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Posted: 9/28/2015 4:58:04 PM EDT
Ok, so a couple months ago I asked for some opinions on carrying a gun during a long hike, I appreciated the responses. Here is my write up from the trail, be advised, its a few pages long. Ill post pictures once I figure it out. sorry about the deleted reply, had to figure out how to post a 2000+ character write up
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The Colorado Trail When I quit my respectable, well paying job to walk solo across the State of Colorado, I received many different reactions from friends, family and co-workers. Many thought I was crazy for doing it. Then again, others thought I would be crazy not to do it. Most did not understand. I think when it was all said and done there was some jealousy from all parties. One thing is for sure, I am jealous of my past self, up there in some of the most incredible terrain I have ever been a part of. Ok, so lets summarize this. The Colorado trail runs from Waterton Canyon in Denver, CO to Junction Creek in Durango Colorado. It is listed as 485 miles, broken up into 28 ‘segments’, goes up to an elevation of 13,271’, crosses the Continental Divide numerous times, and includes some of the most vigorous tests of mental, physical and emotional strength that this state has to offer. I consider myself to be in fairly good shape and a moderate knowledge of the backcountry. I have lived in Colorado most of my life but the only real backpacking trips I have done are a week long in the Superstitions in Arizona back in high school and an overnight last summer up past Crested Butte. All the other camping trips were with friends and involved my Jeep Cherokee and alcohol. I have, of course, been on countless day hikes, raft trips, ski days, couple rock climbing outings, but these really don’t prepare you for a long trail. I started the trail August 4th, 2015 at 1230, a little hung over, and with a pack that was about 10lbs heavier than it needed to be. I ended the hike September 8th, 2015 with sore feet, high spirits, a tightened belt, and with a body that was about 15lbs less than I started with. Unless you want to carry an absurd amount of food, you must resupply along the way. I carried 7 days of food with me when I left Denver, bought 5 days of food in Breckenridge, had 6 days of food waiting for me in the mail when I reached Twin Lakes, bought 6 days of food in Gunnison, mail drop of 4 days in Lake City, and a mail drop of 5 days in Silverton. These resupply points give you a chance to enjoy a ‘zero day’, if you want, in the town, which I would highly recommend. This will obviously give you a time to clean yourself and your gear, but also breaks up the trail so you have sort of a weekend to look forward too. When you plan a zero day about a week in, when you arrive in a large(ish) town you can mail home, buy or at least order new gear to replace or get rid of the gear that just isn’t working. There is also a lack of cold beer on the trail, zero days shine here. I also would usually make up some time on the trail so I could have a half-day before my zero days. I had a ‘Rite in the Rain’ notebook that I recorded the day’s events in. This was something I was very glad that I brought. I had a form that was standardized by a few days in that documented: how many days in, date, what segments completed, start/stop time, total time, miles hiked, water used (notes how much of that was in camp), medical issues, where I hiked (passes, rivers, notable locations, etc.), interesting things I saw, weather, moral, camp info, and any other pertinent information. It’s best to make sure you follow the form (and that the form is finalized prior to first entry) so that you have the complete info for each day. Recording the info that day is paramount on long hikes, as everything blends together. It is especially important to record where I hiked and where I camped so I can remember each day individually. Before you go out, ensure that your pen of choice can write on the rite in the rain paper, as some don’t make good marks. Lets get some totals and averages in here. Days: 36 Hiking days: 31 Half days: 7 Zero days: 5 Expected miles: 485 Recorded miles: 480 (This discrepancy may have been from the Collegiate West route, as this was poorly depicted in the databook and there was also a re-route that was not in the databook) Water used: 123,000 ml Time hiked: 254hrs, 25min Averages 15.5 mi/day 17.5 mi/day (if half days are combined) 1.9 mph (including H2O breaks and collection, food breaks, rest breaks) 256 ml H2O/mi (this includes water used at camp) 3968 ml H2O/day (this includes water used at camp) I would normally wake around 0530, on the trail about 0630. But if you want to see some colors you didn’t know existed, wake up at 0400, get on the trail at 0500 and see the sunrise at 12,000’, spectacular. Due to storms in the Rocky Mountains, you want to be in camp before they get nasty. I would start to look for a perfect campsite at 1600, look for any good site by 1700 and just find somewhere to hunker down by 1800 if I was still on the trail. These hours allowed me to get about 17 miles done, my shortest day was 3.7 miles (was a half day before Breckenridge), and my longest day was the last day 26.9 miles (yeah that sucked but I wanted pizza and beer). Some people would do shorter days of around 12, but then you have to resupply much more often or carry more food. Others would go for over 20 a day but you can only hike so fast and those end up being long painful days. Also you are already taking weeks off from life, what’s another week? As mentioned earlier, my pack was heavier than it needed to be in the beginning, so lets go into everyone’s favorite subject, the gear. I switched up gear when I was in Breckenridge and Gunnison; you definitely learn what works and what doesn’t pretty fast. Weight is probably one of, if not the, most important factors for your enjoyment of the trail and if you will complete or not. The thing that got me was most of the gear I had I have been collecting for a while, not thinking of doing a long trip like this. What this means is that every piece of gear you buy, you should ask yourself if there is a lighter option, and if that option can do everything that you need it to do. Price does come into play here, I’m sure some have heard: ‘its cheap to lose pounds, expensive to lose ounces’. My sleeping bag is an example of this, $200 for a 20-degree bag that weighs 2lbs 14oz. After I bought this I saw a Sierra Designs bag for $240, 23 degrees and 2lbs, should have bought that one. Also, simplicity is a great feature. I could have bought the lower tier of pack from Osprey and saved about a pound on pack weight. Instead I took a knife and scissors to my pack and removed everything that I did not use in the first week of my trip, probably lost a few ounces there. Well, lesson learned. This is the list of gear that I started out with, some was traded out, and that is discussed later. Osprey Aether 60 liter pack Marmot Scandium 20 degree down/synthetic sleeping bag Thermarest pro-lite sleeping pad, small Outdoor Research Helium bivy Eno double-nest hammock Eno hammock straps REI Trekking pole Thin rope for bear bagging food (5 mm, 40-50’) Dry bag (med weight) for food storage Empty PB jar for my "stove” and bowl Spoon Half sponge Klean Kanteen 3x (800 ml) Katadyn Pocket H2O filter Dry bag 2x (light weight) for clothes and sleeping bag Bandanna Mammut fleece hat Baseball hat Fleece gloves (light weight) Gym shorts T shirt (poly something) REI Hiking pants (light weight) Marmot webbing belt Undershorts 2x(poly something) Socks 2x (poly/wool something) Smartwool thermal top Smartwool thermal bottom Rain jacket Rain pants Down jacket, doubled as a pillow (light weight) Flip-flops Oboz hiking boots (mid rise) Camp towel (thick microfiber) Compass Gerber folder knife Rain cover for pack 1 carabineer Space pen Rite in the Rain notebook Plastic trowel Biodegradable ass wipes Hand sanitizer Sunscreen Bug spray (small size, didn’t really use it that much) Lifeproof iPhone case iPhone iPod Wall charger for iStuff ear buds cards dice 2x lighter Black Sharpie Couple Ziplock bags (or just have these in food kit) Pack of smokes Personal hygiene kit Toothbrush, toothpaste, Dr. Bronners soap, eye drops, chap stick First aid/gear maintenance kit Petzl tikka 2 plus headlamp Book of choice 1-pint fireball for each resupply Colorado Trail Foundation Databook (this includes segments, mileage, turn by turn, water sources, camp sites, elevation) Bolle Rx transition sunglasses Breckenridge gear swap Gone: Klean Kanteen 2x, hammock, hammock straps, Oboz boots, and Katadyn filter Acquired: Smart water bottle 2x, sawyer mini filter, 1 liter platypus water bag, Salewa shoes Gunnison Gear swap Gone: Bivy sack, Smart water bottle 2x, rain pants (kept jacket) Acquired: Marmot Nitro 1p tent, MSR 4 liter dromedary (they also make the drom-lite, about 2 oz less) Lets talk about feet and footwear. The Oboz I had were lightly broken in and have never given me issues in the past, on day hikes or on the overnight in 2014. However, the second day of the trip, they started to eat my feet. I had blisters above my heel and just behind my big and pinky toe. Sucks cause I like how those boots fit. I bought some low cut Salewa shoes in Breck and my foot troubles all but disappeared. However these shoes did have a higher and skinnier heel than I like so I had some very infrequent stability issues (think drunk girl in Vegas wearing heels), this did allow for good foot placement however. Another great feature of the shoe was the reinforced toecap that allowed my uncoordinated self to kick rocks on the trail without using profanity. I think I will keep these for hiking but grab something that I can wear around town; the ones I got are not going to win me any fashion awards. From what I have seen and heard, the low cuts are great unless you are carrying huge loads or have questionable ankles. A few notes about the shelter set-ups. I started with a kind of kooky set-up, a hammock with a sleeping bag, bivy sack and a sleeping pad. This is comfortable, but difficult to get into/out of and its not as warm as it should be. I hiked with a guy for about a week who was in a hammock and he had a proper setup with the tarp and underquilt. This was great for him, but be aware, he did have to sleep on the ground at least twice because we were above tree line and trees were many miles away. He did have a contingency plan for ground sleeping but something to keep in mind. After a week, I switched to the sleeping bag, bivy and pad. This is a great lightweight, set up anywhere, kit and it keeps you dry when you are in it. The cons are that there isn’t much room inside so changing is probably an outside job, difficult entry/exit if it is raining, you must prop up the opening a bit for ventilation, and its just kind of lame not having a somewhere you can sit up and be inside. The bivy sack did have a single pole that formed a semicircle over you to keep it off your head, necessary for a bivy in my opinion. Great piece of gear, just not for a 5-week trip. When I reached Gunnison, I had a Marmot Nitro 1 person tent waiting for me. This sets up with a single trekking pole and an included one-piece pole, about a foot long. This tent does rely heavily on guy lines and stakes, but I never had an issue. Even in some gnarly Colorado high mountain thunderstorms the tent performed exceptionally. Marmot did only give me 8 crappy stakes (go buy quality stakes), 9 was needed for best set up. The tent resembles a very tall and deluxe bivy sack and weighs 1 lb., 11 oz., not including whatever trekking pole you choose. This kept me very dry, never had condensation issues, enough room for my gear (backpack under you lower legs or under the vestibule). I also had enough room to (barely) sit up, and I could change inside. Can’t say enough how much ass that tent kicked. Couple other MVPs in the gear department were the sawyer mini filter and the dromedary. The filter is great, just back flush it at the end of each day and be careful not to break the syringe (I broke it by using stupid he-man strength). I stayed away from using pond or lake water as much as I could, creeks usually have less particulates in them. I did use some questionable looking sources a few times and did not get sick. Platypus bag fits OK if you made sure it was on perfect, I think the newer bags fit better. The MSR dromedary (4 liter) was great because it allowed me to carry a lot of water if needed and you can hang it from a tree and have a faucet. I drank from a Klean Kanteen (heavy, yes, but durable and water is important) and filled that from the dromedary. Total water capacity was 5800 ml if I needed it (dromedary, Klean Kanteen, and 1 liter of dirty water in platypus bag). This was also the first time I used a trekking pole. I just used one, most people had two but there were only a few times I wanted two. I would highly recommend anyone who goes on any backpacking trip to have one, saved my ass from falling down a couple times. My food kit was a bit different from most on the trail due to the fact I went stoveless. It’s not as bad as it sounds. Most of my food you don’t cook, trail mix, dried fruit, tuna packs, jerky, bagels, energy bars, candy bars, peanut butter packets, breakfast crackers, breakfast drink powders, ect. I would then use an empty peanut butter jar, one of the smaller ones, for rehydrating food. Oatmeal is easy, add 2 packs, add water, close cap, put it in you shirt that’s tucked in and by the time you clean up camp a bit, it should be luke warm, tasty. I would use half of a 'Backpackers Pantry' packet each day. Around 1200, add the food and water and check after a few hours to see if you need more water. After rehydrating for 4-5 hrs., the meal is ready. Now I know this sounds gross but its not that bad, kind of like leftovers in the fridge. If you plan early, you can get a food de-hydrator and make your own meals to rehydrate. I did not mind going stoveless, most thought I was nuts, YMMV. I was not exactly sure what to bring in my first aid kit but it became pretty clear pretty quick. The only medical issues I had was torn up feet and a torqued knee, which was fine after a couple weeks in a cheap neoprene knee brace. For a first aid kit I think you can get away with: alcohol wipes, iodine prep pads, Neosporin, medical tape (hockey tape also works), some gauze, stretchy wrap (also good for a torqued knee or ankle), moleskin/blister kit, couple assorted Band-Aids, plastic gloves, safety pins, tweezers, nail clippers, Q-tips, aspirin/ibuprofen, Benadryl or something for allergies and bee stings, something for stomach issues (tums or something, didn’t need them but wouldn’t mind carrying a couple), and any other meds or dietary supplements that you take. I think with this you can fix injuries that you expect and stabilize injuries that you don’t expect. You will see at least a couple of people each day so extraction would not be impossible. My first aid kit also included my gear maintenance kit, such as: zip ties, duct tape, super glue, tent fabric repair, sleeping pad repair, batteries, Para cord, and an extra bag for the sawyer filter, sewing needle, and some fishing line. And we come to the issue of guns. I was trying to decide if I wanted to bring one, and if I did, if I would bring my 226 9mm, my 1991 45cal, or buy a G29/G20 10mm. As noted before, weight is huge so that made up my mind, no gun. Plain and simple, there was no time that I wanted to have my gun. All the people were nice; I bear bagged my food every night, and didn’t see any big cats. Talking to some people, no one would mind hiking with someone who carried, most even welcomed it. However, most people did not want to be the person to carry the extra weight. I think I only saw one person with a gun, some girl, not sure what it was. Maybe if I get my pack weight down some more and find a good way to carry I’ll carry in the future but I wouldn’t worry about it. Just don’t be an idiot (with or without a gun). When I look back on the trip it seems as if it flew by, even though some of the days were long and brutal. I did see some of the most incredible country, some areas and types of terrain that I did not know Colorado even had. It’s also neat to see what it actually takes (gear, food, water, shelter, spirit) to survive in the wilderness for that long. Even though I enjoyed the hike and will never forget or regret it, I’m not sure if I want to do one of the ‘real’ long trails (Appalachian, Continental Divide, Pacific Crest), these take around 5 months vs 5 weeks, but you never know. Some people will find some great answer to life out on the trail, not sure if I did or not. Just getting out there was enough for me. If I learned anything its that you need to take some time out of you life to do something, whether it’s a trail or a motorcycle ride or just moving out of your current situation, life is too short to be looking over the fence to see if the grass is green, you got to do some yard work yourself |
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A+ write up OP View Quote I concur...excellent job Wattles. This is a trip my wife and I would love to do. Your notes are excellent and I know it takes a ton of effort but really helps out others planning similar hikes. I didn't see any weights listed and I know you went through some gear changes. How much did your base weight change from the start of the trip to the end of the trip (I figure if you're anal enough to record water used in mL, you better damn well be weighing your gear in grams!)? Another question for you. Water is always the necessary weight. How much water did you average while hiking? Assuming water sources are every few hours at the most, I would think you would minimize water weight down to a couple liters...just curious. What was your primary choices of food? Again, excellent write up and I look forward to more...congrats on the successful hike...not that it matters, but you get a ton of respect for me and this is something that lasts the rest of your life. This is the type of excellent trip report that needs to get tagged for others to read as a great example... ROCK6 |
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Thanks for the write up.
What was your pack weight including food & fuel? |
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so im not exactly sure what my pack weighed or how much my food weighed (too cheap to buy an accurate scale so i used an old bathroom scale) but i think my base pack weight at the start of the hike was around 25lbs and by the end of the trip was around 20lbs. My food was anything but light, i bet it was about 12lbs on my heaviest food load (7 days). Did i mention I was not part of the ultralight clan?
i remember thinking my pack was light...until i added food and water, then.....shit did not carry any fuel, stoveless FTW! most of the time i would carry about 2 liters of water, sometimes only use my klean kanteen (800ml) and just fill up as water was very plentiful this year. The databook listed water spots and a 1-3 scale in probability of it being there. The longest stretch i went without a water source was about 23 miles. I started the stretch with about 4 litters and no sources later that day and hiked about 18 miles. This led to me having only 800ml for when i woke up and to hike 5 miles, cut it too close but it worked out. I started to hike at 0515 the next day so i reached the water just after sunrise, this early hiking helped a lot. i will say, its incredible how i got used to the pack weight by the end of the trip. I started out having to put the pack on my knee then hoist it up but by the end of the trip you sling that sucker up like its nothing |
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so im not exactly sure what my pack weighed or how much my food weighed (too cheap to buy an accurate scale so i used an old bathroom scale) but i think my base pack weight at the start of the hike was around 25lbs and by the end of the trip was around 20lbs. My food was anything but light, i bet it was about 12lbs on my heaviest food load (7 days). Did i mention I was not part of the ultralight clan? i remember thinking my pack was light...until i added food and water, then.....shit View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
so im not exactly sure what my pack weighed or how much my food weighed (too cheap to buy an accurate scale so i used an old bathroom scale) but i think my base pack weight at the start of the hike was around 25lbs and by the end of the trip was around 20lbs. My food was anything but light, i bet it was about 12lbs on my heaviest food load (7 days). Did i mention I was not part of the ultralight clan? i remember thinking my pack was light...until i added food and water, then.....shit Yeah, food and water sure add a lot of weight. Your base weight still looks heavy looking at your packing list…but it’s hard to really tell and you could be anywhere from plus-minus 5 pounds. My wife and I try and keep our daily food packages to 20 to 24 ounces, so 12 pounds for 7 days is about right. Quoted:
did not carry any fuel, stoveless FTW! That’s pretty interesting. I assume most of your meals were ready to eat or you just built a small fire? We do a lot of our own dehydrated meals along with some instant stuff to really cut down on weight, but require fuel to heat up water. I’m even more impressed you didn’t use a stove…damn! Quoted:
most of the time i would carry about 2 liters of water, sometimes only use my klean kanteen (800ml) and just fill up as water was very plentiful this year. The databook listed water spots and a 1-3 scale in probability of it being there. The longest stretch i went without a water source was about 23 miles. I started the stretch with about 4 litters and no sources later that day and hiked about 18 miles. This led to me having only 800ml for when i woke up and to hike 5 miles, cut it too close but it worked out. I started to hike at 0515 the next day so i reached the water just after sunrise, this early hiking helped a lot. Holy cow, that was cutting it pretty close! I typically average 2-3 liters of water while on the trail and can understand that some water sources are either dried up or up to a half-mile off the trail (which really sucks). We’ve had a couple close calls, but 23 miles without a water source is a lengthy stretch! Water planning is one of the hardest because you really don’t want to carry too much water weight, but you definitely don’t want to run dry without a water source within a half-day’s hiking distance. Very interesting…thanks for that feedback and report addition! ROCK6 |
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Nice! Put a sh!t eating grin on face just reading / pics.... Glad you had a good time! |
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Saw your other thread Wattles and was hoping you'd post a follow up. You did and it was a dandy. Thanks for that.
Wish I could burn the time to just do a long trail before father time completely steals my legs. You will not regret doing that trail, for your whole life. Good on you. BTW, love the Sawyer filters. Haven't used the pumps in two years. A little story.....My youngest daughter and I got to do a little 10 mile yo-yo day hike two weeks ago. Up a long ridge trail here in Alabama. The end has a place with a spring I've never seen dry up. Only packed a little water. Well, the spring was just a puddle when we get there. It was clear, so I ran it through the Sawyer Squeeze. We used some to boil for lunch, the rest for the trip back down. I kicked back one bottle to wet my thirst while prepping food. As I gulped, I noticed the water smelled like sewage. Uh oh....too late, so drank more. Was bad thirsty. Did not get sick. I guess it is good for .2 microns. |
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Ya, its crazy how well water filters can work. Im not sure how it can filter out the bad stuff but leave the smell.... I had smelly water a few times, once it smelled real bad of sulfur, only drank a bit of that, got rid of the rest at the next watering hole
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What animals did you see on the trail? (not including the wild life in Breck) Nice write up!
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Probably the coolest animal was moose, saw two young ones just outside break, and a big bull just before lake city. Let me tell ya, when that guy looked up at me, he lets you know who's in charge. He was probably 10-20 yards off the trail so I walked off trail a bit to give him some space. Saw a good amount of elk, a big herd on a ridge, and was woken up by one probably 50 yds off around 4 am, crazy sound those guys make. Lots of deer, marmots, pikas, some kind of alpine grouse or pheasant. And of course plenty of birds, squirrels, and bugs each day (it was a very healthy forest this year)
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Nice. The alpine grouse is most likely a ptarmigan. I hiked a section of the PCT in WA this past August. Only a week long, but it's awesome to go over 60 miles without crossing a road. I'm thinking of trying a longer trail or section next summer. CDT is on my radar.
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Awesome job on the thru-hike, OP!
I'll be doing the Tahoe-Yosemite Trail in June of '16. The CT is definitely on my to-do list. I won't come in here critiquing your gear list since it works for you, but I prefer to be a little bit lighter. |
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ha, id be one of the first to critique some of my gear, and don't mind other's critiques either. would have loved to shave off a few pounds but hey, live and learn
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