Just completed my annual district youth group hike or Resurrection Pass Trail on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska.  It is a 40 mile hike that goes from Hope to Cooper Landing.  This year we had 26 high schoolers and 6 adults. Working in EMS I was asked to again be the medic on the trail.  fortunately I wasn't needed.  The trip went from the 13 to the 18th with one rest day built in so nights 3 and 4 are in the same spot at Swan Lake.  My pack was again the lightest and probably the most comfortable.  My gear for this hike was a HMG Southwest 3600 pack, a borah gear M90 bivy (not sure what that equates to now that they are selling), Enlightened Equipment Rev-x quilt with 1oz down over stuff and a Seek Outside Cimarron.  Cooking gear was a Jetboil Stash and mini bic, I switched out from years past previously using a brs-3000 stove and snowpeak Ti 600ml mug.  The stash is 2 oz heavier and >2x faster at getting a boil I decided efficiency was more important and after forgetting the new fuel canister and relying on a used I was happy for the efficiency I would have run out with the previous stove combo.  The trail was super wet this year and I elected to no bring sandals for the wet sections, footwear was a pair of year old Altra Lone Peaks with a either nylon socks or ininji toe socks.  I just walked through the wet sections and walked the shoes dry making sure that the laces stayed tight.  I was one of the few to not get blisters my son wore a pair of Altra Superiors and left them loose and didn't get blisters either I attribute that to dumb luck others wearing boots that have done the trail before without blisters all seemed to have issues.  Clothing was a pair of walmart shorts with the sewning in lycra style boxer briefs and a wicking t shirt a pair of light wieght hiking pants that I am pretty sure also came from walmart years ago and a costco down hoody for evenings and mornings.  

My son carried a Alps mountaineering Denali pack an REI youth sleeping bag a Grand Trunk Skeeter beeter hammock and warbonnet superfly tarp with trekology sleeping pad.  He used a Jetboil Sol Ti after I found it in a pawn shop.  It is slightly faster than the stash but weighs another two oz more.  He slept cold the first night, due to lack of trees the second night he joined me in the Cimarron and used the hammock as a bug bivy.  

Overall it was a good trip I have become a believer in the Sawyer Picaradin lotion bug dope as a deet alternative.  It was my first trip with the Cimarron and I really like it but for solo camping it is almost too big. I might look into the silvertip or something else.  Last year I used the Lanshan 2 and never really like the pitch I got, the year before that I had a Mount Laurel Design DCF Solomid that was supe awesome weight wise but tiny.

Pics will get uploaded tomorrow.  The last two days of hiking I wound up carrying a tent for a couple of female teens in the group that started struggling the HMG pack held the extra weight just fine.  4 years ago I carried someones REI campdome 6 after they couldn't continue to carry it.  That tent dobled my pack weight and put me 20 pounds over the packs weight rating with no ill effects to the bag.