• Creative manufacturer weights

• The packed/minimum weight paradox

As with the other major pieces of gear, tent weights are frequently misstated, so they turn out to be heavier than claimed. Also, the interpretation of “packed” and “minimum” weights vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. “Packed” can include tent, fly, poles, lines, stakes, and sacks, or it can include all that plus instructions, seam sealer, hang tags—everything that ships with a new tent. “Minimum” weight is even more confusing, ranging from just the tent, fly, lines, and poles, to just the fly, poles, and (optional) footprint.

If your head is swimming, you know what you have to do. Take your own scales to your local gear emporium and weigh the candidates yourself. Once you have some finalists, have them set up and climb inside. You need room to sleep and live. However many occupants you’re planning for need to fit inside along with their sleeping gear and at least a few extras.

Hammock shelters allow you to spend the night in places no one sleeping on the ground would even think about. Here, a Hennessy Adventure Racing Hammock is pitched on a steep forested slope. The stock silnylon fly has been replaced by a Bozeman Mountain Works Stealth 1, which adds space, offers more flexible pitching options, and saves weight. The total package shown here, which includes the hammock, tarp, six titanium tent stakes, and Spectra guylines weighs less than 1 pound.

You may also want to bring in your gear or leave it protected under a vestibule. If so, make sure your tent can do it.

• Can you sit up without your head grazing the ceiling?

• Can you stretch out without your sleeping bag touching any tent walls?

• Can you hang clothing, a flashlight, or lantern from the ceiling?

• How is the door(s) configured?

• Can two or more people get in and out without climbing over their tentmates or without letting rain or snow inside?

• Can you scoot in backward, take off your shoes out of the weather, and leave them outside still protected from the rain?

Next, ask yourself what the ventilation is like. Look for the ability to take in fresh air at ground level and exhaust it above. This flow will help reduce the accumulation of moisture. Some tents vent well even with the fly configured to fend off rain. Others don’t and become veritable saunas that will soak the occupants. In hot, dry weather, a tent that opens wide while keeping bugs away is best.

And, for many ultralighters, perhaps the best reason for never bringing a tent should be the top priority when selecting yours: How are the views? Forget about plastic windows. They fog with condensation and lack optical clarity after only a short time of use. Look for flys that can be rolled back and pitched open and voluminous mesh bodies that allow you to enjoy the surroundings in the absence of bad weather and in the presence of swarms of mosquitoes.

HAMMOCKS

“I’m swingin’ in the rain.….” There’s nothing new about hammocks. Tropical dwellers have used them for centuries, perhaps millennia. They’ve never been an especially popular option for backpackers, perhaps because nobody had taken the time to sort through and overcome their limitations. That’s changed.

First, to state the obvious, a hammock has to attach on either end. So high-alpine, desert, and tundra hikers will probably have to take a pass. But where there are trees, or even sturdy bushes, stringing a hammock is a legitimate bedroom option. The simple and elegant Hennessy Hammock is a two-piece miracle of fabric and line. The body strings between two trees a few paces apart. Two sidelines spread the body and prevent excessive sway. A rainfly covers the works, attaching to the mainline and sidelines. The fabric body and a surprisingly slender ridgeline provide its strength.

To get inside, you enter headfirst through an opening slit in the bottom that extends from the end about a third of the way to the center. You sit on the floor and bring your feet up and in, swinging them away from the opening, which snaps shut. Other hammock brands offer a more traditional configuration, including entrance from the side. They are generally heavier and more complex than the Hennessy. But more innovation is likely to come in the hammock arena.

A hammock seldom allows for gear storage. Your gear can either stay directly underneath, protected by the fly overhead, or perhaps be hung from one of the supporting trees.

Keeping warm on cold nights in a hammock is a challenge. It hasn’t been well quantified how much more heat is lost while suspended in air compared to sleeping on the ground with a pad. If heat loss is through a combination of conduction, convection, radiation, and evaporation, it’s likely that hammocking significantly increases convection. The body is exposed to free-flowing air all around. By comparison, the ground directly under an earthbound sleeper slowly warms and probably carries away less total heat. Because the hammock fabric presses both from underneath and the sides, an insulating pad should wrap around the torso where the sleeping bag insulation is compressed. An added radiant barrier in the form of an emergency blanket or other reflective fabric can preserve more of the sleeper’s body heat. Hammocks seem to match well to blanket-and-pad combinations, such as the Rab, Golite, Nunatak, or Big Agnes.

Pyramid shelters like the Black Diamond Megalite and Oware Alphamid (both shown in this photo on a backcountry ski and snowshoe trek in the Montana Beartooths) provide adequate shelter for mild winter storms, but attention needs to be paid during heavy snows (digging is required to keep the shelters from collapsing) and setup takes some time due to the high number of snow stakes required for a taut pitch.

TEEPEES AND OTHER ODDITIES

There are still shelters that don’t fall into the other categories we’ve discussed. Teepees are single-wall and usually floorless, with a single center pole. They are equipped with a simple door and some sort of vents near the top. Made of waterproof-coated material, usually nylon, teepees rely on venting to clear out moisture. In fair weather, many teepee designs allow the floor to be raised above ground level, allowing good airflow but admitting critters. In anticipation, some have a netting skirt. Others, targeted at wintertime camping, have fabric skirts upon which snow can be heaped to provide a shield from the wind and weather. Curiously, teepee doors never seem to be fitted with netting backing to allow for bug-free ventilation in hot weather. At least one, however, offers a netting door insert as an optional accessory. And another offers a fully enclosed, netted, inner-teepee tent with a floor.

Teepees are useful year round. In winter, quite the living space can be excavated underneath with sleeping platforms, etc. You just need to accommodate the center pole with some sort of support that won’t allow it to sink into the snow. Something like a small plywood disk will do. The Megamid by Black Diamond is a popular floorless teepee, but lighter ones are available, including Black Diamond’s MegaLite, the GoLite Hex, and other models from Oware and Tipi Kifaru.

There are other fabric shelters. Some are tentlike but you supply the frame, or they’re suspended from a ridgeline and spread out with lines and stakes. The Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo shelter is an example. Created by lightweight backpacking enthusiast Ron Moak, the Lunar Solo is a silnylon-and-netting tent that relies on trekking poles for support and large vents and awnings for minimizing condensation. It provides effective shelter for 1.5–2.0 pounds. The Integral Designs Silshelter is a floorless tentlike shelter that relies on trekking poles for support and weighs about a pound. A series of fully enclosed shelters with netted doors are also available from the likes of TarpTent, TrailQuest, GoLite, and Six Moon Designs.

BIVY SACKS

Covered previously, bivy sacks deserve mention in this shelter discussion too. First, there are bivy sacks that blur the line between bivy and tent. They have one or more hoop poles, and some even have open head areas and netting-backed, zippered doors. All are single walled and made of waterproof-breathable fabric, some with coated nylon floors. These are for folks who don’t suffer from the merest hint of claustrophobia and who aren’t interested in bringing much gear or doing much more than sleeping inside. In the event of long stretches of bad weather, the bivy should probably be paired with a small tarp to protect gear, the bivy entrance, and cooking out of the weather.

Maybe the bivy’s biggest appeal is its ability to occupy the smallest possible bit of real estate, miniscule campsites that everybody else has to pass by. A spot in a tiny mountainside meadow that faces east can reward the lucky bivouac’er with a sunrise to remember forever. In addition, a bivy takes little pack space. Many, but not all, are quite light. Some of the more complex designs are well over 2 pounds.

In the case of the simpler overbag-style bivy, their sheltering qualities keep away wind and wind-driven rain and snows, making tarp camping in nasty weather far less risky.

Trail Shelters & Structures

Some parts of the US offer the option of trail shelters, cabins, or lean-tos. These range from the most basic of accommodations—a roof and a spot to sleep —to a multi-room cabin. Significant stretches of the Appalachian Trail can be hiked without carrying any sort of tent or tarp. The shelters are abundant. The same is true of New Zealand’s Great Tracks and many hiking areas of Asia, Europe, and the United Kingdom. Clearly, for those minimizing pack weight, planning to stay in manmade shelters means having to carry no shelter at all.

As appealing as this may sound, they are sometimes full, meaning a hike to the next one or perhaps even backtracking to the last. Crowded into a shelter with several strangers isn’t always a recipe for a good night’s sleep or a practice in exercising social graces. And some shelters are overrun by vermin. You can spend the night fending off mice or rats. But to some, there’s an appeal to solid walls and a roof, a fireplace and a kitchen, and a place to dry wet clothes. Granted, many ultralight backpackers call these places their “house” or “apartment”—the very place they’re trying to escape from.

Shelters that are staffed and managed usually operate on a reservation system so that they are, in fact, dependable. Some backcountry shelters can also be reserved, including a great many US Forest Service cabins and fire lookouts. In many parts of the Western US, trail shelters were once common, but many have been removed over the last couple of decades by the National Park and Forest Services, making the shelter option just a memory.

SNOW SHELTERS

Sleeping in the snow requires special preparation and care. The shelter’s job remains staving off the cold and wet. Typical four-season and mountaineering tents are bombproof and bomb heavy, often sporting a PPS of 4-5 pounds. What alternatives are there for the lightweight hiker?

Two options that come to mind are the igloo and the snow cave. Igloos are walled domes made from snow blocks that you cut yourself from the floor area and surrounding snow pack. You’ll need a snow saw, snow shovel, time, practice, and snow with a reasonable amount of water content.

Snow caves are caverns dug into a very deep and thick snow bank. They require snow shovels, time, waterproof clothing, and practice.

The positives of igloos and snow caves are many. They are shelters made of available materials, freeing the camper of carrying a tent. A snow shovel is generally carried anyway, and a snow saw for igloo making along with a ground tarp are it—perhaps 2 pounds versus 10. Neither of these options are a casual shelter. You don’t pull into camp at 4:00 and crawl into bed by 5:00. Igloos and snow caves take hours to construct, and residents are tempted to tweak the interiors for hours more. They’re not for sleep-quick-and-split winter fastpacking.

If you supply the roof, you can fairly quickly dig a living space in the snow. A teepee, a tarp stretched over a line or pole can be used in an emergency.

Stakes and Guylines

Myriad tent stakes exist on the market, with only three types that distinguish themselves from the rest and are actually worth considering.

The first type is the titanium skewer, usually 1/8 inch or so in diameter and 6 inches in length. At less than a 0.25 ounces apiece, they are far and away the lightest stakes you can buy. They are strong enough for most soils. Considering that you can carry double the amount of titanium stakes for the same weight of cheaper stakes, they are very popular among tarp campers who like to dance with foul weather and need plenty of additional guy-out points to secure their shelter. The primary disadvantage with titanium stakes is that they are expensive: $2.50 to $3.00 apiece, but are available to BackpackingLight.com website subscribers for as little as $1.75 each. And in a natural color that can only be described as stealth gray, they’re easy to lose. Bozeman Mountain Works addresses the issue with an even more expensive option by offering hi-visibility orange coatings on their 0.22-ounce titanium stakes. Hikers buy them on the theory that money invested up front in loss protection is money saved in the long run.

The other type of stake that works well in a wider variety of snow conditions and offers greater strength is the nail stake. Budget hikers claim the performance of an aluminum gutter nail purchased from the hardware store is sufficient, but our experience tells us differently. Anodized aluminum nail pegs with rectangular cross sections, as distributed with MSR (US) and Lightwave (UK) tents are superior. They weigh only 0.5 ounces apiece. For serious pegging in rocky environments, 0.5-ounce titanium nail pegs from both Snow Peak and Vargo Outdoors are available.

The third type of stake that is popular comes with the tent you purchase. Quality, size, strength, and weight vary widely. You may perceive that you are getting a free set of pegs with your tent. Soon enough the quality will reflect that and you’ll seek replacements.

Snow and sand stakes tend to be heavier (1+ ounces apiece) and come in two primary designs: flukes, such as the SMC T-Anchor that work well in soft snow, and crescent moon pegs, which have a semicircular cross section that works better in harder snow. Sand and snow anchors can be as simple as a small, silnylon stuff sack filled with sand or snow, and weigh less than 0.1 ounces apiece.

Virtually any thin (1–2mm) cord material works well enough for guylines, but weights, strengths, handling properties, water absorption, and stretch varies widely. The gold standard for lightweight hiking has long been Kelty Triptease. At $15 per 50 feet, it is an expensive ounce of equipment. On par, but with higher strength/weight ratios, are pure braided Spectra lines, such as those available from Gossamer Gear and Bozeman Mountain Works (AirCore 1 and 2). From a weight standpoint, these guylines are the lightest you can buy. But they suffer from tangling in long lengths, especially during storage. Also, they absorb some water into the core of the braid, and they are only available in white. To address these issues, Bozeman Mountain Works offers AirCore Pro, a urethane-coated, 100-percent Dyneema guyline dyed bright yellow for visibility.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, backpackers need to find shelter to get out of the weather, rest, and refuel. Hopefully, they will stay comfortable during the wilderness night. Shelter can take on many forms, but for the lightweight backpacker, it’s a three-part challenge: selecting the right shelter, mastering how to use that shelter in a wide range of conditions, and choosing the right place to set up camp—all while maintaining the minimalist approach to weight and bulk.

Eating, Drinking, and Hygiene

Chapter 9

Hydration

Chapter 10

Trail Food, Backcountry Cooking, and Nutrition

Chapter 11

Hygiene

Chapter 9: Hydration

By George Cole

The Physiology of Hydration

You’ve made it this far, and you’ve been exposed to a great deal of technical and detailed information on the high points of lightweight backpacking. So in starting this chapter with a discussion of the physiology of hydration, we’re going to be less technical, less specific, and probably a wee bit less accurate, depending on which “expert” you pay homage to.

If you accept the theory that all life on earth evolved from single-celled organisms that lived in a primordial sea, you probably are not too uncomfortable with the fact that your body consists of millions of individual cells filled and surrounded by a fluid much like seawater. In fact, about 70 percent of the total weight of the body is fluid weight. Ninety percent of that fluid is good old H₂O. The rest is mostly dissolved salts.

“Big deal,” you say. “What does that have to do with backpacking?”

Following a hearty meal of trail mix, often called gorp (usually raisins, peanuts, and chocolate chips), we immediately go to work breaking down all the foods into their constituent sugars, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. This process starts in the fluid environment of the stomach and continues in the slightly less fluid environment of the small intestine. The resulting nutrient molecules, dissolved in fluid, get passed through the walls of the stomach and intestine and end up floating in another fluid—blood.

Nutrients are carried throughout the body by the bloodstream. Eventually, they are dropped off at the various resident cells that need fuel in order to do the work that we will ask them to do tomorrow, such as carrying us and our pots, pans, and GPS units further up the side of Mount Soreknees. Nutrients get into various resident cells in various ways, and all of those ways depend on some method of fluid transport through cell walls.

Once in a cell, nutrients move about in the fluid that fills the cell, called the intra-cellular fluid, until they are taken up and transformed by the cell’s motors, or mitochondria, into energy. This process is actually composed of various chemical reactions that together are referred to as metabolism. Many of these reactions depend upon molecular water (H₂O) to work properly.

What’s left of a nutrient after it’s been metabolized does not have to remain inside the cell in order for the cell to do its job. In fact, it takes up valuable space. So in a dissolved state, it is transported out of the cell and back into the blood, where eventually it is removed by the kidneys and stored in another fluid until it gets peed into a little hole in the side of old Mount Soreknees.

At the same time, we’re sucking in large quantities of thin mountain air while trying to get some oxygen to our cells so that they can make those M&Ms in our gorp go to work for us. The oxygen gets dissolved in the fluid on the surface of the lung. In its dissolved state it passes through the surface of the lung into the bloodstream, where it hitches a ride on a red blood cell. It then gets washed up against the wall of a waiting resident cell and diffuses through the cell wall into the intra-cellular fluid. Eventually, while lending its unique properties to the metabolism of an M&M by a mitochondrion, the oxygen combines with one of the byproducts of backpacker metabolism, carbonized peanut butter, and returns to the bloodstream for its journey back to the lungs, where it ends its journey as bad breath.

Further, all the metabolizing we’re doing to get up Mount Soreknees produces heat. Since our cells don’t want to end up boiling in their own juice, they allow some of it to leak out onto the surface of the skin, where it evaporates and cools us down. At the same time, our muscles are contracting, rubbing up against one another, and causing the ends of our bones to pivot, slide, and twist in our joints. A type of water-based WD-40 is used to lubricate all the potential points of friction.

Finally, while our body depends upon its skeleton for its axial structure, kind of like a flag does a flagpole, it depends upon the pressure of the intra- and extra-cellular fluid to keep us firmly inflated. Otherwise, we’d flap. So, fluid is not only important to backpackers in the activity of backpacking; it’s important to backpackers in the act of being backpackers, as opposed to being flags.

Basically, what this all means is that we have to stay hydrated, maintaining just the right amount of fluid in and between our cells and circulating in our bloodstream. If we don’t, the moisture that escapes through our pores, breath, urine, and feces will result in the body rapidly losing its ability to sustain itself. We can slow the process of fluid loss by reducing our activity level and covering our skin with a vapor barrier. But without replenishing body fluids, we will die within days. All things considered, that means that backpackers must drink water, or a reasonable facsimile thereof.

And herein lies the problem: Water is heavy.

Water Weight

For the amount of space it takes up, water is the heaviest survival item that backpackers carry. One liter of water weighs about 35 ounces. Whether it’s summer or winter, while working hard getting to the top of Mount Soreknees our body needs 4-5 liters or more in a day. That’s at least ten pounds of water.¹

Refer back to the chapter devoted to pack weight and energy expenditure and do the math. Do you really want to carry 10 pounds of water while walking ten miles and climbing three thousand feet? What if you plan to be out there for more than a day?² It just makes sense that we would want to make use of the water that we find on the face of Mount Soreknees, even if it did start out in little cat holes. But, as Calvin once said to Hobbes, “Eeeeyewwww, there’s cooties in that stuff!” Well, maybe and maybe not, but you’re not going to know until several days after you scoop it up in your Sierra cup and try to strain the chunks out of it as they’re going past your teeth. And, if there are cooties in it, you’re probably not going to enjoy what they do to you later on.

Water Cooties

Water cooties, as we refer to them here, is the collective term we use for the single- and multi-cellular organisms known as waterborne pathogenic viruses, bacteria, and protozoa. The protozoa paranoia includes, most commonly, amoeba, Cryptosporidium, and Giardia. The latter is probably fueling more hype than howl outside of rangeland waterways, and the former provides real threats to water quality, especially in Asia, South America, and Africa.

Viruses can be associated on occasion with carcasses in the US wilderness, but are more likely to be a threat in developing countries where you’re sipping downstream of yak crossings and village sewage farms. Bacteria are probably the most serious US threat. Notable organisms include Campylobacter, Enterobacter, Enterococcus, and E. Coli and result from both human and animal defecation and animal matter decay. The former three organisms are found in areas frequented by stock parties.

There are numerous pathogenic bacteria and protozoa that might be living in natural water sources while waiting for you to happen by. Most viruses don’t survive very long outside of a host. But if animals or humans are defecating in our source or there’s a carcass upstream, there may be a virus or two in the water. Protozoan pathogens are more likely to be associated with the pond scum of stagnant waters rather than rapidly flowing mountain creeks, which typically harbor less sophisticated food chains.

We know of a number of backpackers who drink straight from highland springs, savoring the cold, unadulterated taste of water emerging fresh from the rock. They believe it’s highly unlikely that this water will have had time to be infected by any nasty bugs. We also know of backpackers who drink small amounts of water from suspect sources, believing that they can vaccinate themselves by ingesting small numbers of pathogens.

We admit, some of these brave souls have never gotten sick, or say they haven’t, or don’t recognize that the symptoms they’re having this winter stem from the contaminated water they drank last spring. However, pathogenic microorganisms can be present in any natural water source, including ice and snow, no matter how far up the side of Mount Soreknees you find it. And even if your hiking buddy is a full-bore PhD, water-quality analyst with a lab in his pack, he may not be able to identify all of the little cooties swimming around in your Sierra cup. So how are you going to know?

“OK, OK, enough already,” you say. “Big deal. How bad can it be?”

The Cootie Boogie

As indicated above, in one way or another, these little guys either eat our cells or they turn our cells into cloning factories. And not unlike our own cells, bacteria and protozoa pee in our blood. If enough of these micro-assassins get inside us to defeat our natural pest control mechanisms, also called our immune system, the extent of cell destruction, blood loss, or the toxic effect of their wastes can make us sick, sometimes very sick. We usually won’t know that we’ve been infected until a lot of damage has already been done. Two early signs are fever and, if you really were Jack the Ripper in a former life, the Cootie Boogie.³ Besides being a pain in the butt (stomach, intestines, and colon), the Boogie can result in rapid dehydration. That is not a good thing up on Mount Soreknees, where clean water is absent for washing and the only natural toilet paper consists of rocky scree shards.

In anticipation of having to dance the Boogie while on the trail, some backpackers carry anti-diarrhea medications. However, these medications have the disadvantage of allowing offending nasties to stay in the gut longer. They probably shouldn’t be used except when diarrhea is severe, more than ten episodes a day.

There are broad-spectrum prescription antibiotics that can knock down bacterial or protozoan infections. If the offending cootie is a virus, our immune system is going to have deal with it on its own, although we may need medical help to control the symptoms and alleviate discomfort. But again, how will we know what’s eating us? Even a sober doctor is not going to be able to figure out who our little dinner guests are without access to a lab.

So what are you supposed to do? It’s better to keep the little monsters out in the first place. Given the present state of water treatment technology, that’s really not difficult to do.

Overview of Water Treatment Technology

Basically, there are three ways to make sure that the water we get from a natural source is safe to drink.

1. Kill all or most of the microorganisms that might be in it by sterilizing the water

2. Prevent active microorganisms from getting inside us by filtering or purifying the water

3. Both sterilize and filter the water

All three methods have disadvantages, but they’re all better than the Boogie.

DISINFECTION—THE LETHAL OPTION

No known microorganism can live longer than five minutes in water that has been heated to 212°F. Therefore, the oldest and surest way to kill waterborne microbes is to boil the water. Even this simple solution can be a challenge. Backpackers often go high, where the air pressure is low. At lower air pressures, less heat is required to bring water to a boil. At 14,000 feet water will boil at 187°F. At this temperature it will take more than five minutes to absolutely, positively kill all the microbial residents. The conservative rule of thumb is to boil water for ten minutes when in the mountains. However, water takes a while to cool after being brought to a boil, so most of the backpackers we know wait only until a boil is reached. Most of them are still alive.

Another challenge for boiling water is that we’ve got to have a stove, pot, and probably a windscreen. And we’re going to have to pack enough fuel to cook our food and boil our drinking water. Although it will depend on where and with what we boil it, let’s say that it takes about thirty grams, or 1 fluid ounce, of fuel to boil a liter of water. If we need five liters of drinking water a day, we’ll have to carry 5 extra ounces of fuel for every day that we plan to be out. For a three-day trip that means about a pound of fuel.

Then, there’s the issue of water that is chunky, silty, slimy, scummy, or otherwise tainted with visibly disconcerting matter you’d rather not have in your gut. If there are chunks in the water, most of them can be removed by pouring the water through a bandanna and by letting silt settle out in the bottom of a pot. But the hassle of screening the water, setting up the stove, boiling the water, letting it cool down, and then repacking the stove is probably why most three-season backpackers carry filtering devices. On the other hand, winter backpackers may have to melt snow or ice for drinking water anyway, so it just makes sense for them to leave the filtering devices at home and let the water come to a boil before bottling it. Winter backpackers usually do this routine twice a day, preparing two liters of drinking water at each camp sitting—morning and evening. They simply accept that a little dehydration is going to occur through the course of the day.

CHEMICAL TREATMENTS

Another method of killing is to dissolve some sort of toxic substance in the water and wait until the cootie screams stop! If you’re too civilized to recognize cootie screams, just follow the directions in the side of the toxic substance package. The recommended “killing” period varies by water temperature but averages about twenty minutes at 70 degrees. The most widely used substance is tetraglycine hydroperiodide and can be found in products such as Polar Pure and Potable Aqua.

Tetraglycine hydroperiodide is always packaged in crystalline form and must be dissolved in the suspect water, where it releases iodine. Used as directed, the amount of iodine dissolved in the water does not pose a health hazard, although we don’t find it very tasty. In order to kill the taste, sodium disulfate or vitamin C can be added to the water after the recommended killing period has passed.

A newer substance is chlorine dioxide. Chlorine dioxide can be found in McNett Aquamira (US) or Pristine (Canada). Both are packaged as two separate liquids—a stabilized chlorine dioxide solution and a phosphoric acid activation solution. When the solutions are mixed in equal quantities and the resulting chemical reaction is allowed to progress for a few minutes, the chlorine dioxide solution is activated and becomes a potent disinfectant.

Chlorine dioxide is quite toxic to cells. Rather than interrupting cellular metabolism, as in the case of some antibiotics, chlorine dioxide (and iodine and chlorine) interrupt the cell membrane and prevent the flow of nutrients into and out of the cell. Essentially, these chemicals oxidize, or bleach, the cooties to death. It would you, too, if you were only a couple microns in diameter. Don’t drink the stuff straight. However, chlorine dioxide is generally considered safer than iodine or chlorine bleach when used as directed, and it doesn’t seem to add much taste to water compared to chlorine bleach or iodine. The reason might be that lower dosages of chlorine dioxide are required to have the killing power suitable for backcountry water disinfection.

Aquamira kit, by McNett of Bellingham, WA. Contrary to manufacturer recommendations, this Aquamira kit was repacked into smaller, lighter dropper bottles, available from BackpackingLight.com.

Laboratory testing by real scientists suggest that, at least under field-simulated laboratory conditions, chlorine dioxide kills a wider variety of cooties than tetraglycine hydroperiodide or chlorine bleach. This includes viruses, bacterial spores, and protozoan cysts, which are the forms of microbes most resistant to killing. Nearly every backcountry walker we know who is also a water scientist or engineer prefers Aquamira to Potable Aqua, especially in the less benign environments of Central America, Central Africa, and the Himalaya. Those three areas are famous for their awful water quality.

No matter what chemical you use, make sure that you let it get at the threads and cap of the container you treat your water in. Slosh the treated water around until some of it leaks out past a loosened cap. And, for heaven’s sake, decontaminate your hands before either drinking or eating. Alcohol hand gel, such as Purell, is good for this and may serve as a dandy backup fire starter. Several brands of alcohol gel are packaged in small plastic squeeze bottles and can be found in drug stores.

All of the water treatment chemicals that we know of come in small packages and treat substantial quantities of water, anywhere from thirty to two thousand liters. Therefore, as many thru-hikers have discovered, chemical treatment is a space and weight-efficient treatment strategy. That is, of course, unless “chunky” water grosses you out so bad you have trouble getting it down without drinking a liter of Irish coffee first. The big downside of chemical treatment is the time it takes to work, especially at low water temperatures.

The newer cootie killers on the market are battery-powered devices that use either ultraviolet light (the SteriPEN) or electrochemically-activated mixed oxidants (MSR Miox) as its lethal mechanism. These devices cost $100 to $200 and weigh 3–6 ounces with batteries.

Both devices are lightweight, elegant, and simple to use, but neither is without its problems. The SteriPEN requires an awfully long time to treat several liters of water. It’s designed for glass-at-a-time volumes. The MSR Miox Water Purifier is notably better suited for backcountry use, but our initial usability tests indicate that strong dosing is required in order to maintain an adequate free chlorine residual (as measured by the included test strips) in murky waters, resulting in odiferous water reminiscent of a swimming pool.

FILTRATION—THE (SORT OF) HUMANE OPTION

The MSR Miox weighs 3 oz, but requires batteries, supplemented salt, and careful attention paid to dosage requirements. It is lighter, simpler, and faster than most water filters weighing twice as much — or more.

Earth-friendly backpackers would never actively kill cooties. They just don’t want them moving into their neighborhoods, which is why many of them strain suspect water through a variety of materials that are designed to let only the water through. Devices known as water filters mechanically remove submicron particulate matter. As most, but certainly not all, common pathogenic protozoa and bacteria are bigger than a micron, a properly functioning filter keeps them out of our drinking water. Viruses are much smaller and usually found only where there’s a carcass or human fecal matter in the water. So filters work pretty well for most North American water sources.

Devices known as water purifiers are certified by the manufacturer to meet the Environmental Protection Agency standard that requires the removal of 99.99 percent of all identifiable bacteria, protozoa and viruses. Some, like the First Need purifiers, do this with a laboratory-grade mechanical filter element. Others do it using a mechanical filter in combination with some type of tetraglycine hydroperiodide element (e.g., only the viruses and smallest bacteria are killed outright by the iodine, so a purifier with this type of element is “sort of” humane). The problem with purifiers is that they are more expensive than simple filters. Some also work slower than filters and, not surprisingly, clog quicker.

The knock on all these devices is that you eventually have to change or clean the filter element, depending on what type of material the element is made of. And, since these devices invariably clog in the backcountry, you have to be prepared to change or clean them in the field. Second, while none of the devices made specifically for backpacking are all that heavy when dry, they can absorb up to 25 percent or more of their weight in water. And most of the time, you are carrying them wet. Third, bacteria and protozoa can colonize a filter element unless it is specially treated. They will act as a source for massive contamination if the filter fails by cracking or allowing unfiltered water past its seals. Fourth, when storing the device, it’s hard not to allow water from the dirty (inflow) side of a filter to contaminate the apparatus that is devoted to the clean (outflow) water. Fifth, all but one type of device use muscle power to pump water through the filter element. Some pump filters and purifiers can require a good bit of effort. Last, they can freeze if it gets cold enough, causing the filter element to crack.

The current favorite filter type of the ultralight backpacking community seems to be the gravity filter, popularized by Ray Jardine in Beyond Backpacking and sold in various configurations by Seychelle and ULA Equipment. The filter element of a gravity filter is typically a proprietary charcoal matrix block that is housed in a small, oblong plastic case. The block may contain silver iodide to retard bacterial colonization. Input and output hose barbs on either end of the filter casing allow you to splice the filter into the drinking tube of a hydration bladder, and water is moved through the block when you suck water through the tube or hang the bladder on a tree limb and let it drip into a clean water bottle. These filters are typically disposable (treating up to about 100 gallons of water), weigh about 3 ounces and cost about $30. Some are field maintainable.

OVERKILL?

One ultralight backpacker we know of is not content with either filtration or chemical treatment alone. He combines three stages of mechanical filtration with both chemical and ultraviolet treatment. He uses an inline Sweetwater Siltstopper II pre-filter in front of an inline carbon filter in the drinking tube of his Platypus Big Zip hydration bladder. He pours untreated water into the Platypus through a homemade silk muck filter (a silk coffee filter cone). And before sucking the water through the filters, he treats it with Aqua Mira. When he gets to camp he hangs the transparent bladder in the sun. He says it’s cleaner, better tasting water than he can get at home, and the whole kit, including an extra pre-filter element, weighs 11 ounces, wet. The bladder also serves to carry his water.

Is he being paranoid or just obsessively careful? He says, “What if I run into some of those military experiment cooties?” We have absolutely no idea what he’s talking about. He’s otherwise a pretty nice guy, and we’ve never seen him Boogie. Regardless, such a system might be suitable for treating water for infant children, the elderly, and other immune-compromised individuals.

Even if you’re not paranoid, it’s probably a good idea to pre-filter your water if you procure it regularly from mucky sources. Not only will it result in your filter working longer before it clogs, it will remove many of the suspended particles on which bacteria reside in large numbers. This can be done as simply as using a rubber band to secure a piece of coffee filter paper over the end of your filter’s intake tube. Or you can buy a silt pre-filter, the likes of which are distributed by Cascade Designs and others.

Trip Analysis

Of course, all of this high-tech chemistry and gadgetry only works to save you weight when water is readily available. Otherwise, you have to carry enough clean water to safely make it from one source to another. How do you know how much to carry?

Start by recognizing that you’re going to need at least 4 liters a day. Depending on your genetics and physical condition, you may need more or less. So this is probably a lower limit for most of the population. Few have ever taken the time to quantify the amount of water needed to drink in order to stay hydrated. However, in preparation for becoming a skilled and knowledgeable ultralight backpacker, we recommend that you take the time.

For one week, while carrying out your normal activities, count the number of ounces of water that you must drink every day in order to keep your urine clear. If it’s not clear, you’re not getting enough to drink—unless you have a chronic medical condition, are exercising very hard, are overdosing on vitamins, or are coming down with or fighting an illness.

Add up the total number of ounces and divide by seven. That’s your basic daily need. When you’re backpacking you’re going to need more, unless your normal day involves climbing three thousand feet while walking ten miles and carrying a pack. Experiment with different levels of activity in different environmental conditions until you can estimate your need during a typical day of backpacking. Alternatively, while backpacking you can carry more than you think you’ll need and keep a record of how much you actually drink, what the air temperature is, what the terrain is like, etc.

Next, gather the following information about each upcoming backpacking trip:

• What is the terrain like?

• How high will you be climbing each day?

• How hot will it get?

• How far will you walk each day?

• Where are the water sources for each day?

• In what condition are the water sources —clarity, potential for microbial contamination?

• What amount and type of precipitation is anticipated?

This is not rocket science, but knowing these things can help you figure out how much water you should carry between sources on any given day. For instance, if the terrain is rugged, you will need to drink more. If it’s hot, you will need to drink more. If you’re high up (the air is drier), you’ll need to drink more. And since you’ll know how widely spaced the sources are, what condition they’re in, how far you’re going each day, and whether or not you can count on rain or snow at any point, you can guesstimate your needs. Then, you can decide on a daily water consumption strategy.

Daily Water Consumption Strategy

To develop a daily water consumption strategy is to predict the timing and quantity of water intake so that you can carry less between sources. Since water is easier to carry and does you more good when it’s inside of you instead of on your back in a bottle, what we’re really talking about is a lightweight water intake strategy referred to as “tanking up” at sources.

When there’s at least one reliable source every several miles or so and it’s not particularly hot, drink as much as possible first thing in the morning and before starting to hike. Then carry no more than 1 liter of water to the next source. At each source, drink any clean water you have left. Then drink a liter of newly filtered water and carry no more than 1 liter to the next stop.

An added benefit to tanking up early and often is how much better you’ll feel and how much more energy you’ll have throughout the day. The downside is you’ll have to stop to pee more often. Some ultralight backpackers take this strategy to its logical extreme, drinking only at sources and carrying none. This approach is okay if you’re absolutely sure where the next reliable source is and believe you can make it there comfortably but it doesn’t leave you with much room for error. As with everything in backpacking, you’ll have to figure out what works best for you.

Water Storage

We can’t leave the chapter without discussing the basic rudiments of backcountry water gear: bottles.

Few ultralight backpackers carry hard-sided water bottles anymore. Even lightweight winter backpackers use wide-mouth, soft-sided bottles, such as Nalgene Cantenes. The wide cap can be opened and closed with mittens and is far more resistant to freezing than narrow mouth caps. Nalgene Cantene bladders take boiling water well, and when stuffed in a sock, make terrific nighttime warming bottles in a sleeping bag.

Three-season water storage containers are typically divided into two categories: hydration bladders and non-hydration bladders. The distinction between the two is simple: Hydration bladders include a hose and bite valve, so water can be consumed hands-free (sort of) while walking. Nonhydration bladders are secured with only a small cap and/ or zip closure.

The advantage to hydration bladders is that they give you ready access to water while hiking, eliminating the need to stop and retrieve a water bottle from your pack. There is also some physiological benefit to consuming small quantities of water regularly, rather than tanking up, although those benefits are more important as the level of endurance and exertion rates are increased. Thus, hydration bladders are popular among ultrarunners, adventure racers, and fastpackers hiking 30–50 miles per day.

One disadvantage of hydration bladders is that they are heavier than non-hydration bladders because of the tubing and bite valve configuration. In addition, most hydration bladders are made with heavier plastics. A typical 2- or 3-liter hydration bladder will weigh between 6–9 ounces. That’s quite a lot heavier than a 3-liter Cascade Designs Platypus Bottle, which weighs only 2 ounces. And the Platypus Bottle can be converted into a lightweight hydration bladder as well. However, even the heavy hydration bladders are lighter than the backpacker’s gold standard: three 1-liter Lexan Nalgene bottles will tip the scales at nearly a pound.

Conclusion

The human body needs to stay hydrated in order to work properly. This means that backpackers must drink water. Given this, backpackers must either carry all their water—a very heavy solution—or find sources as they go. If you’re sticking to the ultralight ethic, you’ll opt to find water sources on the trail. And there are three ways to make sure it is safe to drink: sterilization, filtering, or purifying the water. All methods have advantages and disadvantages. But when all things are considered, any method is better than the boogie.

Chapter 10: Trail Food,
Backcountry Cooking, and Nutrition

By Dave Schultz, Lee Van Horn, and Ryan Jordan

Other than the integration of clothing, shelter, and sleep systems, the synthesis of backcountry menu planning and cooking kit design is one of the more complex challenges faced by the ultralight hiker.

The components and weight of your kitchen will ultimately depend on your cooking style and menu design. Likewise, the limitations of your backcountry menu will likely be governed by your choice of stove and cookware.

This chapter does not provide a treatise on backcountry cooking. Nor does it provide a comprehensive overview of all cooking gear available to the hiking community. Rather, we hope to illustrate the ultralight philosophy as it applies specifically to designing a wilderness menu and cook kit that focuses on simplicity, efficiency, and of course, minimum weight for the solo hiker.

Food and Nutrition

The author Henry Fielding wrote, “We must eat to live and live to eat.” Nowhere does this concept ring more true than on the trail. After a long day on the trail, your body needs fuel. Few things can make you forget the weariness in your limbs like a good meal. The challenge comes in trying to keep weight and bulk to a minimum while keeping nutrition and good taste to a maximum. As if this were not hard enough, we also place a high premium on ease of preparation and clean up. In the context of this chapter, we recognize what is the dominant ethic among ultralight hikers and others who focus more on walking than on camping. When cooking on the trail, meals are designed such that the most difficult preparation step is boiling water and pouring it in a bag. Yes, ultralight hikers can practice more sophisticated culinary arts and engage in multi-course meals that require complex preparation, but that is the topic of another volume.

Now we know what you are thinking, Another treatise on which brand of freeze dried meal tastes the least like sawdust. Au contraire, reader. Those freeze-dried meals, while extraordinarily convenient, can range from $4–$7 each. Thus, they are an expensive option for the long-distance walker or hiker on a more restricted budget.

Price, however, is not the only downside to using commercially prepared freeze-dried backpacking meals. They tend to be packaged in bulky and heavy materials. The portions are sometimes on the meager side for a hungry hiker, so it may require the purchase a two-person meal to satisfy the caloric needs of a solo hiker. The quality of taste is inconsistent among the different brands, and they often lack real nutritional value. The process of precooking and then freeze drying is thought to inactivate many key nutrients and vitamins. Some manufacturers are recognizing this and adding nutrient supplements to the freeze-dried mix after lyophilization.

Quite honestly, some hikers simply enjoy the art of food preparation and cooking with their own hands. There is great satisfaction, especially among the ultralight hiking community, to be gained in shopping for primary ingredients, experimenting with recipes, and crafting easy-to-cook backcountry meals suitable for royalty. For some, the pursuance of these types of emotional rewards will prevent many hikers from spending a dime on a commercially prepared meal. Therefore, the first part of this chapter is for the do-it-yourself backpacker looking to make their own tasty, lightweight, caloric- and nutrient-rich, and easy-to-prepare trail meals.

CALORIES

Unless you are a long-distance hiker who will be eating on the trail for many weeks in a row, the most important nutritional goal is to maximize the caloric density (calories per volume or weight of food) of your food within the limits of your personal preferences for variety and taste. Caloric density is an important metric because calories are required for energy, and food weight and bulk must be kept to a minimum.

A few days without the proper ratios of vitamins and minerals in our diet will not harm most of us. A few days without sufficient calories can cause your energy levels to dive. Your ability to walk, perform normal functions, and stay warm may come to a grinding halt. This doesn’t mean that you should ignore vitamins and minerals in your meal planning. It simply means that calories are king. A few days of hiking at a significant caloric deficit won’t kill you, and most of us, by invoking some mental fortitude, can survive a few days without food with no long-term effects. However, running low on caloric fuel will make you miserable and put emotional and physical dampers on what might have otherwise been an enjoyable trip.

Going ultralight means that you can go farther and faster than you were able to with your old heavy pack. Hikers walking twenty or more miles per day are not uncommon among the ultralight community. This is true even among hikers who wouldn’t have dreamed of hiking a twenty-mile day in their pre-ultralight days, where five to ten miles might have been the norm.

While this newfound freedom is made possible by shedding pounds, the temptation to hike all day, every day, may cause a penalty in increased energy usage. It takes more energy to walk, even with a light pack, than to hang around camp.

In his book Factors and Formulas for Computing Respiratory Exchange and Biological Transformations of Energy, T. M. Carpenter lists the caloric expenditure of almost every activity imaginable, including sleeping and hiking. He suggests that a 225-pound man can burn in excess of 6,500 Calories⁴ during an 18-mile day of hiking that includes three-thousand feet of elevation gain.

This estimate warrants a disclaimer. There are many methods and variables involved in the calculation of caloric expenditure. The best can only provide you with an estimate. Use them as a starting point for menu planning and depend on the data with cautious reliance at best. The most valuable data is that which you collect in the field as you gain experience. It would be foolish to pack food for a two-week trip based solely on an untested calculation of caloric expenditure.

Based on the estimate of 6,500 Calories required to hike an 18-mile day, and assuming an average caloric density of 100 Calories per ounce, our 225-pound hiker would require an astonishing four pounds of food per day—a ridiculous amount by any standards, even among long-distance hikers with elevated metabolisms from months on the trail.

To put this caloric expenditure in perspective, it takes about eleven Big Macs to get in the neighborhood of 6300 Calories, and that would weigh about 5 pounds. Can you imagine a five-day trip with fifty-five Big Macs? Not only would this much food fill up a good portion of a heavy expedition backpack, it could weigh more than the rest of your equipment—even if you weren’t packing ultralight gear! Thus, the objective of this discussion is to consider trail foods that are more caloric dense than a Big Mac. With any luck our trail food will taste better as well.

Butter has roughly 200 Calories per ounce. Contrast this to a Big Mac, which offers about 80 Calories per ounce. We have heard of some ultralight hiking diets that approach 150 Calories per ounce of food. However, that diet would, of necessity, be very high in fats—oils and nuts—and not be terribly interesting with respect to flavor or variety. Such diets are great for emergency rations or short trips but do little to enhance the morale of a long-distance hiker.

A generally accepted target among the ultralight community is an average of 125 Calories per ounce of food. The USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory website has a searchable database of just about every food imaginable. And it lists, among other things, the Calories per 100 grams of a given food. This database can offer invaluable insight into menu planning for hikers with an interest in optimizing the caloric density of their homemade meals.

Menu Planning

After reviewing a variety of foods you will notice that it isn’t easy to make an interesting meal only from foods that have a caloric density in excess of 125 Calories per ounce. The secret here is to remember that we are talking about an average of 125 Calories per ounce in your diet. For example, an ounce of raisins contains only 82 Calories. But when that ounce of raisins is combined with an ounce of goldfish crackers (141 Calories) and an ounce of cashews (160 Calories), the resulting trail mix contains an average of 127 Calories per ounce.

Consider a typical dinner meal of 190 grams of dry instant rice (enough to make 2 cups cooked). It contains only 107 Calories per dry ounce, but when some tomato powder, dried vegetables, spices and an ounce of butter- or pepper-flavored oil is added, the resulting Spanish Rice mixture contains about 125 Calories per ounce of dry weight.

The key to making a tasty diet with a high caloric density is stacking the deck with foods having an ultra-high caloric density (over 140 Calories/ounce). Such foods include nuts, peanut butter, chocolate, butter, oils, fried or dry snack chips and crackers, pepperoni, and precooked bacon.

When planning meals, a good place to start is to estimate your daily caloric needs. Then divide those calories between packages for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Such meal separation is more common among hikers that spend more time in camp and less time on the trail. Other long-distance hikers simply enjoy snacking all day on the trail, with no formal morning or evening meal cooking. These hikers wake up, pack, walk/eat, stop walking, setup camp, go to bed, and repeat the next day. A fair rule of thumb for ultralight hikers that spend most of the day on the trail is to split their caloric needs between in-camp or on-trail meals.

• Breakfast, 20%-25% of daily Calories

• Lunch, 50%-60% as a series of snacks eaten on the trail while hiking

• Dinner, 20%-25% as a late on-trail or in-camp meal

BREAKFAST AND LUNCH

Many long-distance walkers do not eat a formal breakfast. Others require a hot breakfast, commonly oatmeal or muesli, before hitting the trail. Still others enjoy a hot breakfast, but choose to hike for an hour or two while eating a granola bar before stopping on the trail to cook the morning meal. Which style you prefer will be dictated more by your own hiking style rather than by some particular need to optimize energy performance.

It is said that lunch is a hiker’s most important meal. Hiking requires a significant amount of exertion. Maintaining frequent and adequate fuel intake throughout the day is vital to hiking longer distances without experiencing the all-too-common “caloric crash,” which occurs after hiking for a few hours without eating. To combat this, many hikers recognize the need to eat small snacks at regular intervals throughout the day, rather than eat their “lunch” all at once at high noon.

The art of no-mess, no-fuss dinner meals

Few hikers, on the other hand, skip dinner. For many, dinner is the main meal, a ritual of relaxation with hot, well-flavored food that rewards a long day of hiking. Even those who walk regularly in grizzly bear country enjoy hot and aromatic evening meals. They just cook them while still on the trail or several hundred yards away from camp.

Dinner is not a meal that is often rushed, but many ultralight hikers still disdain the practice of preparing complex evening meals and cleaning up their sometimes equally complex messes. Having the opportunity to enjoy the fabulous taste of a well-cooked evening meal that requires only boiling water be poured into a disposable bag (no cleanup) is consistent with the long-distance hiker’s primary end-of-day needs: unwind and savor their repast.

So-called one-pot meals (remember “camper’s stew”?) can be prepared in single-serving plastic bags. They only require that you add boiling water and wait for several minutes while the food rehydrates and “cooks.” Then the meal can be eaten straight from the bag. When through, simply zip the bag back up and pack it out.

Finding plastic bags that accept boiling water and are durable enough for meal storage can be tricky. The Glad Stand-and-Zip bags were a favorite among ultralight hikers for several years, until the quart-sized bags were taken off the market for lack of demand. Their primary advantage was the bellowed bottom that allowed the bag to stand up, even with boiling water inside. We’ve made and eaten soups in such bags. Other similarly sized options include the new 9˝-x-7˝ OP-Sak zip-closure bags by Watchful Eye Designs. They have a bellows bottom, stand up nicely, hold enough food for a hungry hiker, and have the additional benefit of being odor proof. That’s a useful feature when trying to minimize the odors of uncooked foods or uneaten residues in bear country.

Boil-in-a-Bag Dinner in a 9”x 7” OP Sak: Vegetable Chili.

The base ingredient for a dinner meal is typically grain or starch-based pasta, rice, or potato flakes. Often a prepackaged rice or noodle side dish (Lipton noodle dinner or Thai noodle soup) is the foundation. To that, you can add whatever suits your taste: dehydrated vegetables, dehydrated or freeze-dried meats or soy chunks, textured vegetable protein (TVP), tofu crumbles, or spices.

Some hikers write the caloric content on the outside of the bag with a water-insoluble marker, such as a Sharpie felt pen, and the amount of water and oil (ghee) needed. Doing this saves some guesswork in food preparation on the trail but requires some experimentation when meal planning. A reasonable rule of thumb is that one cup of water is required for every cup of dry ingredients. Writing down the caloric content of the meal allows you to plan meals based on distance hiked in a given day and your caloric needs required for recovery and replenishment at the end of a day.

To prepare such a meal, simply

• Boil water

• Pour it in the bag

• Zip the bag shut

• Mix the contents well by kneading the bag with your hands

• Let it stand until the food is fully rehydrated and cooked

In cold conditions, or for meals containing more robust grains and longer rehydration times, wrap the bag in some unused clothing to insulate it. Even foods containing slower-cooking grains such as dry elbow macaroni and larger soy chunks require only ten to fifteen minutes of standing time. Using quick-cook rice, potato flakes, ramen noodles, or angel hair pasta can get your meal cooking times down to five minutes.

The primary advantage of this cooking method is not always obvious, but the ultralight hiker is acutely aware of it. Passive cooking requires only that you boil water and not actually simmer on the stove. In addition to saving a food mess in your cookpot, this technique saves a significant quantity of fuel. In the end, weight is saved by bringing less fuel and less sophisticated (and often lighter) stoves that do not require the ability to simmer.

Sourcing ingredients

Your local supermarket can provide most of the foods for your hiking pantry. Specialty food stores—health, ethnic, and bulk outlets—can be invaluable sources of ingredients for backpackers. Here is a list of some things that typically go into easy-cook hiking meals:

• Prepackaged rice or noodle side dishes or bulk rice/ pasta. Look for those that have real cooking times of less than eight minutes. Examples include Thai and ramen noodles, quick-cook rices, angel hair pasta, egg noodles, small shell pasta, couscous, and elbow macaroni.

• Instant potatoes. Typically sold as flakes that cook faster, or “chips”, which have a more palatable texture.

• Instant soups and legume mixtures. These often include pre-spiced mixtures and are available in a seemingly infinite number of varieties. Mixed with a rice, pasta, or potato base, a soup or legume mixture such as refried bean flakes can result in a complete meal with minimal preparatory investment.

• Dehydrated or freeze-dried vegetables. Most vegetables can be easily dehydrated in several hours in a conventional oven. Freeze dried and dehydrated varieties are available from a number of specialty health-food markets and online sources.

• Spices. For simplicity, look for all-in-one spice mixtures, such as chicken or beef broth or jerk-style seasonings. For a little heat, try crushed red pepper, a tiny bottle of Tabasco, or Dave’s Insanity Sauce—use sparingly and at your own risk!

• Powdered gravy or sauce mix. Typical options include conventional chicken or turkey gravies but also include sauces one might use in alfredo or marinara pasta dishes.

• Oil. A great way to boost calories, especially in the winter. For a particularly delightful indulgence, look for butter-flavor oils in the popcorn section of your supermarket.

• Clarified butter or ghee. You can make ghee at home. Ghee can also be purchased in stores that sell East Indian foods. As long as no moisture is introduced to the ghee, it does not require refrigeration and is a useful staple for long-distance, remote adventures.

• Dry cheeses. Try grated Parmesan. In colder weather, try fresh shredded Parmesan or Romano.

• Sour cream powder. This is available from specialty health-food and outdoor food outlets. It’s an excellent sauce/soup thickener and adds significant flavor.

• Dehydrated precooked ground beef, chicken, or tuna. Some freeze-dried meats are available commercially, but they aren’t cheap. For a vegetarian option, try dehydrating fresh Tofu crumbles.

• Textured vegetable protein (TVP) or soy flakes/ chunks. These are available in most specialty health stores. TVP and soy flakes are an excellent means of boosting protein content in your foods. Soy chunks are an easy meat alternative that adds body to your meals.

Few hikers, with the exception of winter snowshoers and skiers in northern climates, cook hot lunches. The focus is on ingredients that are pocketable or otherwise extremely easy to prepare. Common lunch/snack foods include

• Dry or dense meats—beef jerky, pepperoni sticks, and liverwurst

• Spreads—peanut butter or honey

• Grains—crackers, pound cake, flat bread, melba toast, rye crisp bread, or pilot biscuits

• Fresh cheeses—dry cheddar or single-packaged string cheeses or sticks

• Dried fruit—unsulphured apples or mangoes, dehydrated bananas, raisins

• Nuts—almonds, pine nuts, sunfower seeds, cashews

• Candy—chocolate or licorice; primarily morale food

• Gorp—raisins, peanuts, M&Ms, chocolate chips, etc.

• Nutrition bars—Clif Bars, Power Bars, Luna Bars, Pemmican bars, fig bars

Little Debbies snack foods, and especially the caloric-rich Nutty Bars, have a cult following among ultralight hikers.

LIQUID FOODS

“Flavored hydration” comes in various forms, and can be an important part of a hiker’s menu. In the summer, when water bottles get warm on the trail and water becomes less palatable in the sweltering heat of midday, diluted electrolyte drinks can provide flavor to keep a hiker drinking on a regular basis and avoid dehydration. Drink mixes from the grocery store, such as sweetened Kool-Aid or Crystal Light, are popular among hikers as are specialty sports drink mixes, such as Gu₂O, CytoMax, and PowerMax. To avoid excessive sweetness and make them more drinkable, dilute by at least 25 percent more than what the manufacturer recommends. In the case of drinks containing natural sugar as opposed to artificial sweeteners, such as Nutra-Sweet, flavored drinks can be a viable Calorie source as well. One of the advantages of balanced electrolyte drinks is that they increase the effectiveness of water absorption. You require less water to remain successfully hydrated.

Some hikers, particularly those with an endurance training background, find that a shake made with a dry protein-based powder consumed at the end of a long day can help the body recover more quickly from strenuous activity.

Hot drinks are usually a luxury item for a hiker. But again, they offer an excuse to consume added water and remain hydrated. On cold mornings and evenings, a hot drink can do wonders for morale if the weather is particularly foul. Hot tea, coffee, or warm Scotch whiskey are among more popular choices. There is quite a lot of debate about the utility of coffee and alcohol on the trail, most of it focusing on their contributing to dehydration. As with coffee and alcohol off the trail, moderation is in order. Few hikers with any objective sense will find that a morning cup of coffee or evening toddy will affect their performance. To each his own, of course. And those that do consume small amounts of either on the trail certainly seem to skip along a little happier in the morning and retire a little more relaxed in the evening!

Tea can be made fresh with a tea ball or from prepackaged bags. Small tea balls, about the size of a golf ball and made of stainless steel, weigh less than an ounce. Coffee drinkers have more options, from cowboy coffee—fresh grounds boiled for a few minutes in the cup and strained through the teeth, a common technique in the Rocky Mountain states—to single-use coffee servings in tea-bag style packets (e.g., Folgers and Senseo, most common on the East Coast), to lightweight French presses (made of Lexan or Titanium, 4–6 oz) and mini-espresso makers (6 oz or so)—the favorite of Starbucks addicts from Seattle to San Diego.

Beer and wine tend to be not so popular with ultralight hikers on the trail, since single servings weigh 3–12 ounces, not including the container. Harder drink, with a proof content in excess of 40, is more common, and can be repackaged successfully in soft-sided water bladders. A Platypus Lil’ Nipper holds a pint of alcohol and weighs only 0.7 ounces. For an ultralight cocktail on the fly, mix a half ounce of 190-proof grain spirits (e.g., Everclear) and 3 ounces of vitamin fortified Crystal Light drink mix powder. Add a small snowball, and shake or stir as required by your own style. The high-proof spirits offer the strength of a full shot at half the weight. And they are consistent with the ultralight multi-use philosophy: They serve double duty as stove fuel for alcohol stove users and as an effective disinfectant for first-aid crises.

WHO NEEDS COOKED FOOD?

There are several different approaches to building a cook kit for food preparation. The lightest option is to take food that requires no cooking. This eliminates the need for a pot, eating utensil, stove, and fuel—a potential savings that can be measured in pounds of cooking gear left at home. Ironically, most hikers that buy into the no-cook philosophy carry a heavier food weight, so the savings may not be that significant. Many no-cook hikers do so to avoid the hassle of cooking rather than to save weight, as they tend to include more fresh fruit, vegetables, and breads in lieu of dehydrated and freeze dried items. In addition, the no-cook gig is best exercised while hiking solo. Sniffing the deliciously spicy simmering stew of a hiking companion on a cold and rainy evening while you are gnawing on a dry bagel is no easy situation to handle gracefully.

COOKING FIRES

A second option, and one that has been exercised by a great many long-distance hikers, is to cook over small open fires. Because open-fire cooking is prohibited in some wilderness areas, especially in alpine regions and during the late summer when fire restrictions are in place, open-fire cooking requires careful planning. In addition, the hiker relying exclusively on open fires must be confident and experienced in building fires reliably in wet conditions. Unfortunately, few hikers of today’s generation are competent firebuilders. The advent of lightweight backpacking stoves, paranoia over violating leave-no-trace camping ethics, and the paradigm of staying on established and well-mapped trails near roads has all but sent the survival and sustenance skill of firebuilding into hiking history. Still, cooking over open fire is the lightest way to travel and circumvents the need to carry stove or fuel. As for no-trace firebuilding, that too is a learned and practiced skill. The accomplished firebuilder with an appreciation for the minimum-impact camping ethic can do so with no visible or meaningful environmental impact. Finally, the experienced firebuilder knows where to find dry tinder and maintain a cooking fire in the wettest conditions.

Less practiced firebuilders can save weight while enhancing their success by including a few solid fuel tablets (e.g., Esbit brand) or preconditioned firestarters (e.g., Spark-Lite Tinder-Quik) in their firestarting kit.

A comprehensive guide to firebuilding is beyond the scope of this book, but three core principles guide the building of low-impact cooking fires:

1. Use exceptionally dry tinder or material to start your fire. Dry tinder is found most often under thick brush, tree cover, or fallen logs. It should have a diameter or thickness less than that of a sewing needle. Dry tinder, when loosely balled up, should be lightable with a single match or brief lighter flame and burn with a baseball-sized or larger flame for at least sixty seconds.

2.Kindling for the fire should consist of dry twigs no larger than 1/8-inch in diameter.

3.Fuel wood should remain the size of a pencil, perhaps slightly larger. Fast-burning fuels are essential to a hot cooking fire. Fast-burning fuels also increase the chance that the fire will burn completely to ash, an essential principle for minimum impact.

In spite of the allure of building fires, which is mostly rooted in man’s quest to tame the wilderness, backpacking stoves are still faster, cleaner, simpler, and remain the choice for food cooking by most backpackers.

Because fires are sensitive to wind, some hikers use “fire cans” or hobo stoves, which simply consist of quart-sized coffee cans with ventilation holes cut along the top and bottom rims to promote chimney venting. The cans serve as a pot support as well. The fire is built inside the can with fuel twigs fed through an opening in the side near the bottom. Most solo-sized hobo stoves weigh in the range of 4–8 ounces.

Another fire stove is the Sierra Zip Stove, a double-walled hobo stove with a battery operated fan that works exceptionally well with a variety of less-than-optimal fuel sources. Zip stoves come in standard and titanium models weighing 10–16 ounces. Its weight, which is quite a bit heavier than most ultralight backpacking stove kits, somewhat limits its utility to long-distance hikes that have little opportunity for resupply. However, it has gained a following among fire aficionados that don’t hike more than a few miles from a trailhead, and it is more popular among canoeists, sea kayakers, and hunters, who tend to build campfires more often than modern backpackers.

Backpacking stoves

So, you’ve decided that cold water and trail mix on a snowy morning isn’t your idea of a delicious breakfast? Perhaps your idea of a camping fire is a Presto log and a half gallon of gasoline. Or, maybe you’ve realized that your 1.5-pound white gas stove kit is anything but light.

After a shelter, sleeping system, and backpack, new cooking gear may offer the biggest weight savings for your dollar. There are three basic types of ultralight stoves, distinguished primarily by their fuel type:

• Solid fuel stoves that burn tablets (e.g., Esbit or hexamine). The folding-box style weigh in the neighborhood of 3 ounces, and collapsible “wing” stoves are around 1 ounce.

• Alcohol stoves that burn denatured alcohol. They range in weights from 0.2-3.0 ounces, and come in both homemade and commercial versions.

• Canister stoves that burn compressed gas (usually isobutane/propane mixtures). They weigh 2.5-4.0 ounces.

Solid fuel stoves burn the coldest flames and are the most sensitive to wind. A good windscreen is vital if the stove is to be used for serious cooking needs. Most single tablets weigh around 0.5 ounces and are suitable for boiling up to 12 ounces of cold water in cool weather using a good windscreen. Tablets don’t require any special fuel storage container needs, but they are odiferous, subject to crushing, and some are sensitive to moisture. Aloksak zip-closure storage bags are tough, totally waterproof, and becoming popular for storing and transporting solid fuel tablets on the trail.

Generally, most hikers plan fuel needs based on a 0.5-ounce tablet per pint of water that needs heated/boiled.

Alcohol stoves burn hotter than solid fuel stoves, and thus, can be used for larger water volumes. Most homemade alcohol stoves are cheap to make and are popular among Boy Scouts, the budget conscious, and born tinkerers. They are typically made by forming one of dozens of bowl-like configurations using soda or food cans. Search online for instructions on making a variety of can-based alcohol stoves. The more popular ones include the Cat Stove, the Photon Stove, and the Pepsi Stove. Commercially available alcohol stoves are made by Brasslite, Trangia, Vargo, Hike-Lite, and Anti Gravity Gear.

The Brasslite Turbo F Alcohol Stove, at only 0.8 oz, has a fuel capacity of 1 oz, boils a pint of cold water in less than five minutes, and requires less than 0.75 oz of fuel to do so. As such, it complements a cook kit nicely, shown here with a 14-oz titanium mug and other minor accoutrements of an ultralight backcountry kitchen, including a titanium foil mug lid and windscreen. Total cook kit weight, including the fuel bottle (not shown, a Platypus Lil Nipper), is less than 5 oz.

All alcohol stoves can be successfully fueled by denatured alcohol, ethanol, Heet, or Everclear. Thus, one of their main advantages is readily available fuel in trail towns across the world (hardware stores, liquor stores, auto repair shops, gas stations, etc.). However, these fuels have a lower caloric heat density than the long-chained hydrocarbon fuels of canister stoves. So they are less efficient. Because alcohol stoves are generally lighter than canister stoves, they end up comprising lighter cook kits on short trips or for hikers that don’t cook often.

Alcohol fuel can be stored in virtually any lightweight plastic container. Most important is the quality of the seal. The lightest containers are soft-sided bladders used for water bottles, such as those made by Cascade Designs (Platypus) and Nalgene (Cantenes). Brasslite offers a nifty bottle in various sizes that allows you to precisely meter the fuel quantity into the stove. Old mouth rinse (e.g., Act brand) bottles work in this manner as well. Many hikers simply buy a bottle of gas-line antifreeze (e.g., Heet) and use the original bottle for on-trail fuel storage.

In general, alcohol stoves will consume 0.7-1.0 ounces of fuel per pint of water boiled under normal three-season field conditions.

Recent demand for ultralight high-performance gear has led to the development of lightweight canister stoves using non-refillable gas (e.g., isobutane/propane) canisters. Popular brands include MSR, Primus, Snow Peak, Brunton, Vaude, and Coleman.

The fuel canisters for these stoves are offered in 110-, 220-, or 450-gram net weights (fuel weight only), while the empty canisters themselves weigh 4.0, 5.0, and 8.0 ounces each, respectively. Consider that if you run the stove at its optimum efficiency—windless conditions and throttled at about 2/ 3 of maximum heat output—it will consume as little as 0.25 ounces of fuel to boil a pint of water. Thus, even with the added weight of an empty canister, such stove kits are easily the most efficient for hikes longer than a weekend or where significant cooking is involved.

Unlike solid fuel stoves and many alcohol stoves, canister stoves provide excellent simmering control for hikers that like their pancakes golden and their stir fry tender.

The Brunton Crux Canister Stove, at only 3.0 oz, offers features of heavier stoves, including a high BTU output, wide burner head, and a wide pot support diameter for good pot stability.

Windscreens

Even in windless conditions, a windscreen makes any stove more efficient. It not only acts as a windscreen, but also as a heat exchanger that keeps a layer of hot air around the sides of the cookpot. The bottom line: Make a windscreen for your cook kit and use it. You’ll save fuel. A caveat: Canister stove manufacturers won’t endorse windscreen use because of the risk of overheating a canister and causing it to explode. Search BackpackingLight.com for “Homemade Canister Stove Windscreen” by Ryan Jordan. You’ll find instructions and guidelines for circumventing this issue.

The cookpot

Boy Scout cook kits for solo hikers, as distributed by the BSA, are made of aluminum, weigh about 9 ounces, and include a small pot, fry pan/lid, and plastic cup. Solo aluminum or stainless cookpots from major manufacturers (e.g., MSR, Backpacker’s Pantry) can weigh as much as 12 ounces for equivalent functionality. We think this is pretty heavy.

Thin-walled aluminum and titanium are the cookware materials of choice for ultralight backpackers. There are disadvantages for each. Thin-walled aluminum dents easily, and titanium is expensive. Both are very light. A liter-size pot will weigh in the range of 4.5-6.0 ounces with a lid. Popular brands include Antigravity Gear (aluminum), Snow Peak (aluminum and titanium), Evernew (titanium), and MSR (titanium).

Some ultralight hikers paint the outside of their pots with black stove paint, using the theoretically sound basis that less radiant heat is lost and greater fuel efficiency is realized. Unfortunately radiant heat loss is very small while cooking. The dominant heat loss mechanism in windy conditions is convection, and in cold conditions it’s conduction. Field tests performed by several parties indicate that black pots don’t afford much additional efficiency outside the confines of an indoor testing laboratory.

More commonly we are seeing solo ultralight hikers move to smaller and smaller cookpots. Popular choices now focus on titanium mug-shaped pots — taller than wider. These are less efficient shapes for fuel efficiency but provide more stowable containers in small backpacks. The Snow Peak Model 700 (0.7L capacity) and Model 600 (0.6L) mugs, and the MSR Titan Kettle (0.85L) are popular choices. The Model 700 includes a thin lid and weighs 4.2 ounces. The Model 600 requires that you make a homemade lid from aluminum foil or flashing material and weighs 2.8-3.2 ounces with such a lid. The MSR Titan Kettle weighs 4.5 ounces with lid. Bridging the gap between mugs and one-liter pots is the immensely popular Evernew Titanium Pot at 0.9L with foldaway handles and a lid made with thin-walled titanium to a 4.3 ounce specifcation. It’s an excellent choice for the solo ultralighter.

Fringe ultralighters are using large beer cans (e.g., 24-oz capacity and wide bottoms) with the tops cut off as cookpots. With an aluminum-foil lid and a thin wire handle, the result is a fragile pot that weighs less than an ounce. Yes, it works. Quite well, in fact.

Drinking cup

Do you really need a mug? Why not share your coffee from the pot? If you want to drink coffee with your oatmeal, the cheapest and lightest option is the green plastic mug that came with the Boy Scout cooking kit, a 1-cup plastic mug that weighs about 1 ounce. A titanium mug weighs 1-2 ounces with a capacity ranging from 10-16 ounces. Fringe ultralighters use less conventional cups, including yogurt containers and aluminum cans with the top cut off and lip folded in.

Many ultralighters simply mix their drinks in their water bottles, or drink hot drinks straight from their cookpot.

Eating utensils

Since you’re not hauling your grandmother’s silver into the wilderness, you probably won’t save much weight here. But you don’t need a spoon, fork, and a knife for each person. A spoon is usually enough, and a spork is luxury. Some hardcore ultralighters use cheap plastic picnic flatware that won’t last long in the hands of a clumsy person, but is very light. Lexan spoons and sporks weigh 0.3-0.4 ounces apiece, and their titanium equivalents weigh 0.5-0.6 ounces apiece. The advantage of a titanium spork is that it serves as a spoon and a fork, is durable, and may be bent to shape repeatedly for easy stowage in a small cooking pot or cup. It’s the clear performance choice here.

Bear resistant food storage

While few hikers become sustenance for larger carnivores, their food is often attractive. Take measures to protect the food you bring from bears. “A fed bear is a dead bear.” Without getting into the politics of bear conservation, simply remember: In addition to wildlife management headaches resulting from human-habituated bears, a bear that gets your food ends your trip.

The primary problem with conventional backcountry food storage systems is weight. Bear canisters made with plastic (e.g., BearVault BV200 or Garcia Backpacker’s Cache) or carbon fiber (Wild Ideas Bearikade) generally weigh 2-3 pounds. As such, most lightweight backpackers only consider taking them in wilderness areas that require hard-sided food storage canisters. Reinforced fabric stow bags made of Spectra or Kevlar (e.g., Ursack) weigh in the range of 5-10 ounces. Even with the added weight of a hanging rope, the bag system weighs a lot less than hard-sided counterparts. We recommend products like the Ursack for climbers and alpine hikers who camp above the treeline and need to protect their food from aggressive rodents and the passing bear.

Traditional bear bagging

Most backpackers visiting wilderness areas and camping below the treeline where bears are either not particularly habituated or canisters are not required employ some sort of bear-bag hanging system. It usually consists of a stuff sack and a rope. The most common method theoretically described in many backpacking books may go something like this in real life:

1 . Put your food in a stuff sack.

2 . Tie one end of the rope to the stuff sack.

3 . Tie the other end of the rope around a rock you find on the ground that happens to be the only rock within a three-mile radius, is perfectly spherical, and with a coefficient of friction akin to Body Glide.

4 . Select your tree of choice, which Murphy’s Law dictates is at least four miles from the nearest comfortable campsite and has only two limbs that can support your food weight. One is at eye level—high enough to keep mice and beetles at bay—and the other high enough that if you hung an orange stuff sack up there, it would serve as an emergency signaling device, visible by spy satellites.

5 . Find another tree with a sturdy branch about 15 feet off the ground.

6 . Throw the rock toward the branch. Line gets tangled around your ankle and rock makes it only six feet high before slamming back into the ground with a thud.

7 . Retie your complex knot. Then lash the rope around the slippery, spherical rock, and try your throw again. This time the rock sails successfully over the branch, but the end of the rope has slipped off and remains in a crumpled pile at your feet. Your rock ends up in the next county, never to be seen again.

8 . Find a new rock.

9 . Repeat step 7 until the rope is successfully hung over the tree. This could take several hours. Have your headlamp ready, and maybe your cooking supplies, so you can take a dinner break.

10. Pull your food up over the branch, tie the other end of the rope to the tree trunk, and go to bed exhausted but proud of your significant accomplishment.

11. Wake up in the morning and learn that a black bear has chewed through the rope, dropped your bag, and had a feast, leaving you three days from the nearest road with a Clif Bar wrapper and some peanut butter on the inside of your now shredded stuff sack.

12. Make a commitment to learn the counterbalance method of hanging when you get home.

COUNTERBALANCE METHOD

And so, the counterbalance method solves these problems, right? Well, at least it solves the problem of having an animal untie (raccoons are quite good at this) or chew through the cord attached to the tree trunk.

The counterbalance method depends on throwing a rope over a tree branch (as in steps 1–9 above). Then, to one end of the rope you tie a stuff sack full of food and pull it up to the branch. Then tie another stuff sack as high as possible on the other end of the line. Using a long, stout stick/trekking pole/ partner on your shoulders, raise the bag and let gravity drop the other one until the two are equal in height. Admire your work: two precisely balanced food bags hanging equidistant from the limb. Then the counterbalance neophyte also comes to the realization that both bags are now hanging between the level of your waist and neck. Once again, you have performed a hang that will only protect your food from beetles.

A proper bear-bag hang requires that your food be suspended at least 10 feet above the ground. So the counterbalance method requires a branch that is as much as 25 feet up, depending on how tall you are, to what extent you can tie the second food bag to the rope while holding it over your head, the degree of stretch in your rope, the weight of your food, and the sturdiness of the branch.

Retrieving your food involves reversing the process by pushing one of the stuff sacks—again, with a stick/trekking pole/shoulder-standing partner—to the height of the branch so you can retrieve the other, lower bag. You remove it from the cord, release the cord, and let the first bag fall to the ground. Elegant in theory, but in practice it is not always that easy, especially toward the end of your trip when food bags are lighter and gravity can’t overcome the friction of the rope on the tree branch.

An effective counterbalance system requires two stuff sacks, no less than 50 feet of rope, and a method for counterbalancing and retrieving your food. Of all the bear-bagging techniques, counterbalancing requires the most judicious branch selection, careful distribution of food between two sacks, and more complexity in retrieving and hanging your food. Bottom line: Counterbalancing is not exactly favored by the fast-and-light crowd seeking simplicity in their backcountry experience.

If you really want to add time, complexity, and weight to your bear-bag system, check out the Marrison bear-bag haul system online. It uses the mechanical advantage of a trucker’s hitch with two carabiners or pulleys to make pulling your food up a little easier. In reality, unless you are hauling up the group supply of food for a NOLS course, pulling the bag up is the least of your worries as an ultralight backpacker out for a weekend or weeklong trip.

PCT METHOD

Affectionately known by the lightweight hiking underground as the “PCT method,” presumably because it was first used by long-distance hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail, a bear-bag hanging method exists that is lighter, requires less rope, offers the benefits of counterbalancing, is easier to set up, and allows simple and quick hanging and retrieval of your food.

You can make your own system quite easily by assembling the following components:

• Food storage bag

• 40 feet of hanging rope

• Keychain carabiner

• Small stuff sack for a rock (rock sack)

• Pencil-sized twig about 4–6 inches long

A system that combines the “bear essentials for hanging a bear bag using the PCT method. Here, an ultralight 600 ci food storage sack made with noseeum mesh and sub-one-ounce silicone coated nylon (lined with an odor proof zip-closure bag) and a rock sack of the same material, combined with 40 feet of Spectra rope, and a micro wiregate carabiner can weigh as little as 3 oz

Using 1.4-ounce, silicone-coated nylon waterproof stuff sacks for the rock sack and food storage bag, 1/8-inch parachute cord for the hanging rope, and a two-inch carabiner from Wal-Mart, you can achieve a system weight of about 5–6 ounces. The Bozeman Mountain Works Ursalite System for bear bag hanging using the PCT method weighs a scant 2 ounces and includes an odor-proof stuff sack liner for food storage.

The system is used as follows:

1. Tie one end of the rope to the drawcord of the rock sack.

2. Tie a loop (e.g., bowline) into the other end of the rope and clip the carabiner through it.

3. Insert a rock into the rock sack, cinch it closed, and throw it over a branch that is 15–20 feet high.

4. Remove the rock from the rock sack.

5. Attach the food sack drawcord to the carabiner.

6. Clip the rock sack end of the rope into the carabiner so that it can run freely.

7. Pull the rock sack end of the rope until the food bag is at the height of the branch.

8. Take the twig and reach as far as possible up the rock sack end of the rope (about 6 feet for the average man) and tie a clove hitch around the twig.

9. Let the rock sack end of the rope go. The twig will catch on the carabiner and keep the food sack at least 10 feet above the ground.

This system leaves extra rope hanging freely below the food bag. Unlike conventional hanging systems where the spare end of the rope is tied to a tree trunk, this eliminates the possibility of an animal untying or chewing the rope in an effort to bring the food bag down.

In addition, the PCT method requires less skill. Thus, it is faster to deploy than the counterbalance method. Finally, it requires a system of equipment that is lighter than the counterbalance method because it uses less rope and only one food sack.

This three-panel image set shows the process of hanging a food bag using the PCT method: (LEFT)The rope is thrown over a tree limb at least 15 feet high (with the aid of the rock sack, which in this panel, is tied to the bottom of the black cord). The food sack drawstring is then clipped into the carabiner, and the food raised by pulling on the rock sack end of the cord until the carabiner reaches the top of the limb. (CENTER)The hiker reaches as high up the rock sack end of the rope and ties a two-loop clove hitch and inserts a pencil-sized twig into the loops, then tightens the knot. (RIGHT)The rock sack end of the rope (now containing a twig tied in as high up as possible) is then slackened, allowing the twig to come to rest against the carabiner, stopping the sack high enough above the ground for a good bear hang (at least 10 feet). To retrieve your food, simply pull the rock sack end of the cord and reverse the process.

Conclusion

As you have seen, the ultralight philosophy focuses on simplicity, efficiency, and minimum weight. These can be accomplished even with a backcountry menu. Unless you are a long-distance hiker who will be eating on the trail for many weeks in a row, the most important nutritional goal is to maximize the caloric density. The components and weight of your cook kit will ultimately depend on your cooking style and menu design. With some experimentation, you will likely find a menu that suits your taste and allows some rest at the end of a day’s hike. Of course, none of this matters if the bears make a snack out of your pack.

Chapter 11: Hygiene

By George Cole and Ryan Jordan

Your Skin

Do you remember the obsessive backpacker, the one who filters his drinking water three times? It’s amazing that after he finishes repacking his chemistry set and carefully hanging his clinically sterile Platy on a limb, he dives into the water he just spent twenty minutes purifying.

“Gotta stay clean,” he says. “Lots of bacteria in dirt.”

Uh, … yeah. That’s true. But, dude, don’t you realize that you’re exposing your eyes and the mucous membranes of your nose, mouth, and at least two other orifices to whatever bacteria is in that water? Poor guy. We suspect he also believes that the food you steal off someone else’s plate won’t make you fat.

It’s not that his underlying philosophy on backcountry hygiene is flawed. There are bacteria, protozoa, and viruses in dirt that can cause us serious problems. However, skin is an excellent barrier against the incursion of potentially harmful microbes. Problems arise when pathogenic microorganisms are allowed to enter the body through natural or accidental openings in the skin. Swimming in contaminated water is one way to do that. Another is to eat with or rub our eyes with dirty hands. A third is to allow contaminated water or soil to get into a wound.

If somehow we open the door to enough of the little buggers, we can be in for a bad time. One of the authors of this book is immune-compromised due to a motorcycle accident. On two occasions he has ignored the itching of athlete’s foot to the point of allowing lesions to develop between his toes. The results were Staphylococcal infections that quickly raged through his bloodstream. Lucky for him, medical help was close by or he probably would have died.

Most of us have healthy immune systems and more than half a brain. So why take a chance with something as dangerous as a Staph infection, especially when in the backcountry medical help can be days away? Even so, we all have to eat and drink. Sooner or later we’re all going to get a cut, scrape or blister. Fortunately, staying clean doesn’t carry much of a packbag weight penalty. Even a full, 16-ounce bottle of Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Soap weighs only a pound or so. But there are lighter ways of keeping our skin clean enough to avoid infections.

We say “clean enough” because we don’t believe that it’s necessary to get every inch of skin antiseptically clean. Unbroken skin provides a lot of protection in itself. If you’re going to backpack regularly, you need to get used to sweat and some selectively placed grime. But at a minimum, you should disinfect your hands after filtering water or toileting and before eating or snacking. It also does no harm to keep the skin around your eyes, nose, and mouth free from dirt. Because your private parts are covered (except on naked hiking days), they usually stay dirt-free.

CLEANING

For critical cleaning and disinfecting chores we use one or a combination of the following tools:

• Liquid antibacterial soap

• Piece of cloth

• Moist towelettes

• Alcohol gel

Major grime can be removed from less critical portions of your body with a piece of damp towel. Generally, untreated water is used for this, although make sure you have no open wounds, sterilize your hands afterward, and use soap the next time you use the same cloth on your face or rear end. Also, you can use a still-moist towelette after cleansing critical parts with it. These little things can remove amazing amounts of grime.

ANTIBACTERIAL SOAP

Dr. Bronner is probably the most famous maker of liquid antibacterial soap for campers. Dr. Bronner’s soaps are well-suited for lightweight backpacking because they are packaged in an extremely concentrated form, requiring you to carry less to make the same amount of suds. Any brand of drug or food store antibacterial soap will do. And since ultralight backpackers use only the smallest amount of it at each cleansing, its environmental impact should be minimal. However, we buy only an unscented variety and hang it up with our food, lest the sensitive noses of bears find it appealing.

Liquid antibacterial soap can be repackaged in lightweight plastic containers as small as a few drams. Camping and backpacking stores usually carry 0.5-ounce containers in packages that also contain other sizes of containers. Back-packingLight.com has a plethora of micro-sized bottles and containers that hold as little as 0.1 fluid ounce of product (the MicroDrop Bottle), which is ideally sized for a week’s worth of Dr. Bronner’s soap.

Likewise, any piece of cloth can serve as a washcloth. Some ultralight backpackers use a bandana. Others use a small piece of the non-woven, hydrophobic fabric that is advertised to be “90 percent dry” when wrung out. This fabric can be found in camping specialty stores but is also sold by auto supply stores for a good bit less money. We make it do triple-duty by also using it to clean up tent spills and sponging rainwater off a tarp or tent fly. Since rainwater is generally pretty clean, we wash with it when we can.

MOIST TOWELETTES

Most of us first encountered Handi Wipes on summer vacations with our parents. This brand of moist towelette is still around, along with a whole slew of others. Most brands can now be purchased in individual foil packages. Virtually all brands use an antibacterial cleaning solution, and some are advertised to be gentle enough for private parts. Some are even unscented.

The benefit of these towelettes is that you can take exactly the number you need for any length trip. Although, for long trips the weight of the foil packages may offset any advantage they have over liquid soap. They vary in size and cost, so look around until you find ones you like. If you’re going into bear country, always buy unscented and hang them at night in your food bag.

ALCOHOL GEL

It seems that even the camping specialty stores are selling alcohol gel as a disinfectant for hands. It’s usually inexpensive, can be found in small squeeze containers, and can also be used as an emergency fire starter, so it qualifies as a multifunctional ultralight item.

Feet

Feet are a special case. When dry and free of openings, the skin on our feet is about as good as any other skin at keeping microorganisms at bay. However, moist skin on a foot swollen from a day of backpacking can quickly lose its integrity. A blister can form and rupture without much warning, and a bleeding blister can provide opportunistic microbes with access to our insides.

Also, fungi love the warm, moist environment inside a shoe or boot, especially when there are delicious skin cells to snack on. A fungal infection can quickly penetrate moist skin and result in a deep lesion. Therefore, as a prophylactic measure, keep your feet as clean as your face and hands.

As an additional step, at least one of the authors applies liquid antiperspirant to his feet every morning for three days prior to, and each morning of, a hike. This helps to keep his feet dry and reduces the tendency of his feet to sweat during the hike. The antibacterial and antifungal properties of the antiperspirant help suppress microbes. While nothing can completely stop feet from getting swampy, they’re less swampy and therefore less susceptible to blisters and fungal infections. He says his feet thank him. We do, too, when we have to sleep next to him in a crowded shelter.

Liquid antiperspirants can be rebottled in the same tiny containers as liquid soaps. Experiment with different brands of antiperspirant until you find a brand that doesn’t irritate your skin. And use only an unscented variety.

Teeth

Most of us first heard about ultralight backpacking when we were told about that crazy thru-hiker who drilled holes in his toothbrush. We’re certainly not that obsessive. Just buy a child’s brush and cut the handle short. Or pick up a fingertip toothbrush, common among prisoners and pets, from GossamerGear.com. A few drops of Dr. Bronner’s soap (peppermint) makes for an invogorating and effective tooth-cleansing experience as well, and is Ryan’s toothpaste du normale.

At any rate, we do brush our teeth, if for no other reason than to maintain regular rituals that are important to staying safe and sane in the backcountry. Clean teeth make us feel good. And if we remember to brush our teeth, we also remember to wash our faces and rub antiperspirant into our feet. And while anointing our feet, we can check them for any areas that might be developing blisters or lesions.

We don’t use commercial toothpaste for backpacking. Good old baking soda and salt is perfect. Unlike commercial products, this concoction doesn’t require rinsing and spitting, is unscented, and a 0.5-ounce vial can contain enough to last two weeks. Add a few grains of rice to absorb moisture. If you can’t stand the thought of swallowing all that yucky baking soda and salt, try to spray the solution around when you spit it out. That way no unfortunate slug or snail that happens to be in the way will get a full dose. (We’d like to tell you that we carefully check for slugs or snails before we spit, but most of the time we don’t.)

Laundry

Sooner or later, we all have to do something about the shirt that announces our presence ten minutes before we arrive at a shelter. Or the shorts that have accumulated so much salt that deer nibble on them when hung on a limb to air out. Generally soaking and wringing a garment in plain water is sufficient. But if you’ve been wallowing in smelly organic mud, then some soap may be in order.

No matter how we do our laundry, we are compelled to minimize the effect it has on the environment. In fact, it’s not just laundry; it’s the effort to keep us and the environment clean. The good news is that it’s not difficult to be a low-impact backpacker. You just have to remember to be one.

Low-Impact Practices

Let’s start with clothing. Almost all hikers carry a pot of some sort. Those who don’t, usually carry a spare Ziploc bag or two. Put the offending garment in the pot or Ziploc, add clear but untreated clean water, and massage the garment until the water gets cloudy. Then empty the container under a tree, bush, or shrub that’s well away from the water source. If needed, do it again, and maybe once more.

If soap has been added to the water, the doused water is actually feeding the plants. If there are no plants, then it’s feeding the micro flora. If the container is emptied into snow, the wash water will be well diluted by the time the snow melts and joins a water source.

The washcloth used to cleanse critical parts doesn’t need rinsing every time a hiker freshens up. Hanging it to dry is sufficient. However, when it does need rinsing, avoid rinsing it out in a water source. At that point, treat it just like a dirty garment. In fact, if there’s soap in it, wash it with a dirty garment so both come out clean.

Low-impact hikers carry their trash out of woods. If you use moist towelettes, take it out with the rest of the trash. Foil does not burn. However, the towelette itself, after it’s been allowed to dry, makes pretty decent tinder. If there’s no campfire, then add it to the trash as well.

La Toilet

Controlling the impact of bodily wastes takes a bit more care. First of all, most hikers use privies where they’re available. And even then a carefully regimented strategy is employed. Have biodegradable toilet paper in hand when you open the door. Then yell at the top of your lungs to drive the 15-pound privy spiders back into their webs. Immediately on hearing the telltale patter of little pincers, drop your trousers while turning around and backing over the hole. In a continuation of the same movement, do your business, wipe once, and leap half-naked out the door.

Frankly, we’re perfectly happy when we don’t find a privy, because it makes us feel less guilty when we use a cat hole. To be honest, we may not even use a cat hole when the waste is liquid. Cat hole or no hole, waste placement is critical. The old rule of thumb is to locate a drop site at least 300 feet from any water source. For that reason, try not to toilet within five minutes of arriving at or leaving a known source. You won’t always know where all the sources are and you may not always get 300 feet away, but do the best you can. Also, try to get at least 100 feet off trail. If the waste is just liquid, and if you’re appropriately equipped, try to spray it around a bit. If you’re not equipped for directed spraying, or if the waste is solid or semi-liquid, scoop out a hole for it.

Cat-hole construction is an art. You may not claim to be an artist (we don’t, either), but the crucial design parameter is to get the hole deep enough to cover the contents with three inches of soil but not so deep as to go below the biologically active top layer of soil. Six inches is too deep. However, here’s another good rule of thumb: If the soil is too hard to dig out with your heel, cross your legs until you find a softer spot. If you’re not adept at completing the hole with your heel, or you wear sandals, use a tent stake to finish the digging.

After making your drop, stir the contents of the hole with a stick, mixing solid, liquid, paper, and oxygen together with soil. This speeds up the process of decomposition quite a bit. When closing the hole with soil, leave the stick in it with the business end down. That way, the next time you’re looking for the spot, you might find a little upright memento of your previous visit. It’s actually kind of homey.

“Hold, on,” you say. “What do you do when you’re above the treeline and there’s no soil?”

When there’s no soil, or when there’s only sand (solid waste doesn’t break down in sand), use what Buck Tilton of the Wilderness Medicine Institute calls the “smear technique.” Think of spreading peanut butter as thinly as possible on an exposed surface, then leaving it to desiccate and sterilize in the sun and open air. As unappealing as Buck’s smear technique sounds, it really is the least potentially harmful when in the desert or on a rocky surface.

However, be prepared. Local regulations may require you to pack your solid wastes out. If so, use plastic baggies within plastic baggies within trash bags. We’ve heard that packaging coffee grounds with the waste masks its odor somewhat. Nonetheless, you’ll know when you’re in a pack-it-out area because most folks will be carrying curiously lumpy trash bags on the outside of their packs.

Insect Protection

There are two major schools of thought on this one. Some despise putting chemicals on their skin, and would rather defend themselves with clothing. Others like to get as naked as possible and have no problem with lathering themselves with bug goo. Essentially, it’s up to you. You can either burn up under layers of recycled soda bottles or you can run the risk of glowing in the dark.

Some hike in running shorts, shirt, and shoes in spring, summer, and fall. They swear by a base layer of waterproof gel sunscreen followed by a layer of time-release DEET. Waterproof sunscreens bond with the upper layers of skin. Not only do they afford protection from the sun, they help prevent the absorption of DEET. Further, microencapsulated time-release DEET products do not penetrate the skin as readily as other DEET formulations. At any rate, DEET is not anywhere near as bad as some people would have you believe.

“Oh, yeah?” you say. “My sister’s college roommate’s great aunt’s butt fell off after her neighbor opened a bottle of DEET in the next yard.”

Um, well, she must not have reported it. In the four decades that DEET has been available to the public, there have been only forty documented cases of DEET toxicity in adults. And, while there’s reason to suspect that some of these folks must have ingested the stuff in order to get so much of it into their systems, none of them suffered serious after effects—including butt separation. Further, no other synthetic or natural repellant has been found to deter biting insects for as long or as effectively as DEET . Of course, give every chemical the backyard test for sensitivity before going into the backcountry with it. It’s hard to carry a pack without a butt.

The current Department of Defense Insect Repellant System calls for DEET to be used in conjunction with Permethrin, a synthetic copy of a natural insecticide that is applied to clothing. A 35 percent concentration of time-release DEET, used in conjunction with Permetrhin-soaked uniforms, has been found to provide 99.9-percent protection from Alaskan mosquitoes over an eight-hour period. If you’ve ever encountered a cloud of Alaskan mosquitoes, you’ll recognize what an amazing statistic this is.

Permethrin quickly loses its toxicity when it comes in contact with the skin, but it’s deadly to biting insects, including ticks, for at least two weeks after being applied to clothing.

If you choose clothing over chemicals, you’ll have to experiment until you find garments that will prevent the little fangs and probosci from getting through to your skin. However, you’ll still have to deal with the exposed skin on your hands and faces. There are mesh gloves and head nets available for this purpose, but perhaps the ultimate bug armor is full-body mesh clothing. We’ve found this material to be warmer than you might think, but for cooler climes and bugs that aren’t deterred by DEET (e.g., Northeastern blackflies), it can be a real trip-saver.

Whatever method of insect protection you choose, give this issue plenty of thought before you head into the woods. Biting insects can ruin the enjoyment of a beautiful view, and some insects can transmit serious diseases. For example, ticks are known carriers of Lyme disease and Rocky Mounted Spotted Fever. So, for heaven’s sake, use some type of bug protection. If you backpack in tick country, make a habit of checking your skin every night, and carry a tick extractor tool in your first-aid kit. Finally, if you’re camping in the desert, check your shoes or boots before you put them on in the morning. We’re pretty sure that scorpions and big, hairy land spiders have discovered that DEET just adds a little flavor to toes.

Conclusion

So what it all comes down to is taking care of yourself and following the hygiene lessons you learned as a kid. Even in the pristine backcountry where few humans have traveled there are bacteria, protozoa, and viruses that can cause serious problems. At the minimum, you should disinfect your hands after filtering water or toileting and before eating or snacking. And don’t rub your eyes with dirty hands. To stay with the ultralight and low-impact principles, carry items that will do double duty on the trail. And carry your trash out of the woods. You’ll not only be happier and cleaner, you’ll leave little trace behind for the next guy.

First Aid and Emergency Preparedness

Chapter 12

Risk Management

Chapter 13

First Aid

Chapter 12: Risk Management

By George Cole

We often see novice backpackers carrying first-aid kits and emergency medical supplies that would make a search and rescue team proud. When asked, most of these folks allude to the comfort they derive from knowing that they are prepared for any medical crisis, even though they can’t identify half of the items in their kit, have never treated anything worse than a headache, and have no emergency medical training.

For all intents and purposes, these folks would be better off trading their first-aid kits for a vial of Valium. Few of us return from a backpacking trip without a bug bite or a patch of sunburn. From time to time, we’ve all suffered a bruise, scrape, sore muscle, or blister. However, most of us have never experienced a serious ailment while in the backcountry. Maybe on one or two occasions we’ve limped slowly back to a trailhead while trying to keep the weight off a sprained ankle. But even a sprained ankle is relatively rare, and more serious injuries and illnesses are rarer still. A 1992 study found that soft-tissue injuries—such as sprains, strains, abrasions, contusions, and lacerations—account for 80 percent of reported wilderness injuries (“Wilderness Injuries and Illnesses” Ann Emerg Med. 1992; 21:853–861). Dislocations or fractures, most of which occur in the lower limbs, may account for less than 5 percent of those injuries (research by Zell and Goodman), and injuries to backpackers resulting from encounters with wild animals are so rare as to be almost nonexistent (research by Freer and colleagues). Most minor injuries are never reported. However, they are reported three times more often than illnesses, and 60 percent of reported illnesses are non-specific or diarrheal in nature (Gentile et al; Zell and Goodman).

It should be said that backpackers without training in wilderness medicine should not attempt to diagnose and treat illness or injury in the backcountry, no matter how sophisticated their supplies. Our standard is this: If you’re not competent to practice medicine on the sidewalk, don’t do it on the trail. And if you don’t know how to use first-aid or medical supplies and equipment, don’t take them with you.

This does not mean that backpackers should go into the woods blissfully unconcerned and unequipped. All backpackers should know how to get a person breathing, get a heart beating, stop serious bleeding, and stabilize a broken bone, especially since instruction on doing so is readily available from the Red Cross and wilderness first-aid educators. Prevention and preparation are the keys to staying healthy in the backcountry. You can anticipate and attempt to prevent the things that are most likely to happen, and carry supplies to deal with those things if they do happen. For less likely but potentially more serious events, prevention is the only way to go. However, if prevention fails and a serious event occurs, be prepared to keep someone alive until trained professionals can deal with the consequences of the event. This means you should know when and how to get an injured or sick person out of the backcountry and into the care of the pros.

Following these principles, there is no need to carry more than a pound of first-aid and emergency medical supplies, including whatever device seems to be the most appropriate for getting professional help in the aftermath of a serious event. However, carry at least 50 pounds of knowledge about where you’re going, what you’re likely to encounter, and how you intend to deal with what you encounter.

Pre-Trip Risk Analysis

Start accumulating the knowledge you want to take into the backcountry with a pre-trip risk analysis. For several weeks before a trip (or months, if the trip is going to be long or in a foreign country), gather and record information on the following characteristics.

ANTICIPATED MILEAGE AND PACE (MAPS, MAPPING SOFTWARE, AND TRAIL GUIDES)

•    Total miles walked

•    Miles walked per day

•    Hours walked per day

•    Miles walked per hour

•    Terrain and elevation (maps, mapping software, and trail guides)

•    Starting elevation each day

•    Ending elevation each day

•    Total elevation gain each day

•    Surface and conditions encountered each day (maps, mapping software, trail guides, local and national authorities, authority informational websites, local trail maintenance clubs and websites, and Internet chat groups)

•    Type of surface

•    Approximate most severe slope of surface

•    Width and boundaries of surface

•    Exposure of surface

•    Surface covering, coating, or condition

•    Location and type of water barriers, and how water barriers must be crossed

•    Season, region, and anticipated weather (maps, mapping software, trail guides, local and national authorities, authority informational websites, local trail maintenance clubs and websites, and Internet chat groups)

•    Anticipated temperature averages and extremes — day and night

•    Recent historical temperature averages and extremes—day and night

•    Anticipated precipitation amounts and type

•    Recent historical precipitation amounts and type

•    Anticipated wind speed averages and extremes, with associated wind chill estimations—day and night

•    Recent historical wind speed averages and extremes, with associated wind chill estimations — day and night

•    Insects, wildlife, and poisonous plants

•    Human encounter trouble spots, such as trailhead parking lots or campsites

•    Location and condition of drinking water sources

•    Location and method of contacting evacuation assistance

•    Location and method of contacting medical assistance

•    Assessment of personal health and pre-trip fitness

•    Assessment of personal backpacking experience/ knowledge for this type of trip

•    Assessment of backpacking experience/knowledge of companions

Risk-specific Prevention Strategy

Once you’ve accumulated the above information, it will be easier to assess the risk of the hike.

Essentially, take only what you’re likely to need given the conditions you expect to encounter. If you perceive there to be a reasonable risk of any of the following events, initiate the following preventive strategies:

PRESSURE BLISTERS

• Use new shoes or boots under load for at least a month before the trip. If shoes or boots are leather, treat with leather softener

• Sweat reduction/skin toughening

• Pre-treat feet with alcohol for at least a week before the trip. This helps to prevent blisters by toughening the skin while minimizing overhydration of the pores and softening of the skin

• Pre-treat feet with a liquid antiperspirant for three days before the trip, and then pack and use the anti-perspirant daily.

• Apply coating of Tuff-skin to soles of feet immediately before trip

• Tape “hot spots” during the trip

• Pack and use alcohol wipes for cleansing and degreasing

• Pack and use duct tape or waterproof tape on hot spots. A foot or two wound around a hiking pole or pill bottle should be sufficient for this purpose. Inspect feet every couple of hours while walking

SUNBURN AND “EYEBURN“

• Pack and use sufficient clothing for adequate skin coverage, or pack and use a sufficient amount of a sunscreen preparation rebottled into a small container

• Pack and use billed headwear and sunglasses, especially at high altitudes

DEHYDRATION

• Treat and drink 8 to 16 ounces of water per hour during trip

HYPOTHERMIA

• Pack and use sufficient, appropriate clothing.

• If your clothing is insufficient, use your shelter and sleeping bag for unanticipated conditions

HYPERTHERMIA

• During trip, wear a hat when in direct sunlight

• Treat and drink 16 to 24 ounces of water per hour during trip

• When temperatures exceed 90 degrees, find shade and rest at least once per hour during trip

INSECT BITES

• Apply DEET every day of trip and pre-treat clothing with Permethrin

• Mesh clothing

• Self-inspection

• After consulting with a physician, pack and use a non-sedating oral antihistamine daily. For example, take one Allegra tablet or its equivalent each morning of the trip.

CHRONIC / UNIQUE AILMENTS, INCLUDING ALLERGIES AND IMMUNE-DEFICIENCIES

• Pack and use appropriate medications. Consult physician

ALLERGIC REACTIONS TO POISONOUS PLANTS

• Learn to identify the poisonous plants that you will encounter on the trip. Avoid them

• Pack and use a plant-oil-blocking preparation, such as Ivy Block

• Pack and use appropriate clothing (covering the lower legs). Learn how to dress and undress without contaminating your skin

• If skin comes in contact with poisonous plants, immediately cleanse affected areas with alcohol wipes

• After consulting with physician, pack and use a non-sedating oral antihistamine daily. For example, take one Allegra tablet or its equivalent each morning of the trip

ILLNESSES

• Before the trip, make sure you are current on all immunizations, especially Tetanus toxoid.

• During the trip, practice proper hygiene and pack sufficient hygiene supplies.

• During the trip, treat drinking water.

INJURIES DUE TO EXCESSIVE PACK LOAD

• For heaven’s sake, lighten up

INJURIES DUE TO SLIPS AND FALLS

• Before the trip, consult with your physician and then condition yourself for backpacking. If you can’t walk daily in rugged terrain with a loaded pack, purchase a weight vest and climb the stairs at your local high school football stadium

• Before the trip, reduce your pack weight and its attendant fatiguing effects

• During the trip, pay attention to where you’re walking and where you place your feet. Ensure that you have adequate traction on slippery surfaces. Wear footwear with lugged, wet-traction rubber soles that you’ve tested before the trip

• If you’re going to encounter especially slippery surfaces, such as wet, mossy, or submerged rocks or logs, etc., pack and use a set of traction devices

• Pack and use crampons where surfaces are icy

• Use hiking poles for balance and support

INJURIES FROM TWO- AND FOUR-LEGGED WILDLIFE

• Avoid and escape—when appropriate. For example, don’t run from wild animals

• Pack and use pepper spray

• Fend off wildlife with hiking poles

• Pack and use legal weapons

Specific First-aid Strategy / Kit

Once you have a prevention strategy pack a first-aid kit with the supplies you’ll need to deal with the minor events you are not able to prevent. While stocking the kit, think about how and when you’ll use each item and where it needs to be in your pack for best access during stress or inclement conditions.

Specific Evacuation Strategy

There’s always a little distress when you hear a self-proclaimed expert backpacker say something like, “It’s sacrilegious to take cell phones into the backcountry If you need a cell phone, you shouldn’t be out there. Why back in ’72, I stitched myself up with a fishhook, splinted both legs with saplings I gnawed off at the root, and dragged myself 50 miles back to a trailhead, in the dark, leading a troop of lost Girl Scouts on the way.”

Having gone to the aid of such an “expert” after he camped under a dead limb and got a dent in his brain, we can report that he didn’t seem terribly distressed when we called for help on our weenie 4-ounce Motorola. We can also report that he got real quiet after the Emergency Medical Tech (EMT) told him that when people do get seriously hurt in the backcountry, mortality rates vary due to the time it takes to get professional help.

Nothing replaces knowledge, but even experts can have a really bad day. When they do, you should be prepared to evacuate them. An evacuation strategy will include the following elements:

PRIOR TO THE TRIP

• Prepare and distribute a detailed trip plan. Include estimated arrival times at landmarks

• Pack notes indicating the location and two methods of contacting evacuation assistance

• Pack notes indicting the location and two methods of contacting emergency medical assistance

• Pack a working communication device that is appropriate for the locale of the trip

º  Cell phone, or

º  Satellite phone, or

º  UHF/VHF radio, and

º  Signal mirror, or

º  Flares and/or fire starters, or

º  Notes on the construction of passive signals

You’ve Got to Be Kidding Me!

While all this planning and preparation hardly seems worth the effort, we can promise you that going through the process will increase your sense of safety reduce your anxiety and lighten your pack. More importantly we’re convinced that it will reduce the probability that something catastrophic will happen during your trip. However, if something does happen, you’ll be ready for it. Further, after you go through the process several times, it will become second nature. You’ll find yourself quickly developing into a knowledgeable and skilled ultralight risk manager.

Chapter 13: First Aid

By Dave Schultz and Ryan Jordan

For most people, first aid means the first, basic care given to a victim of an accident or sickness. These basic medical skills are vitally important for all people to know. They can prevent permanent damage and death from occurring during the short period of time it takes for professional medical help to be obtained.

Hikers, however, find themselves in a unique situation. The period of time that can pass between injury and professional help can be several hours or even days. Also, hikers do not always have a way to signal for help and may have to travel for many hours to reach medical assistance. For hikers, appropriate medical skills go well beyond first aid and into the area of wilderness medicine.

Just as backpackers adapt the processes of eating, sleeping, staying warm, and traveling, wilderness medicine is really just the adaptation of standard medical practices. The lightweight hiker makes further adaptations to wilderness medicine, and in doing so substitutes knowledge, ingenuity, and preparation for many ounces or pounds of gear.

An adequate treatment of wilderness medicine for the layman is well beyond the scope of this chapter and could easily fill several hundred pages. What we intend to accomplish in this space is

• Basic theory and techniques to handle a few common situations

• How to choose specialized gear to handle medical situations while on the trail

• Emphasize the importance of researching additional information on wilderness medicine

There are many excellent volumes on wilderness medicine. Classes on first aid are available in most areas.

Common Situations

To begin, we will discuss how to handle a few of the more common trail situations. Before we begin, however, there are a few things you should consider. For example, your anxiety over a situation can easily lead to bad decisions. Always tend to the safety of the group first, and to the injured second. When it comes to the injured, deal with the most life-threatening situation first. The frostbite on the victim’s hands might look bad, but the hypothermia will kill him. And above all, do nothing that will make the situation worse. Risky rescues tend to create more victims, and poor aid can be worse than no aid at all.

If you do nothing else, learn basic CPR and first aid. Classes and books on this material abound. The American Red Cross, community colleges, local libraries, and local bookstores are all good sources of information on CPR and basic first aid.

CUTS AND ABRASIONS

Bleeding

Most bleeding can be stopped by applying direct pressure to the wound. Cover the wound with the cleanest material immediately available and apply firm direct pressure. Hold the pressure without release for at least a full 10 minutes, and up to 30 minutes if necessary.

Cleansing

The most important part of managing a wound is getting it clean and keeping it that way. Aggressively cleaning out a wound through irrigation and vigorous scrubbing removes as many harmful bacteria as possible. This cleaning also removes much of the damaged tissue that bacteria feed on.

For many cuts, the best way to clean the wound is through irrigation. Simply put, irrigating a wound involves spraying a stream of disinfected water (0.5 ounces of 10-percent Povidone iodine mixed with 16 ounces of clean water works better than plain water) into the wound with enough force to flush out germs and debris and without harming healthy tissue. One lightweight method uses a 20-cc syringe with a catheter tip. These weigh 0.25 ounces and can be purchased in the medical supply section of mountaineering stores. If you do not have a syringe, you can use a clean plastic bag with a pinhole in it. Place the solution in the bag and squeeze the bag to force a jet of solution into the wound. After the irrigation, if any debris is still present, either pick it out with a sterile tweezers or scrub it out as described below.

If the injury is an abrasion, where the outer layers of skin are scraped off, dirt and debris are likely to be embedded in the wound. Irrigation will probably be insufficient to clean it. In this case, the wound must be scrubbed clean. This process is very painful and messy. The scrubbing process should be done vigorously and quickly, as the injured person will not stand for it for very long.

1. Aggressively irrigate the area.

2. To help deaden the pain, it may help to apply pads to the area soaked with a solution of 2.5-percent lidocaine (e.g., Bactine) 10–15 minutes prior to the scrubbing. To prevent lidocaine toxicity, do not apply lidocaine to over 5 percent of the victim’s body.

3. Pick out any large pieces of debris with a sterile tweezers.

4. Quickly scrub out the wound with a clean pad soaked with the irrigation solution.

5. Irrigate again.

6. Cover the wound with a non-adherent protective dressing. This can be made by applying a thin coat of triple-antibiotic ointment over a clean gauze pad.

Wound Closure

After cleansing a cut, bleeding may start again. Bleeding should stop with the application of direct pressure to the wound. Close the wound with wound-closure strips—thin strips of material that have an adhesive backing used to “tape” the wound shut. These are available at drug stores. Before you begin, make sure the surrounding skin is thoroughly dry so that the strips will stick. Then start by matching up the edges of the wound and placing one closure strip across the middle of the wound to tape the edges of the wound together. Place additional strips every half inch along the rest of wound.

After Closure

Check the wound daily for signs of infection

• Pus or a pink, green, or cream colored, cloudy discharge from the wound

• Fever

• Increasing tenderness

• Redness or swelling

• Red streaks that radiate from the wound toward the trunk

If an infection develops, open the wound and irrigate. Pack the wound with clean bandages without bringing the edges of the wound together. Apply warm, moist compresses four times a day to promote local circulation. Seek immediate professional medical help, as antibiotics are probably needed.

BLISTERS

Prevention is the best way to handle blisters. Condition your feet in the same shoes that you are going to wear before a long hike. This will toughen your feet and make sure that your shoes and your feet are broken in together. Wet skin blisters more easily, so remember to change into dry socks regularly on the trail. And attend to “hot spots” early on by covering them with tape, moleskin, etc., to stop them from progressing to blisters.

Even with careful preventative measures, blisters can still form. If the blister is small and unbroken, apply one of the new blister-care bandages. These are made by several manufacturers and have a gel-like inner surface that eliminates friction and feels very soothing.

If the blister is large, disinfect the skin around the blister, puncture it at its edge with a sterile needle or knife point and then work out the fluid. Cover the blister with a blister-care bandage and continue on your journey. Check the wound for infection daily. If the drained blister shows signs of infection, trim away the loose layer of skin, disinfect the area, apply a light layer of triple-antibiotic cream, cover with a blister-care bandage, let the area drain frequently, and consult a physician.

BURNS

Determining severity is extremely important in treating burn victims. The severity of a burn is determined by the surface area and the depth of the burned tissue. A rule of thumb used to determine the percentage of a body that is burned is called the rule of palms. A person’s palm (not including fingers) covers an area approximately equal to 1.0–1.5 percent of the surface of that person’s body. Thus, a burn that covers 10 times the area of a person’s palm would cover 10–15 percent of that person’s body.

The depth of a burn is grouped into one of three categories:

• First-degree burns, or superficial burns, involve only the outermost layer of the skin (the epidermis).

• Second-degree burns are those that damage not only the top layer of skin, but also some lower layers of skin (the dermis).

• Third-degree burns involve all layers of the skin and can extend into muscle, bone, etc.

First-Degree Burns

The common sunburn is usually a first-degree burn. It typically extends only into the uppermost layer of skin. First-degree burns can be treated with a cool, moist compress and a non-analgesic anti-inflammatory such as ibuprofen, to relieve the pain and inflammation. This type of burn rarely requires evacuation. If it covers a large area of the body and is accompanied by fever or vomiting, a physician should be consulted.

Second-Degree Burns

These burns, which extend deeper into the skin, are more painful than first-degree burns and are accompanied by blisters. Because they extend into the dermis, which contains sweat glands and small blood vessels, these burns can hinder the body’s ability to control its temperature and moisture levels, especially if they cover more than 15 percent of the body. Victims with large second-degree burns are prone to dehydration, hypothermia, and shock. Drinking fluids should be encouraged, and the victim should be kept warm. To treat the burn area, cover it with a cool, moist, non-adherent covering. Use a dry covering if the victim appears hypothermic.

Second-degree burns that cover more than 5 percent of the body or become infected require a consultation with a physician. Second-degree burns that cover more than 15 percent of the body require evacuation.

Third-Degree Burns

Surprisingly third-degree burns may not be as painful as other burns, because the burn extends deeper into the body and there may be nerve damage. The skin on a third-degree burn may appear dry, leathery, hard, or charred.

Immediately treat the wound by covering it with a clean, dry, non-adherent dressing. A physician should be consulted for all third-degree burns. Evacuation is required if the burn covers over 10 percent of the body. Third-degree burns almost always require skin grafting.

SPRAINS AND STRAINS

Sprains and strains are injuries to muscles, tendons, and ligaments caused by stretching, tearing, twisting, over exertion, and blunt trauma. The symptoms can include pain, swelling, bruising, and decreased range of motion. The most common examples of sprains or strains on the trail are twisted ankles and knees. If an injury of this type occurs in the field, use the RICE method (rest, ice, compression, elevation) for treatment. Medications such as Ibuprofen can help with both the pain and inflammation associated with these injuries.

Rest. Stop using the injured part of the body if possible. Further use can lead to further damage.

Ice. Cooling the injured area reduces circulation at the site of the injury and will help reduce pain, swelling, and bleeding. This is important. Since ice is often a rare commodity in the field, soak the injured area in a cold stream or make a cold pack by placing cold stream water in a Ziploc bag. The cold pack should be applied for at least 20 minutes and as long as 45 minutes. If ice is used, take care not to cause a freeze injury. This can be done simply by placing a bandana or other piece of dry material between the ice pack and the skin. If a soak in a cold stream is used, remove the injured area from the water every few minutes when the cold gets uncomfortable. The cold treatment should be applied every two hours if possible, or at least four times per day. The sooner the cold treatments are started after the injury, the more effective they will be.

• Compression wraps reduce swelling and provide support. A compression wrap can be made by placing spare clothes, sleeping pad material, or other padding around the injured area and then wrapping the area very snugly with bandages, pack straps, rope, etc. If the area becomes numb or painful, loosen the wrap.

• Elevating the injured area above the level of the heart helps reduce swelling by slowing the circulation to the injured area.

If complete rest for the injured area is not realistic, it should be wrapped to provide as much support as possible. After the injury is wrapped, the victim may be able to travel under his/her own power without a pack. During travel, a cane, walking stick, or other such device should be used to take as much pressure off of the injured area as possible.

HYPOTHERMIA

Hypothermia is the abnormal lowering of the body’s core temperature. This condition is generally divided into three degrees of severity depending upon the body’s temperature.

Mild

Mild hypothermia occurs when the body’s core temperature drops as low as 95°F. (The average body temperature is 98.6°F.) During this stage, a person feels very cold and will shiver. Mental ability is not yet impaired, but coordination may be slightly impaired. Treatment includes sheltering and insulating the victim. Warmed water bottles may be placed in areas of high heat transfer, such as in the groin, armpit, and neck. Make sure that any heat is adequately insulated so that it does not burn the victim. Warm fluids, preferably those containing sugar, should be administered as soon as possible. Avoid drinks with caffeine.

Moderate

Moderate hypothermia occurs when the body’s core temperature falls between 90 and 95°F. During this stage, mental ability will be impaired and the victim may display poor judgment, apathy, and confusion. Speech may be slurred, and the victim will often be clumsy and stumbling. Treatment for this stage of hypothermia is much the same as for mild cases, but care should be given when administering fluids. An incoherent victim has an increased danger of choking and aspirating on vomit.

Profound

Profound hypothermia occurs when the body’s core temperature falls below 90 degrees. During this stage the victim will have obvious mental degradation and exhibit confusion and irrational behavior, or even fall into a coma. Shivering will stop. Weakness and stumbling will become more pronounced. Eventually, all voluntary motion will cease. The pupils will dilate. Breathing and heart rate will decrease to at least half their normal rates, and eventually will become so shallow as to make the victim appear dead. Treatment of profound hypothermia is much the same as for moderate hypothermia, involving stabilization and the prevention of further cooling. There are, however, a few additional things to know.

• The victim needs to be handled extremely gently. Rough handling—such as jostling, vigorous rubbing, or walking—can easily lead to heart failure.

• Experts disagree as to whether adding heat to the victim in the field is helpful or harmful, due to the complications inherent in rewarming.

• Evacuating victims of profound hypothermia will require the assistance of medical professionals. After stabilizing the victim, your first priority should be to seek help.

FROSTNIP AND FROSTBITE

Frostnip and frostbite are two degrees of the same malady. Frostnip is the early stage where exposed skin experiences superficial freezing but no permanent damage. The affected area will turn pale or whitish and may feel numb. The most commonly affected areas are the tip of the nose, ears, and fingers. Treatment of frostnip involves the immediate rewarming of the affected area. This is often accomplished by simply blowing warm breath into cupped hands to warm your cold nose, placing your warm hands over your cold ears, or putting your cold fingers inside your jacket next to your warm torso. If not tended to immediately, frostbite will follow with more permanent damage to the area.

Frostbite is the freezing of the skin and surrounding tissue. Frostbitten skin will appear waxy with a whitish, grayish, or yellowish color. The affected area may also be hard to the touch.

To treat frostbite, the affected area should be rapidly rewarmed with warm water—that is, water heated to 108°F. Remember, if the water is too hot, the victim will not be able to sense it and a burn may occur. On the other hand, the victim’s cold skin will immediately lower the temperature of the rewarming bath. Have plenty of hot water available and replenish as needed. The thawing process can take 20–45 minutes and will be extremely painful. Pain medication administered prior to the rewarming process will help. The anti-inflammatory effect of ibuprofen may also be helpful. The thawing process is complete when the skin is soft and has turned a red or pink color. Do not rub the skin during the thawing process; the frozen tissue is easily damaged once it starts to thaw. Even thawed tissue is fragile and can be very easily damaged. Aloe Vera gel is helpful in protecting the affected area. Blisters will likely form on the affected area after several hours. Avoid opening these blisters. Infection can easily set in—a dangerous complication of frostbite. If a blister ruptures, carefully trim away the loose skin and apply an antiseptic ointment. Pad frostbitten areas with a soft and sterile dressing, especially between the fingers and toes. Elevating the area above the heart is also beneficial. Seek the help of a medical professional on all cases of frostbite.

The faster the rewarming process is started, the smaller the loss of tissue. note: It is imperative that once the affected area has been thawed, it must not be allowed to refreeze. If the area refreezes, large amounts of tissue will be lost. It is far better to walk on a frozen foot, than to walk on a foot that has been thawed and allowed to refreeze.

HEAT ILLNESS

When we hike, our bodies produce as much as 10 times the amount of heat as when we rest. To further fuel the flame when we hike in a sunny environment, we absorb additional heat from the sun. The body’s temperature could easily increase by over 15°F in an hour of hard hiking. Such an increase in body temperature, without some sort of release, would be fatal.

Luckily, we do have mechanisms that allow our bodies to rid themselves of excess heat. As we sense that we are becoming overheated, our bodies dilate surface blood vessels to increase blood flow near the surface of our skin. Our blood moves heat from our body’s core to the surface of our skin, where it can be radiated away. Additional heat is lost from the skin through evaporation, as our bodies sweat in response to increases in our core temperature. Over 70 percent of the energy we expend is released in the form of heat Normally, 65 percent of that is radiated from our skin.

However, if the temperature of our environment is over 95°F, we no longer lose heat through radiation. As the humidity of our environment increases, evaporative heat loss slows. Thus, as the temperature and humidity of our environment increases, our body’s ability to lose heat from radiation and evaporation decreases. The National Weather Service has developed a chart that shows the apparent temperature at different combinations of air temperature and relative humidity. To find it, visit the National Weather Service website (www.nws.noaa.gov) and search for “wind chill chart.”

As our core temperature rises, so does the rate of our metabolism. The rate of metabolic increase, however, is not linear. It accelerates as our core temperature increases. Therefore, as our core temperature rises, our metabolism produces even more heat, fueling a vicious cycle.

Heat exhaustion and heat stroke (sun stroke) are different levels of the same basic problem: a body’s inability to dissipate excess heat. In trying to deal with the increase of its core temperature, the body dilates blood vessels and loses fluid through profuse sweating. As this happens, the volume of fluid and blood pressure drop. This drop in blood pressure can leave the brain and other organs with an inadequate level of blood flow—the first stage of shock in heat illness.

Heat exhaustion is the less serious of heat-related illness. While it generally does not result in permanent damage, it can develop into a fatal heat stroke quickly. The victim’s core temperature can be as high as 104°F. Victims of heat exhaustion may exhibit weakness, minor confusion, irrational behavior, and dizziness. They may also have a rapid pulse, headache, and nausea. (Vomiting is not uncommon.) Contrary to the popular myth that heat exhaustion victims always have clammy skin, the victim may or may not be sweating. Skin temperature can feel cool even of the core temperature is at a fatal level. Core temperature can only be properly assessed with an appropriate thermometer.

To treat heat exhaustion, all physical activity should be stopped and the body must be cooled. Liquid should be applied to the skin and vigorously fanned to promote evaporative cooling. (Urine could be used if water is in short supply.) A bath in a cool stream or pond will cool the body even faster. If a water bath is used, massage the arms and legs to help circulate the blood. Rapid cooling of the skin may cause vaso-constriction, which hampers the movement of cooler blood to the body’s core. If the victim is conscious and able to swallow, administer fluids. Elevation of the feet above the head will help to keep blood circulating to the brain. Do not use aspirin or acetaminophen (Tylenol) to try to reduce the victim’s elevated temperature. These medications will not be effective in this situation and may make the condition worse.

Heat stroke is an advanced degree of heat illness. It represents a grave medical emergency. The victim’s core temperature will be in excess of 105°F. The heat stroke victim will exhibit a severely altered mental state with belligerent behavior, extreme confusion, and seizures. Often, a coma will result. Rapid heart rate, low blood pressure, rapid respiration, and vomiting are also common. The treatment of heat stroke is much the same as for heat exhaustion, but it is more urgently needed. Once the victim’s temperature is reduced to a normal level, monitor the core temperature every 15 minutes. The temperature can continue to rise and fall unpredictably for several hours. Victims of heat stroke must be evacuated for professional medical attention as soon as possible.

Hydration is an important factor in heat related illness. When we are dehydrated, our blood vessels do not dilate as well and we produce less sweat. This means that our body’s main mechanisms lose efficiency for thermoregulation. To combat heat illness, drink four quarts of water in a moderately hard day of hiking. In fact, a quart an hour is appropriate if the hike is strenuous and the temperature is hot. A good way to gauge adequate water intake is by examining the color of your urine. It should be clear or light yellow in color. If it is dark or a rich yellow color, you are not drinking enough water.

SHOCK

Shock is a potentially deadly condition in which the blood flow to the brain and other organs is insufficient enough to provide an adequate supply of oxygen. Shock can be caused by many serious injuries and illnesses. The treatment for shock involves not only tending to the shock itself, but also tending to the medical conditions that lead to shock—e.g., hypothermia, hyperthermia, and bleeding. Shock can progress rapidly from its early stages to death.

Shock victims may have a rapid but weak or undetectable pulse. Breathing may also be irregular, weak, and rapid. The victim’s mental state may range from normal to confused to unconscious.

To treat shock, lay the victim down and keep him calm, warm, and comfortable. Try to identify and treat the underlying cause of the shock. If the shock is caused by visible bleeding, stop the bleeding first. If you’re sure there is no severe head injury or internal bleeding, elevate the victim’s legs to assist the blood flow to the head. Closely monitor the victims pulse and respiration. Be ready to begin rescue breathing or CPR if appropriate.

Training

If the preceding material on common wilderness health problems was new to you, consider further study of the subject. Because of space considerations, we have briefly outlined only eight conditions that we feel are important to ultralight hikers. There are a great many other conditions that can, and do, occur on the trail—e.g., dislocations, fractures, dental problems, eye problems, head injuries, heart conditions, poisoning, abdominal injuries, etc. Ask yourself: Do I know specifically what to do if I, or someone that I am hiking with, is suffering from any of these conditions? If your answer is no, consider further study of the subject.

Sample First-Aid Kit

Equipment is no substitute for knowledge in health issues. For the majority of hikers, the single most useful item in a first-aid kit would be a small booklet on wilderness medicine. While there are several first-aid guides available, I am partial to the compact and excellent book, A Comprehensive Guide to Wilderness and Travel Medicine by Eric A. Weiss, M.D.

This wilderness medicine text is far superior to others in that it focuses on issues common to backcountry travelers, is extremely thorough considering its small size, and is filled with ways to improvise equipment for use in wilderness medical situations. It is as though Dr. Weiss wrote this book with the ultralight hiker in mind. This guide weighs in at 4.75 ounces. If you remove the book covers and the sections on international travel medicine and diving medicine, another 0.5 ounces can be saved.

The other items packed in your first-aid kit will depend on:

• Your wilderness medical knowledge. Someone with advanced training would have a greater chance of getting along with less gear than a novice. Conversely, someone with advanced training might include some items that would be of little use or even counterproductive in the hands of a novice.

• The length of your hike. If the trip length is a simple overnight jaunt, less gear is needed than if you are going for an extended trek deep into an isolated wilderness.

• The number of people in your group. If you are carrying the first-aid kit for your group of six hikers, you may want to carry greater amounts and different items than if you are traveling solo.

• Pre-existing conditions in your group. For example, Dave knows that his wife is prone to indigestion and knee pain, so he carries antacids and material to stabilize her knee when he hikes with her.

• The degree of preparedness that you wish to maintain, which will determine the size and weight of your first-aid kit. After having discussed the contents of first-aid kits with the other authors of this book, I have come to realize that this is a very personal decision. At the end of the day, you will have to take responsibility for your choices and their consequences.

For comprehensive lists of items that you could carry, look in any of the wilderness medicine books referenced at the end of this chapter. Whatever you decide to carry, ask the following questions about each item:

• Can some other item be substituted? For example, would you feel comfortable improvising a splint or bandage if you did not have these items with you?

• Can you get by with a smaller version or amount? Do you really need a 1-ounce tube of antibiotic ointment, or will a few single-use blister packs do?

• What are the consequences of not having this item if someone in your party needs it? If you skip taking an anti-diarrheal, are you willing to live with the condition until it clears up?

• Do you have the skills needed to use this item? Do you know how to suture a wound, or would you be better served by taping a wound closed? Do you know when not to use the medications that you are packing?

Suggested Reading List

Weiss, Eric A. A Comprehensive Guide to Wilderness and Travel Medicine (Oakland, CA: Adventure Medical Kits, 1997)

• Unless you have done a great deal of wilderness medical study, carry this book.

Auerbach, Paul S. Medicine for the Outdoors (New York: The Lyons Press, 1999)

• An excellent and comprehensive guide to wilderness medicine for the layman.

Forgey, William. Wilderness Medicine: Beyond First Aid (Merrillville, IN; ICS Books Inc., 1994)

• An excellent and comprehensive guide to wilderness medicine for the layman.

Auerbach, Paul S., editor. Wilderness Medicine (St. Louis, MO: Mosby, Inc., 2001)

• With over 2,000 pages and over 1,200 photos and illustrations, this is easily the most comprehensive volume on the subject available. While much of the text can be understood by the layman, it is not an easy read. Most of the book is more suitable for medical professionals and others with a great deal of advanced study.

Tilton, Buck and Hubbell, Frank. Medicine for the Backcountry (Merrillville, IN: ICS Books, Inc. 1994)

• An excellent and comprehensive guide to wilderness medicine for the layman.

Resources for First-Aid and
Wilderness Medicine Training

WILDERNES MEDICINE INSTTUTE

PO Box 9
Pitkin, CO 81241
970-641-3572
wmi.nols.edu

NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL

1121 Spring Lake Drive
Itasca, IL 60143
800-621-7619
www.nsc.org

WILDERNESS MEDICAL SOCIETY

3595 East Fountain Blvd., Suite A1
Colorado Springs, CO 80910
719-572-9255
www.wms.org

AMERICAN RED CROSS

Look in the telephone directory for your local chapter of the American Red Cross, or check their website at www. redcross.org

Supply Resources

Local outdoor equipment stores, drug stores, and surgical supply retailers can provide you with most of the first-aid equipment that you need. Below are three mail-order businesses that have a complete selection of wilderness medical supplies.

WILDERNESS MEDICINE OUTFITTERS

2477 County Road 132
Elizabeth, CO 80107
303-688-5176
www.wildernessmedicine.com

CHINOOK MEDICAL GEAR INC.

3455 Main Avenue
Durango, Colorado 81301
800-766-1365
www.chinookmed.com

ADVENTURE MEDICAL KITS

PO Box 43309
Oakland, CA 94624
800-324-3517
www.adventuremedicalkits.com

Proven Lightweight Solutions

An encore collection of fan favorites
from BackpackingLight.com

Chapter 14

Advanced Tarp Camping

Chapter 15

SuperUltraLight

Chapter 16

Hiking Efficiency

Chapter 17

LW Backpacking with Young Children

Chapter 18

LW Backpacking for Couples

Chapter 19

Face Off - First Aid and Emergency Gear

Chapter 20

Especially for Women

Chapter 14:
Advanced Tarp Camping
Techniques for Inclement Conditions

By Ryan Jordan

The biggest gripes I hear from tent-tethered hikers about tarps are:

1. “A tent is warmer!”

2. “They offer no protection from bugs!”

3. “They’re worthless above the treeline, especially in inclement weather.”

Most seasoned ultralight backpackers admit to the first but choose to invest weight where it counts the most: high fill down in a sleeping bag.

Most have also figured out a variety of solutions to the second, ranging from the Spartan’s choice—a headnet—to the more secure and roomier offerings of nest-like shrouds of noseeum mesh, such as those offered by GoLite; or a mesh perimeter sewn to the edge of the tarp, as in Henry Shire’s Tarptent. Combined with some strategically applied DEET and/or Permethrin, avoiding insanity from buzzing is not difficult.

Thus, the first two proclaimed disadvantages of tarp camping for three-season backpacking are weak arguments.

However, when it comes to the third, too many veterans—even experienced lightweight hikers—scamper down to the treeline to avoid having to face the rock music of tarp camping in a tempest. And, hey, I’ll admit it: When I’m carrying a poncho and leaving my tent at home, pitching a bombproof tarp in a gale force storm at 11,000 feet is not high on my list of things to do when dusk is approaching and I’m craving my evening soup.

However, being able to pitch your tarp properly under inclement conditions is a skill that opens up new avenues of very light high-mountain travel, including alpinism, ridge hiking, and alpine high routes. Above the treeline, you are immersed in a mountain range’s full glory—and sometimes, her wrath—en route to a richer experience with better-than-IMAX views, planetarium-quality stargazing, and an intimacy with the alpine realm that cannot be appreciated by spending the night in the arbor cathedrals of lower elevations.

And so, this article will focus on more advanced considerations for tarp camping above the treeline in inclement weather.

Resistance to Inclement Weather: Panel Size and Tension

The two biggest mistakes novice lightweight mountain travelers make when tarping above the treeline is thinking that a larger tarp provides better weather protection, and that stakes and guylines provide opportunities for weight savings.

Consider two tarps side by side. One measures 10´ x 12´ and the other 5´ x 8´, both staked as A-frames in similar configurations, with each corner staked to the ground, broadside to a stiff wind. Now consider the rule that deflection of the normal surface of a panel in tension is proportional to:

1. The surface area of the panel

2. The degree of tension in the panel

You can begin to appreciate the two most important factors that go into properly pitching a shelter in inclement conditions.

First let’s consider the surface area of the panel. A larger surface exposed to wind will deflect more in response to wind than a smaller surface exposed, given that tension across both surfaces is the same. conclusion: Use a smaller tarp if you are going to be exposed to high winds. If you don’t buy into this philosophy; then consider that the world’s strongest mountain tents are those that

• Have the smallest sized panels (visualize a geodesic dome tent with eight criss-crossing poles vs. only two or four), or

• Are low in height, width, and length (like the Integral Designs MK1XL, the de facto standard of blizzard-ready mountain tents)

Small Tarps for Inclement Weather

The SpinTarp X, an ultralight silicone-coated 4.25˝-x-7.75˝ tarp by Bozeman Mountain Works (4.15 oz) is designed to be used in conjunction with a bivy sack to provide overhead rain protection. Combined with plenty of tent stakes and guylines, it is well suited to exposed conditions above the treeline.

High Uintas, UT: This tarp is actually two Integral Design Sil Ponchos, snapped together to form the ridgeline of a tarp pitch 8 in length and 10’ in width. The low end is into the wind, which spilled down from a 12,000-foot ridge during the night. Panel tension and a tight pitch were maintained by using a total of 14 titanium skewer stakes and fine-diameter guylines.

Second, let’s consider the tension in the panel. Since we don’t have the option of using tent poles to reduce panel tension, we are simply left with stakes and guylines. As you add stakes and guylines to the sides of your tarp, you effectively create more and more (smaller) tension panels in the structure. The result: higher tension forces across the panel resulting from smaller panel surface area. Stakes and guylines don’t weigh much. A set of 12 titanium skewer stakes and a set of Spectra guylines can weigh less than 3.25 ounces, while providing your tarp with the structural integrity required for weathering storms above the treeline. conclusion: Don’t skimp on stakes and guylines if you are going to be exposed to high winds.

Precipitation Protection: The Breathable Bivy Sack

We’ve addressed the need to deal with high winds already but what about precipitation? Using a smaller tarp means a greater risk of getting wet from sideways blowing rain, snow, or spindrift.

Pitching windward edges close to the ground is one way to minimize the effects of wind and windblown precipitation on your sleep system. Beaks, such as those found on the front of Tarptents and the ends of the GoLite Cave series of tarps, also help. However, swirling winds that change direction are the high-mountain norm. Tarp design and pitching options can only take you so far.

The mainstream mountain tarp aficionado recognizes these limitations, and often complements the tarp with a synthetic sleeping bag, a down bag with a nearly waterproof-breathable shell (e.g., Gore DryLoft or Pertex Endurance), or a waterproof-breathable bivy sack. However, there are a few problems with these:

1. Synthetic bags are heavier than high-fill down bags of comparable warmth—by up to 40% or more!

Staying Warmer with a Bivy. This photo was taken the morning after a subfreezing night in the High Uintas with winds in excess of 40 mph. The solution was simply to pitch the tarp (an Integral Designs Sil Poncho) low enough to spill wind effectively with plenty of stakes and guylines to maintain panel tension. The bivy sack, with a Pertex Quantum top (6.5 oz), was essential to staying warm in conjunction with an ultralight, 16-ounce down sleeping bag.

2. A down bag shelled with a low-breathability shell, such as DryLoft or Endurance, doesn’t pass moisture vapor well enough to maintain its insulation on longer trips.

3. Waterproof-breathable bivy sacks: ditto. They don’t pass moisture vapor well.

Thus, I’m a strong advocate of bivy sacks that have a waterproof bottom—so you can leave a ground cloth at home—and a highly breathable, water-resistant top that can pass perspired moisture vapor quickly. An uncompromised DWR finish for the bivy top is a must for precipitation to bead up on the fabric and roll off without penetrating into the rest of the sleep system. I’ve been successfully using bivy sacks with Pertex Microlight, Pertex Quantum, and Nextec Epic Malibu tops for nearly three years with great success in terrible weather. This approach works especially well in the winter, when condensation retained inside a Gore-Tex bivy sack can cripple your sleep system in a matter of only a day or two.

Other benefits of a bivy sack (not unique to those with breathable tops) are additional warmth due to the entrapment of insulating air between the bivy sack and the sleeping bag (improves resistance to conductive heat loss), additional warmth due to inhibited exchange of warm with cool air inside the bivy (improves convective heat loss due to the bellows effect of air exchange), and the additional warmth afforded by wind resistance from the bivy sack (improves convective heat loss by maintaining boundary layer thickness through which the inside-outside temperature gradient is defined).

Arguments against such a system are that a bivy is heavier, and the weight is better spent on a warmer sleeping bag. (Also consider that a wet down bag is less warm—and heavier!) Epic Malibu bivy sacks weigh in the range of 9-12 ounces, while Pertex Microlight bivies range from 8-10 ounces. The Bozeman Mountain Works Vapr Bivy (silnylon floor and Pertex Quantum top) reduces the weight to 6.5 ounces. This almost closes the gap between bivy sacks and ground sheets (remember that half of that bivy weight is a groundsheet you’d take anyway). conclusion: a sub 12-ounce, breathable bivy sack affords tremendous wind and rain protection that cannot be provided by adding insulation (like down fill) to a sleep system.

Trekking Poles, Stakes, and Guylines

Pitching a tarp above the treeline requires a bit of innovation at times. Trekking poles give you the opportunity to strike camp virtually anywhere, because they provide you with strong supports for the ridgeline. Those who do not use trekking poles to rig the ridgeline sometimes carry dedicated collapsible tent poles (e.g., carbon fiber poles from Fibraplex) and take advantage of equipment or natural features, such as sticks, large boulders, or ice axes.

Tent stakes for alpine camping should be thin, strong, and short. They need to be thin because the alpine realm is a rocky place. Thin stakes snake their way through rocky ground better than thick ones. Stakes should be strong for the same reason: They need to resist a bit of driving force into the ground as the point deflects off rocks. Finally, they should be short—and thus, light and easy to place and remove. Six inches is plenty. My recommendation: titanium skewer-style stakes 1/8 inch in diameter. There are stronger stakes—including those made with high-strength aluminum in tube, T-, or V-shaped cross sections—but they are heavier (0.5 oz or more). The difference between a set of twelve 1/8˝-x-6˝ skewer-type titanium stakes (0.25 oz each) and the other is 3 ounces—significant when you consider that this could be 3 extra ounces of down fill in your sleeping bag (to boost its rating 5–10 degrees) or 375 calories of extra food energy. Furthermore, the T- and V-shaped stakes are difficult—and pain-ful—to place and remove with bare hands in hard ground.

Guylines for tarp camping should be strong, light, short, and plentiful. I’ve tarp camped with other ultralighters that use fishing line or dental floss for their guylines. I’ve also watched the slightest breeze snap these guylines. I wouldn’t trust them above the treeline. Search for guylines that have high strength/weight ratios. Those made with pure Spectra (AirCore) or Spectra cores with nylon sheaths (Kelty Trip-Tease) make great guylines for fiercely windy conditions.

Guylines can be pre-tied with overhand, figure-eight, or bowline loops in each end. They should be about two or three feet in length to minimize tangling during storage). Longer guylines can be made by girth hitching multiple short pieces together. This gives you a very flexible system for pitching in a variety of configurations. Once your guyline length is set, simply girth hitch one end loop to the tarp’s guyline tie-outs, insert the stake in the other end loop, tension the guyline, and set the stake. Tension is adjusted by resetting the stake, rather than fiddling around with a tautline hitch, that artistic adjustable knot so prominently showcased by the Boy Scouts as an essential skill. This is where the benefit of titanium skewer stakes really shines. They are easier to place and remove relative to other types of stakes, so this guyline-and-stake system used for tarp adjustment is simple, fast, and effective.

Conclusion

This chapter focused on three key points:

1. How well a tarp sheds high winds depends on its panel size and degree of tension in those panels, both of which can be optimized by increasing the number of guy-out points used. In short, don’t skimp on tent stakes or guylines.

2. Use of a water-resistant, breathable bivy sack can increase the warmth, wind resistance, and driving rain/snow protection of your sleep system.

3. The tarping life is kept simple with short guylines and skewer-style tent stakes.

Tarp camping above the treeline in inclement weather is not an essential skill for the average backpacker. However, for the lightweight hiker that likes to travel above the treeline for long distances, having the flexibility to pitch a camp anywhere you like, and knowing that you are going to have a shelter and sleep system that can handle high winds and driving rain, opens up new possibilities in your backcountry explorations. With this skill you’ll achieve a level of intimacy with the mountains that cannot be enjoyed from beneath a canopy of trees.

Citation

This chapter was originally published as an article in the online magazine BackpackingLight.com (ISSN 1537-0364) in September 2003.

Chapter 15: Superultralight,
Breaking the Five-Pound Barrier

By Ryan Jordan

The ability to carry a pack that is not just light (12–20 lbs base weight) or ultralight (6–11 lbs), but ridiculously light (< 5 lbs) and still maintain a level of comfort and safety suitable for hiking in the high mountain ranges of the lower 48 states requires a bit of innovation, some compromise in durability, and most importantly, an advanced set of backcountry skills that allows you to remain warm and dry in inclement weather with a kit of gear that offers little margin for safety.

Thus, herein I make no attempt to define a new standard for lightweight backpacking, but instead offer you some insight for pushing the sub-5-pound barrier at the ultralight fringe.

Although some skill is needed to use this kit in inclement weather, my intention is to build a kit that doesn’t sacrifice a lot of function.

• I don’t leave the toothbrush at home

• I use a pack with a hip belt

• I’m not using a bivy sack as sole shelter

• I’m not starving myself on cold food

• I’m treating my water

• I’m not wiping with pine cones

• I’m not using good vibes to disperse mosquito clouds

• I’m successfully using this kit in rain and snow and wind at high elevations with nighttime temperatures below freezing in the mountains.

• I even advocate a synthetic insulating layer over a down vest or jacket, as a measure of insurance against wet weather.

When I was researching this topic, I found less than ten people—in the US and Europe—that actually practice sub-5-pound backpacking on a consistent basis. After interviewing dozens of ultralight backpackers, I’ve come to the conclusion that the reason the fringe isn’t being explored is simple: It’s the fringe. And there is not a lot of gear or education to help people explore it.

I’ve found that achieving light loads can be accomplished in one of two ways. Herein, I discuss careful selection of individual ultralight items that can be used together as a system without sacrificing a great deal of comfort or functionality. The alternative is to start throwing items out of your pack, which is the subject of another article perhaps. But that philosophy eventually results in the emergence out of traditional backpacking and into wilderness survival.

Base weight is herein defined as the dry weight of gear and nonconsumable supplies in your pack. It excludes food, fuel, water, clothing worn, and items normally carried (like trekking poles). We don’t claim that this is the most accurate representation of one’s pack weight, but it is the most popular. We use it herein to maintain consistency with what most perceive to be their pack weight.

Rethinking the Big Three

Most self-proclaimed lightweight backpackers carry less than 6 pounds of equipment for their shelter, sleeping bag, and backpack, allocating approximately 2 pounds for each item. The superultralighter must reduce this weight to a maximum of 2–3 pounds if they hope to reduce the total weight of their gear list to less than 5 pounds.

SLEEPING BAG

You need to remain comfortable at temperatures near freezing, even midsummer, if you are going to be hiking in the Tetons, Wind Rivers, Sierras, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, or North Cascades. Limit yourself to a sleeping bag that weighs no more than a pound. Perhaps a few ounces heavier if you’re tall. That limits your options to sleeping bags using ultralight fabrics, such as Pertex Quantum and high-quality down fill, so you can at least maintain an inch and a half of single layer loft over you. Combining your sleeping bag with a smart clothing selection will allow you to remain comfortable on those freezing or sub-freezing nights.

My sleeping bag choice is a custom 15.2-ounce variable girth bag with a Pertex Quantum shell and 800+ fill down offering 2.25 inches of single-layer loft that tapers to 7 inches in the footbox. Other possibilities include

• Nunatak Ghost

• Western Mountaineering HighLite

• Feathered Friends Vireo

• Rab Quantum Top Bag

• PhD Minimus Bag

Don’t forget about a waterproof stow bag to protect your precious down. My choice is a homemade spinnaker cloth stuff sack, 400 cubic inches, 0.5 ounces.

Finally, you need a sleeping pad for ground insulation. Skip the Therm-a-Rest and go for closed-cell foam with a cured surface so it doesn’t absorb water. A 3/8-inch foam pad cut to torso size costs only 2.0–3.5 ounces.

SHELTER

Tents are out. Tarp tents are out. Big tarps are out. A sub-12-ounce waterproof bivy sack is a possibility, but awfully uncomfortable in inclement weather. You’ve got to think multi-use here and take a hard look at a poncho tarp that serves as both raingear and shelter. Silicone-coated nylon is the only material to consider. Check out poncho-tarp offerings from GoLite, Integral Designs, and Equinox, and you’ll get by with something less than 10 ounces. Add six 1/8˝-x-6˝ titanium skewer stakes (1.5 oz) and about 35 feet of Spectra guylines (0.5 oz).

In addition, a poncho tarp is not going to provide you with enough coverage during the severe storms that make the Wind Rivers or Tetons famous. If you want some additional warmth and insect protection, consider a bivy sack with a breathable but water-resistant top and a waterproof bottom, so that it serves sufficiently as a ground cloth as well as minimizing condensation in the bivy by blocking evaporated moisture transport from wet ground. Equinox makes a 6.5-ounce nylon/silnylon bivy of this type—without hood—that must be paired with a 1-oz noseeum headnet for bug protection. Or go to an Epic/Silnylon bivy like that from Oware for 10 ounces or so. And there’s the Bozeman Mountain Works Vapr Bivy that weighs 6.5 ounces.

My shelter system consists of a 0.9-ounce spinnaker cloth poncho-tarp (5´ x 8´, 6.3 oz), six titanium stakes (1.5 oz), 35 feet of Spectra guylines (0.5 oz), and a Pertex Quantum/ Silnylon bivy sack (6.9 oz). This 15.2-ounce package provides additional sleeping bag warmth (bivy), inclement weather protection (tarp and bivy), bug protection at night (bivy), overhead shelter protection (poncho), and rain protection (poncho). You’ll be hard pressed to find a lighter system that provides this much functionality.

PACK

With a 5-pound base weight, forget about frame support. Even with a week’s worth of food and 3 liters of water (the maximum amount ever carried by a thru-hiker or recreational backpacker), you’re not going to break over 20 pounds very often, if at all. Most of the time, you’re going to be packing less than 12–15 pounds. And often, less than 10. Start thinking about unconventional packs to address your superultralight needs. You don’t need much more than a bag with straps. Granite Gear makes a 10.5-ounce compression pack that holds 1,500 (medium) to 1,900 (large) cubic inches, which is plenty of space for this type of load. For serious weight reduction, check out the 3.7-ounce G6 Whisper Ultralight Backpack, or simply make your own sub-10-ounce pack in the 2000 cubic inch range, using silicone-coated nylon for the body, simple padded shoulder straps, and a 1˝ webbing belt to help out with those “heavy” 15–20 pound loads.

My superultralight pack choice for short trips is a Bozeman Mountain Works G6 Whisper. It weighs only 3.7 ounces, has a 2000 cubic inch main compartment, single rear pocket, and shoulder straps that accomodate socks or gloves for padding. (See the G6 Whisper in the front cover photo of this book.) For trips longer than a weekend, I prefer the more robust 15.5-ounce GoLite Dawn (2400 cubic inch main compartment), which carries heavier loads a little better than the G6 and is more durable.

Clothing

BASE LAYERS

As you increase your level of skill, you can decrease the number of pieces of clothing you bring. The superultralight philosophy requires rigid adherence to the mantra of “no duplicate item.” Your base layers must function over as wide of a temperature range as possible. For the torso, a very thin wicking knit base layer, such as silkweight capilene or fine merino wool (treated with Permethrin for mosquito protection) is essential. It will keep you as warm as possible if your clothing gets wet. My choice is a Smartwool lightweight long-sleeve crew top. If I’m going into colder conditions, I prefer the Cloudveil Rodeo pullover, an 8.5-ounce stretch woven shirt with a deep neck zip for ventilation. For pants, a stretch woven fabric provides insect and sun protection, warmth, wicking, wind resistance, and enough rain protection when coupled with a poncho that additional rain pants or wicking pants are unnecessary. Schoeller Dynamic pants are a good choice, but for even lighter protection, check out Cloudveil’s Prospector pants: 9.25 ounces (men’s medium). Add to this a pair of trail-running socks and your hiking shoes, a sun hat, and a bandana, and you are dressed to cover a tremendous comfort range.

WINDSHIRT

The addition of a 3-ounce breathable windshirt extends the comfort range of your clothing in high winds, cool temperatures, and light rain like no other layer. A poncho, windshirt, and your base layers provide you with enough warmth and protection to cover 90 percent of the inclement weather you’ll encounter during summers in the Continental US mountain ranges. My choice is the GoLite Whisp HP at 2.8 ounces.

INSULATING JACKET

This is our safety piece. We probably won’t need to hike in it. If we need this to remain warm while hiking, then maybe we should stop hiking and pitch our shelter! The insulating jacket extends the temperature range of our sleeping system significantly and offers some insurance if (God forbid) our sleeping bag gets wet. Synthetic jackets are the safest and provide a level of insurance in wet conditions that can’t be matched by down. But ultralight offerings are limited for these types of garments. One of the best is the 15.3-ounce hooded EP (Epic-Primaloft) jacket from Wild Things. My choice for wet conditions is the Cocoon pullover from Bozeman Mountain Works (8.0 ounces), which offers a Pertex Quantum shell, partial neck zipper, and Polarguard Delta insulation. Also, Western Mountaineering has a nice 5-ounce down vest that complements their Flight jacket (10 ounces), and MontBell makes an 8-ounce quilted down sweater. But if you are hiking in inclement conditions, carefully consider whether or not you want all of your insulation to be down.

EXTRAS

An extra pair of socks buys you the ability to continuously hike long-distance days with freshly washed and lofted socks, making sure you have a dry pair every night for sleeping. A simple fleece beenie hat or thin polyester (e.g., PowerStretch) balaclava gives you a lot of comfort for hiking in cold conditions and cutting some head chill while sleeping. Finally, unless you like hiking with those stinky extra socks on your hands, you better throw in a thin pair of gloves. My choice of a beanie hat and gloves are made by PossumDown Knitwear of New Zealand.

Kitchen

Going superultralight doesn’t mean going superultrahungry or eating superultracold food. The best way to reduce your kitchen weight is to minimize the amount of water boiled that you really need. Skip the two cups of hot tea at night, Cream of Wheat breakfasts, and those streamside trout lunches, in lieu of a single hot meal in the evening. Reducing your fuel needs means you can go to the lightest stoves available. In addition, plan your meals so that they can be made with as little water as possible, so you can reduce your pot size. If you use boil-in-a-bag packaging, you can probably get away with a 12-ounce titanium cup for boiling water. You’ll need more pot volume if you mix food and water in the pot, rather than a bag.

Water treatment is a must for most hikers. Aquamira repackaged in small eyedropper bottles makes a very light and effective system. It gets you through five to seven days for an ounce. There is no room for filtration systems on this list. For water storage, hard containers are out. I like to have a 2-liter Platypus for water storage during long dry stretches of trail and for collecting water in the evening if I’m going to be in a dry camp. But most of my drinking is done from a 1-quart Platypus bottle that weighs 1.2 ounces with a push-pull squirt top.

Food storage is critical in most mountainous areas of the country where bears are present. Bear canisters in the Sierras aside, most wilderness areas let you get away with bear bagging. A simple, silicone-coated nylon stuff sack weighs only an ounce. Combined with 35–50 feet of braided Spectra, it gives you enough to rig a simple bear-bagging system that is effective enough for most areas of the country.

Miscellaneous Items

You are now walking very close to the 5-pound barrier. Don’t go over by adding a bunch of useless items. Be very critical with your essentials list here. Take only what is absolutely necessary.

LIGHT

A Photon Freedom (0.3 oz) worn around a lanyard on your neck provides plenty of light for nighttime trail walking and camp chores.

BUG PROTECTION

A tiny MicroDrop Bottle full of DEET will last two weeks and weigh less than 0.2 ounces. A 1-ounce noseeum headnet may be required for hanging out during the peak of mosquito season.

SUN PROTECTON

A $300 pair of titanium sunglasses that weigh 0.2 oz does you no good if you have to house them in a hard case that weighs 3-4 ounces. Stick with basic, cheap sunglasses (0.5 oz) with plastic lenses that you can just toss into your pack without fear of breakage. Since you are wearing a long-sleeve shirt and long pants, a bandana for the neck and a wide-brimmed hat for sun protection, your need for sunscreen is now limited to your nose, cheeks, and backs of your hands. A Dermatone stick fits the bill, and provides lip protection to boot for 0.5 oz.

TOILET

You can save TP weight by invoking a sense of raw wilderness skill in your quest for “natural” wiping methods. However, the skilled superultralighter will plan their diet with enough fiber to ensure “clean” feces that result in minimizing the number of TP squares you need. A 0.5-ounce bottle of alcohol hand gel gives you some hygiene insurance if your TP is a little on the thin side (1-inch aspen leaves come to mind) or you miscalculate your prune intake. For mouth hygiene, a prison-type finger toothbrush is only 0.05 ounces, and Dr. Bronner’s provides a month’s supply of toothpaste if packaged into a tiny eyedropper bottle.

FIRST AID AND EMERGENCY

As your skill increases, the size and weight of your first-aid kit decreases. The only items I carry anymore as critical include some blister treatment (for long-distance days), a few painkillers, and some butterfly bandages to stop bleeding from large cuts. A whistle worn around the neck gives you signaling insurance in populated areas, and some waterproof storm matches and an Esbit tab for a firestarter might get you through a surprisingly cold and wet night if all of your stuff is soaked.

Assemble Your Kit. Then Do It!

The superultralight fringe is not an exclusive club for freaks, Marines, or veteran hikers. Nor is it wilderness survival. Nor is it intended only for summertime hiking in Southwest Texas.

Review this list carefully. Many of you are already achieving the same functionality in your gear lists (e.g., using a poncho-tarp for both shelter and raingear). If you possess some basic skills, such as keeping your stuff dry, dealing with a poncho-tarp in rainy conditions, pitching a tarp, locating your camp in inclement weather, etc., then you can certainly explore this fringe.

However, understand that we are bringing less stuff here. Thus, there is little room for error. Going superultralight requires that you pay careful attention to every detail and evaluate the consequences of each choice you make while walking. You must have the ability to forecast challenging scenarios, develop contingency plans, and implement those plans when things go awry. Practice! Use this kit on fair-weather overnighters where the security of a car heater is only a few feet or few miles away. Then try it on foul-weather overnighters. Finally begin to extend your mileage into the wilderness and the number of days you remain out. Eventually you will have logged enough foul-weather nights to wonder why you ever carried that tremendously heavy 15-pound pack!

Ryan’s Superultralight List

I’ve now had the opportunity to explore this fringe for three years during conditions of heavy rain, spring snow, high winds, and fierce mosquitoes. It has required some iterative fiddling. In fact, it still does. But I’m comfortable enough using the gear here that I can wholeheartedly recommend every item on the list to those wishing to explore lightweight, long-distance backpacking on a new level.

PACK, SHELTER, SLEEPNG

6 Whisper (3.7 oz) or GoLite Dawn (15.5 oz)

3/8” foam torso-sized sleeping pad (1.9 oz)

• SpinPoncho spinnaker cloth poncho-tarp, 5’ x 8’ (6.3 oz)

• Six (6) Lazr 1/8” x 6” titanium skewer stakes (1.3 oz)

• Eight 3-foot lengths of AirCore 1 Spectra guylines (0.2 oz)

• Pertex Quantum variable girth down sleeping bag (15.2 oz) SpinSack stuff sack for sleeping bag (0.5 oz)

• Vapr Quantum/Silnylon bivy sack (6.2 oz)

CLOTHING WORN AND ITEMS CARRIED

• Smartwool Lightweight long-sleeve crew shirt (8.0 oz, worn)

• Spandex shorts (3.0 oz, worn)

• Cloudveil Prospector Pants (9.3 oz, worn)

• Smartwool trail-running socks (1.4 oz, worn)

• Inov-8 Terroc shoes with carbon fiber orthotics (24 oz, worn)

• Tilley LT hat (3.0 oz, worn)

• Cotton bandana (1.0 oz, worn)

• Bozeman Mountain Works Stix Pro carbon fiber trekking poles (6.0 oz, carried)

• Emergency whistle and Photon Freedom microlight worn on Spectra cord lanyard (0.5 oz, worn)

EXTRA CLOTHING PACKED

• GoLite Wisp HP Windshirt (2.8 oz)

• Bozeman Mountain Works Cocoon pullover (8.0 oz)

• Spare pair of Smartwool trail-running socks (1.4 oz)

• PossumDown Beanie Cap (1.4 oz)

• PossumDown Gloves (1.2 oz)

• SpinSack clothing stuff sack (0.5 oz)

KITCHEN

• Mini-Pepsi stove with wire pot support (0.35 oz)

• Titanium foil windscreen (0.2 oz)

• Platypus Lil’ Nipper bottle with fine spout cap for fuel (0.7 oz)

• Box of wooden matches in Ziploc (0.3 oz)

• Snow Peak 450 mug, no handles (2.0 oz)

• Titanium foil lid for mug (0.05 oz)

• Titanium mini-spork (0.4 oz)

• UrsaLite bear bag system (2.0 oz)

2L Platypus bag, 1L pop-top Platypus bottle (2.3 oz)

• Aquamira repackaged in eyedropper bottles, with mixing cap (1.1 oz)

MISCELLANY

• Noseeum mesh headnet (0.7 oz)

• MicroDrop bottle of DEET (0.2 oz)

• Dermatone stick (0.5 oz)

• Sunglasses (0.2 oz)

• Finger toothbrush (0.05 oz)

• Dr. Bronner’s in MicroDrop bottle (0.2 oz)

• Alcohol hand gel in small bottle (0.5 oz)

• TP: 4” x 4” blue shop towel squares, 1 per day (0.5 oz)

• Blister & minor wound care supplies (1.0 oz)

• Small stuff sack for organizing these essentials (0.5 oz)

Total Pack Weight: 4.03 pounds with G6 pack (4.77 lbs with GoLite Dawn pack)

Total Weight Worn or Carried: 3.51 pounds

Total Weight (less food, fuel, and water): 7.54 pounds with G6 pack (8.28 lbs with GoLite Dawn pack)

Citation

This chapter was originally published as an article in the online magazine Backpacking-Light.com (ISSN 1537-0364) in August 2003, and has been updated to reflect changes in the author’s “superultralight” style at the time this book went to press.

Chapter 16: Hiking Efficiency
A Day in the Life of an Ultralight Hiker

By Ryan Jordan

Often people comment to me, “I’d love to be a mouse in your pocket on an ultralight backpacking trip!” At first, I wondered why. After conducting more than fifty ultralight backpacking seminars in the past few years, I now understand. Participants tell me that the number one seminar benefit has been learning how to hike efficiently.

Hiking Efficiency

Hiking efficiently is one of the most difficult skills to learn over the course of a few days, or by reading an article. Perhaps as much as any backpacking skill, hiking and camping efficiency is borne more out of the experience that cements habits through repetition (conditioning) than by conscious practice. However, the effort required to practice and repeat those habits initially is real and requires profound effort.

In short, hiking efficiency is accomplished in three phases:

1. Habit Assessment. Critically analyzing your current practices

2. Habit Reformation. Consciously altering your hiking and camping habits so that maximum output is achieved with minimum effort

3. Habit Cementation. Repeating step 2 until the action is performed with less conscious effort

Habit Assessment

One of the most effective tools that I use in my ultralight backpacking seminars to teach hiking efficiency is a habit assessment exercise that I call “Too Slow Joe.” This features a character called Too Slow Joe, a very slow backpacker and inefficient camper. Joe covers little distance per day requires an inordinate amount of time setting up camp, and is always cooking his dinner after everyone else has gone to bed. Is this you?

In the exercise, I show videos of backpackers (Too Slow Joes and a few Janes) conducting a variety of tasks. They may be as “complicated” as pitching a tarp or cooking a meal, or as “simple” as accessing a trail snack or using a map and compass while hiking.

Then I replay the video in stepped increments of individual actions, and record those actions on a white board. As a group, we then begin re-piecing the actions together to achieve the final goal of the task. We recreate the task in a workflow chart not unlike those used by the project managers of Dilbert corporations. In the end, we realize the amount of time and effort wasted in performing nonessential actions.

The action list from one video illustrates the inefficiency of Too Slow Joe trying to access his water bottle (a 1L Platypus) from the side pocket of his pack (Granite Gear Virga):

• While hiking, Too Slow Joe places both trekking poles in one hand.

• Too Slow Joe reaches around to access water bottle from side pocket of pack, but cannot reach the bottle effectively.

• Too Slow Joe stops hiking.

• Too Slow Joe again reaches around to access water bottle from side pocket of pack, but still cannot access it.

• Too Slow Joe disengages chest strap buckle.

• Too Slow Joe disengages hip belt buckle.

• Too Slow Joe takes off pack.

• Too Slow Joe places pack on ground.

• Too Slow Joe reaches down to pocket area.

• Too Slow Joe loosens side compression strap covering the water bottle pocket.

• Too Slow Joe removes water bottle from pocket.

• Too Slow Joe unscrews cap from water bottle.

• Too Slow Joe lifts water bottle to mouth.

• Too Slow Joe drinks from water bottle.

• Too Slow Joe drops water bottle away from mouth.

• Too Slow Joe replaces cap on water bottle.

• Too Slow Joe places water bottle back into side pocket.

• Too Slow Joe tightens side compression strap.

• Too Slow Joe lifts pack and puts it back on.

• Too Slow Joe re-engages hip belt buckle.

• Too Slow Joe re-engages chest strap buckle.

• Too Slow Joe starts hiking again.

Imagine that! Twenty-two distinct actions simply to get a drink of water on the trail! You can probably appreciate the number of actions that goes into more complex tasks like cooking a meal or pitching a tarp.

Habit Reformation

Reforming habits is not always easy. Often, it requires a change in conscious thinking about the order in which you perform certain actions or simply the elimination of certain (superfluous) actions as you complete a task.

However, habit reformation can be accomplished in simple ways as well, such as by carefully selecting your gear to suit a more efficient hiking style. For the illustration of Too Slow Joe above, habit reformation could have been achieved in one of several ways. The three primary options that were considered include:

1. Replacing his pack with a model that allowed for easier side pocket access.

2. Modifying one side pocket on the pack to allow for easier side pocket access.

3. Replacing a conventional water bottle with a hydration system.

After analyzing the impact that each of these three options had on efficiently drinking water while on the trail, as well as other tasks (such as collecting water for purification or dispensing water into a cookpot for a meal), option 2 was chosen. The solution involved replacing one elastic side pocket on the pack with one made with non-elastic fabric in a roomier shape, and with a shorter height, allowing for easy access to the bottle while hiking. The key to the redesign of the pocket was making sure the compression strap remained functional but did not interfere with pocket access. Thus, the compression strap was threaded in a sleeve behind the pocket. It remained adjustable by providing access behind the pocket to the ladder-locking adjustment buckle. One additional adjustment was made: We replaced a screw-off cap with a pop-top cap that could be opened and closed easily with his teeth.

The result was a dramatic increase in the efficiency of this task without significantly affecting the performance of the rest of the hiker’s gear system or technique:

1. Joe reaches around to access his water bottle from side pocket of pack.

2. Joe removes water bottle from pocket.

3. Joe lifts water bottle to mouth.

4. Joe pops top of water bottle cap open with teeth.

5. Joe drinks from water bottle.

6. Joe pushes the water bottle cap closed with teeth.

7. Joe lowers water bottle.

8. Joe places water bottle back into side pocket.

Thus, with minor changes Too Slow Joe was able to reduce the number of steps involved in carrying out the task by more than 60%. Because the task was now able to be performed while hiking, it may have saved a significant amount of time over the course of the day by eliminating the need to stop, take off the pack, and drink. In actual practice, Too Slow Joe found that his previous difficulty in accessing the water bottle resulted in him drinking less. By making these changes in his hiking gear and style, he was able to drink more often and hike in a more hydrated state to increase his well being on the trail.

Habit Cementation

Habit cementation requires repetition of the newly formed habit until the conscious effort required to perform the action is minimized. The only way to cement habits is through experience. Just get out there and do it. Even if you practice on day hikes and backyard campouts, any experience you gain will be invaluable.

A Day in the Life

Here is another valuable exercise we require from all of our course participants. In this session, we ask everyone to write a detailed essay that describes the actions (in not quite as much detail as above) they perform from the moment they wake up in the morning to the moment they fall asleep. The essay details their perceptions of themselves at a level of efficiency that is much higher than their current practice. The essays are valuable tools. They are idealistic models of hiking efficiency that serve as a point of reference for reshaping hiking habits as outlined above (assessment, reformation, and cementation).

What follows is one of my own essays, written in the summer of 2003. It approximates the actual events of one very wet April morning in the backcountry of Montana’s Madison Range.

The first memory I have of today is waking up two hours before dawn to the din of hard rain pounding against the roof of my poncho tarp, and feeling the rain spray hitting my face. I zipped up my bivy sack hood, rolled over to lay on my other side, and fell back asleep.

I wake up and open my eyes. It’s still dark, and still raining. I roll over to lie on my back, and look at my watch: 5:25 AM. I reach down to my right pants pocket, pull out a tiny dropper bottle containing ophthalmic saline solution, and place a drop in each eye to lubricate my contact lenses. After screwing the dropper cap back on, I put the bottle into my essentials bag, which is lying in the hood of my bivy sack, and now gets tossed outside the bivy sack into what will become the nucleus of a “to pack” pile. This bag contains all of my essentials—first aid, toilet items, firestarting kit, water treatment chemicals—i.e., anything that is not clothing, sleeping, shelter, food, or cooking gear.

I pull my lighter out of my pants pocket, unzip the bivy about eight inches, reach a hand out, and light my alcohol stove, on which is already sitting a mug full of water. After dropping the windscreen cylinder over the pot and stove, I return the lighter back to my pants pocket and enjoy the gradually building symphony of the creaking titanium cup as it heats up. I retrieve a teabag from an odor-proof sack sitting in the head of my bivy with the rest of my breakfast and savor its rich aroma! When I peek out of the bivy to see water boiling, I reach out and drop the teabag into the pot, letting the alcohol burn out as the tea steeps. Finally, I unzip the rest of the bivy, turn over on my stomach, place my breakfast sack outside the bivy, and enjoy the glorious warmth of the day’s first gulp. I savor the hot tea over the course of the next few minutes, uninterrupted by anything but my own contemplation as to what challenges lie ahead today. After the last gulp of tea, my wakeup ritual is complete.

I return the teabag to the breakfast sack. Within reach is my fuel bladder, which I use to refill the stove. I toss the bladder into the “to pack” pile. I grab my water bottle and fill the cook cup half full, toss the bottle into the “to pack” pile, place the pot on the stove, light the stove, set the windscreen in place again, and put the lighter into the essentials bag.

While waiting for my next pot of water to boil, I turn over on my back again, bring my knees up while wriggling my sleeping quilt down, and stuff the sleeping bag into its stow sack while in the bivy. When I’m done, I sit up, retrieve my empty backpack from underneath the foot of my bivy sack, and stow the bag immediately into the bottom of my backpack, which is then set aside next to my “to pack” pile.

I withdraw my legs from the bivy sack and swing them around to put my shoes on. I remove my sleeping pad from the bivy sack, and stow the bivy into the backpack, loosely on top of the sleeping bag. The sleeping pad is placed under the tarp as a sit pad.

I am wearing my hiking clothes (long pants, socks, and base layer shirt), followed by a windshirt and a synthetic insulating layer, wool hat, and wool gloves. It is raining hard and the DWR on my clothing can only withstand so much. Plus, my raingear is currently pitched as shelter. So I stand up and purposefully walk to where my bear bag is hanging. After taking my morning pee, I retrieve the bag, stow the cord into the bag, and walk back to my tarp. I place the bear bag in my “to pack” pile and sit down on the sleeping pad under the tarp, where it is dry.

The water has now boiled, so I take the pot off the stove, withdraw a bag of muesli from my breakfast sack, and add its contents to the pot and stir with the spoon that has been lying beside the stove since last night. Then I return the bag to the breakfast sack, which is now all garbage. I set the pot aside to let the cereal soften a bit.

I stuff my breakfast garbage down into the bottom of the bear bag and pull out my prepackaged lunch sack. I close the bear bag and place it inside the backpack on top of the sleeping bag and bivy sack. I withdraw a packet of carbohydrate gel and a breakfast bar from the lunch sack and put them in my pocket. The remaining contents, in the lunch sack, go into one of my pack’s side pockets.

While eating my cereal, I watch the pale dark gray of a rainstorm sunrise begin to work its way on the horizon. When I finish eating, I fill my cup up with Cytomax (made the night before) from my other water bottle, and place that bottle into a side pocket. I drink it while scraping the sides of the cup. I roll my windscreen up and insert it into the cup, followed by the stove and spoon. I then stow the cook kit into a backpack side pocket with the fuel bottle.

I take off my insulating top and stow it in my clothing stow bag from my “to pack” pile, and place it inside the backpack. I will start hiking while wearing my hiking clothing, windshirt, hat, and gloves and, after I take it down, my poncho tarp.

The final items that are packed in the main packbag are my essentials bag and clean water bottle. I follow with my Cytomax water bottle (side pocket). I then squat under the tarp, fold up my torso pad, and place it into the pack’s pad pocket. The pack stays under the tarp. It’s still raining very hard.

While still under the poncho tarp, I drop the trekking poles supporting the poncho tarp and reset their lengths for hiking, placing them next to the pack under the tarp. I’m still dry! I exit the tarp, remove all of the tent stakes and undo the poncho hood. I slide back under the tarp, place the tent stakes in the bottom of the pack’s rear pocket, and put the pack on (only the shoulder straps for now). Finally, I slide the hood opening of the poncho over my head, and buckle the hip belt of my pack. I now take my time and remove the guylines from the corners and sides of the tarp, and stuff them into the back pocket of my pants.

I snap the sides of the poncho together, tie its rear drawcord around my waist to secure it around the backpack as a pack cover, and off I go.

It is 5:50AM.

Conclusion

The benefits of hiking efficiently are real.

• By purposefully considering the efficiency of actions required to complete a task, you can save significant time. Such time may be spent increasing the distance you walk or decreasing the time you spend hiking and increasing the time you spend in camp (according to your preference and style). For the long-distance hiker, efficiency is a prerequisite to completing maximum distances in minimum times, which ultimately can result in more mileage between resupply points, or less time spent covering a given distance.

• Hiking efficiently can save significant mental and emotional energy, increase your free time, and minimize frustration borne from using inefficient gear or practicing inefficient technique.

In conclusion, hiking efficiently requires some effort on your part to assess old habits, and reform and cement new ones. It is an advanced skill that is not easily taught or learned. It requires experience, a careful assessment of hiking gear and how it is best used, and knowledge of the full spectrum of lightweight (and efficient) hiking and camping techniques.

Citation

This chapter was originally published as an article in the online magazine Backpacking-Light.com (ISSN 1537-0364) in May 2004.

Chapter 17:
Lightweight Backpacking
with Young Children

By Stephanie and Ryan Jordan

Introducing your child to the wonders of nature is one thing. Helping them enjoy themselves while preserving your own sanity on a backpacking trip is quite another.

Most parents view backpacking with a child as an arduous, masochistic experience by which Mom carries her screaming infant or drags her whining toddler (or both!) up a dusty trail, while Dad shoulders a 100-pound pack containing gear for the entire family. While this style of family hiking may not lead directly to divorce, it’s certainly going to be unpleasant.

So, let’s do it a different way. We’d like to offer some ideas and insights for parents that have not yet made the plunge into backpacking with their kids and are still blessed with naiveté. At the same time, maybe we can help those that have already experienced the pain and rage of doing it the hard way. And hopefully, even you moms and dads capable of planning and executing flawless adventures with your kids can extract some tidbits to help you on your next hike. (Note: if you fall into this last category, don’t tell anybody. They won’t believe you).

Backpacking with kidsoffers an opportunity for bonding, teaching, and escape from a world littered with too much social stimuli.

Hiking Considerations

PACE

Infants can’t walk, and letting them crawl to your destination is neither timely nor hygienic. So that means Mom’s going to carry the baby in a backpack and Dad’s going to shoulder the rest of the gear. Dad may be shocked at the realization that he’s not going to get to carry the same sub-20-pound pack that he gets to carry on a summer trip with his buddies, but rules are rules! The bottom line: You’re both going to be shouldering some weight, so slow down, take it easy, and lower your mileage expectations.

Toddlers, on the other hand, can walk. There are two major problems when hiking with toddlers. First, they hike slower and tire more quickly than adults. Second, they have ideas of their own about the route you carefully planned at the kitchen table. Distractions like bugs, moss, and maybe even decaying animal carcasses can all cause deviations from your path.

Our experience is that as a result of these issues, you can only count on hiking about 2–4 miles per day, a little more for school-age children or if you are carrying your infant on your back. Perhaps a little less for preschoolers.

More important than the number of miles you hike is the amount of time you spend on the trail.

If your family can walk 5 or 8 miles a day, great! Realistically, however, you probably should try to limit your time on the trail. You don’t want to rush to flee camp in the mornings, and you don’t want to be setting up camp and cooking dinner in the dark. Give your kids the time to enjoy camping and playing in the wilderness, not just hiking in it. A good rule of thumb for summer: Spend about four to five hours on the trail, with plenty of trail time built in for breaks and play.

PACKS FOR PARENTS AND KIDS

Face the facts, Dad. You aren’t going to fit your family’s load into the latest 30-liter fastpacking rucksack, nor should you be shouldering all that weight with a frameless pack. But all is not lost. There are plenty of large-enough capacity backpacks that weigh less than 4 pounds and easily carry a 40–50 pound load. Try a Granite Gear Nimbus Ozone (60L and 48 oz), the GoLite Infinity (50L and 37 oz), or a custom-fitted and made-to-order pack from the McHale Pack Company (50–80L at 40–60 oz).

When hiking with an infant, Mom will usually carry the baby in a backpack. The most popular models are made by Madden and Kelty and are absurdly heavy at 7–9 pounds. Unfortunately, this remains one of the last uncharted markets for lightweight gear, so your choices are limited. Get a baby pack with enough additional capacity for a few extras, like diapers, baby wipes, and a water bottle for Mom. Plush models have room for a sleeping bag stowed into a lower compartment, which frees up a lot of space from Dad’s pack for denser (and heavier!) items.

Toddlers aren’t going to be too enthusiastic about carrying a “fair share” of gear for the family, and you’re not going to be enthused if they poop out a quarter mile from the car and refuse to carry their pack or walk one more step! So, give the little ones a break and set them up with tiny packs like the CamelBak Skeeter, a hydration pack with a 35-ounce capacity ideally suited for preschoolers and kindergartners. For younger school-age children, step up to something with some cargo capacity like the CamelBak Scout (10L and 35 oz). Older kids can graduate to a 20L rucksack and carry their own sleeping gear and clothing with a liter of water and some snacks, usually not to exceed 10 pounds.

My Favorite Things about Backpacking

AN INTERVIEW WITH CHASE JORDAN

RJ: Chase, I need to ask you some questions about an article we’re writing for BackpackingLight.com.

CHASE: Oh.

RJ: I want to chat with you about lightweight backpacking.

CHASE: OK. Are you going to take my picture and show the Internet?

RJ: Sure, buddy. Whatever you want.

CHASE: OK. I want it to be a big picture.

RJ: How old are you, Chase?

CHASE: I’m five.

RJ: Do you like backpacking?

CHASE: Oh, yes!

RJ: What is your favorite place to go in the wilderness?

CHASE: Yellowstone National Park. I love to see buffalo by my tent.

RJ: What is your favorite thing to do when you go backpacking?

CHASE: Roast marshmallows!

RJ: What do you like to do when it’s raining?

CHASE: Get in the tent. I like to read stories and play with my trucks in the tent with my dad.

RJ: Do you have a rain jacket?

CHASE: I have a poncho, but I don’t really like it. It’s black. My dad made it. Black was all he had. I like my winter snow coat the best. It’s red.

RJ: Do you like it when it snows on backpacking trips?

CHASE: Yeah. I like making snowmen and igloos!

RJ: What’s your favorite food that you like to eat while hiking?

CHASE: Let’s see here . . . peanuts and raisins, I think.

RJ: What’s your favorite dinner food when you are in camp?

CHASE: Macaroni and cheese, with no hot sauce.

RJ: Do you carry a backpack?

CHASE: Yeah—a water backpack.

RJ: What kind of stuff is in your backpack?

CHASE: Water and stuff. But I like to carry one of my dad’s trekking poles—they’re really superlight—and my whistle around my neck. That’s my favorite thing to put around my neck because the scarf my mom and dad make me wear is way too itchy.

RJ: Wow, all that stuff sounds heavy. Is it heavy?

CHASE: Yeah, but my dad carries all the really heavy stuff, like the tent and food and, um . . . oh yeah, my trucks.

RJ: I suppose you think you need some new lightweight backpacking gear, right?

CHASE: Oh yes! I would like a new water pack—a big one. I’m going to put water in it, and also my snacks, my notepad (I bring just a little one), and maybe a can of pop. Does a new pack cost a lot of money?

RJ: It depends, buddy. You see, there are Spectra fabrics that tend to be rather expensive due to the cost of fiber construction, difficulty in cutting and sewing, etc. And then, you have ultralight silnylon, which is very slippery, and that can drive up the cost. Or you can go to a new high-tech X-Pac from Dimension-Polyant that offers unparalleled rip resistance and very good abrasion resistance at a paltry 4 ounces a yard. But I think you need a custom McHale, which can run upward of $600 by the time you add shovel pockets, ski slots, fanny-compatible top pockets, multiple frames for different loads, and several hip belts to suit a particular trip style. And you may want to consider a sewn-in hydration pocket, rather than a removable one since—

CHASE: Do they have red ones?

RJ: Oh, yes!

Trip Planning and Navigation

It’s important to involve your children in trip planning. Bring out the maps, show them some photos, and let them select some options (that you have previously screened, of course). Give them some ownership in the itinerary. For toddlers and older kids, destinations are very important. They give the child a sense of accomplishment. Destinations involving water (streams, lakes, or swamps) can save a parent’s sanity by giving the child endless opportunities for exploration of aquatic life, rock throwing targets, and sailboat races. Always remember, of course, that parents must pay special attention to the safety of their children around any water body.

On the trail, involve your children in navigation decisions. If they know the difference between right and left, then show them trail junctions on the map as you reach them on the trail, and help them figure out the right way to go based on the route. It is helpful to trace your route with a highlighter on the map prior to the trip. As your child reaches the age of five or six, you can begin introducing the use of a compass. Orient the map for them, and help them choose between obvious directions, like east and west. Best of all, whether your children know how to use a compass or not, arm them with small compasses on their wrists or around their necks. They will feel like hikers.

INCLEMENT CONDITIONS

When we talk to other parents about backpacking with children, their greatest fear, by a large margin, is always, “What do we do if it rains?!” Prior to backpacking trips, many moms are often glued to the Weather Channel, secretly hoping for a hurricane-class forecast so they can justify cancellation of the trip, rather than face the challenges that come with cold and wet conditions.

These fears are rational. It can be difficult enough staying warm and dry in inclement conditions without having to worry about your kids. Parents’ protective instincts instill a sense of responsibility to make sure your kids remain warm and dry, which can be very challenging. In this section, we offer some advice to deal with wet and cold conditions, as well as the midday heat of summer.

DEALING WITH RAIN

Hiking in the rain can be a wonderful experience for a child. Rain brings out wildlife of all sorts, from big game to slimy worms. But being wet and cold can be a miserable experience for a child. A little preparation and an understanding of a child’s low tolerance for discomfort can improve everyone’s disposition dramatically.

First, dress to get wet. Combined with a fleece balaclava and some waterproof mittens, a hooded poncho (nylon is far more durable than plastic) worn over a fleece jacket and long underwear can keep a child warm and dry for hours. On the bottoms, synthetic long underwear and waterproof or water-resistant pants are usually sufficient. For the feet, a pair of thick wool socks for warmth and some water-resistant (not mesh) shoes are a far better alternative than rubber boots, especially while hiking.

Try to encourage your children to minimize their natural sprint-and-stop technique. Hiking slowly and continuously will minimize sweating and the subsequent chilling that results when taking a break. If you are taking longer breaks in inclement conditions—a lunch break or simply to wait out a storm—consider setting up a tent or tarp, and even the child’s sleeping bag, to give them a warm and safe refuge that minimizes their discomfort.

When camping, nothing provides better refuge from the elements than a tent. Most children (and parents) feel safer and more secure when surrounded by fabric. During an intense storm with high winds, a tent will keep your little campers happy.

Above all, when the weather turns bad, small children shouldn’t be expected to just “deal with” being uncomfortable. You bear 100 percent of the responsibility to keep them warm, dry, and comfortable.

DEALNG WITH COLD

Dealing with cold requires that your child has proper clothing and a warm sleeping bag. Consistent with lightweight backpacking principles, there is no reason not to combine the two while sleeping, to take advantage of available insulation at the lightest weight. We’ve come up with a recommended list of summer clothing and sleep gear that will keep most children warm in conditions down to freezing.

Clothing Worn While Hiking

• Supplex nylon shirt (long sleeve) and long pants to protect them from sun, brush, and wind

• Wool socks with comfortable shoes

• Wide-brimmed hat for sun protection

• Sunglasses

Base Layer

• Lightweight synthetic long underwear, top and bottoms

• Consider doubling up on these two items if your kids have bed-wetting challenges or you are expecting extra cold or wet conditions

Mid Layers

• Fleece jacket, 200 or 300 weight

• Consider 100-200 weight fleece pants for cold conditions

• An additional mid layer to give you the flexibility to adjust warmth according to expected temperatures and can be from a 100-weight fleece vest to a high-loft synthetic insulating jacket

Outer Layer

• Nylon rain jacket with waterproof pants, or

• Poncho with water-resistant pants

Sleeping Bag

• Synthetic bag (e.g., Polarguard, PrimaLoft), at least 2 inches of loft for conditions down to freezing.

• Our choice? The Integral Designs Assiniboine.

If temperatures drop dramatically parents can further increase the comfort of their kids by using their sleeping bags as quilts and sharing body heat.

DEALING WITH HEAT

One experience that may have a higher misery factor than dealing with a child that is cold and wet is dealing with one that is hot, tired, thirsty, and cranky!

One item that can help is a hydration bladder, complete with a hose and bite valve. (For safety reasons, be sure to follow manufacturer recommendations about age appropriateness). Kids love to drink out of their own container. If they carry it themselves, you can be assured that they will get plenty to drink. Add some flavor to that drink, such as presweetened Kool-Aid, Crystal Light, or Flavors2Go drops, and they’ll thank you for it. Not a fan of sweetened drinks at home? Some products also come in unsweetened varieties. But consider making an exception while backpacking. The additional calories and flavors will motivate your child to remain hydrated, far outweighing the disadvantages of the sugar.

In the previous gear list, we recommended long-sleeve shirts and long pants for clothing. We are big advocates of keeping your kids’ skin exposure to the harmful rays of UV light at a bare minimum, especially in the thin air of the mountains. If temperatures are too hot and your child is uncomfortable wearing this type of clothing, then maybe you should consider shadier trails, cloudier weather, or some hardcore sunscreen, frequently applied. Regardless of your hiking clothing choices, make sure your child has a wide-brimmed sun hat and a pair of sunglasses. Some other tips for hiking in the heat:

• Let them cool off in a creek or lakeside at midday.

• Arm family members with spray bottles or squirt guns and have occasional water fights along the trail. Getting your clothing and skin wet will aid evaporative cooling.

Meal Planning and Cooking

One of the great challenges of backpacking with kids is ensuring that they consume plenty of nutritional calories. For anything shorter than a weeklong excursion, place more emphasis on calories than nutrition. Like adults, children need to maintain steady caloric intake to offset their daily activity and fuel their metabolic engines.

Only experience will tell you about the food quantities to pack, types of food your child will eat on the trail (a safe bet is to bring what they like at home as well), and timing of meals. Emphasize frequent snacks, rather than three squares served rigidly at 8:00 am, noon, and 6:00 pm.

For parents new to hiking with children, a good rule of thumb for quantity is to bring

12-16 ounces of food per day (dry weight) for toddlers ages 3-6

20 ounces/day for young children age 7-10

24 ounces/ day (or more) for children in rapid growth spurts that commonly occur between the ages 11-13.

• All bets are off for teenagers, who can seemingly fast for days and then eat 3 pounds of food at the drop of a hat.

As far as types of food to pack, err on the side of maximum variety, rather than gamble on the improbability that your child will be able to extract his entire caloric needs from a huge bag of gorp. Likewise, as much as you want your children to consume organic foods, whole grains, and hormone-free dry milk, cut them some slack and toss in some red licorice or Jolly Ranchers. They will thank you for it with their wide eyes, and you will thank yourself for their good morale.

As for timing, go with small meals for breakfast and dinner, with plenty of variety snacks that the child can freely access throughout the day. Children burn calories in spurts. Likewise, they tend to eat in spurts.

Parents with infants have to deal with other issues. Breastfeeding moms have it best (although some may argue) with ready-to-eat food that doesn’t have to be packed! For infants eating soft foods, parents are limited to baby foods sold in very heavy jars. For short trips, these foods can be repackaged into small plastic containers that are far lighter. For maximum weight savings, repackage the foods in zip-closure bags (e.g., O.P. Saks), but keep in mind that repackaging baby foods compromises their sterility and shouldn’t be practiced for trips longer than a weekend in warm temperatures.

For bottle-fed babies, parents have two options: washable bottles or bottles with disposable liners. Bottle “cages” with enough disposable liners for a weekend trip are lighter than regular bottles by 50 percent. Better yet, disposable liners can be pre-filled with formula or dry milk at home, so mealtime—and cleanup—is about as simple as can be.

WATER PURIFICATION AND HYDRATION

We tend to be more cautious about the quality of water that our children drink than the quality of water we drink. Children have immune systems that tend to be more susceptible to foreign organisms simply because of their lack of previous exposure to them. Parents should not allow their children to drink untreated water in the wilderness.

The safest and most effective form of water treatment technology for immuno-compromised patients continues to be ceramic-element filtration. Only two companies make water filters that offer uncompromised performance: MSR (WaterWorks II) and Katadyn (Pocket Filter). Combined with low doses of chlorine dioxide (Aquamira) on post-filtered water, one ends up with water quality that often exceeds that coming out of your tap at home. We recommend this form of treatment for infants.

As children get older, their immune response strengthens. Thus, chemical treatment alone may be sufficient in mountain areas with good wilderness water quality (low organic and silt content). Our recommendation is Aquamira over iodine-based solutions. It has greater efficacy against bacteria and lower incidence of harmful byproduct creation. Both chlorine bleach and iodine can form these byproducts — some of them carcinogenic—through oxidation of organic matter.

Many parents are lured into buying so-called water purification products that are promoted by the health food industry. These are sold under the description of “stabilized oxygen” and marketed under the premise that they are “chemical-free treatment alternatives for safe drinking water.” After extensive research, we have been unable to find any reasonable scientific evidence from a credible research institution to support the claim that they are appropriate for wilderness water quality treatment, and cannot recommend them as a viable water treatment alternative, especially for immuno-compromised patients, infants, or children.

Personal Hygiene

DIAPERS

Parents of infants are often stricken with backcountry diaper terror when faced with the prospect of family backpacking. In reality, however, dealing with diapers can be a rather simple affair.

The choice between cloth and disposable diapers is the primary issue. Cloth diapers require washing, rinsing, and drying. That’s often problematic and time consuming when faced with your own underwear—not to mention a pair that’s been covered in fecal matter! It doesn’t take long to realize that the time required to properly deal with washing a dirty cloth diaper while minimizing the environmental impact of disposing of the wash water is worth it only for those parents that ascribe to a stringent philosophy that, for one reason or another, prevents them from purchasing and throwing away disposables.

For us, the choice was a matter of convenience and hygiene. Fecal matter is simply cat-holed like your own, and then the disposable diapers are set out for a few hours each day to allow moisture to evaporate, thus reducing their weight. Transport is accomplished by placing the diapers in an odor-proof plastic bag with a secure zip-closure. We recommend 12-x-15 inch O.P. Saks from Watchful Eye Designs. The process of using disposables in the backcountry is a no-mess, no-fuss, low-impact, and healthy process for both baby and parents.

TREPIDATIONS OF WILDERNESS TOILETS

As children get older, they get to pee and poop like us big kids. For our son (and we are told, for most boys), there is little trepidation involved in letting it rip in the backcountry. Dad and son can make it competitive with distance contests. And the prospect of pooping in a hole that you dug with your foot, toy backhoe, or sand shovel, is high on the list of very cool things to do as a young boy.

We are told by other parents, however, that some boys and many girls experience a bit of performance anxiety when it comes to wilderness toileting. For these kids, some parents have even resorted to bringing potty chairs with a real toilet seat and plastic bag for the catch basin. At up to 4 pounds apiece, such chairs aren’t high on the list of things lightweight backpacking parents like to bring into the backcountry. The alternative: some psychological skill in dealing with children, and a whole lot of patience. Barring rewards of chewable candy by the pound and promises of extra toys at Christmas, we’ve heard parents having good success by doing the side by side thing with Mom or Dad, which may give rise to a new axiom: “The family that poops together, stays together.”

The Magic of Purell

There is an increasing body of evidence that suggests that more incidents of gastrointestinal illness in the backcountry can be attributed to poor hygiene than to inadequate water treatment. We would logically infer, then, that children are more susceptible to illnesses resulting from poor hygiene than adults, simply because hygiene is not ingrained in a child’s daily habit! Consequently we recommend that parents frequently ensure that their child’s face and hands are clean, especially after using the toilet and before meals. While soap and water is most effective at removing dirt, alcohol hand gels (e.g., Purell) provide more effective disinfection of microorganisms, can be used anywhere—even in the absence of water—and air dry effectively. Most parents will find some combination of washing with soap and using alcohol hand gels useful. We use alcohol during the day, and then have a hands-and-face (and sometimes, whole body) wash while having access to water in camp in the evening.

Baby Wipes, Washcloths, and Other Towels

Baby wipes are a godsend to parents with infants. For diaper changing, wiping up food messes, dealing with spit-up, and cleaning up other liquefied masses well known to baby-parents, moist baby wipes are an ideal solution to cleanup. Because they are water-saturated, however, they tend to be heavy. Lighten the load by repackaging them in a zip-closure plastic bag. The upside is that they can be dried or burned while on the trail, and thus, can be considered a consumable. The biggest advantage of baby wipes are that they can be treated as a disposable, and thus, are consistent with good hygiene practices.

Dry wash towels that can be moistened and used for more rigorous cleanup chores can also be useful. Fortunately, those made of microfiber or viscose are very light and dry quickly. Check out the Pack-Towl line from Cascade Designs, or our favorites: the 0.5-ounce ultralight towels available from Light-load Towels.

Shelter Considerations

Most parents, even those who normally practice what we consider lightweight backpacking techniques, would never consider taking their kids into the backcountry without a tent. Let’s take a closer look at the rationale for this decision and assess whether or not tarp camping is something that can be appropriate for parents with young children.

Parents possess a natural protective instinct that engages whenever cold, wet, windy, or snowy weather comes within miles of the warmth of a car heater. Consequently, the walls of a tent provide a sense of security and home for a backpacking family that gives them a tiny environment in which they can be safe, warm, dry, and content. Having backpacked with our son in both tents and tarps, I can recommend without reservation that a lightweight tent should be the first choice for beginning parents or parents of infants and/or small children traveling in backcountry areas with the potential for foul weather.

TARP CAMPING WITH KIDS

Unless you have an exceptional level of skill and experience tarp camping yourself, please do not consider subjecting infants and young children to the rigors of exposure to wind, blowing rain, and drifting snow while camping in a tarp. If you and your kids are tarp-camping aficionados (and we certainly are), do so in the midst of a fair weather forecast, with the opportunity to bail out readily available. There is no worse misery while camping with kids than having them be cold, wet, and cranky because wind and rain are blowing into the protective space that should provide complete comfort and shelter.

A Small Tarp for Refuge

During prolonged periods of inclement weather, both parents and kids can go a little “shacky wacky” in the confines of a tent. A light tarp, brought as a supplement to the primary shelter, can provide some fresh air during rainy periods, as well as some refuge for cooking or playing. We have often brought a 5´-x-7´ silnylon tarp in addition to our lightweight tent when we knew there would be a good chance for foul weather. Set up as a vestibule across the front of our tent, it served as an ideal “porch” for refuge from the rain.

Sleeping Pads

Some naïve parents believe that a sleeping pad no thinner than a toddler bed is required for backcountry camping. Common sense, however, dictates that children lose heat to the ground similarly to their bigger counterparts, and that no additional insulation from conductive heat loss to the ground surface is necessarily needed. In fact, there is some scientific evidence that supports a higher level of cold tolerance in children than in adults—attributed to something akin to a survival mechanism. For the lightweight backpacking family, this is all good news. Further, smaller pads are needed for smaller people, so there is weight savings to be made in this department as well!

The choice between inflatable sleeping pads (e.g., Therm-A-Rest brand) and closed-cell foam pads is more a matter of parent’s desire for children’s comfort than a matter of safety or warmth. We tend to compromise between the two, using a thicker (0.5 inch) closed-cell foam pad for our son, after learning that nighttime migratory behavior inherent in children means that they easily slip off the slick nylon surfaces of inflatable mattresses. You can alleviate some slippage by adding stripes or dots of McNett SilNet or SeamGrip, but such measures are not likely going to arrest the migration of your child throughout the night unless she sleeps between you.

Camping Activities

Stockpiling an arsenal of lightweight activities to keep children busy in camp is not as hard as it sounds. Parents often think that they have to bring their home to the wilderness by packing a multitude of toys, favorite stories, and handheld games for the purpose of ensuring constant entertainment for their children. For most backpacking families, however, children are often entranced by what nature has to offer and are creative enough on their own (perhaps with some parent facilitation) to make the outdoors an ideal playground sans props.

Collecting leaves, bugs, and rocks has probably entertained more children visiting the backcountry than any other activity. As children grow older, you have an opportunity to teach them about the natural world that can help them appreciate their collecting habit even more.

Looking for animal tracks is one of our favorite activities, and a plaster of Paris cast kit weighs only a few ounces and provides a memento from the trip. After the plaster has dried, it can even be painted in the backcountry—or you can wait until you get home.

If you are near running water, a great way to spend creative time is to make sailboats from natural materials. We sometimes bring along some extra string or wire and a few 6-piece sections from an egg carton to serve as the hull. This activity can occupy our son for hours, as he builds a boat and sends it down the “rushing” waters of a tiny brook.

For school-age children, photography can be a great way for a child to record their own trip. Combined with their own paper journal and pencil, encouraging them to write about, draw, and photograph their memories helps them appreciate their backpacking adventure more fully. Disposable cameras and cheap, hand-me-down digital cameras are our lightweight favorites for kids.

Fishing a lake or creek in camp that is filled with mountain brook or cutthroat trout, of course, can require little more gear than a stick, a six-foot section of line, and a bushy fly. The simplicity of such a fishing kit means that young children can operate it by themselves, and you won’t be burdened carrying large amounts of heavy fishing gear if your child loses interest.

We still love to read to our son when away from home. We often let him bring his choice of one book, and we supplement that with a small field guide to local flora and fauna. During the day, we can use the field book to identify flowers, insects, or birds. Then before bedtime, we review what we saw by looking at pictures in the book—and often, redrawing them in his own “notebook.”

Campfires, of course, provide great security for children. Where permitted, and when conditions warrant, a campfire before bedtime helps the family unwind from a long day with a relaxing way to share their favorite things about the trip, stargaze, and perhaps roast a few marshmallows.

Safety Considerations

Safety need not be compromised while taking your children into the backcountry and thus, lightweight equipment is just as applicable for backpacking with kids as it is for backpacking with adults. However, safety must always be considered first. Don’t use the same standards for safety with kids that you would use for yourself.

Preparation for inclement weather is perhaps the most important consideration when backpacking with kids. You, as parents, are solely responsible for your child’s safety and appropriate use of their clothing. Parents having no experience dealing with inclement weather on their own should not gain those first experiences with their children without a suitable “bailout” option (e.g., backyard or car camping).

THE WHISTLE

Arm your child with a loud whistle, worn at all times on a lanyard around her neck, and instruct her on how to use it. We have ingrained in our son what it means to be lost (when you can’t find Mom or Dad), and what to do: Stop, blow your whistle three times, and listen for a response from our whistle—then repeat.

BEAR COUNTRY

Hiking in grizzly country with young children who cannot defend themselves—or are unable to defend you—is not recommended. Grizzlies are simply too unpredictable. When is a child old enough to hike in grizzly country? This question is impossible to answer, as there are plenty of ignorant adults out there that are unprepared for hiking in grizzly country! Our rule for hiking with others that want to bring their kids into grizzly country: Both parents and children have to be well-practiced in the use of bear spray, and the parents have to be able to trust their child’s skills enough to defend them in case of an attack. In our experience, the age at which this occurs is usually between 12 and 15.

BACKYARD AND CAR CAMPING PRACTICE

The best way for families to learn how to backpack is to get out and do it. When reducing your pack weight and evaluating lighter gear, you may want to practice using it, especially in inclement conditions, while car camping or in your backyard. Most children who enjoy backcountry camping get a kick out of backyard and car camping, as well. It offers the family an additional outlet for outdoor enjoyment without the commitment and logistics associated with entering the backcountry.

Conclusion

This chapter cannot hope to deal with all of the issues involved in backpacking with young children. We hope that we’ve offered you a framework that encourages you to introduce your kids to the backcountry using lightweight gear and techniques that do not sacrifice your family’s safety. Further, we are confident that with experience, you will develop your own style and make smart decisions about your gear.

Our final rule of thumb for hiking with kids: Know when to bail. Whether you are camping in your backyard, out of the trunk of your car, or are at 10,000 feet in the Sierra wilderness, you’re bound to encounter conditions, situations, weather, and environment that contribute to the demise of morale. If nobody’s having a good time, go home, regroup, and try again. Family backpacking should be fun. Lighter weight gear can make it even more fun—especially the hiking part. But the key is to enjoy the wilderness together, not just endure it.

Citation

This chapter was originally published as an article in the online magazine Back-packingLight.com (ISSN 1537-0364) in October 2003.

Chapter 18: Lightweight Backpacking
for Couples

By Alison Simon and Alan Dixon

Most of us do not venture into the backcountry alone. Sharing the outdoors with another person heightens our outdoor experience. That person can be a spouse, friend, parent, brother, sister, or child. Going into the wilderness with a spouse may be the ultimate expression of togetherness. This chapter will focus on the delights and challenges of going into the backcountry with that special person in your life.

OK, so this is about ultralight backpacking and you’re expecting this article to jump right into the good stuff—gear selection—right? And yes, there are a lot of cool things you can do with ultralight gear for two, but you’ll need to wait a few paragraphs while we cover the true basics of couples backpacking.

First, we’ll cover the most important thing about traveling with two: Traveling together is a partnership.

Nothing can make a trip better or worse than the dynamics between two close people. Nothing is more delightful than when you and your partner are in sync together. When you’re in a groove, even a rainy day’s hike can be a delight. But nothing is less fun than when you and your partner are in a funk. When you are irritated and squabbling with each other, no amount of natural beauty, clement weather, or fancy ultralight gear can do much to improve the situation.

To keep the joy in our backcountry travel we have one simple rule, “If either of us is not having fun, we stop and make a new plan.” Each of us has the unilateral right to invoke it. Each of us has trust in the other to know that the request will be gracefully honored. This rule has stood the test of time. Nobody is in charge and nobody abdicates responsibility. Backpacking is a joint effort that requires flexible and synchronized input from both of us. If one of us is having a slow day, doesn’t want to do that class-three, 13,000-foot col, or maybe one of us wants to bag an unplanned summit; or possibly we just need a day to swim, fish, and relax; we stop what we are doing and come up with a new plan. Without exception, the new plan is much better than what we were doing before. Not every trip is what we expected from the start, but each trip ends up being the best trip we could have.

Jubilation. Alan Dixon and Alison Simon at the top of a 13,000 foot summit. Not much suffering here — just jubilation. Note our light windshirts. Even at noon in full sunlight it was windy and cold enough that we needed them to stay warm while climbing up the mountain.

Other Couples

Herein, we offer only one of many ways to backpack as a couple. We thought readers would like to look at some other approaches, so we’ve invited perspectives from other experienced backpacking couples: Jim and Amy Lauterbach, and Ryan and Stephanie Jordan. We’ve received excellent advice from them. Much of what we do originated from these sage veterans, who offer a combined 34 years of experience backpacking as couples. You will find a section on each of them at the end of this article.

Overview and Gear Selection

Enough philosophizing on traveling together! On to gear and technique. One of our biggest shared pleasures is doing the gear thing. Both of us enjoy researching, testing, and selecting just the right gear for a trip. For example, we spent a whole afternoon setting up different shelters at a local playing field before picking just the right one for our last trip. Our criterion for equipment is that it must be as light as possible, but also keep us happy and comfortable. Neither of us is remotely interested in going on a suffer fest.

Our combined base pack weight is usually less than 16 pounds. For a five-day trip in the mountains, loaded with fuel, food, GPS, camera, fishing stuff, and miscellany, Alison’s pack weighs less than 15 pounds. Alan’s weighs less than 18. With this gear, we expect to be warm, comfortable, amply equipped to cover difficult cross-country terrain, and capable of camping above the treeline in inclement conditions. We can even catch fish for dinner. We always have a great time and do not lack for much in safety, comfort, or enjoyment.

We selected our gear for a typical summer to early fall trip in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. We like to do as much higher elevation cross-country travel as possible—especially through high cols and over peaks—but we stop short of technical climbing that requires ropes! We love to camp above treeline, enjoying the exposure to the winds and cooler temperatures of higher elevations. As such, we do like warm clothing and a lofty sleeping bag. But because it’s the Sierras in the summer, we don’t expect much rain. The most likely precipitation is a strong afternoon thunderstorm and we’re equipped accordingly. We have enough clothing and gear to stay warm overnight and hike out the next day if we get a freak summer snowstorm. Also, since one of us has a very low tolerance for bugs, our shelter has to be a mosquito proof haven for our lower elevation camps.

The benefits of a light pack. Alan on his way to the summit. Since the mountain was on our way to the next drainage, we carried our full packs to the top. No sweat!

SLEEPING BAG

On our first backpacking trip together we took two single-person sleeping bags, but eventually migrated to a single narrow mummy bag (Western Mountaineering Ultralight) used quilt-style, which proved to be an adequate arrangement for a close couple down to about 40 degrees. A small mummy bag like this might not be the best choice at cooler temperatures, due to its inability to control drafts.

After that trip, we considered getting a wider semi-rectangular bag that unzipped all the way around the bottom to make a flat quilt. After some research we got a 45-ounce, 600-fill-power, semi-rectangular down bag with about 3.5 inches of loft, a North Face Chrysalis (sadly, no longer in production). This arrangement works out to less than 1.5 pounds per person. We purchased the bag on closeout for $150, which kept our wallet shrinkage to a minimum. The Chrysalis keeps us warm in below freezing temperatures, at over 11,000 feet, under a tarp, and in windy conditions. What more can you ask from a couples bag?

Our sleeping system. A semi-rectangular bag spread out as a quilt. A Therm-A-Rest pad and a Mt. Washington foam pad linked by Therm-A-Rest Couplers, and a Campmor Emergency blanket as a ground pad. Warm, light, and comfortable.

An option that should be considered by any serious backpacking couple is the 26-ounce down Back Country Blanket from Nunatak. It can shave a pound or more—each—off your sleep system and would cost about $315. For a more couples-friendly, semi-custom blanket that is wider (approximately 32 ounces), you could expect to pay $400 and wait three months, so plan early! Nunatak also makes a more traditional two-person bag, the Dual-Person Alpinist, which weighs 50 ounces and costs $533. Yet another Nunatak bag is the lighter Dual-Person Arc-Alpinist, which could easily come in at under two pounds.

For those of you looking for a bargain, Campmor’s +20-degree semi-rectangular bag is only $125. Be warned that it has less loft than the Chrysalis and probably will not meet its +20°F specification unless you and your partner are hardy sleepers. Some couples have used a Western Mountaineering semi-rectangular bag and sewn a simple 1.1-ounce nylon sheet on the bottom. There are plenty of other semi-rectangular mummy bags on the market. One of them may work for you. Try to stay clear of zipping two bags together, unless they are very light bags. Most zip-together bags tend to be heavy, and you’ll have the expense of two bags instead of one. Obviously, there are even more options if you want to get creative and are handy sewing baffles or dealing with eiderdown clusters all over your house.

SLEEPING PADS AND GROUNDSHEETS

Couples will immediately notice that ground pads tend to slowly drift apart during the night. One or both of you will end up in the cold, hard rift between the pads. Cascade Designs has a simple solution: Therm-A-Rest Couplers. A pair of these light and simple straps will keep most 20-inch wide pads closely attached. You can mix and match pads, including Therm-A-Rests, Ridgerests, Z-Rests, and most other 20-inch pads on the market. Other people have sewn special pockets and holders onto the bottom of their sleeping bags. Yet a third option is to use two Link Rests. These pads lock together with puzzle-shaped edges and require no straps. They are, however, a bit heavier than most foam pads.

Pad selection depends primarily on an individual’s tolerance for comfort. Some can sleep fine on a 3/8-inch thick foamie the size of a jockey’s torso (< 3 oz) while others demand the comfort of a full-length inflatable (20+ ounces). After Alison bruised both hips sleeping on a foam pad, she selected the new 3/4-length Therm-A-Rest ProLite 3 (13 oz). An even lighter inflatable solution: Bozeman Mountain Works Torsolite (10 oz). Alan still loves his now-discontinued 7-ounce Mt. Washington foam pad. The Therm-A-Rest Couplers do a great job of keeping our disparate pads together.

Since we use a floorless shelter, our groundsheet needs to be wide and reasonably water resistant. We use Campmor’s Emergency Blanket. This huge groundsheet weighs only 5 ounces and has proved over numerous trips to be extremely tough. Another benefit is that it is soft, flexible, and stows to a small size.

SHELTER

In addition to their obvious protections, shelters provide privacy and a sense of home in the backcountry. We are keen on simple and light shelters. On our first trip, we used a floor-less shelter with a center pole (GoLite Hex 2). Structurally, a center pole is a great idea and provides tremendous wind resistance for the shelter. However, the center pole is a curse for couples who like to sleep close. We ended up angling the bottom of the offending pole toward one side of the tent and sleeping cramped together on the wider side, placing our gear on the narrower side.

A bit wiser now, we use the Henry Shires Squall Tarptent. This shelter, at 1.5 pounds including stakes and guy lines, is almost as light as some two-person tarps but offers more advantages. The Squall has room for our packs and us, gives us sufficient privacy, provides adequate (as opposed to stellar) protection from a mountain thunderstorm, pitches more easily than a tarp, and offers excellent mosquito protection. The Squall is more stable in the wind than a tarp and does not rely on trekking poles or sticks to pitch. Since the shelter has no floor, we use the 5-ounce Campmor Emergency Blanket under our pad and bags. Shires’ larger Cloudburst, at 33 ounces, with more room and rain protection, would be our choice for trips in climates with more rain and wind than the Sierras.

You can save a lot of weight if you use a tarp. An 8´-x-10´ tarp is airy and roomy. If you don’t think you’ll be in driving rain and can handle a few mosquitoes, it may be an ideal choice. GoLite’s Cave 2 is the cult favorite of couples tarps, offering plenty of room with great protection from inclement weather for the skilled tarp pitcher. We are excited about some catenary-cut tarp designs (e.g., Oware and Granite Gear) as well. Another intriguing option is to take two poncho tarps and use them together to make one 8´-x-10´ tarp. Use your ponchos for both rainwear and shelter to save even more weight. Sleeping under the paired tarps is the Ritz of two-person tarping.

Our beloved nest, a Henry Shires Squall Tarptent. Only 90 seconds were required to get this catalog photo pitch. As you can see from the tautness of the pitch (in part due to a catenary’s cut ridgeline), the tarp spills wind well. The mosquito netting preserved our sanity on the previous night when darkness forced us to camp in a lower, wetter, and bug- infested valley.

There are many other options for couple’s shelters. Six Moon Designs makes the Europa II, a 33-ounce, single-wall tent. (Add a bit more weight for stakes and a front pole, unless you carry trekking poles.) It gets high marks from reviewers at BackpackingLight.com for its storm resistance and livability. GoLite’s Den 2 and Trig 2 are additional options.

Double-wall tents for two haven’t reached the sweet spot for light weight yet, but look for tents that weigh less than 5 pounds. When we interviewed other couples on this topic, we found that most enjoyed the added rain protection, resistance to high winds, and simplicity of a single-wall tent over the proposed major benefits of a double-wall tent—breathability and condensation resistance—which are highly debatable.

New single-wall tents made with lightweight breathable fabric, like Black Diamond’s EPIC Firstlight, are closing the weight gap. At a bit over 2 pounds (with custom aftermarket carbon fiber poles) this tent provides the living space and storm resistance of some double-wall dome tents.

PACKS

Since we often travel cross-country above the treeline, there’s a good possibility of a pack ripping in an accidental “butt slide” down scree or talus, or any other manner of mishap with sharp granite. We need packs that can take some abuse and still hold their contents. For instance, the thinner fabrics of ultralight packs may not survive close encounters with sharp granite. Of late, we have been evaluating Granite Gear’s ultralight packs for our more rugged backpacking endeavors.

Pack Features. Alison finishing a class 3 section of a difficult col. A great place for a light pack to help you keep your balance. Also a good place to concentrate on where you put your hands and feet. And not the place you want to worry about babying your pack. Her light and rugged pack was a winner on all counts.

Alison, like many women, has tender shoulders and hips. She needs well-padded shoulder straps and a hip belt in order to comfortably carry the weight of the pack (even a lightweight one). She also needs enough of a frame to her pack so she can distribute most of the load to her hips. Grantite Gear’s Vapor trail pack (2 lbs) works well. The pack has a good compression system that allows the pack to remain stable toward the end of multi-day trips as load volume decreases, and it has tough fabric in most areas prone to encounters with granite. Alison has a short torso (but a tall personality) and the small size Vapor Trail provides a good fit. Another benefit is the external hydration pocket between the pack frame and pack bag. Easy access to plenty of water improves relationship dynamics on hot, dry days!

Alan has tough shoulders and has successfully, but not necessarily comfortably, carried close to 30 pounds all day in his hip-beltless GoLite Breeze pack. (Yeah, it was a long day in the desert!). The Granite Gear Virga at 21 ounces is considerably more durable, has more comfortable shoulder straps, and a simple web hip belt. The pack’s good compression system, when wrapped around his rolled ground pad inside the pack, provides excellent structure for a frameless rucksack. Alan admits that for carrying over 20 pounds, the Virga is more comfortable than his Breeze. Even so, for lighter loads and more moderate terrain, of if he is just plain feeling lucky, Alan may still opt for his Breeze.

CLOTHING

We both run a bit cold and have colder than normal hands and feet. Since we expect to be at high elevations where it is cold and windy we bring plenty of clothes to stay warm. The warmest pieces of gear we carry are our very light down jackets. The other piece of gear that you’d have a hard time prying from our cold dead torsi, is a very light windshirt. For 90 percent of cold dry weather above treeline, we’ll hike in our base layer and a windshirt. If it’s really cold, we’ll add our freece layer. No combination is better for keeping you warm and sweat free.

Since down is useless when wet, we use our wicking, top base layer and a freece layer under a rain jacket in the unlikely case of precipitation. Also, we don’t expect to be in the rain all that long. In foul weather we intend to quit hiking and pitch a shelter at the earliest opportunity. We have soft shell pants that shed rain reasonably well and have a napped inner surface for added wicking and warmth. The pants are warm enough that we don’t bring a bottom base layer or rain pants for summer trips.

For colder and/or wetter climates than the Sierras we might switch to a synthetic parka like GoLite’s Coal and bring a more substantial rain jacket and pants.

Cooking, Food, and Water

For us, cooking is an integral part of the mutual mountain experience. Sharing a hot cup of tea in the morning or a warm homemade dinner is a crucial part of the esprit de corps. Also, since both of us are fond of fish, we bring a fly rod, intending to catch some mountain trout for lunch or dinner. So no skimping on cooking equipment or fuel for us! We take a 3-ounce canister stove, a pair of titanium mugs, a 1.5-liter titanium pot, and plenty of fuel.

From experience, we know that Alan needs about 1.7 pounds of food a day, and Alison about 1.5 pounds. We both aim for around 120 to 125 calories/ounce from our food. When we pack this much food we usually have enough breakfast to make it out on the last day by early afternoon—not starving, but with a healthy appetite for a hearty restaurant dinner.

Alan can pretty much eat the same food day in and out. Alison enjoys a much greater variety of foods. We each pack our own breakfasts and lunches but carefully plan our shared dinners to have enough variety to please us both. Tea in the morning and hot chocolate at night is a must for us.

We carefully choose our food to be compact so that we can store our food in a single bear storage device (canister or Ursack, depending on land agency regulations). Getting all of our food into one container saves 2–3 pounds and volume. In areas that do not require a bear canister, we use an Ursack TKO food sack that weighs only 5.8 ounces. It’s far easier to tie the Ursack to a tree than to fiddle around bearbagging late in the evening when we camp below the treeline.

We sometimes carry up to 7 liters of water between us. We find this amount adequate even for the driest sections of the Sierras. Alison likes to drink a lot of water. For her, a hydration system is an essential piece of gear. Alison carries a 3-liter Zip Platypus with a hydration hose and drinks smaller quantities more frequently. Alan is something of a camel and is fine with taking large (up to 1 liter) swigs from his Platypus from time to time.

The Zip Platypus makes for easy collection and treatment of water. Alan carries two 2-liter Platypus bags, but has been known to take a few hits from Alison’s hydration hose. We use the 3-liter Zip Platypus or our mugs to fill the narrow opening of the 2-liter Platys. We chemically treat with Aquamira and have given up on water filters a long time ago. Aquamira excels for its light weight, ease of use, good taste, lack of maintenance, and effectiveness.

Navigation

Both of us enjoy route planning on our trips. For us, figuring out just how we’ll make it over some remote 13,000-foot col is one of our favorite parts of the trip. We always do our best navigating when we put our heads together.

We use mapping software (e.g., National Geographic Topo! 1:2400 state series) to plan many of our trips. This software is a boon to the cross-country traveler. With it we can get reasonably accurate mileages and elevation profiles for our routes. We can print up to a few days of travel on a single side of an 8.5˝-x-11˝ sheet of waterproof map paper. This saves a lot of weight from carrying a complete set of USGS 7.5 minute series maps in a waterproof container. As a backup, and in case our plans change, we usually carry a USGS 15 minute series map of the area we’ll hike in.

An admitted luxury, we carry a GPS receiver, the Garmin eTrex Legend. We started using one in Scotland and found it to be so much fun and so useful navigating to two summits in complete whiteout that we’ve carried it on all of our trips since. Yes, we could save weight and navigate just fine with maps and a compass, and have done so for years. But for now, we like all the benefits of a GPS. We know exactly where we are and just how far it is to the next waypoint or location. This helps us make better decisions, like how far we’ll comfortably go in a day and where we’ll most likely camp at night. We think we gain back more than the weight of the unit in good decisions and trip logistics.

To be safe, the person not carrying the detailed maps and GPS receiver usually carries a 15 minute USGS map and a small compass. Each of us is capable of independently navigating without the other’s help, maps, or navigation equipment.

Garmin’s lighter Geko series of GPS units have limited screen resolution and a reduced feature set, but can be useful as well.

Shared Miscellany

We’ve already covered the obvious ways to share equipment and save weight, sleeping bag, shelter, cooking equipment, water storage, and navigation equipment. When there are two of you it makes sense to share as much equipment as possible and save even more weight.

We love to take pictures on our trips. A recent purchase was a high-resolution digital camera that is compact and weighs only 8.1 ounces. In our experience, it runs for four or more days on a single lithium-ion battery. Alison usually carries the camera and extra battery. Alan carries the GPS unit, its extra batteries, and the detailed maps. We also share a single 1-ounce LED headlamp (each of us also has a button light) and of course, the fishing equipment.

Routines

If you’re like us, you’ll find that each has tasks during the day that they like. These routines make the trip efficient and fun. In setting up camp for the night, we both pitch the tent. Alison finishes putting the pads and bags in the shelter and getting everything arranged inside and outside. At the same time, Alan gets and treats water, cooks dinner, and makes our evening hot chocolate. We finish our tasks in time to enjoy our cocoa and meal together. If there’s scouting to be done for the next day’s route, Alan usually goes out while Alison cleans up and gets things ready for bed. Both of us find the best spot to view alpenglow before settling in for the night. In rare instances alpenglow and moonrise happen simultaneously!

Perspectives: Jim and Amy Lauterbach

Jim and Amy Lauterbach have been backpacking together for 20 years. Most weekends, they take an all-day hike together. As such, they are in great shape to pull long (sometimes 20+-mile) days in the high Sierras with some cross-country trekking mixed in. Jim and Amy are self-admitted, hardcore backcountry travelers. They like to do difficult routes that get them off trail and into remote places. On their southern Utah canyoneering trips, it’s not uncommon for them to do a bit of class 5 climbing.

Their routes are hard on equipment. You’ll notice sometimes they have to make the difficult decision between lightweight and durability. For example, in southern Utah they take heavier packs to withstand the abuse of being dragged across slickrock. Jim and Amy also take a 4-pound double-wall tent to withstand the extreme weather of their trips. Finally they do not sleep happily on foam pads, so they take Therm-A-Rest 3/4 Ultralight pads. They like comfort and a good nights sleep.

Jim and Amy enjoy longer trips than most couples. A normal trip is 8 to 10 days without resupply They don’t cook on their trips, so they save weight on cooking gear and fuel. At a 2 mph pace they are extremely efficient and don’t need more than 1.5 pounds of food each per day, even on 20-mile days.

Of special note, Jim and Amy use a Nunatak semi-custom Back Country Blanket (BCB). Their BCB is 67 inches wide at the shoulder, has 3-inch high baffles (2.5 inches is standard), 5-inch baffle spacing, and 6 ounces of extra down to give it 3+ inches of loft. They ordered the BCB with a custom down draft flap at their shoulders. In addition, Amy sewed a nylon liner/footbox on the bottom half of the BCB. They use Velcro straps to secure the upper half of the bag to their Therm-A-Rest pad couplers. These straps keep the bag edges near the ground to control drafts well.

Jim and Amy are avid birders and wouldn’t dream of hiking anywhere without their fancy full-size German binoculars. We’ve tried to convince them to look at some of the newer compact binocs with asymmetrical lenses, but no dice. They want the best optical performance possible for their avian pursuit.

Perspectives: Ryan and Stephanie Jordan

Stephanie and Ryan have been backpacking together since 1989. Their couples experience was incubated on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. Their travels took them alpine climbing on the glaciers of Mt. Olympus, beachhead scrambling along the wilderness coast of the Pacific Northwest, and trail hiking into the remote alpine beauty of Enchanted Valley. Since migrating to Montana, of course, their backcountry travels have been ocean starved, but mountain rich.

Stephanie suffers from lower back anomalies that seriously limit her ability to travel long distances or carry much weight. She has two herniated disks, spondylolesthesis, and osteoarthritis along her spine. For Stephanie, lightweight hiking is not a style of choice, but of necessity.

Stephanie and Ryan’s typical backcountry outing is a three-day weekend trip. Unintentionally, nearly 90 percent of the trips they have taken together, even in summer, have been under the throes of lightning, rain, or snow. “How Ryan manages to go hiking solo and bring back these beautiful photographs of blue sky in the mountains is beyond me,” says Stephanie. “But I’m now pretty much tuned into the fact that he might actually be taking me on these inclement weather trips as a covert means of testing new gear, like rain jackets and waterproof stuff sacks. . . .”

In June 2001, Ryan and Stephanie took a weekend backpacking trip to a little known Montana alpine lake. They started the trip in heavy rain and ended it in sub-freezing conditions with snow and a crazy hip-deep ford of a stream that had risen during the storm. “Remarkably, we stayed warm and comfortable. We’ve developed a level of trust between each other that allows us to tackle challenging situations together and come out on top,” Ryan says.

Stephanie follows, “That was one of my favorite trips, even though we ignored the winter storm warning on the Weather Channel and tackled the elements anyways.” By the time they reached the trailhead, the storm was in full force with nearly 30 inches of snowfall accumulated.

Ryan and Stephanie are small people—5’8”and 5’6”—and are lucky enough to get away with a single 2-pound sleeping bag between them (Western Mountaineering VersaLite). They complement this with high-loft insulating jackets (Stephanie, a GoLite Coal; and Ryan, a Western Mountaineering Flight) and sleep in a tarp tent. In winter weather, they sleep in a Stephenson 2RS tent. In buggy conditions they like the comfort of a tent, but stick to a single-wall silnylon shelter, such as a Tarptent Rainshadow or Stephenson 2X.

Stephanie tries to limit her pack weight to 15 pounds carried in a lightweight internal frame pack that provides uncompromising stability to her load, even on rough terrain, so as not to put undue stress on her spinal musculature. Her choice: a custom-fitted McHale Subpop. Dual frame stays keep the pressure off her spine, and the wide hip belt helps distribute weight. A Therma-Rest ProLite Long is her sleeping pad of choice, while Ryan’s is a torso-sized foam pad. On a typical 3-day weekend, Stephanie carries between 10–12 pounds, including her water, tent, the sleeping bags, and clothing.

Ryan carries the balance of the weight for them, which usually totals about 15 pounds, including clothing, cooking equipment, food, and remaining gear.

Ryan and Stephanie share a 1.3-liter titanium cookpot, along with a set of titanium mugs and sporks for eating. They usually cook over a small canister stove. For water treatment, they are diehard Aquamira fans, and simply filter murky waters through a bandana and their own silt filter homemade with open-cell foam.

Montana winters can get pretty long, so the Jordans have adapted to snow travel well. In the winter, they use an MSR Simmerlite white gas stove and a 2-liter titanium pot in conjunction with larger titanium mugs for meals and drinks. A GoLite Hex custom made with Epic fabric is their shelter of choice, which cuts the biting evening winds so common in the mountains of the Northern Rockies and eliminates blowing spindrift from Montana’s cold smoke. They travel on Northern Lites snowshoes, using summer weight footwear (fabric boots give more kick leverage when snowshoeing than trail runners) in conjunction with neoprene overboots for warmth and waterproofng, and RBH Designs freece socks for warmth and vapor barrier protection.

For winter sleeping bags, they replace their Spartan single VersaLite with a pair of mating-zip North Face Cat’s Meows and Patagonia DAS parkas. Ryan adds a long Ridge Rest Deluxe for a pad, with Stephanie putting a torso-sized Ridge Rest under her Therma-Rest UltraLite Long pad for additional insulation. They go totally synthetic for clothing and sleeping bags in the winter because, as Ryan says, “We get wet after a day of snowshoeing.”

And as Stephanie says, “We get wet because of this ‘hike-with-Ryan-means-inclement-weather’ phenomenon.”

When asked what advice they had for new couples learning to backpack together, Ryan and Stephanie gave us a top ten list:

10. Schedule a night at a bed and breakfast after the trip.

9. Turn a memorable photograph from a trip into a postcard and mail it to your spouse the next time you travel and have to be apart.

8. Always give the girl the warmer jacket.

7. If she wants to bring Wet Ones for hygiene, don’t argue.

6. Most satin in women’s lingerie weighs about 1.6 oz/yd2, but real silk can weigh as little as 0.8 oz/yd2.

5. Don’t try to split the weight equally or turn weight distribution between the two of you into a formula. Men, carry the heavier pack. It’s been that way for thousands of years. Don’t try to fight the system.

4. Be flexible. This is an exercise to allow you to enjoy your relationship, not accomplish mileage records.

3. Clear a sitting area of pine cones and sticks before your wife sits down at a rest break.

2. Pick a bundle of wildfowers and use a rubber band to secure them to a titanium tent stake. An instant dinner bouquet.

1. Have a sense of humor. The weatherman is not always right. And your spouse may never be.

Conclusion

Sharing the outdoors with a spouse can be a pinnacle experience. Unfortunately, normal heavy packing (carrying 40–50 pounds of gear each) sucks the pleasure out of backcountry travel and turns what should be fun into a long and miserable trudge. With ultralight backpacking equipment, the strain and discomfort go away. For us, ultralight backpacking puts a spring in our step and brings the joy back to sharing the outdoors. We hope it will do the same for you. Just remember the most important axiom that we introduced at the beginning of this article: Traveling together is a partnership.

Citation

This chapter was originally published as an article in the online magazine Back-packingLight.com (ISSN 1537-0364) in September 2003.

Chapter 19: Face Off
First Aid and Emergency Gear

By Bill Thorneloe, David Schultz, and Ryan Jordan

There are a few categories of equipment that can be the subject of hostile discussion around a campfire. First aid and emergency equipment are certainly among them. We’ve met hikers with first-aid kits ranging from a baggie full of band-aids to 5-pound expedition kits.

The purpose of this article is to highlight some of the differences in first aid and emergency equipment selection among three self-proclaimed lightweight hikers and reflect opinions on the subject that span a broad spectrum between conservative and “Why the heck do I need this?”

We’ll start with Bill and Dave critiquing each other until Ryan joins in, no longer able to tolerate the banter.

Dave’s Rationale

Over the last several years, my business has taken me all over the United States. On these trips, I have been lucky enough to find the opportunity to hike extensively in areas that were totally new to me. Unfortunately, I also tend to push my personal envelope a bit and have a unique talent for getting lost. When I go hiking with other folks, they are usually newbies who don’t have a lot of outdoor skills, don’t always have the best equipment, and often push themselves a bit harder than they should. Being well prepared is essential for where and how I hike, so I carry 25 ounces of preparedness for those times when things don’t go smoothly.

These items, along with my general equipment, help me handle a wide range of medical problems. My goals in selection are:

1. Management of the little ailments that can spoil a trip —e.g., blisters, diarrhea, stings, cuts, minor pains, etc.

2. Treatment for moderate problems and control of major pain so that a walk out is possible

3. Stabilization of larger problems and control of major pain until a rescue can occur

Dave’s List

FIRST-AID SUPPLIES

• Pain meds in a film canister with instructions o Ibuprofen

o Percogesic (325 mg acetaminophen and 30 mg phenyltoloxamine citrate)

o Percocet

• Decongestant and antihistamine tablets in a film canister with instructions

o Benadryl, pseudoephedrine

• Digestive system meds in a film canister with instructions

o Imodium

o Tums

• Topical Meds

o Alcohol prep pads

o Iodine prep pads

o Triple antibiotic ointment

o Ophthalmic ointment

o Burn ointment

o 20% benzocaine gel

• Blister kit in a small Ziploc

o Spenco adhesive knit (moleskin)

o Knife w/scissors

o Bioclusive breathable dressing

o Curad Blistercare pads

• Closure kit

o Coverstrip closures

o Band-aids

o Small straight hemostats

o Sutures (#3 and #5 in gut and nylon)

• Sterile gauze pads, 1˝ breathable plastic tape, 3-oz bulb irrigation syringe, 0.5-oz 10% povidone-iodine solution, pencil

• Pair latex gloves

SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT

• Two 1-gallon freezer ziploc bags

• Fire starters in a waterproof wrapping

o Lighter

o Matches

o Tinder

• Signal mirror, marine-type signal whistle, LED light

• Water purifying tabs

• Large garden trash bag

REPAIR SUPPLIES

• Duct tape

• Hot patch repair kit , needle, dental floss, 4 large nylon wire ties, 4 small nylon wire ties

• Two AAA batteries

• Pouch for carrying emergency/first-aid kit

BILL: Dave, your list is excellent and quite reasonable, particularly given the weight. I suspect that our kits look quite similar, but this kit may be closer to the contents of my top compartment Ziploc bag. This would serve someone very well, but I suspect that there is duplication and some outdated equipment here.

DAVE: It could be that my relative inexperience in the healing arts leads me to be overly cautious. I know that if I mishandle a small problem, my lack of skill and experience means that I have a higher chance of failure if the condition worsens. This is why I emphasize items needed to clean and disinfect a wound.

BILL: Why carry moleskin and Bioclusive dressings and Curad blister pads? Why not just the Bioclusive dressings?

DAVE: While the Bioclusive dressings are very useful in that they are waterproof and breathable, they are relatively fragile and do not breathe well when compared to the non-waterproof but tougher Spenco Adhesive knit. So for ultra-heavy sweaters like myself, I find that the Adhesive knit works better. For low perspiring folks, like my wife, Bioclusive dressing keeps the blister clean in a relatively dirty environment. I also use the Bioclusive dressing for covering cuts and other non-weeping wounds.

BILL: Why carry both Percogesic and Percocet, neither of which will treat major pain? I carry two 20-mg OxyContin tabs?

DAVE: The only reason I carry the Percogesic (over-the-counter or OTC med), is that my wife tends to get an upset stomach from Ibuprofen. I have found Percocet (prescription or RX med containing acetaminophen and the narcotic oxycodone) to be quite effective on moderate to severe pain and far more effective than any non-RX meds available. Certainly there are stronger alternatives (OxyContin 40, MS Contin 30, etc.), but not being a medical professional, I have limited access to RX meds. Before moving, I had a long relationship with my family physician and getting a few RX meds was not such a problem. Now I must use a large and impersonal managed care group and can no longer acquire RX meds for a field kit.

BILL: Why carry iodine prep pads, alcohol pads, povidone-iodine solutions, and water treatment tabs? I can see the povidone to help adhesion of skin closures, but the rest?

DAVE: It is far easier to use a prep pad to disinfect a small area than it is to mix up some povidone-iodine solution. But if I had to clean or irrigate a larger wound, the prep pads would not be sufficient, so I carry both. I am intrigued with the idea of using the water treatment tabs to mix up a batch of wound irrigant/ disinfectant. This deserves exploration. Omiting the povidone-iodine will save about an ounce.

BILL: Why carry the extra and non-waterproof packaging of sterile gauze pads, instead of a plastic wrapped Kling roll gauze?

DAVE: Ease of use and sterility.

BILL: Why breathable tape and duct tape and skin closures?

DAVE: You’ve got a good point here, Bill. I could lose the breathable tape. I’ll keep the Cover Strips though. They are quick and easy to use.

BILL: Why carry gut sutures? Any stitches will be removed and revised on arrival at the emergency room. I suspect the nylon or silk suture I carry (but did not list) would be more visible and also useful for gear repairs. Heck, a curved needle and dental floss could service in a crisis.

DAVE: Again, good point. The main reason that I carry a few gut sutures is that I learned that they were preferable for use in severe mouth lacerations. Granted, I have never run into such an injury. I imagine this could be very tricky.

BILL: Why carry a heavy first-aid kit package when you have 2-gallon Ziplocs as well as latex gloves (e.g., for an emergency water container)?

DAVE: I used to use Ziplocs, but found that they were beat up so much that they were often replaced.

BILL: Why bring an irrigation bulb? I would use my Platypus and tubing to direct the flow, and squeeze the bag for more pressure.

DAVE: Excellent idea for when I am in a group. It will save 3 ounces. When I go solo, however, I usually only carry one bladder and no backup water container.

BILL: Have you considered orthopedic injuries and means of splinting or otherwise stabilizing a fracture?

DAVE: I considered carrying a SAM splint, but figured I could improvise by cutting up my closed-cell foam pad and using duct tape, poles from my shelter, sticks, etc.

BILL: Overall, I believe I am picking nits on these questions. I suspect our real gear is identical, and that the choices of medications, wound treatments, and such are solely personal preferences.

Bill’s Rationale

My first-aid kit responds to three questions.

1. What happens if I lose all or part of my gear?

2. What are the most likely medical problems I will encounter?

3. What am I carrying that can be used for more than its intended use?

I should know my gear and be able to accurately assess a wound or emergency. If I do not understand a piece of gear, it should be left at home. Without understanding the hazard, I am likely to make the situation worse by trying to intervene blindly. The most likely acute emergency will be trauma. I anticipate falls, fractures, bruises, abrasions, stings, and bites. Burns may happen, but preparation for other trauma provides gear for this. Digestive tract (GI) distress with upset stomach, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are likely to impede my walk. I prepare for dehydration, hypothermia, and hyperthermia. Infection concerns come next, addressed by water purification, hand cleaning, toilet hygiene, and wound cleansing. Finally, I consider comfort issues like sunburn.

What would happen if I lost everything by the trail while I go for water? If I broke my ankle slipping on a mud bank by a creek bed, I would need to be able to alert someone of my location, stay warm, and avoid bleeding and shock. Hence, my lanyard kit. A lanyard or pocket kit, always with me, provides for splinting and allows scrambling back to the trail. If I wandered away from a shelter wearing my fanny pack from the top of my pack, the contents of the top pocket would make a similar injury easier to manage. I also have the beginnings of good treatment for other problems, including temperature regulation and dehydration. Unfortunately, dehydration and temperature problems are often first detected by confusion and cognitive deterioration. I have not figured out a reliable means for a solo hiker to recognize when their brain is going south, much less how to intervene. The closest I have found is attention to the UMBLES—grumble, mumble, fumble, and stumble—treated initially with sitting down in the shade, drinking water, and assessing the circumstances.

My clothing and backpack are integral to trauma care. I can fashion slings and braces for a variety of upper extremity injuries, dislocations, and lacerations (cuts and scrapes) with clothing and well placed diaper pins. I can rig a splint with backpack stays and trekking poles using the closed-cell mat or clothing to cushion the splint. I could even rig a litter with trekking poles or available sticks, clothing, and diaper pins. My tent and sleeping bag are excellent for treatment of hypothermia, along with a warm cup of Jell-O. My water treatment and Platypus bags give me disinfectant and a means to irrigate and cleanse a wound or foreign body in an eye. There are few GI problems that do not respond to Pepto Bismol, unless they demand a visit to a local emergency room. I carry much more on a canoe trip, especially medications and allergy treatments. When desert hiking, a larger mirror for signaling comes along.

I don’t carry a Sawyer Extractor, as I have not been exposed to either severe bee stings or snake bite. Poisonous snake bites require immobilization of the area bitten and evacuation of the patient by the quickest means possible. I don’t carry Epineph-rine, as I have no history of anaphylaxis (shock) in response to allergy. Anyone with this susceptibility should provide their own and be able to use it immediately.

Bill’s List

LANYARD KIT (WORN AT ALL TIMES)

• laminated photo ID

• whistle

• Swiss Army clone pen knife, scissors, tweezers compass with mirror

• Photon light (red)

• Magnesium block and steel

• 3 feet of nylon cord

PRIMARY FIRST -AID AND EMERGENCY ITEMS (IN TOP POCKET OF PACK, STORED IN A 1-QUART ZIPLOC BAG )

• 1 emergency mylar blanket

• 3 pairs of latex gloves, with the following stored in the fngers:

o One 20-gram tube of Silvadene

o 3 band-aids for child use

o 1 roll of Kling gauze (4 inch by 4 yards)

• 1 tin

o 8 tabs aspirin

o 2 tabs slow release oral narcotic

• 1 roll of TUMS

• 6 tabs Pepto Bismol in foil

• Laminated ID card with inventory, phone numbers, insurance info, and medical history info

• Envelope of electrolyte replacement powder and 1 pack of nutrasweet (in weather below 40 degrees)

• 1 pack of Jell-O

• 1-oz tin of bag balm or petroleum jelly

• 1 bottle of Polar Pure (water treatment and wound disinfectant)

• 4 packs of Bioclude dressings

• 4-oz bottle of Purell alcohol hand sanitizer—stored outside of the Ziploc

• 8-oz bottle of honey (excellent sugar source and topical antibiotic)

• Paper and pencil—to record chronology of an emergency

• Fire starter—long-handled lighter, which is easier for cold and tired hands)

• Silicon-based GOOP adhesive

• 8 waterproof matches and striker

DAVE: Well Bill, it looks like you’ve got all the bases covered. In comparing each of the items in my kit with their functional equivalent in your kit, my only question is: What do you do if you get a really bad case of the trots? Pepto Bismol just doesn’t have enough stopping power, in my experience.

BILL: Severe diarrhea in the backcountry can be deadly, with attendant risks of dehydration and electrolyte disturbances. Sure, Pepto Bismol has limited cork potential, but is effective for most mild to moderate events, and should help slow the flow of a severe diarrhea. I aggressively push Pepto until symptoms begin to fade. I expect to use copious water and electrolyte replacement with Nutrasweet to help treat the dehydration, and Gatorade once that is exhausted. I would consider a narcotic, especially if I were already immobilized by diarrhea. Severe diarrhea is like a fracture: It takes us off the trail and on the way to an ER.

DAVE: The main differences I see in our approaches to emergency kits are that mine has a bit more emphasis on convenience and I try to make up for lack of experience with 4–5 ounces of additional gear.

BILL: I agree with the observation that our kits vary only in convenience and compartmentalization. I depend much more on making do with items originally designed for other uses. I carry a bit more than needed as I anticipate providing attention to others when on my own walks. This goes with the job. I expect that a first-aid kit of a couple of band-aids and a waterproof match would be plenty for many, but too little for my confidence.

RYAN: You two are a piece of work. I assumed that I could put two opinionated souls together, give you free license to hammer each other, and you end up getting cozy and complimentary. What’s up with that? Are you guys really serious about bringing an entire pound, or pound and a half, of first-aid and emergency equipment? So I say, rid yourselves of all the nonessentials, use your head, and what the heck—roll the dice a bit. My kit weighs a paltry 5 ounces.

Ryan’s Rationale

I prepare primarily for two things: minor ailments and light weight. Period. I’ll try to use my brain for the big stuff. Sure, that might be risky, but that’s what going light is about.

Ryan’s List

BLSTER TREATMENT AND WOUND CARE SUPPLES

• Spenco 2nd Skin dressing and adhesive knit —3 square inches of each, primarily for blisters

• Tincture of benzoin for a tape adherent

• A few feet of duct tape

• Two needles

• Kevlar thread

• tweezers and one tiny pair of scissors from a Swiss Army classic pocketknife

o Tweezers for splinters and ticks

o Scissors for tape cutting

• 2 iodine-impregnated wipes for wound sterilization

• triple antibiotic ointment, about 1/3 oz

MEDICINES

• Ibuprofen, 8 caps

• Acetominophen, 6 caps

• Acetaminophen with codeine, 4 caps

• Immodium, 4 caps

A first-aid kitneed not be heavy, or bulky for that matter. This one fits in the palm of your hand and is easily packaged in a 2” x 3” zip closure plastic bag.

• Benadryl, 4 caps

• Menthol throat lozenges, 4

Emergency Survival Equipment

I limit this primarily to a firestarting kit, storm matches, birthday candles, and a mini-Bic lighter in a cardboard match box with extra strikers, vacuum sealed in a heavy waterproof plastic. Also a single mini-LED light (0.3 oz) and a tiny waterproof whistle (0.1 oz) for emergency signaling.

RYAN: That’s it. All of these supplies weigh 5 oz and are stored in a 2”-x 4”-x 6” bright yellow silnylon stuff sack.

BILL: You have really trimmed your stuff down in the medicine department. Are you willing to rot in place without means of alerting rescue for significant trauma?

RYAN: What do you mean? I carry a Photon single-LED mini-light for signaling (smile). The advertisements say that it’s visible for a mile.

DAVE: Now Ry I agree that a decrease in weight can lead to an increase in risk, but with all of the wild stuff that you do (much of it solo as I understand), you ought to consider a bit more preparedness.

RYAN: “All that wild stuff?” It’s a matter of perspective. I really toned it down after I became a father! I think it’s high time you explored your wild side, my friend.

BILL: Dave?

DAVE: Bill?

BILL & DAVE: “Git a rope.”

BILL: OK, Ryan, why would you want iodine wipes unless you fail to bring iodine for water purification?

RYAN: What is it with you guys and your iodine? It’s time to get with the program and use something that actually works for water disinfection. While iodine is still appropriate for virus protection, viruses are the least of your problems, at least here in the US. Bacteria and protozoan cysts (Giardia and Crypto) pose a more serious threat to backcountry water. I opt for a chlorine dioxide chemical kit (e.g., Aquamira) due to its greater efficacy toward microorganisms. Hey, thousands of city water treatment plants around the world that are using chlorine dioxide can’t all be wrong. But the bottom line for iodine wipes is this: simplicity of use. Hassling to make a concentrated solution of iodine using Potable Aqua tablets is not my idea of a great time. In addition, with iodine crystals, you also run the risk of incompletely dissolving the crystals when preparing a topical solution. If an undissolved crystal comes into direct contact with flesh, it can cause damage to the tissue via a pretty aggressive oxidation reaction. But that should be just fine with you guys, since y’all are also carrying burn ointment!

BILL: What’s the point of triple antibiotic ointment? Triple is useless and potentially dangerous for open wounds. Vaseline or bag balm or skin lotion/sunscreen would be more practical, along with 20 grams of Silvadene for a burn or real infection.

RYAN: The primary purpose of the cream is to provide a barrier to outside contamination—not unlike Vaseline or bag balm as you suggest. The secondary purpose is to disinfect the skin surrounding the wound and prevent these bacteria (e.g., Staphylococcus epidermidis) from colonizing the wound. Most OTC antibiotic creams are ineffective at treating massive wound infections. That is not the purpose here. But they are indeed effective at preventing the onslaught of a wound infection. Remember, the goal with these ointments is preventative treatment, not reactive treatment. As for danger, the antibiotic components of triple antibiotic ointments (which vary somewhat, but may include neomycin, bacitracin, or polymyxin B) can cause kidney damage or renal failure. In most cases, this is only an issue when administered orally, as is commonly done to treat intestinal infections in pets. Applied topically (e.g., to the eye as part of an opthalmic infection treatment strategy) or to superficial skin-deep wounds, the chance that the antibiotics will be absorbed into the bloodstream at a high enough concentration to induce a life-threatening condition is extremely low. I do agree with you, though, that application of this ointment into a deep open wound is probably not a wise decision, since you’ll have a rapid and direct path to the bloodstream. I do like your suggestion for Silvadene when faced with having to treat a serious wound infection that has already exploded.

BILL: Why so much Ibuprofen, Tylenol, and Tylenol with codeine?

RYAN: I don’t take meds on the trail for routine conditions like muscle aches. Thus, eight caps of Ibuprofen provide two healthy doses to control serious infammation, as might occur for a sprained ankle. Six caps of Tylenol provide three doses to help tolerate such common problems as severe headache caused by dehydration or acute mountain sickness. Sure, we can be careful and drink our water at regular intervals, or acclimatize by only climbing 1,000 feet per day, but that’s simply not a reality in the mountains.

BILL: The variety of meds you carry enhances the risk of misidentifcation.

RYAN: Fair enough, but I eat wild mushrooms, too.

BILL: And codeine? It’s too mild and short term and too frequently allergenic to be used reasonably in the backcountry.

RYAN: Each of us reacts differently to narcotics. I respond well (hey, calm down, I’m a clean-livin’ good old boy). Tylenol 3 was successful at quenching the pain of a jumping molar nerve (which subsequently required an emergency root canal) while on a hike. Two years ago, I hiked 40 miles out of an extremely remote area on a broken talus bone (foot) using Tylenol 3. Emergency extrication was an option, but I chose to take the responsibility myself, since the injury wasn’t life-threatening. The fact that Tylenol 3 is mild is the very reason I use it; it provides a nice balance between desensitizing myself to the pain and keeping my head clear enough to make reasonable decisions. Of course, I’m not allergic to it, and I certainly don’t administer it to others while in the woods for fear of an allergic reaction.

BILL: Immodium is useful only if diarrhea is the only GI event expected. Why not Pepto tabs?

RYAN: Immodium is a more aggressive plugger-upper than Pepto, and has the power to arrest diarrhea before it begins to severely dehydrate you, which Pepto won’t do in a short time frame. I also had adverse reactions to it in the past, where it has induced vomiting on several occasions, something that appears to be unique to me, unfortunately.

BILL: Throat lozenges? How about some honey or hard candy?

RYAN: You bet. Any of the above. I just like the menthol high that comes with some throat lozenges. The real purpose here is to fend off the Russian Army Hat Tongue and sore throat that often accompany dehydration at altitude. The addition of menthol clears sinuses and nasal passages and for this hay fever-prone hiker, really helps breathing when working hard.

BILL: And Benadryl? For what real purpose?

RYAN: Benadryl offers a few massive (prescription strength) doses for a bee sting allergy. I’ve not responded well to Epi-pens in the past, but have done great with Benadryl.

DAVE: So, Ryan, what do you do when you slip off of one of those big rocks that you are so fond of climbing in your cross country treks and tear an eight inch chunk of meat out of your (fill in the body part)? If this is not bad enough, you also abrade a good patch of skin off of your (pick another part). Sure you could just pack the void that used to be filled with flesh with gauze (if you had any) and wrap it up all neat with duct tape. But, how are you going to get the crud out and disinfect that wound? Your iodine wipes just ain’t going to be enough. Adequate cleansing is the most important aspect of wound management.

RYAN: I agree wholeheartedly with the cleansing part. The scenario you describe is similar to one I experienced while hiking near Cimarron, New Mexico, in 1986. I had just climbed a peak and was descending a steep talus slope, lost my footing and tore quite a lot of flesh from my upper thigh in the fall. Treatment required thorough cleansing—it was a very dirty wound—and took about 3 hours. My immediate approach was to flush the wound with my remaining water, which was about a liter. I then packed it with toilet paper (TP), wrapped a bandana around it, and high-tailed it down into the valley with access to a stream. Then I sterilized about a gallon of stream water (using iodine tablets) and used tweezers to pick every piece of grit I could find out of the wound, all the while rinsing with water and letting the wound bleed itself to prevent clotting while I was cleaning. I used triple antibiotic ointment on the outside edge of the wound, dressed it with some TP that had been soaked in some triple antibiotic creme (my barrier to outside infection), more TP on top, followed by six layers of a cotton t-shirt that I cut up, with duct tape to hold it all in place. This was an agonizing process for someone who is normally pretty impatient, but you do what you must. I hiked out the next day and within 36 hours after the injury was at a health clinic where I received kudos for wound cleansing and treatment but a lamenting lecture about hiking down talus slopes in sneakers.

DAVE: —except that you also had a bad case of the runs early on in the trip and you only brought four Immodium tablets, so your TP has long since been used up.

RYAN: I actually only use TP to polish things up, relying instead on more natural sources for doing the dirty work. This becomes even more important when you have the trots. It’s amazing how much comfort a prickly alpine spruce bough provides—if you wipe with the needles facing the proper direction. I’ve also long since replaced normal TP with those tough blue shop towels. They make great TP for loose bowel movements because they are so absorbent, and are also ideally suited for wound dressings.

DAVE: If you knew that you would be found in a darn quick hurry, all of this might not be quite so bad. I notice though, that you don’t have much signaling equipment so you might be hanging out for a while.

RYAN: In addition to the whistle and see-for-a-mile-LED-mini-light in my kit, I often carry a LED headlamp and a mirror in my toiletry kit (used primarily for grooming and tick checks). Finally, what happened to the power of fre? Three fires arranged in a large triangle can’t be beat for night signaling. In daytime, a big wet smoky fre has the power to attract attention from miles away.

DAVE: OK, so your light runs out of juice in the middle of one of your night hikes. What do you do? You don’t have any extra batteries.

RYAN: This is why I’ve gone to LED headlamps. I install fresh batteries, lasting between 40–120 hours, for any hike of more than a few days and use lithium batteries if the light will take them. I’ve yet to run out of juice, even on an all-night winter escape from a Teton summit, where the low temps can really suck the life out of batteries. But if worse came to worst, and I didn’t have the luxury of a moon or sixth sense to rely on, I’d just stop and camp.

DAVE: You are hiking deep into an area that has little water. While cooking dinner you accidentally knock your burning canister stove into the water bag on your hydration/fltration system. Now, not only can you not filter the small amount of water that you can scoop from the hoof prints that you find around the dry watering hole, but you can’t carry any of the putrid water with you. A couple of Ziploc bags and some water purifying tabs could come in handy here.

RYAN: All of my food is packaged in Ziplock bags, either sandwich-sized or gallon-sized. I don’t burn my garbage. I have enough Ziplocs in a weeklong food supply to carry a few gallons of water. As for filtering, I always carry some kind of backup—usually, a chlorine dioxide chemical kit. And as a last resort, you can always boil the water to treat it, even using a fire if your stove fuel is gone.

BILL: Why is your firestarting kit vacuum sealed? You need fire starters anyway. I’d carry the matches on me and leave the Bic in the first-aid kit.

RYAN: I vacuum seal it for total waterproofiness. The matches and lighter in this kit are to remain untouched except in an emergency—absolutely no exceptions. The fire is the last line of defense between you and hypothermia. When all of your equipment has failed, it is the only source of heat, other than your body, available in the backcountry. I carry a few backup matches in my stove kit, although my stove uses a piezo ignition. The only other reason for a lighter is sterilizing a needle to pop blisters. On those rare occasions I use a match from my stove kit stash.

BILL: By the way, where are your ID and your medical history? The search-and-rescue (SAR) folks who find you rotting away will be curious about who you were.

RYAN: Under the crown of my Tilley hat in a waterproof Ziploc with business cards that read: “If I’m alive, I’m a Backpacking Light subscriber. If found dead, please cancel my Backpacker subscription.”

BILL: Ryan, you may want to throw your organ donor card in that Tilley hat of yours.

DAVE: As well as your term life and disability insurance policies.

Conclusion

What can be learned from this discussion? Four overriding themes stand out:

1. It may be impossible to compartmentalize a first aid and emergency kit as there are many dual-use items in your other gear that can be used in a first-aid or emergency situation.

2. No amount of equipment can substitute for the knowledge required to actually use it in an emergency situation.

3. Your creativity and resourcefulness with a solid base of knowledge about first aid and emergency assessment are the most important components of your kit. The weight? Zero. It’s all in your brain.

4. Your choice of equipment reflects your style and approach to backcountry travel. If you want to peer into the soul of a backpacker, check out their first aid kit. And always look in the crown of their Tilley Hat.

Editor’s Note: Since this article was first published at BackpackingLight. com, all three of the authors have continued to reduce the weight of their first-aid kits. For more detailed information about what’s in Dave’s first-aid kit, please review chapter 13. In the past few years, Ryan has been carrying a first-aid kit that weighs less than 2 ounces for more than 1,000 miles of alpine hiking in the Northern Rockies. The most severe injury he’s had to deal with was a two-inch long seed husk that became stuck in his throat in a remote valley of the northwestern Teton Range, far from a road. The seed husk had entered into the water he used for his dinner meal, and became stuck while eating dinner. Sharing camp with 5 other people, no one carried any device that was capable of responding to this emergency. Inducing vomiting did not dislodge the husk. John O’Mahoney coming at Ryan with a titanium spork handle was enough to initiate the gag reflex before the implement could even approach the mouth. The most useful item used was a signal mirror, which Ryan used to guide two of his own fingers, in a state of panic, deep down his throat to extricate the husk. The trauma induced by the procedure damaged throat tissues but did not end Ryan’s hike. He began a course of antibiotics, one of the key meds Ryan has learned to take with him for infection control on long, remote journeys.

Citation

This chapter was originally published as an article in the online magazine Back-packingLight.com (ISSN 1537-0364) in August 2001.

Chapter 20:
Especially for Women

By Ellen Zaslaw

Probably no single demographic group stands to benefit as much from the advent of lightweight backpacking as women. In the past, women were somewhat foreclosed from backpacking, in good part because it was beyond the strength of many to carry the heavy packs that used to be standard, at least any distance with any ease. Since the typical young American woman weighs 133 pounds and the old packs weighed perhaps 50 pounds fully loaded, many women rightly felt that backpacking was not a healthful, enjoyable recreation for them. If nature designed women to carry little more than 25 pounds of pregnancy weight, she probably didn’t design them to carry those heavy packs.

No doubt there have also been certain psychological issues keeping women from backpacking, perhaps a feeling that rough, sweaty, dirty physical activity is unfeminine; or that the backcountry is populated by predatory men, in the face of whom they would be helpless; or that husbands couldn’t possibly run things at home while they took a turn on the trail. But all these impediments ought to give way as men’s and women’s attitudes about themselves and their place in the world evolve. Women are more physically active nowadays, working out in gyms and participating in sports and garnering recognition as competitive athletes. They are an increasing presence in physically demanding occupations such as firefighting and police work. They’re taking classes in self-defense and learning martial arts. Their husbands are co-parenting more equally than in times past. Women, of course, are legion in the workforce, to a greater extent than decades ago, making their allotments of vacation time—and a chance to breathe fresh air—precious as never before. Vigorous women have been learning to speak up and act up, and to regard their bodies more as equipment for experiencing the world and less as adornment. All of this would suggest that the time is ripe for women to explode onto the trails in huge numbers. But is this happening?

Interestingly, the US National Park Service’s bureau of statistics keeps no records as to the numbers of men and women issued backcountry permits. The statistics it does keep are ones of consequence to its budgets. Its officers reason that backpackers make the same demands on park maintenance regardless of sex. So how are we to know how well women are represented among backpackers? One measure, possibly an optimistic one, might be their numbers in a major online Yahoo! discussion group devoted to lightweight backpacking, BackpackingLight—some 5000 strong by late 2005. This group ought to be well populated with women if any group is. Yet at last estimate (based on a large sample) women comprised only 15 percent of the membership.

Even if one were to consider another online Yahoo! group, the 600+-member WomenHikers, together as if the two were a single group, the resulting assembly would appear to be 27 percent women. Not a very grand showing, and furthermore an overestimate since many in the women’s group also belong to BackpackingLight and so are counted twice this way.

We can consider estimates of other sorts as well. Backpacker magazine has done a survey of its audience for marketing purposes, and it counts three times as many men as women. BackpackingLight.com has performed similar demographic surveys on its readership with quite contradictory results: 43 percent of their readers are women. Perhaps the lightweight philosophy indeed draws women to backpacking.

The Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association (ALDHA) maintains a website that gives links to online trail journals. Among the 150 or so journal writers embarked on PCT or AT thru-hikes early in 2002, women represented as much as 32 percent. Yet an eyewitness to the parade of AT through- and section-hikers at Trail Days 2002 reckoned that women were only about one in ten of those marching. Between these extremes, by the estimate of officials of the Appalachian Trail Conference, women have been a constant 20 percent of thru-hikers for many years. A specialty manufacturer of lightweight hiking gear keen to attract the female market confides on condition of anonymity (because it seems so embarrassing) that so far only 30 percent of its customer base is women. But whose embarrassment is this? There seem not to be more women out on the trail.

The picture is different in New Zealand. Various correspondents from there, some working for the national park service and some affiliated with hiking clubs, have assured me that women have taken up backpacking in great numbers, much like the numbers of men. The country’s lush, mountainous landscape and an abundance of spectacular trails make backpacking an obvious recreation. There are thriving clubs in localities, schools, and universities that promote the activity. There seems general agreement that women don’t worry about being assaulted in remote places there, nor do they fear dangerous animals and poisonous insects or snakes, since New Zealand doesn’t have any.

For all of that, there are the following intriguing statistics. On the famous “tracks” (multi-day routes where the trails are unmistakable and manicured), women are 60 percent of the hikers in the so-called guided mode, which offers at the end of each day a rustic inn where they will have a bedroom, a hot shower, and prepared meals. Somewhat fewer women but still a full complement—48 percent—walk these same tracks independently, staying at huts that provide mattresses or bunk beds in dormitory rooms, gas burners, privies, and cold running water. As independents they must carry food, cookware, clothing, personal items, and sleeping bags, but not more. Yet even in the face of such participation figures, one study shows that women are only 12 percent of those who go into the more remote backcountry, where they must carry the full array of backpacking gear.

I conclude from the New Zealand statistics that women delight in long-distance hiking, and the less they have to carry, the more they like it. If they also like their comforts, or if, as one correspondent put it, they hesitate to find themselves “cold, wet, and scared,” I don’t know how large a part these considerations may play; but they are after all quite negotiable with appropriate lightweight gear and good technique. In short, I believe that women have the interest and can greatly extend their range.

Here in the United States, given the conflicting figures, we don’t know exactly what proportion of backpackers women may be. But from the evidence we can safely say this much: Whatever their numbers in the entire universe of backpackers, whether they are 10 percent, 20 percent, 30 percent or some other proportion, women are clearly in the minority. No one who has spent much time in the backcountry is likely to dispute this. So for now, if you’re a woman reading this book, or if you’re a man looking to tempt your wife, sister, or girlfriend (or mother or grandmother for that matter) into backpacking, you’re in the vanguard.

The Sexes Weigh In

As to why a heavy pack might discourage a woman, consider the following:

Women are, on average, smaller than men. The average young woman in the US is about 5´4˝ tall while her male counterpart is 5´9˝. Not surprisingly, women are also lighter, weighing 133 pounds (at the median) in their twenties while men weigh 165. (For all women and men ages 20-59 those figures are 144 and 176 pounds—which is to say, people spread with age, though regular hikers may well stay leaner.) These figures come from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Even among men and women of the same height and weight, women are less strong, since a larger proportion of their body weight is fat—half again as much, in fact—and a smaller proportion is muscle. Androgen (male hormone) promotes the development of muscle, a fact well known to unscrupulous athletes who beef up their muscle mass with help from the pharmacy. If women could compete equally with men in sports, sooner or later they would find themselves on the same playing fields, and sooner or later they would shatter some of their records. This has not happened.

Because of their differences in strength, a man and woman will not view a monster pack with the same equanimity. But let us fast forward to a futuristic time—the present!—when trail-ready packs are much lighter for everyone. A base weight of 15 pounds for three-season backpacking is not especially noteworthy, not even low enough to be called ultralight. It is achievable without hardship on the trail and without outlandish expense beforehand. Add well-considered food for a week and water for half a day and carrying such a pack is still within virtually every woman’s capabilities. So is it that simple? Now that lightweight gear is available is it exactly the same for women as for men?

No. But that is not the end of the story.

Women coexisting with menat 10,000 feet in shadow of the Sawtooth Range, Montana Beartooths, Winter 2003. (L to R) Don Johnston, Carol Crooker, Dave Schultz, Ellen Zaslaw, and Alan Dixon.

Components of Pack Weight

You might suppose that women will overcome much of their pack-weight disadvantage because a good deal of what they carry will be proportional to their size. After all, don’t outfitters now carry gear in a variety of sizes? Smaller pack, smaller sleeping bag, smaller clothes—these could begin to add up to some real weight savings, you reason. Let’s look inside the pack and see.

First off, we must acknowledge many unisex pieces of gear: navigation equipment, map, chemicals, flashlight or headlamp, stove, hydration system, cookpot, cup and bowl, tools, first aid, shelter, bear canister or bag, bear spray, camera, sunglasses, and so on. These sorts of things comprise a substantial portion of pack weight and will of course weigh the same in a woman’s pack as in a man’s. Then there are some items that add weight for the woman: she may need a cushiony sleeping pad to accommodate her curves against hard, flat ground. She may need sanitary supplies (and she may have used ones to pack out). She’ll carry more toilet paper, fresh and used. She’s likely to tolerate cold less than a man, so she’ll need warmer clothing and perhaps a warmer sleeping bag. She’s much likelier to need a structured pack with a hipbelt and well-padded shoulders (though some experts in body mechanics would argue that men need this too).

Ah yes, but, as we were saying, since she’s smaller, isn’t her clothing lighter, and doesn’t she use a shorter sleeping bag, and isn’t her pack itself smaller and lighter? The answer is that these things may be smaller and therefore lighter for a smaller person, but the difference accounts for less pack weight than you might think.

One manufacturer of ultralight packs lists a difference of one ounce between small and medium or medium and large packs—and these are packs with a solid suspension. The difference may even be smaller in the case of some frameless packs.

How about the sleeping bag? A sampling of specifications for lightweight bags of different lengths in the 20-30° F range yielded weight differences from 0–4 ounces, more typically less than 2 ounces for a given model. And it should be remembered that many bags do not come with size options at all, like those of at least one manufacturer much favored by the lightweight crowd. Their bags would of course weigh the same for men and women, larger people and smaller ones. Finally, some manufacturers make bags especially proportioned for women, wider in the hips, narrower in the shoulders, and loftier at the foot. But these different proportions don’t make the women’s bags any lighter. Only when a small person can select a small bag is there a break in weight.

And the pad? Self-inflating pads do not come in increments of 5 inches, the difference in height between average men and women. And even a short woman will lap over the end of a three-quarter-length pad. My best guess is that hikers don’t make sex-linked choices of inflatable pads. Closed-cell foam pads, on the other hand, can be cut down, and slicing 5 inches off a full-length pad would save between half an ounce and a little more than 1 ounce, depending on the type of pad. The torso-length pad of a typical woman would have an even smaller weight advantage over a man’s.

You can see that a few extra ounces for the weight of the pack, sleeping bag, and pad do not begin to add up to a proportionally greater load for a man, especially if you consider that women may have some special weights of their own to carry plus all the unisex items. Clothing, then? Food?

Clothing is heavier for a larger person. However, it isn’t heavier in proportion to the difference in people’s sizes. A surprising amount of the weight comes from zippers, pockets, elastics, bits of hardware, hoods, and such, and relatively little from extra inches of lightweight fabric in the sleeve or pants leg. Pants and long-sleeved shirts of different sizes made of lightweight wicking nylon may not differ in weight at all; insulating pants or expedition-weight long johns may differ by an ounce or two between, say, a women’s medium and a man’s. Ironically, identical insulating garments are often filled more generously in larger sizes, so that a smaller person may need to layer more items to keep comparably warm, when fewer ones with more fill would be more weight-efficient.

Finally there is the matter of food. Here at last women have a compelling advantage, at least on the trail. The caloric needs of people of different sizes are fairly proportional to the difference in their weights and levels of activity. Moreover, men and women metabolize somewhat differently. It takes fewer calories to sustain a woman than a man of identical height and weight, something on the order of 10-20 percent fewer. The difference is more dramatic when a woman and a man are physically active and differ in size, as they typically do. So on the trail a typical woman may need 25-30 percent fewer calories than a typical man. That means less food for the woman to carry—at the start of a week-long backpacking trip, perhaps 4 pounds less. Many women may not be pleased at their physiological differences off the trail, where they put on weight more readily than men and take it off with greater difficulty. But on the trail, their metabolic efficiency is pure advantage.

Hauling the Load

So what does all this add up to in terms of pack weight? Estimating conservatively from the above figures (and not counting footwear as part of pack weight), we might guess that the average lightweight pack for a woman might be at most one eighth lighter than a man’s pack equipped similarly. That would be on a week-long backpacking trip potentially entailing some freezing weather. On a shorter trip, or one in warmer temperatures, the difference between the two would be smaller or perhaps even trivial. On an overnight trip in summer, the most common sort of backpacking outing, the difference between his pack and hers might not be much more than a pound. Meanwhile, as I have said, women weigh on average roughly one fifth less than men, and they are less muscular and strong besides. There’s no escaping the fact that most women will carry packs that are a larger proportion of their body weight and they will work harder to carry them.

All the same, carrying a fully outfitted pack should be well within a woman’s capacity. Even equipped for that week-long trip with some freezing weather, a woman needn’t carry more than about 25 pounds total. And if she’s rigorously ultralight, she can carry much less. As I’ve noted, this is the amount of weight a woman gains by the end of a typical healthy pregnancy. She, of course, acquires the strength to carry this load gradually as her pregnancy progresses. With training, the strength of muscles can increase 200 percent and more. Thus with a pack as with pregnancy weight a woman can come, little by little, to carry her load with ease. There is no fixed limit to how far training may take her.

From the start a woman has certain advantages in carrying a pack. One is her relatively broad pelvis, which provides an excellent platform for supporting and distributing pack weight. Whereas a potbellied man must tighten his hipbelt around his abdomen (or forgo one) and hope for the best, even a roundish woman can support the pack’s weight largely on her pelvis. With a hipbelt and a good suspension, the pack should transfer substantial weight to the lower torso, and this is ideal from an ergonomic point of view, decreasing stress on the back and stomach muscles and increasing endurance, radically in some cases. It’s a matter of simple physics that the farther from the pelvis an item is stowed, the more leverage it exerts and the more the muscles must work to carry it along. If the pack weight hangs off the shoulders, it impacts a good foot and a half higher than if it is lodged at the pelvis. Both because of the transfer of pack weight to the pelvis (with the right pack) and because of a woman’s physique—her broad hips and narrow shoulders relative to a man’s—a woman hiker has a low center of gravity, which aids not just endurance but also balance and forward propulsion.

While on the subject of packs, let’s take a moment to reflect on the overall fit. Packs are being made these days that are highly suitable for women—a recent development. Some packs are even designed especially for them, with hipbelts that faire outward as their hips do and harnesses that are appropriately narrow at the shoulders so that they don’t impede the motion of the arms. Shoulder straps that are S-shaped sit well at the top and give comfortable clearance for breasts. Many unisex packs can achieve this sort of fit as well. A sternum strap is valuable, too, in fitting the harness to the wearer and in helping to distribute weight away from the shoulder blades and onto the entire rib cage and torso. This matter of weight distribution is even more critical for women than for men because they have less upper body strength to begin with. This difference becomes more pronounced after age 35.

A woman who would like to backpack but is initially daunted by the load should consider that she can regulate her pack weight simply by planning her hikes with this in mind. Since food can be such a major share of the weight, she can opt for trips whose provisions she cares to carry, namely, ones of an acceptable length. Similarly, she can backpack in climates and seasons she finds congenial, given the heavier weight of clothing and shelter for colder weather. And she can choose routes where water is plentiful and she needn’t carry much. In short, she can keep the physical challenge well within her comfort range.

If a woman is backpacking with another person, the pair will do well to view the hike not as a contest, but rather as a cooperative venture in which the communal load is distributed to best advantage. By trial and error, the hikers can figure out how much each can carry, so that they move at a similar speed with similar effort. It does not make for companionable or efficient hiking for one member of the pair—either one—to be struggling to keep up, slowing their progress and perhaps succumbing to fatigue at an early hour. Many hikers haven’t considered the extent to which their difficulty or ease of hiking relative to someone else is really a function of the different loads they are carrying.

As I said at the start, the lightweight way makes it possible for all sorts of women to backpack comfortably the first time. These days a woman of average size, even a small one or a heavy one, one of no great strength or athleticism—such an utterly ordinary woman—can travel in the wilderness for days on end, long hours every day carrying with ease everything she is likely to need.

Managing the Fears

Pack weight is not all that makes women hesitate. Many American women are afraid of encountering dangerous men in the backcountry far from defenders or rescuers, as improbable as this might seem to some who have hiked a lifetime and never seen anyone remotely unsavory. At the time of this writing, the women’s section of an online forum at Backpacker.com contained more archived posts on this than on any other substantive topic. The title of the thread: “Creepy Guys on the Trail.”

How realistic are such fears? In 2001, over 3 million visitors spent at least some time on the Appalachian Trail. Yet it has been several years since the last report of a violent crime against a woman. The last murder took place in 1990, though there was one on an intersecting trail in 1996. The last reported rape also took place in the early 1990s. This is with millions of visitors every year, within easy reach of many of the most populous areas of the country. Where else in a congregation of millions of people can one imagine so little violent crime?

The National Park Service maintains crime statistics but unfortunately doesn’t differentiate urban incidents from ones in the great outdoor expanses: the Service oversees many urban parklands and national monuments as well as wilderness-type parks. Even so, the NPS (with a typical 279 million visitors in 2001) has reported only three or four dozen rapes or attempted rapes in each of the past several years. That means, if as many as half the visitors and all rape victims were female, a given female’s chance of facing such a crime in a given year on any national park property anywhere are at most 0.0000003 percent. Her chances of being murdered are about a third as high, or of being assaulted in some other fashion about twelve to sixteen times higher. If women are only a quarter of park visitors, then we can estimate that these minuscule risks are twice as great—and still minuscule. Scant as they are, these figures vastly overestimate the probability of facing such a crime in the backcountry, which sees only a tiny minority of all visitors and surely disproportionately few violent types. Thought of this way, violence really shouldn’t be much of a worry.

Some hikers carry frearms as a last-resort defense against animal attacks and as a deterrent against human ones. This is a highly controversial practice. In any event, it’s illegal in state and national parks and many other areas hikers frequent. The figures above may give a measure of security to a woman who wonders if she’s safe unarmed.

Still, if a woman is looking for extra margins of safety against the crimes that almost certainly will not occur, she can increase her confidence by taking a course in self-defense. She can read the book Trail Safe by Michael Bane, commissioned by the Appalachian Trail Conference. She can think of her bear spray as a defense not just against bears. She can travel in the wilderness with others. None of these things will (at least in bear country) add an ounce to her pack weight, and if they lighten the load on her mind, that’s a good thing.

Close-upof The author carrying a lightweight pack (ULA Equipment) and walking on lightweight snowshoes (Northern Lites).

Sleeping on the Ground

We come now to a variety of matters of practical concern to the female backpacker, and where better to start than with a good night’s sleep? A woman’s hourglass figure is not well suited to lying on the ground, particularly when she is lying on her side, unless she finds an exceptional “sweet spot”, where curves on the ground exactly meet hers or she camps on something springy like tundra. What happens with side sleeping is that the spine collapses into a bent position, sinking into the gap between waist and ground, so that ligaments may be stretched to the point of disturbing normal alignments at the joints.

Many women will opt for a cushiony sleeping pad, even though it will cost weight, rather than wake up with aching hipbones on which she has balanced all night, or an aching back. There are lighter solutions, however. One would be to pin a rolled-up garment around her waist at bedtime, so that it fills the hollow even as she turns from side to side or rests on her back. This may be support enough. Another is to learn some sleeping positions that nights on her innerspring never drove her to. Flat on the back works surprisingly well, especially with the buttocks drawn back a bit so that the spine, rather than the silhouette, is as straight as possible. And stomach sleeping poses no problem. As well, the rear pants-pocket surface is a reasonably flat plane to place flush on the ground. The result is a position midway between side sleeping and back sleeping. Another excellent position is the commando crawl, on the stomach but a quarter-turn off horizontal, as if the sleeper is actually going to crawl low to the ground. This puts the spine in an ideal position, straight and not curled. Finally, a choice solution, when a woman is camping on friable soil, duff, or snow, is for her to scoop out her own hip hollow for the night (replacing the dirt when she decamps).

Whatever arrangements the woman tries, she should understand that the object of the game is to sleep comfortably and wake up with nothing hurting. It can be done.

Sports Bras

The women who need these know who they are. In everyday life, their bra straps leave ruts in their shoulders, and they are keenly aware of carrying a load on their chest. They will need frm support for long hours in motion, and they will want that support anchored over a wide area. A sports bra with wide straps that cross in back is best. Among other things it reinforces the posture that is most sustainable without fatigue. The bra should be of a cool and comfortable wicking fabric, lightweight of course. Happily, a sports bra serves nicely as swimsuit top, and here a fabric that dries quickly is often essential.

Even a woman who does not need extra support has options to consider. Ordinary lingerie (without lace or other abrasive decorations) is generally lightest and coolest, yet a minimalist sports bra or bare-midriff tank top might be worth the weight for a swimmer. As with other garments for the backcountry cotton is to be avoided.

Cosmetics and Coifs

The female backpacker knows better than to fill her pack with pencils and brushes and crèmes and whatnot. These have no place in the backcountry, where naturalness and simplicity are the order of the day and where fragrances can invite visits from bears and other animals better left uninvited. Furthermore, nonessentials add unnecessary weight. Besides, the blush of healthy outdoor living will lend a radiance that cannot be daubed on from a pot.

Still, she might have a need or two. If lipstick (or any particular item) feels essential, she should study the products available and choose one that is fragrance free, offers sun protection, and is super lightweight. Ordinary neighborhood drugstores and chain stores carry such things. Lip balm may appear in the guise of colorless lipstick. She should hold out for lipstick or balm no thicker than a pencil, weighing half what the usual ones weigh. There are tinted sunscreens, if she feels the need.

I’ll say even less about hairdos than about cosmetics. Practicality is all in the backcountry so pony tails, braids, short bobs, and even buzz cuts are good options, among others. A woman won’t make life changes in preparation for a week or two in the Rockies, but someone anticipating several weeks or months on the trail might think differently. In this connection, if she intends to cut off long hair, she might consider donating it so that it can be made into a wig for a sick child undergoing chemotherapy. Two organizations receiving such donations are called Wigs for Kids and Locks of Love.

To Pee or Not to Pee (and Other Existential Questions)

Willy nilly women hikers find their female plumbing a force to be reckoned with in the backcountry. It can be managed, just as water purification and other sanitary matters can. What follows is a survey of the management issues.

First a small excursion into the matter of how to urinate. Every woman who has spent more than a couple of hours on the trail has figured out a way to do this, but not every woman has thought of her best option. The least satisfactory approach, believe it or not one exercised by some experienced hikers, is to squat incompletely in such a way that urine at times dribbles onto clothes and perhaps into boots. This is unpleasant and (in terms of our particular focus) adds weight to the gear.

A common technique for urinating guaranteed to be successful for all toileting, is the thoroughgoing squat. The best position is one that has the feet far forward of the business end, so that the hiker is in much the same position she’s in on a toilet. If there’s a branch or tree trunk or rock to grab onto, so much the better. It helps with balance and may even enable the woman to keep her pack on (with the belt open). Many women find that aiming the stream downhill helps keep things under control, averting splashes and puddles at the feet.

Some women are blessed with an anatomy that enables them to urinate standing up, legs spread fairly well apart, in a fairly coherent stream. Some first investigate whether they may have this talent in the shower. (Keeping downhanging hairs well trimmed seems to be part of the technique.) This ability isn’t of much use unless they are hiking in skirts, but as luck would have it, a few gear manufacturers are now making hiking skirts out of materials like Supplex, replete with cargo pockets. And of course many ordinary skirts can fit the bill as well. Miniskirts are lightweight but exposed. (I suggest dark underwear). Longer skirts are heavier but protect better from sun and abrasion. Minis can be teamed up with long johns or tights when the air cools down. Most women who have tried skirts still favor pants for bushwhacking or scrambling. Wind poses a challenge for skirts, especially billowy ones, but for trail hiking under the right conditions, skirts can be comfortable and they afford a measure of privacy in toilet situations that pants cannot match. For just such reasons, skirts are time-honored apparel for women hiking in the open landscape of the Himalaya. Actually, skirts merit consideration whatever a woman’s toileting technique. They’re cool and comfortable to hike in and, depending on their design, they may be lighter than pants.

It so happens that m’lady, in heeding the cries of her bladder, has much on her mind besides privacy and aim. She’s also concerned about baring large amounts of flesh when it’s cold outside or when she’s likely to be assailed by biting insects. The obvious solution here is to anoint her bottom with insect repellent, just as she anoints her more public parts. One way of limiting exposure is to wear long pants with a snap or zip crotch, just like a baby’s, so that the pants are not so much removed as parted when the need arises. At least one gear manufacturer (Wild Roses) makes such a thing—and tights constructed similarly. It would not be difficult for a hiker (or her tailor) to convert any pair of pants to this purpose.

NIGHT DUTY

What about those dreaded nighttime excursions out into the freezing air? The hiker has been very still for a very long time. She isn’t flushed from exercise as she is during the day. She may need to leave her cozy nest, her sleeping bag and whatever shelters it, and maybe it’s 15°F out there.

There are at least three possible approaches. One is the polar bear approach. She’s gotta do what she’s gotta do, so she goes out there and does it. It’s a chance to prove what stern stuff she’s made of. She needn’t prove it all that far from the tent (unless she’s in a designated camping spot). Nobody’s looking, and some say that marking the campsite with urine will fend off bears and pacify mountain goats.

A second approach is the Ziploc approach. This approach assumes that she’s in a tent, one in which it’s possible to sit up and indeed squat, for that’s what she’s going to do. A Ziploc bag is going to be her chamber pot, and then she’s going to close it very, very well. This technique has some potential for messiness, but like all techniques it improves with practice.

The third approach is for the Freudian. There are flexible plastic gizmos, suitably lightweight, the Freshette and the TravelMate by name, that cup around a woman’s labia minora and collect urine into a tube that opens at the far end, enabling her to shoot it in the direction of her choosing—just like a man. Or she can attach a dedicated hose and collection bag and relieve herself tidily inside her tent. These products, managed adroitly, are said to reduce the need for toilet paper. They can certainly have their nighttime uses, and even some daytime ones: privacy and cover, operating through an unzipped fly. The downsides are that such a tool will need rinsing and storing in the meanwhile. To the extent that it can reduce the need for toilet paper, as it does for some, it may reduce pack weight.

Almost certainly the polar bears outnumber the Ziplocs and Freudians in this pursuit, and on really cold nights some of those polar bears are reluctant ones. Absolutely not to be recommended is severe limitation of fluids in the evening—for example, leaving thirst unsatisfed in hopes of limiting the nighttime traffic. Even slight dehydration will reduce the hiker’s capacity for thermoregulation, the very thing she’s concerned about in the first place. At altitude it can increase the danger of acute mountain sickness or worse. Still, the hiker can be prudent rather than self-indulgent about fluids late in the day. And she can do one more thing: She can learn the difference between a seriously insistent bladder and one that is merely reporting in. She can learn to go back to sleep in the face of the latter.

THE TISSUE ISSUE

If a hiker is too casual about personal hygiene, the price may be soreness, or worse, infection. Urine, though sterile in the bladder, picks up pathogens as it passes through channels exiting the female body. In any event, it is acid, and a buildup of unblotted, air-dried urine is likely to cause irritation in a woman’s tender parts. Thus, provisions have to be made.

Toilet paper is not a wholly trivial component of pack weight for women, who use it in multiples of the amounts men require. And the used product, now wet, is heavier than before. Nonetheless, it must be packed out or otherwise properly disposed of in a suitable cat hole in the conscientious application of LNT principles. So every female backpacker will be keen to minimize the amount she uses. Some women find that they can manage using it only every two or three times they urinate, perhaps washing themselves off at such times with toilet paper moistened with water and even a drop of soap (which neutralizes the acid in any urine residue and, if well chosen, can have antibacterial properties). In between times they might just shake off or else use leaves or stones for impromptu toilet paper, although lacking absorbency these are not ideal. Other women may economize on toilet paper by learning certain virtuoso techniques for urinating such as those explained on the TravelMate website, accomplished with or without the tool. Another way a woman can reduce the need for toilet paper is to use instead a squirt of clean water to her external parts from a tiny water pistol or squirt bottle. This can be a weight saver where water is plentiful but not where water has to be carried long distances. For the very brave, snow when available is a perfectly good cleanser.

Cleanliness and management of waste are every bit as important with regard to defecation, but here women’s needs converge with men’s, and so the reader may consult the chapter on hygiene for further advice.

Menstruation

Women of childbearing age, unless pregnant or pausing for lactation, will need to take their menses into account in planning backpacking trips. Even if they plan carefully for trips to fall between periods—clearly, we aren’t speaking of thru-hikers here—they must prepare for the unexpected because travel involving changes of latitude, altitude, activity, and diet can bring on a period ahead of schedule.

Outdoorspeople may have heard that it is dangerous for a menstruating woman to be in bear country—that bears, with their uncanny sense of smell, fix on the aroma of menstrual blood from great distances and prowl in pursuit. If that were so, it could be a life-or-death imperative to avoid the backcountry at that time of month. Fortunately, as far as we know, this turns out to be an urban legend. Although research in this area is far from extensive and more would be welcome, a pair of studies has shown that black bears much prefer garbage or suet-soaked tampons to tampons soaked with menstrual blood or drawn blood. A perusal of books on grizzlies finds no evidence of preference for menstruating women on their part either. And a survey of bear maulings in US and Canadian national parks confirms the same thing: They have not involved menstruating women disproportionately. So fortunately, I am speaking of hygiene and comfort, not survival.

The lightest and tidiest possible solution to the matter of menstruation is the guarantee of none for months at a time. For women inclined to use oral contraceptives there actually may be such a solution, a formulation newly released in 2003 called Seasonale. The active pills are actually the same combination of low-dose estrogen and progestin used in many versions of the Pill already long in use. What makes Seasonale different is the packaging, placing a week’s worth of dummy pills (to induce a period) after twelve full weeks of active ones. Do the arithmetic: This would result in only about four periods a year. Many doctors have prescribed this sort of regimen off label (or even the continuous use of active pills) for decades. Seasonale merely formalizes the practice. About 8 percent of women attempting to use it drop out because of unacceptable levels of breakthrough bleeding. However, this undesirable side effect declines with each cycle.

From time to time most women will have to deal with the menstrual flow in the backcountry one way or another. It is perfectly possible to use tampons or pads, and that is what most do. The requirement to pack the used products out adds weight, but fortunately food stores will go down faster than this weight will go up. It also creates a nighttime storage problem, but backpackers know all about stowing food out of reach of animals. It will be the same with menstrual waste. Crushed aspirin or a black tea bag mixed in with the refuse will minimize odor. Some have suggested a scented sheet of fabric softener as a mask, but these scents are often intense. In bear country there are wiser plans.

There is a unique piece of gear that may appeal to some women, and that is The Keeper (a.k.a. Instead), a small dome that is placed over the cervix, much as a diaphragm would be. This cup can collect menstrual fluid—perhaps only a couple of hours’ worth on a day of heavy flow—and then can be emptied (away from water sources), washed, and reinserted. A menstrual sponge would offer similar benefits. Worn internally, it collects menstrual blood and, after being squeezed out and then washed, it can be reinserted. In either case, in return for minimizing the weight and bulk of supplies carried, the woman has extra duties to perform in order to maintain a hygienic environment. They should—I cannot emphasize too strongly—be performed with treated water and, at least once a day, soap as well.

Backpacking During Pregnancy

There is no reason why a pregnant woman cannot backpack. She should use good sense—and her body will warn her— about hiking if she is not meeting her nutritional needs due to nausea. She should also use good sense about how far into the backcountry to go if it’s late enough in the pregnancy that she’s in any danger of delivering. Those two caveats aside, she’s free to backpack just as she has done before.

The expectant mother will contend with certain challenges as the pregnancy progresses, namely her weight and her shape. Actually both of these lead to the same conclusion: that her pack weight must diminish as her pregnancy weight increases. Before long it ought to be no more than 15 pounds, or 10 percent of her body weight, if that is less. With a light enough load, it should then be possible for her to wear a belt-less pack, which by virtue of the geometry of the situation (and the delicacy of the changing uterus) will have become something of a necessity. She will enjoy a pleasant balancing of payload fore and aft, something not often given to hikers. It will fall to her hiking companions to carry portions of her usual pack contents. They should not forget that she is carrying the weightiest and most precious cargo of all.

Backpacking with Baby

Valuable books have been written on the subject of outdoor experiences with the very young, and they teach much about managing logistics and imparting a love of these activities to the children. I’ll pause only briefly to note that aspect most intimately connected to a woman’s body, breastfeeding. Breast milk is of course the perfect trail food for baby: always ready, always sanitary, never in need of warming. It’s lightweight in that it requires no special equipment. On the other hand, bottle-feeding parents are not badly off. Powdered formula carried in disposable plastic bags is perfectly lightweight. With the use of a lightweight plastic nurser, there will be nipples to wash and perhaps sterilize and emptied bags to carry, but that’s all. Unlike mother’s milk, formula travels in dehydrated form. The nursing mom and the bottle feeder can, one day when they have time on their hands, sit down together and calculate whose load is really lighter, given the enlargement and extra weight of lactating breasts.

Conclusion

In the space of a chapter we have sampled moments along a woman’s lifespan, from her reedy youth to her fuller womanhood, and from her hikes with friends and lovers to her time on the trail during pregnancy walking alongside the husband or partner who will see her through. Finally we peeked at a woman hiker as a mother, introducing her child in tenderest youth to the outdoors. The story of a woman’s life of course continues on from there. She grows into middle age and her children (if she has them) grow up, having grown all the while in their outdoor skills and in their appreciation for the natural world she has visited with them again and again. I don’t know how many people think of their grandmothers when they think of women who backpack, and I’m in no position to vouch for the eccentric Grandma Gatewood. But I can tell you that increasing numbers of grandmas wearing backpacks will appear in people’s picture frames in the future, and quite a few already do. Without the lightweight revolution this would not have been possible.

Acknowledgements:For their valuable assistance, I wish to thank Stuart Bilby, Kay Brown, Carol Crooker, Jackie Davidson, Carol (Coosa) Donaldson, Katherine Flegal, Brian King, Don Ladigan, Roz Lasker, Lisa Lee-Johnson, David McCune, John OMahoney, Robert Reid, Robert Romauch, Glen Van Peski, Neal Zaslaw, and an anonymous gear manufacturer.

Appendix A:
Gear Lists

Lightweight backpacking enthusiasts entertain various degrees of obsession with spreadsheets, postal scales with tenth-ounce accuracy, and other activities central to gear planning. Here are a few practical checklists to get you started.

Generic Checklist for Summer Ultralight Backpacking in Temperate Mountain Ranges

By Ryan Jordan

The purpose of this list is simple: to provide a framework for developing your own checklist. With all of the optional gear, this list is entirely suitable for virtually any wilderness location in the lower 48 states between Memorial Day and Labor Day, with the exception, possibly, of the highest slopes of Washington’s Mount Rainier. With some care in gear selection and only moderate expense, anyone should be able to outfit themselves with a complete off-the-shelf lightweight gear kit that costs between $300 and $1,000 and easily weighs less than 12 pounds. Additional expenditures will buy you more luxury in items that have a higher performance-to-weight ratio—such as high-quality down fill sleeping bags—and will allow you to pack less than 10 pounds of equipment (not including food and water) while remaining safe and comfortable.

HIKING GEAR

images Trail-running shoes

images Ankle-length merino wool socks (2 pair)

images Collapsible trekking poles

CLOTHNG WORN WHILE HIKING

images Underwear

images Breathable stretch-woven hiking pants

images Long-sleeve lightweight merino wool crew shirt

images Wide-brimmed hat for sun

images Cotton bandana for neck shade (optional)

OTHER CLOTHNG PACKED

images Ultralight windshirt

images Synthetic or down insulating sweater

images Lightweight rain jacket and pants

images Fleece or wool gloves

images Fleece or wool beanie cap

SHELTER AND SLEEP SYSTEM

images 700-900 fill down sleeping bag rated to 30 degrees

images Torso-sized inflatable or closed-cell foam sleeping pad

images Waterproof ground cloth

images 8´-x-10´ silnylon tarp (sleeps 1—2)

images 12 titanium tent stakes

images Spectra guylines

COOKING AND HYDRATON SYSTEMS

images Alcohol stove & pot support

images Windscreen

images 1-liter titanium cookpot (for solo cooking) or 1.5–2.0 liter (for couples)

images 16-oz capacity titanium mug

images Titanium spork

images Two collapsible water bottles, 3L+ total capacity

images Chorine dioxide (Aquamira) chemical water treatment kit

images Box of matches and 1 lighter

images Silnylon stuff sack and Spectra rope for hanging a bear bag

PACKING SYSTEMS

images Internal frame or frameless backpack, 40L capacity < 2.0 lbs

images Silnylon stuff sacks for sleeping bag and clothing, and to organize small items in pack

images Trash compactor bag liner for use inside pack to keep contents dry

NAVIGATION SYSTEMS

images Maps printed on waterproof paper

images Watch with compass-altimeter functions

images LED Headlamp with Lithium AA or Lithium AAA batteries

OTHER GEAR

images DEET insect repellent & noseeum mesh headnet

images SPF 30+ sunblock repackaged in a small balm jar

images Firestarting tinder & frestarter sealed in a waterproof zip-closure bag

images First-aid supplies for blister and wound treatment and medications for pain, diarrhea, allergies, and other ailments as appropriate

images UV blocking sunglasses

images Assorted toilet items as appropriate: toothbrush, toothpaste or castile soap, alcohol hand gel, feminine hygiene supplies, and small microfiber washcloth or towel

ADDTIONS AND SUBSTITUTIONS TO coNSIDER FOR INCLEMENT CONDITIONS

images Single-wall tent instead of a tarp and groundcloth or water-resistant/breathable bivy sack instead of a groundcloth

images Hooded parka instead of a sweater

images Fleece vest & balaclava

images Silkweight synthetic long underwear bottoms

images Waterproof mitt shells

images Short, breathable gaiters

images Canister stove instead of alcohol

SUBTRACTONS AND SUBSTITUTIONS TO LIGHTEN YOUR LOAD IN MID-SUMMER

images Poncho tarp instead of a flat tarp and rain jacket

images Use cook fires instead of a stove

images Insulated vest instead of a sweater

images Down quilt instead of a sleeping bag

3-Season, 3-Day Gear List

By Ryan Jordan

The gear list provided below is merely an example of how one lightweight backpacker might select equipment for a 3-day weekend outing. Generally, the choices below are suitable for most three-season conditions (spring, summer, fall) in the mountain ranges of continental US, recognizing that some level of skill and experience is required to successfully use this equipment kit in inclement conditions. More experienced backpackers can trim weight even further from this list. Less experienced backpackers will find that a few extra pounds of clothing, shelter, and/or food will give them a more acceptable level of comfort and safety.

Some examples of brands and models/styles are listed below for reference only. They neither represent an endorsement of that particular product, nor a suggestion that the product listed is the best choice in the context of any particular situation.

Ultralight Snow Cave Camping

By Ryan Jordan

The gear list provided below is one example of how a lightweight backpacker might select equipment for a 3-day weekend outing in temperate mountain ranges in the winter. Inherent assumptions in this list include:

• Several feet of unconsolidated snowcover on the ground

• Overnight low temperatures of 0-15 degrees

• Daytime highs not above freezing

This list focuses on camping inside a snow cave. With enough snow cover, snow caves are the fastest, warmest types of snow shelters available. Properly built, a snow cave gives you the flexibility to use three-season gear to remain warm, which can save a tremendous amount of weight. However, this approach requires an exceptional level of skill in locating a site and properly building a snow cave. In addition, snow caves can be wet enough to warrant the use of a highly water-resistant sleeping bag shell or bivy sack for a down sleeping bag. Finally, digging a snow cave is wet business: waterproof raingear or all-synthetic insulating clothing is warranted.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT WTH AN EQUIPMENT KIT LIKE THIS AND ARE UNABLE TO BUILD A SNOW CAVE, OR YOU BUILD ONE IMPROPERLY, YOU WILL SUBJECT YOURSELF TO SEVERE RISK OF HYPOTHERMA.

In context, it is important to note what constitutes an improperly built snow cave. Primarily, a properly built snow cave is one that is just large enough for the number of occupants (less volume to maintain a thermal mini-climate), has thick enough walls for proper insulation (generally, 2 feet), has a properly located entrance (below the level of the ground surface so warmed air doesn’t escape), and proper blocking

of the entrance (with packs or a hung jacket to minimize cold air exchange).

In a snow cave, conditions are very damp. They tend to be quite humid, gear has no ability to dry, and dripping walls tend to get sleeping gear wet. Consequently, we have selected synthetic insulation in our clothing and sleeping bag, and have added a water resistant bivy sack to shed some of the external moisture. We have specified an insulated clothing and sleep system that will allow the user to survive a night outside the snow cave, if one cannot be built. This system has been used to comfortably sleep at winter temperatures down to minus 10 degrees outside of a tent. If the risk of spending a night in the open is very small, and the user is a competent snow cave builder, we recommend that the user save further weight with a lighter sleeping bag. We have spent nights down to 0 degrees using the clothing specified in this list in combination with a 2-pound synthetic bag rated to 40 degrees F (Integral Designs Andromeda Strain).

We have elected to bring a white gas stove over a canister or alcohol stove, for the improved efficiency in melting snow. Snow cave environments are usually warm enough such that both white gas and alcohol stoves work well. However, a white gas stove has the power to melt several liters of snow quickly. If you need to melt snow while traveling at midday and conditions are cold, you’ll appreciate the power of a white gas system.

We have selected wide mouth water bottles for their ability to resist freezing in the opening, and the wide mouth caps are easy to handle with gloves or mittens. We’ve chosen a hybrid LED headlamp with a high-power (1-watt) LED to give us the flexibility of navigating after dark, which is not uncommon in the winter.

Some examples of brands and models/styles are listed below for reference only. They neither represent an endorsement of that particular product, nor a suggestion that the product listed is the best choice in the context of any particular situation.

Desert Hiking Gear List

By Carol Crooker

The desert hiking gear list provided below is one example of how a lightweight backpacking enthusiast might select equipment for a 3-day weekend outing in benign desert conditions in the spring through fall. Deep summer conditions (the monsoon season), when torrential rains threaten and temperatures exceed 105°F (41°C)/ are excluded.

The list is designed for the southwest United States desert. Vegetation is of the prickly variety and trails are generally rocky. Trees, if any are normally small and thorny. Water is available, but scarce. Three-season temperatures range from about 25°-105°F (-4° to 41°C) and can be quite variable. A single trip into the Grand Canyon in May can see temperatures from freezing to the 90s (low 30s C), with intense sun in the inner canyon, and snow, rain, and hail near the rim.

This list is aimed at the cooler end of the above range. For a trip where the expected low is 60°F (16°C), both insulation layers, the warm hat, and the sleeping bag could be left at home. For a trip at the very lowest end of the range, a warmer sleeping bag might be added.

It is assumed that water is not available along the trail, and that campsites are located near reliable water sources. A water sack could be added if a dry camp is planned. Rain is possible, but not expected.

An inflatable mattress was selected since it provides some extra cushion on the sometimes rock hard ground. Although there is some danger of the vegetation pricking a hole in an inflatable, the Bozeman Mountain Works TorsoLite inflatable sleeping pad offers a tougher cover than other ultralight sleeping pads. A repair kit can be added to the pack for an extended trip.

Bear bagging rope was not included because suitable trees for hanging are rare.

Crew-length socks were chosen to provide some protection from ankle attacking vegetation.

A wide-brimmed hat protects the face and neck from desert sun. The airy mesh panels in the Rail Riders Adventure shirt provide excellent ventilation in the heat. The Salomon Tech Amphibian shoes were selected for the versatility needed for hiking in the heat as well as wading canyons.

Some examples of brands and models/styles are listed below for reference only. They neither represent an endorsement of that particular product, nor a suggestion that the product listed is the best choice in the context of any particular situation.

Appendix B:
Gear Manufacturers
Referenced in This Book

BACKPACKS

Bozeman Mountain Works
Dan McHale, Seattle, WA
Go Lite
Gossamer Gear

CAMERAS AND OPTCS

Cameras

Canon
Contax
Contax
Hasselblad
Konica
Leica
Minox
Nikon
Olympus
Pentax
Rollei
Voigtlander

MONO/BINOCULARS
AND TELESCOPES

Bushnell
Canon
Celestron
Leica
Meade
Minolta
Nikon
Orion
Pentax
Steiner
Swarovski
Zeiss

CLOTHING

BaseWear
Black Diamond
Bozeman Mountain Works
Buffalo Clothing Systems
Capilene
Cloudveil, WY
Coolmax
Early Winters Company
Feathered Friends
GoLite
Ibex
Inego
Lifa
Marmot
Montane
Paramo Directional Clothing
Systems
Patagonia
Perseverance Mills, UK
Polartec
Rab Carrington, UK
Railriders
Schoeller
Smartwool
Wild Things

RAIN WEAR: JACKETS,
SHELLS, AND PONCHOS

Bozeman Mountain Works
Dancing Light Gear of Georgia
DriDucks
Equinox of Pennsylvania
Frogg Toggs
Haglöfs
Hilleberg
Integral Designs
Marmot
Moonbow Gear, NH
Oware USA
Patagonia
Rainshield
Sierra Designs
Stephenson’s of New Hampshire

Vapor Barrier Clothing

Integral Designs
RBH Designs
Stephenson’s of New Hampshire
Wild Country

COOKNG AND EATNG

Mountain Safety Research (MSR)
Antigravity Gear
Backpacker’s Pantry
Evernew
Nalgene Lexan
Snow Peak

Coffee & Tea

Folgers
Senseo
Starbucks

Drink Mixes

Crystal Light
CytoMax
Gu₂O
Kool-Aid
PowerMax

Firestarters & Fuel

Esbit
Everclear
Heet
Purell
Spark-Lite

Food Storage Systems

BearVault
Bozeman Mountain Works
Garcia Backpacker’s Cache
Wild Ideas

Food Storage Saks

Aloksak
Glad
Watchful Eye Designs

Nutrition and Snack Bars

Clif Bars
Little Debbies
Luna Bars
Pemmican Bars
Power Bars

Stoves

Brasslite
Brunton
Coleman
Hike-Lite
Mountain Safety Research
(MSR)
Primus
Sierra Designs
Snow Peak
Trangia
Vargo
Vaude

Water Disinfectants and Purifiers

First Need
McNett AquaMira (US)
Mountain Safety Research
(MSR)
Polar Pure
Potable Aqua
Pristine (Canada)
Safewater Anywhere (now
defunct)
Seychelle
Steri-Pen
Sweetwater
ULA Equipment

Water Storage

Cascade Designs
Nalgene Lexan

Fabric Manufacturers

Brynje, Norway
Cloudveil, WY
Dupont (Tyvek, polyethylene
tarp)
Gore
Inego
Nextec
Paramo Directional Clothing
Systems
Patagonia
Perseverance Mills, UK
Pertex
Schoeller, Switzerland

FOOTWEAR

Aftermarket Insoles

Superfeet
La Sportiva

Shoes, Boots,
and Camp Booties

Brasher
Merrill
Montrail
New Balance
Salomon
La Sportiva
Forty Below
Neos
Outdoor Research
Nunatak USA
Sierra Designs

Socks

GoLite
Integral Designs
RBH Designs
CoolMax
Smartwool

Snowshoes

Mountain Safety Research
(MSR)
Northern Lites Company

Hygiene and First Aid

Actifed
Benadryl
Dr. Bronner
Imodium A-D
Pepcid AC
Purell

Navigation Equipment

Brunton
Garmin
Lightwave
National Geographic
Suunto
Teslin
Zeiss

Shelter

HAMMOCKS

Big Agnes
Golite
Hennessy
Nunatak USA, Twisp, WA
Rab Carrington, UK

SEAM SEALANT

McNett

STAKES, NAIL PEGS, AND
CORDING

Bozeman Mountain Works
Gossamer Gear
Kelty Triptease
Lightwave, UK
Mountain Safety Research
(MSR)
Snow Peak
Vargo Outdoors

TENTS, TEPEES,
AND OTHER ODDITIES

Black Diamond
Early Winters
GoLite
Integral Designs
Outdoor Research
Oware USA
Six Moon Designs
TarpTent
Tipi Kifaru
TrailQuest
Wanderlust Nomad

SLEEP SYSTEMS

Bivy Sacks
Bibler
Bozeman Mountain Works
Equinox
Outdoor Research
Oware USA

MATTRESSES AND PADS

Big Agnes
Bozeman Mountain Works
Cascade Designs
Exped
Gossamer Gear
Pacific Outdoor Equipment
Slumberjack
Stephenson’s of New Hampshire

SLEEPING BAGS

Big Agnes
Fanatic Fringe
GoLite
Macpac of New Zealand
Nunatak USA
Rab Carrington, UK
Sierra Designs
Western Mountaineering

Appendix C:
Resources

BOOKS

• Auerbach, Paul S. Medicine for the Outdoors (New York: The Lyons Press, 1999)

• Auerbach, Paul S., editor. Wilderness Medicine (St. Louis, MO: Mosby, Inc., 2001)

• Carpenter, T. M. Tables, Factors, and Formulas for Computing Respiratory Exchange and Biological Transformations (Washington, DC: Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1939)

• Curtis, Rick. The Backpacker’s Field Manual: A Comprehensive Guide to Mastering Backcountry Skills (Three Rivers Press, 1998)

• Fletcher, Colin and Rawlins, Chip. The Complete Walker IV (Knopf, 2002)

• Forgey, Wm. Wilderness Medicine (Merrillville, IN; ICS Books Inc., 1994)

• Jardine, Ray. The Ray Way Tarp Book (Adventurelore Press, 2003)

• Jardine, Ray. Beyond Backpacking (Adventure Lore, 1999)

• Jordan, Ryan; Nelson, Jim; and Dixon, Alan. Clothing and Sleep Systems (Beartooth Mountain Press, 2004)

• Jordan, Ryan (editor). Lightweight Backpacking 101 (Beartooth Mountain Press, 2001)

• Kephart, Horace. Camping and Woodcraft, (University of Tennessee Press)

• Ladigin, Don and Clelland, Mike. Lighten Up! (Falcon Press, 2005)

• O’Bannon, Allen and Clelland, Mike. Allen and Mike’s Really Cool Backpackin’ Book (Falcon Press, 2001)

• Tilton, Buck and Hubbell, Frank. Medicine for the Backcountry (Merrillville, IN: ICS Books, Inc. 1994)

• Townsend, Chris. The Backpacker’s Handbook (Ragged Mountain Press, 2004)

• Vonhof, John. Fixing Your Feet: Third Edition (Wilderness Press, 2004)

• Weiss, Eric A. A Comprehensive Guide to Wilderness and Travel Medicine (Oakland, CA: Adventure Medical Kits, 1997)

• Weis, Hal. Secrets of Warmth (The Mountaineers, 1992).

• Hiking Light Handbook: Carry Less, Enjoy More (Backpacker Magazine, Mountaineers Books, 2004)

PERIODICAL ARTICLES

• Waterproof Breathable Fabric Technologies: A Comprehensive Primer and State of the Market Technology Review” (Alan Dixon. Backpacking Light Magazine. ISSN 1537-0364, February 10, 2004. www. backpackinglight.com/).

• The Arc Bag Concept: Saving Weight with Variable Girth Sleeping Bags Having an ‘Arc’ Shaped Cross Section,” (Ryan Jordan, Backpacking Light Magazine, April 29, 2001. www.backpackinglight.com/).

ONLINE RESOURCES

• Backpacker.com

• BackpackingLight.com

• Backpacking.net

• Thru-hiker.com

• WhiteBlaze.com

• PCTA.com

• AppalachianTrail.com

• CDTrail.com

• ALDHA.org

• ALDHAWest.org

• YahooGroups.com/group/BackpackingLight

• House of Nutrition: www.houseofnutrition.com/

• USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory: www.nal.usda. gov/fnic/foodcomp

OTHER RESOURCES

• American Red Cross
www.redcross.org

• Chinook Medical Gear Inc.
3455 Main Avenue
Durango, Colorado 81301
800-766-1365
www.chinookmed.com

• The National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS)
www.nols.edu/

• National Safety Council 1121 Spring Lake Drive Itasca, IL 60143 800-621-7619 www.nsc.org

• Wilderness Medical Society
3595 East Fountain Blvd., Ste. A1
Colorado Springs, CO 80910
719-572-9255
www.wms.org

• Wilderness Medicine Institute
P.O. Box 9
Pitkin, CO 81241
970-641-3572
http//wmi.nols.edu/

• Wilderness Medicine Outfitters
2477 County Road 132
Elizabeth, CO 80107
303-688-5176
www.wildernessmedicine.com

• US Forestry Service
www.fs.fed.us

“There is nothing a man of good sense dreads in a hiking
companion so much as his
having a lighter pack than
himself.”

Ryan Jordan to Glen Van Peski as he begins removing essential items of nutrition and
emergency gear from his pack in a Pinedale motel the night before a backpack weigh-in
that will start their traverse along the Wind River High Route.

(Adapted from a Henry Fielding quote)