One our way back from the Black Forest Trail friends called and asked if we wanted to do a trip to Minister Creek with them. They said the weather was going to be great, we said count us in. We got back from Black Forest around dinner time, got our stuff dried out and repacked on Saturday and then back on the road for another trip on Sunday. This has to be a recorder for shortest time between trips for us.
Red Eft is the juvenile stage of the Eastern Newt.
Log covered in shelf fungi: Google Lens says Violet-toothed polypore or Turkey Tail Mushrooms. I have no idea.
I have not made up my mind on the Durston X-Mid 2. I love the weight and the pack size. Setting up the tent is a little fussy but maybe I just need more practice, time will tell.
The Thermarest NeoAir Xlite NXT is a keeper, this is the most comfortable pad I ever used. And it is also the lightest which makes for a great combination.
I switched back to the Western Mountaineering bag and added 6 ounces to my pack. The REI pad was a little small and not as warm. I still use the Sea to Summit pillow since it is comfortable and packs small. I love my Goose Feet down booties. Cold feet can be miserable and I don’t have that problem with these. They are so light I take them on every trip.
I love the bear bags Leann made. They are light, water proof and fit easily into our packs. The only downside, I have to get my little league throwing arm into shape to toss the rope over a branch. The small bag holds the rope. You take out the rope, put a rock in the bag, connect the rope to the bag and then throw it over a branch. You then connect the rope to the food bag and pull it high enough so bears can’t reach it, tie it off on a tree and your done.
Helinox Chair Zero LT is another keeper. It is light and comfortable, Leann tried it out and also wanted one. Her new chair just arrived.
I did not take a picture of our water system in camp but here it is. The CNOC bag holds 2 liters of creek water, attach the Sawyer filter and clean water flows into your water bottle. In the old days we used pump filters, they were heavy slow and a pain to use. Added benefit to the Sawyer: no moving parts to fail.
Blue Box update: I did not take this on the Archers Fork trip and it was chaos, never again.
1: Nitecore headlight
2: Flextail pump
3: Snow Peak double wall titanium mug, small
4: Toaks 750 ml pot
5: matches
6: Lexan spoon
7: yellow heat for alcohol stove
8: alcohol stove and pot stand
9: lighter and charcoal cloth for holding hot things
10: fire starters
Stop the madness! On the way home I decided I did not like taking the small mug since it was too small to hydrate my meals. Many people eat out of the mylar bag from their food package. Sorry, that is barbaric. For the next trip I am back to the larger mug: Small mug weighs 95 grams, large mug weighs 137 grams, lid is 25 grams and my wine glass that fits inside is 47 grams. I will gladly pay the 114 gram weight penalty (4 ounces) for this set up.
- I prefer alcohol stoves for most trips
- Lighter weight
- They will not fail unless you step on them
- You know how much fuel you have
- Easy to refill your fuel bottle for the next trip
- They are silent, canister stoves can be obnoxious.
Case in point, MSR Pocket Rocket that is my favorite canister stove:
The new and improved blue box, I will not bore you with the details..
Hold the presses! I officially joined the club of titanium spoons. This is from TOAKS, has a polished bowl and it’s own stuff sack. I don’t care what it weighs, it’s cool.
Long story short: I added pack weight to make a trip easier and more comfortable but I am still in the lightweight category (barely). Leann says I could save weight by leaving the Bota Wine Box (1 pound) at home. That is crazy talk. Besides consumables don’t count for your base weight She carries Bourbon which is more bang for the weight. Hmmm.
HAPPY TRAILS, STEVE