The Elwha River April 2009 Gear and Trip Analysis

Well as a Whole the trip went off with out a hitch. We arrived at the ranger station in Port Angeles before it opened, and the park ranger was nice enough to let us in and fill out a backcountry camping permit for us. I also found out that my access pass also gives me 1/2 price on the backcountry camping permits. So for 2 of us it was only $4.50! After missing the Whiskey Bend turn off and backtracking our way to the trailhead we finally got a start on the hike around 9am. Since it was the first decent length backpacking trip of the year, we hiked at a decent 2.5 miles per hour, and added several long breaks along the way. We arrived at Elkhorn which is about 11.5 miles from the trail head around 3pm. We then decided to hike to the camps further up the river another 1/3 to 1/2 a mile up river for a better campsite (the really good ones were taken by a trail crew that had been there all week). The initial camps after the meadows on the Elkhorn Camp map were all wiped out by previous floods, so we didn't find an open camp until we reached the stock camps. The view at the site was great and we were tired of hiking so we pitched camp and started the camp chores.

It just so happened that the bear wire at this camp was not marked well... I walked past it several times and traipsed all over trying to find it (presently the leaves are all missing from the deciduous trees and all the branches blended in and looked like wire, along with all the little camp paths being covered by leaves). We had one heck of a time as always trying to get the camp fire going well... By the time we finally got it going well it was time for bed. The following day we munched down on a cliff bar and knocked out just shy of 4 miles till we stopped and cooked breakfast near Mary Falls. After breakfast we headed straight back with a few short breaks along the way.

Gear Analysis...
Warming layers-
First and foremost I should have listened to my gut feeling of what my particular needs are when it comes to warming gear layers. I don't like to be uncomfortable, and certainly didn't want to freeze to death... So I let myself be talked into carrying an extra fleece (fleece is heavy). Leaving the extra fleece at home would of saved a lot of pack space, and 14.55 oz (nearly a pound). I never used it, and with just my top base layer, shirt, and minima jacket on I was toasty warm down to 36 to 37 degrees first thing in the morning. Which also makes me wonder if I really even need to be carrying the heavy pant base layers. I still had a rain shell top and bottoms to put on to protect wind and add warth. I don't want to fully eliminate a set of bottom warming layers for early season hiking, but I am willing to look into saving 4 ounces by switching to a lighter weight merino wool base layer pants from Backpackinglight.com. The minima vest is made with a DWR water repellent and wind resistant inner and outer shells with a 1.8oz synthetic insulation. So it repels the wind on the torso and insulates extremely well.

Golite Ultra 20 Quilt
I'll do a full review and impressions blog later, but would like to make a few comments. I can't blame the design for the problems that I was having. It was mainly a user with new gear, who needs to learn how to thermally regulate while using a quilt. I've always had problems with staying cool in a sleeping bag anyhow. I just need to get the venting down to a science. When I closed up the quilt I about sweated to death! Which when venting led to a rapid cooling and repeating of the overheating scenario. I also loosened the straps that secure the quilt to the airmattress when I got up to go to the restroom in the middle of the night. After I forgot to retighten the straps, I did get chilled with a slight breeze. My mistake and definately can not be pinned to the quilt yet. Overall I like it so far though, but will need more practice with it before I can do a fairly comprehensive review.

NEOair mattress
The supposed noise that everyone is complaining about... Is definately not an issue for me. As I moved around the fabric on my quilt made more noise than the air mattress. The only time I actually heard the Air mattress was when I was rolling from my back to stomach. The mattress is extremely stable, my hips didn't dip into the mattress, and this is the only air mattress that I was able to easily lull into sleep on my back. Normally I sleep on my side and stomach because I can't get comfortable on my back on most mattresses. The insulation value of the mattress was extremely evident and possibly part of the problem I kept overheating. Between the insulation of my quilt and the Neoair mattress I was a serious sweat factory, even at 36 degrees Fahrenheit. When my feet got cold on my Jam2 I just curled up into a fetal position on the pad and warmed right back up. I'll post more on this mattress after a few more trips, so that I can hopefully take some more notes and test it under different conditions.

REI UL Peak Trekking Poles
Overall I like them, but the twist lock issue can seriously get annoying sometimes. I've decided on a couple modifications. I'll be removing the wrist straps since I don't use them, and because they get in my way when shifting grips for different terrain. Eventually I'll get around to writing a full review on them as well, along with possibly doing a blog on the actual different grips and techniques I use for different terrain while using them.

Tarptent-for-2
Great shelter so far, fairly light for a minimal 2 person shelter, and a palace for 1. I have decided on a couple modifications to do to the tarp after the last several trips. I'll be sewing the mesh sides to the floor to keep creepy crawley insects out and add a zipper on the bottom of the door and affix it to the tubbed floor also to enclose the shelter when needed.

Golite Jam2 backpack
Decent sizing, but slightly heavy for the size loads I normally carry and I don't see myself ever fully filling the pack unless I'm carrying a bear canister or thru-hiking the PCT. Mods to be done, remove the Hydration sleeve and salvage for the Golite Ion backpack project. After more time I'll do a full review of this pack.

Other Gear Ideas and Possible Changes
-Possibly combine the dry bags for the warming layers and sleeping bag, saving about 1 ounce.
-Remove the fleece from the kit all together, saving 14.55 oz.
-Still need to find some significantly lighter rain gear, possible weight savings of up to 14 oz.
-Switch to Micropur CLO2 tablets for water purification. Then I will only have to carry the amount of tablets to purify the water I'll need per trip plus a couple extra. I might also mull the idea around of assembling a lightweight (3.5 oz) gravity filter sytem to be used with the tablets to speed the purification by filtering out the larger organisms.
-REI waterproof matches to replace the standard matches I presently carry in my essentials.
-Lose the e+lite case, nearly 1 oz of weight savings
-possibly get a Ursack for food storage, chasing bear wires and or a tree to hang food from sucks when your tired, weight gain of about 5 oz.
-Baby wipes for field showers on short duration trips
-Get another niteclip #1 for clipping stuff
-Install vents for the Ti windscreen for my stove to facilitate easier air flow
-mont-bell potty trowel, then eventually make a .016 Ti-trowel from the montbell pattern.
-Gallon ziplock bag for laundry on longer trips.
-Buy an ExOfficio Vented long sleeve shirt to mitigate bugs and body temperature.