Date: 2013-02-08
To: Pack test #2 and the changes to come
Miles today: 0.0

At this point I am pretty close to having all the gear I will need. The last time I tested my pack, I had a different sleeping bag and lacked the winter insulation for my hammock, and I also included a synthetic winter coat which I immediately decided against bringing. With a half gallon of water and a food bag full of pasta side and granola bars, and with my camera excluded, my pack weighed about 37 pounds. This time around, it wound up being considerably heavier - about 45 pounds with my camera, food bag, and a quart of water!This time around, my gear is much closer to a finalized form. In its current form, I could certainly step right onto the Trail on March 2nd and not be missing anything critical. However, it is definitely not optimized. There are certainly things I want to add and things I want to replace before I leave, and I want to get the weight down so there are also things I will remove that I am now thinking are less than necessary. I currently have things in a variety of dry bags and compression bags inside the main pack, so let me go through these bags one-by-one.Food bagThe bottom of my bag is currently where the food bag lives - a 13-liter dry bag. In the earlier test load, it was somewhat less full. This time, I included most of the food that was already in the bag and added everything I purchased on Wednesday. I removed a few of the pasta sides and the powdered milk, but everything else stayed. I haven't weighed this bag on its own, but it is easily the heaviest item in my pack. In the earlier test, it was packed higher up in the bag since it contained less, and the opening rolled closed to a somewhat shorter bag. Now, it is completely full and is too long to fit across the bag unless I put it in the bottom, where my hammock used to be.This bag will definitely, absolutely be lighter and smaller for my third test. That test will be one where my food system is altered from one with a stove to one without a stove. The bulky though lightweight pasta sides will go away. I will see how the powdered coffee fares when mixed cold, and if that doesn't work I will reluctantly remove it as well. Currently my food bag contains just over 16,000 calories worth of food. I don't think I will need that much to start the Trail with, but I don't know how much I will need. I know some people get by with 2,000 calories per day when subsisting off trail food, and others can consume 4,000 calories or more. I will start off by planning for 4,000 calories of food for each day without town food, and will aim for three days or 12,000 calories of food in my pack when I set forth from Springer. My food bag will certainly be smaller and lighter due to the reduced calories and from replacing the pasta sides with calorie-dense tortilla fillings.Hammock bagMy hammock bag is a very large compression sack. It contains the hammock with attached four-season system and requisite stakes and tree straps. It is not heavy but is very bulky, and the compression sack is too large for the job. I bought this sack on a whim at a Wal-mart last year. It is very large in diameter - I purchased it imagining that it was close to the diameter of my pack's interior, and it is. It is better suited for short trips and when I am using my pack for non-hiking purposes - filled with clothes and sitting upright in my bag, it makes very effective use of space. However, it is a bit too big for the hammock and doesn't compress well. It takes on a geometry close to a sphere, and does not use the inside of my pack well. I will try a different compression sack for my hammock - a more traditional longer, smaller diameter sack - and see if that works better in my pack.Sleeping bagCurrently my sleeping bag, a Marmot Helium Long, lives in another 13-liter dry bag. The bag came with a 10-liter stuff sack that is extremely light, but it proved exceedingly difficult to fit this lofty bag into this tiny sack. It is easier to just fit it into the 13-liter dry bag directly, due to the greater volume and the greater grip I have on the lip of this bag. My technique for stuffing the bag has also improved, and I can pack it much faster than I did on early attempts. I am going to try replacing the current dry bag with a 20-liter compression dry bag. This should make it easier to get the sleeping bag into the dry bag, and then I can use my weight to compress it much more effectively. There isn't much room for change here though - the final volume can't be much less than it currently is but it will be easier to get it packed.Clothes bagCurrently my clothing lives in an old ~10-liter dry bag. When I weighed my pack, I was wearing my zip-off pants, soccer jersey, long sleeve shirt, and one pair of socks and briefs. The clothes bag contained my kilt, another soccer jersey, two base layer tops and bottoms, two more pairs of socks, athletic shorts, and another pair of briefs. Most of this will be replaced, as it has all seen its share of use (except the athletic shorts, kilt, and zip-off pants - these are pretty new) and either hasn't worked too well, is wearing down, or I know of a more desirable replacement. The bag will also be replaced, so I can also house what I will be adding to my kit. In total, here is what I currently plan to carry:+two pairs briefs+one pair athletic shorts+two base layer tops and bottoms - one only for camp+heavy merino wool socks - my camp socks+two pairs merino wool socks+one pair zip-off pants+one hiking kilt - lightweight material, and great for dancing too!+two soccer jerseys - one will probably be reserved for dancing+one long-sleeve shirt+one lightweight down jacket - only for camp+two pairs lightweight gloves - one only for camp or extreme cold+two lightweight fleece hats+one lightweight rain jacket and rain pantsThis involves adding a little weight here, but I hope to keep that to a minimum. It should be offset by my reduced food-related packing. If I have the option, I will also include a lightweight synthetic jacket. I can wear this while it is so cold that hiking without a jacket does not keep me warm. This could also be layered on extremely cold nights, though I was okay without a jacket in my hammock in 20 degrees. I will keep my camp-only clothing in a separate plastic bag in the dry bag, so that it stays dry when I have to put wet clothing into the bag.Uncontained thingsIn the gaps between the compression / dry bags, almost everything else lives. There is a misc. on-trail bag with parachute cord, s small first-aid kit, and extra batteries. There is a misc. electronics bag with a AA/AAA battery charger, my D800's battery charger, an external battery/USB-based charger, memory cards, and a couple cords. My water filter is off on its own, and so are my camp stove, cookware, fuel, and toilet paper. After writing it through, my mind seems pretty set on removing the camp stove. Taking away the camp stove, fuel, and cookware will save me some weight and volume. The toilet paper will likely go in an outside pocket, or else it will be at the top of my pack. My trail guide will reside in the lid of my pack, or bagged and riding in an outside pocket with my water bottles.My camera is also floating around. Most of the time this will be on my person, on a BlackRapid strap on my right side. My other lens is on my left side. The camera and both lenses are weather sealed, and the BlackRapid strap is very comfortable for hiking. If conditions are really poor enough, I can fit this stuff under the lid of my pack.We'll see how the next pack test turns out. I don't think I will reach 35 pounds with food and water, but I will be happy to see it drop back below 40 pounds. It's hardly a good test, but walking in central New Jersey with 37 pounds was not uncomfortable.Peace,