Gear Shakedown Notes

# This was the email that was sent out by Mr. Albright on July 11.

Good Shakedown last night.t

Sorry for the book of an email… but this is a summary of what we talked about…

• Trim weight wherever possible.

• Wear one, bring one.

• one pair of socks on your feet and one in the pack.  That is all you need… Even 10-day treks… still just (2) pair.  Make sure they are quality hiking socks.  As disgusting as it is, +/- $20 for hiking socks is the price point for a durable comfortable pair.

• Random note… just to manage your expectations of comfort while on trail.  If it is raining, you will have wet feet.  When it rains in the Adirondack mountains, and it is a hiking day, you will have wet feet.  There is no amount of ‘water proof’ boots, rain gear or anything else that will keep your feet dry.  The trails are wet and muddy, you need to splash through mud and puddles and cross creeks that may overtop you boots.  That is one of the reasons for quality boots and socks.  If they need to still keep your feet in good condition even if wet.

• If you bring a bathing suit as your ‘backup’ shorts… make sure they are comfortable to hike in.  About mile 3 or 4 the mesh in some bathing suites can cause ‘issues’.

• Trim down your first aid kit.  Remove excess packaging or bulky cases the stuff comes in.  3x3 gauze pads, wrap and tape can replace all the other Band-Aids and ‘stuff’ that come in most first aid kits.  Small antiseptic ointment.  One ‘card’ of moleskin.  That is really about all you need.  Scissors are handy, but not big bulky ones.  Mine are on my knife. 

• Lose most of the paracord.  (4) good ‘wingspans’ is all you need.  +/- 20’  coiled up tight.

• Compression sacks are good for squishing sleeping bags into small packages… just don’t leave them stored that way… or you will lose your floof.

• Small 1 or 2 oz pump bug spray.  Minimum of 30% deet.  Don’t bring a big aerosol can.  It is too much spray, too heavy and if the button gets depressed in you pack, it empties all over your gear.  A bug head net is not a bad idea, but I’m hoping we will be past the really bad bug season.

• Sunscreen… no big containers of lotion or spray.  They make a small deodorant stick looking thing intended for your face.  That works well.  plan on wearing a ‘sun shirt’ and brimmed hat as your primary protection.

• One compass is fine.  A second is only critical gear if you are solo hiking, and we won’t be doing that.

• Surveyors tape… pulling off 10 or 20’ from the roll is fine for this trip.  Again, when solo hiking or bushwacking off-trail, bring lots… but we won’t be doing that on this trip.

• Water purification… we will have (3) means to purify water… one pump and two iodine bottles.  There is no need for anyone to bring additional methods.  It is just added weight.  Also, any means for purifying water that cannot be stored is not advisable for this type of trip where we will be hiking up mountains and away from water sources.

• Again… to manage expectations on water… the polar pure will tint the water orange and have a ‘flavor’.  It’s not terrible, but it is noticeable.  It will not be practical to pump water for (8) people, so we will all get to enjoy the iodine.

• No issue if you like water bladders.  I don’t use them, but lots of backpackers do.  However, make sure you have at least one bottle as well.  you need to have two water containers in case one gets damaged.  Three quarts of total volume is what is needed.

• Personal hygiene… small tooth brush, small tooth paste, travel-size stick deodorant.  I bring a quick-dry washcloth/shammy to wash off in the creek.  No soap… just water and scrubbing.  That will do fine until we get back to camp for a real shower.

• Toilet paper… anything is fine, just make sure it is in a resealable waterproof bag.  Wet toilet paper is not useful.  Everyone packs their own.  I also bring individually packaged wipes.  However, you can’t bury those… so bring a small ‘garbage’ ziplock in your bigger TP ziplock to put it in.  the TP and other ‘stuff’ goes in the hole… never to be seen again.  We will also be hiking by several privies… but they can be questionable, or not around when you need one.

• Camp shoes… ‘water socks’ work great, or light weight sandals. Avoid anything bulky or heavy… 8 oz should be the absolute limit.

• Really question if you want a camp-chair.  The answer might be yes… but make sure that adding 2 or 3 lbs to your pack is worth it.

Sounds like we all agreed on food… buy your own ‘mountain house meal’ for Day-1 dinner.  Evan and I will figure out the rest.  Breakfast and lunch will be a total of +/- 1500 calories of energy/protein bars, fruit snacks and trail mix.  ~1000 calories of Rice mix, ‘pouch meat’ and tortilla for dinner.  And water.

As I said about food… PLEASE do not bring anything ‘extra’.  Space in the bear canisters is very limited… and even spent packaging takes up valuable space.  You won’t starve… I promise.

Nothing but water in your water bottles… no flavors or mixes.  We can’t have water bottles smell like food.

A note on bears.  They are there, and we have maybe a 25% chance of seeing one.  They could absolutely care less about you.  They are not dangerous.  But they will destroy your gear and eat your food… so please take the food advice seriously.

As much as it stinks… we can’t have fires in the high peaks.  So no need to bring anything for fires… just your ‘emergency’ kit stuff.  If the choice is die of hypothermia or start a fire… go ahead and risk the fine.

Did I miss anything?