r/Ultralight

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/esse_journer on 2024-10-05 04:43:44+00:00.

I was super big into SUL cook kits around 2015. At that time SUL Titanium Cook Pots, Caldera Cones, and Alcohol Stoves were the peak of the technology lol

Is this still about true? Or are there different means now?

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/jumpin_jumpin on 2024-10-07 13:13:01+00:00.

Look. I'm pushing 40. I have a mortgage and an IRA. I am a grown ass adult and yet... I'm afraid of the dark.

Living in the PNW much of my camping is surrounded by trees meaning if I wake up in the middle of the night I can't even see my hand in front of my face. Then the panic sets in, I don't fall back asleep, and I freak out all night until the sun starts to show. Am I working on it? Yes. But I'm not clear of it yet.

I'm wondering if a product exists that could be a low amount of light I could have on in the event I wake up in the middle of the night in absolute pitch black. Headlamp is bright enough to disturb others and cause light pollution, and I don't want to drain that battery. I'd have to imagine there's something that is a small amount of light and not a power suck on the device, but is also small and not heavy. Anyone know of anything?

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/Wandering_Hick on 2024-10-06 20:41:54+00:00.

I have access to a lot of stoves and love testing gear, so I decided I wanted to build off of the awesome work GearSkeptic and BPL have done by testing every stove I can get my hands on and then creating an accessible database for the results.

Request: I would love some feedback on the testing protocols and the information I will be gathering about each stove. If there is a brand I am missing, that would be great to know! You can access the spreadsheet where I will be compiling the information HERE. The second tab has the testing protocols.

Some aspects that I want to do some testing on beforehand are:

• Lid on vs lid off boil time/fuel consumption testing with a Toaks 750mL - using a BRS, Pocket Rocket 2, and Windmaster.
• Effect of ambient air temperature on boil time/fuel consumption
• Effect of canister temperature on boil time/fuel consumption
• Confirm BPL’s testing of % fuel remaining in a canister and the effect on boil time/fuel consumption

Some things I would like to test down the road but that I am not including in scope right now are:

• Remote canister stoves
• Liquid fuel stoves
• Cold weather testing
• Large volume testing

Some justifications for the protocols:

• The Toaks 750mL is likely the most popular pot on the market.
• Ice water makes the testing more easily replicable

For reference, the data will be posted to PackWizard.com (which I am a co-founder for) but publicly available like the other databases currently on there. We are working on a system where people can submit data, if they are interested in doing so because it is a lot to keep up on! While we have other databases on PackWizard right now, I am really excited for the stove one because of the additional information we will be providing through testing.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/keith6388 on 2024-10-06 19:02:40+00:00.

I've been following a few of the projects people in the ultralight community have worked on to improve solar power for backpacking and one of the weakest links that I've noticed is that the circuit that converts the solar power to USB power is fairly basic and inefficient. This circuit is normally just a buck converter that regulates the circuit output voltage to comply with USB standards and doesn't do a great job at pulling the maximum power from the panel, especially in low lighting conditions.

I'm currently developing my own panel for backpacking and as part of the process, I've designed a new solar charge controller. The goal of the charge controller is to pull the most power as the panel as possible to charge a portable battery bank. I decided to go a different route than typical solar chargers and bypass the USB conversion and charge the cell directly. For shorter trips I've started carrying a Vapcell P2150A for charging, which has exposed terminals to connect directly to the battery cell.

The circuit I designed uses a chip (BQ24650) designed to efficiently charge a lithium ion battery from solar, while keeping the solar panel operating near it's peak efficiency output voltage. I've also included a microcontroller for measuring power output and displaying the information to a small OLED screen. The advantages of this design are:

• Higher efficiency buck converter design (~95% vs 80-90% for a typical solar usb converter)
• Maximum power point tracking to pull the most power from the solar panel
• Bypassing the charge circuit in the battery bank to reduce total power loss during charging
• Integrated power meter with a battery charge state indicator
• All in one panel to avoid usb cables hanging off pack while hiking
• Passthrough device charging while battery bank is charging

I've been testing the new design by swapping it with the USB converter on a lixada panel this summer with great results. I'm working on a few tweaks to the design to make it cheaper, smaller, and lighter. If you're interested in more details, including all of the files to build your own, I've uploaded all the information to github:

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/Clean-Register7464 on 2024-10-04 21:09:29+00:00.

Hi all,

Previously, the TSA standard was to not allow tent poles in carry on luggage. Today I was checking again on this page:

And saw that the most recent guidelines indicate that tent poles are now generally allowed. For those of us who use freestanding tents, this could be a game changer for not needing to check our packs when traveling.

Does anyone know if this is a new update to the TSA regulations? What are your guys' thoughts?

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/DDF750 on 2024-10-04 12:28:41+00:00.

Breathability, dry time, etc of a huge assortment of hoodies was tested.

Great job AA and co!

Ending the suspense, OR Echo was the champ if the UPF is enough for you

[Double post from weekly per Deputy Sean recommendation]

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/Jaakooob on 2024-10-03 13:21:38+00:00.

Hey everyone, I’m looking for some feedback on the new Palante V2, especially the version with the foam pad and laptop sleeve. Has anyone had the chance to test it out?

I'm not sure if these additions are more of an advantage or just add unnecessary bulk. I’m torn between getting the version with or without the sleeve—any recommendations? Would love to hear your thoughts!

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/slowbalisation on 2024-10-03 12:11:40+00:00.

Where: Lofoten Islands, Norway

When: 31st August - 13th September

Distance: ~105 miles

Links: Pictures: Instagram

Trail info: "Since Rando-Lofoten was founded a certain number of visitors have told us they would be interested in a trekking itinerary that crosses the archipelago from one end to the other. Crossing a region from north to south or east to west often enables travellers to set themselves a goal when faced with the unknown. But over and above the physical or psychological challenge we believe it is important to remember that hiking is above all about discovery and enjoyment." Source

I was looking for a Scandinavian hike to go on with my partner, while she has been on multi day bike packing trips, this would be her first multi-day hike. The Long Crossing seemed to provide a perfect mix of a beautiful landscape, nice trail notes, and ruggedness without super long food carries or being too far from bail out points.

Getting there/back: We flew from London to Oslo then Oslo to Bodø. From Bodø we took a ferry to Moskenes. On the way out our flight from London was delayed enough that we were going to miss the connection up to Bodø, but SAS were brilliant. They rebooked us onto the first flight the next day and put us up in a decent hotel outside Oslo airport. We ended up getting to Bodø in time to catch the ferry that we originally planned to get.

The way back was pretty similar however we got the ferry from Svolvær to Bodø. This time the weather was kicking off and the crossing was rough. It turns out I do get seasick, I just had never been in rough seas before. It was a lot of fun, but yeah, I puked three times... Booking the ferry tickets was a little tricky, I still can't track down the website I actually bought the tickets from. The website I keep getting back to just gives you details on timing etc. However, tickets are easy to buy on the boats themselves which wasn't an issue for us but could be during more peak season.

Resupply and water: Resupply was simple. The most food we carried was 3 days and there were plenty of options in the supermarkets. Gas was easy to buy as well as decent dehydrated meals and all the usually snacks a hiker could want. Water is everywhere, I didn't treat mine but my partner used a sawyer. A minor challenge is keeping eye out for brackish water as the route bounces around a host of lakes and salt water shore lines, but this is easy to check on a map.

Navigation: We both had caltopo loaded on our phones which as local topo maps for Norway! I also made paper maps on caltopo which were printed out and used for the bulk of out navigation. The route isn't way marked so you do have to keep an eye on the maps and there were a few games of 'trail or stream'

Accommodation and camping: There are plenty of places to stay on the islands and the decent bus network means that if you wanted to it is easy to travel a bit to get to hard accommodation. We camped or stayed in bivi huts every night bar the half way point when we took the bus from Leknes to Ballstad to stay in some cheaper hard accommodation. We also stayed one night in the paid campsite in Ramberg. This place was great! There is a kitchen and the showers and laundry were included in the price. Dispersed/wild Camping is free and easy. However, while camping in Norway is allowed in most places you can't simply camp anywhere. The Lofotens are getting a lot more tourists these days and it seems like camping where you shouldn't is starting to have an impact. In some places there are signs to highlight the rules. There is a great website that highlights where you can and can't camp. We came across a number of three sided shelters and stayed in one of them. They are not as deep as the ones on the AT so might not be great if the weather is coming in from the wrong direction, some have tarps you can string up if this is happening but the one we stayed in didn't. There are also a handful of proper huts that can be stayed in, a number need a key that can be got in advance from a nearby town or village but we didn't use any of these. We did stay in a beautiful turfed hut one night which was very well equipped. It's maintained by a local hunting and fishing group so didn't require a key. It was a shame that it wasn't colder as it had a stove in there, but we would have roasted if it was lit!

Trail traffic: Lightish. The normal sort of pattern, things got busier around access points and the main attractions. We met a handful of people out to do the Long Crossing which was fun, always nice to chat about sections and muse over what is to come. One section that traffic may be an issue is the ridge running from Matmora towards Delp. This was our last day and we camped near by and got over the ridge fairly early, however, it seems like a lot of day hikers come up from Delp and hike the ridge towards Matmora. It might not be too fun trying to pass a group coming the other way on some parts of the ridge, especially if you're a little nervous on more exposed, steeper trail. It could be good to do this section either early or late to avoid having to deal with this when heading towards Delp.

Conditions: This took me by surprise a little, we hadn't looked into the finer underfoot conditions in too much detail. It is often boggy and wet feet were the norm. The bog can be deep and where there is more foot traffic things get muddy and slippy pretty fast. There is also a good bit of rock hopping as well as sections that have chains or ropes to help with climbing/descending. On the whole there was more rough ground than maintained trail. There were two ridge sections that could be tough for those who are a little more nervous with exposure, the ridge mentioned above as well as one coming down from Dalstuva. My parenter is less happy on this sort of ground but managed really well! There are also a few sections of road walking. These aren't bad and we opted to walk all the quieter roads, but did catch busses/hitch hiked rather than walking along the E10 which is the main road on the islands. Seeing as I'm writing about public transport here, there is also a section where a ferry is needed*. If you're going Delp -> Å then this is a quick ~20 min ride from Kirkfjorden to Vinstad. However, if you're going Å -> Delp then you need to get the ferry from Vinstad to Reine then Reine to Kirkfjorden. This isn't a problem as Reine is a nice spot with a cafe, Bistro, and petrol station. So you can use the time there to have a hot meal or do a small resupply. There is also a supermarket there, but it looked like it might be tight to get there and back in time for the second ferry. Weather wise we had packed and mentally prepared for rain, it can get pretty stormy up there. However, we lucked out on that front and only really had a couple of wet periods the entire time. Wind was the major factor and dictated where we camped a lot. Luckily using a combo of Yr, the Norwegian weather app, and Windy we were able to pick up some pretty good places to finish our days and while there were some good blowly nights we managed to shelter from the worst of it. The temps never dropped below freezing and the coldest it got during the day was probably around 10C, give or take a few either side. So the it was pretty cozy but with some rain and wind chill thrown in it could have been cold.

*I say needed but there is a way to hike over that Swami mentions in his write up. We didn't take nor did we meet anyone who had:

Gear: Not much to put here but I did want to use this to write an ode to older gear. On the run up to this trip we couldn't get hold of a two person tent so ended up taking my old Golite Shangri-La 3. I love this tent. It's not ultralight by modern standards, especially when using the net inner but it can really handle some wind. We ended up nick naming it The Limpet as when it's pitched as low as it can go it really sticks to the ground. It was palatial for the two of us but meant we could roll back the inner in the mornings to brew our coffee inside when it was raining. Clothing wise I was really happy with my layering set up. I wore a Montane Allez then had an alpha direct 60 as an additional active layer and a montbell chameece for the evenings or if it got really cold. I didn't need to were everything at any point but it was nice to know that I would have been toasty if the weather had turned sour. The last couple of years I've found myself mostly hiking in hotter, drier places so I have been wearing a sun hoody a lot of the time and had almost forgotten about the montane allez. It's an awesome fleece. I have great faith in the micro grid polartech material which feels old fashioned and quaint in the world of alpha direct and that other one I forget the name of. But it's a tough, warm, and no-nonsense material. Since getting back the UK I've been on some very wet short trips to Wales and have really enjoyed the allez on those trips. I don't have a gear list for this trip!

Concluding thoughts: This was a brilliant trip to a beautiful part of the worl...

Content cut off. Read original on https://old.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/comments/1fv676h/the_long_crossing_lofotens_norway/

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/jumpin_jumpin on 2024-10-02 01:13:55+00:00.

I know I did a dumb. Was hiking in Utah and it was 95 during the day. I left my pad inflated in my tent all day and it cooked in the heat. No rain fly- direct sun exposure. It's so crinkly and crispy! The pad was loud before, now it's like cellophane.

I'm not complaining- this was clearly operator error. But I'm curious to know what happened and why.

Slept on it again the next night and it was fine, just very crinkly.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/thetrees_ on 2024-10-01 18:12:10+00:00.

I'm considering joining the umbrella club. For those who have them, do you have a reflective one or not, and do you feel there's a worthwhile difference between the two if the primary goal is sun protection? I notice the reflective ones tend to weigh more. I'm currently split between this reflective one from HMG and this super light one from Montbell. I did come across this article which claims there's no difference, but I would like to hear about more people's experiences. Thoughts on either of these or another umbrella you love would be super helpful.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/Mentalpopcorn on 2024-09-30 18:51:27+00:00.

LSS: lost one hiking partner to a break up and then another because his dog legs stopped being trail dog legs. That was 2021 and I'm just now hitting the trails again with a younger dog lady (old dog man is still very much alive at the ripe old age of 14, just hanging out with my mom when I go on trips).

Just ordered a GG Kumo Superlight, which looks awesome. What else have I missed?

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/YupYepYeah on 2024-09-29 15:41:29+00:00.

This post may not be allowed, but I'm curious to hear everyone's backcounty skiing/splitboarding tips and gear. I assume there is quite a bit of overlap between the UL hiker and backcounty skier communities, who are both trying to shave weight to move faster and further.

Winter is approaching and I'm looking for pro tips to lighten my kit.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/CatInAPottedPlant on 2024-09-28 23:12:44+00:00.

Screenshot:

Trying to buy a replacement segment for my poles, and it seems like zpacks is adding a $3 fee for "free returns and package protection. Maybe I'm just an idiot, but if you're charging $3 up-front, how exactly are those returns free?

Anyone else see this? There doesn't appear to be any way to remove it. Maybe on a bigger purchase this wouldn't add up to much, but on a <$50 purchase I feel zero need to be paying for the potential to return something for free.

I can't find anything on their website about this, and the checkout page offers no explanation either.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/lnlilglgla on 2024-09-27 08:58:51+00:00.

What is the most annoying piece of equipment that you bring hiking, and why?

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/Unparalleled_ on 2024-09-26 13:02:40+00:00.

Saw this new headtorch from silva. Thought it looked interesting and quite competitive.

700mah battery, so same as a petzl bindi, more than nu20 classic.

Also has USBC charging, like nitecore, and an upgrade over the petzl bindi. The charging port doesnt have a flap like the nitecore, but is somewhat hidden so still better than petzl.

The lumens settings seem more useful too (10,100,250) compared to the nitecore headlamps, but about the same as the petzl. Though the nitecore has the best peak brightness.

The tilt swivel design is like the nitecore, I like the petzl full range of swivel that also protects the led when rotated round.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/workingatbeingbetter on 2024-09-25 21:45:13+00:00.

I say backpacked instead of hiked because I don't want to include fastpacking, ultras, and the like. I'm talking several days food and whatnot. I've met a few people that have done more than 50, which seems insane to me (mine is probably 28 on the YHR due to a forest fire), but I'm curious what others have done.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/Comfortable-Pop-3463 on 2024-09-25 17:23:02+00:00.

Hey ! I bought a NU20 classic a few weeks ago. I did some runtime tests that I'm happy to share :

NU20 Classic runtimes : https://i.imgur.com/48ZH7TC.png

Zoom on the first 10 min : https://i.imgur.com/0hghegz.png

Please note : I used this fantastic little app called ceilingbounce on my phone to record the data. However my phone measures lux, not lumens. Lumens numbers in the chart could be inaccurate as they were only estimated based on the official specification for the medium mode (38 lm). Also I don't have a lab, so relative outputs between modes could be slightly off (but not by much). Relative outputs throughout a single mode should be very accurate.

‎ ‎ ‎

Details

- Turbo (spec : 360 lumens - 2h) :

Kind of steady for 30s, then loses 70% of its initial brightness over a minute. Afterwards, it decreases slowly until the 1H40 mark, then it declines to an output similar to the medium mode after 2h of runtime. It stays in medium for an additional 40min, then goes to low for an unknown time.

- High (spec : 190lm - 5h) :

Steady for 60s, then loses 50% of its initial brightness over 5min. The slower rate of decrease means the high mode is a bit brighter than the turbo mode between minute 1 and 5...

Then it diminishes slowly, reaching an output similar to medium after 2hr of runtime. It stays in medium for an additional 3hr, then goes to low for 1h30 more.

- Medium (spec : 38lm 7h) :

rockstable for 6h15, then goes to low for an additional 2h15. So my NU20 doesn't meet the spec (FL1 standard) on that mode (tested twice).

• Low (spec 1lm - 97h) : not tested

- High CRI aux light (spec : 20lm - 7h) : 6h15, so here again it doesn't meet the spec..

‎ ‎

Discussion

Since we already have one turbo mode, I really wish they made the high mode more stabilized. I don't see the point of blinding you and wasting energy for 5min. Plus it leads to unreliable and shorter runtimes if you happen to switch modes, as this will reset the timer each time. This behavior makes great video reviews though :)

Compared to the new NU25 (source, thanks to Face Wad), the runtimes of the NU20 appear to be significantly shorter / dimmer. Not surprising since the battery of the NU25 is 30% bigger (650 vs 500mAh), for 7g more (+18%). Note that Nitecore is boasting about the led efficiency of the NU20 using the old NU25 as reference, not the new one. And even the old NU25 may have better runtimes since it had a 20% bigger battery (610mAh), for the same weight. Maybe 110mAh is the weight of the battery indicator + USB C ?

At camp, I'd say it doesn't really matter since the battery life is already good enough, but it does make a difference if you like to night hike. The NU20 can still be used while charging though.

Another difference compared to the new NU25 or even the old NU25 (according to throw specs) is that the beam of the NU20 classic is quite narrow / spoty. I'm not sure whether or not it's better while hiking, but I don't really like it in close quarters. It makes a very noticeable hotspot, and the central spot of the NU20 at 1 lumen appears brighter than the one from a BD Astro at 6 lumens. Fortunately there is the floody high CRI light which I think will be perfect at camp (but will be too bright in the middle of the night).

I also wish nitecore updated their "headband", the one on the petzl bindi is just better imo.

To sum up, this is a good headlamp with a great UI and capable enough for most hikes, I just think nitecore could have done better 7 years after the original NU25 :). For the few people that hike in the dark regularly, the new NU25 might be a better option.

Thanks !

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/smithersredsoda on 2024-09-21 04:01:11+00:00.

Thanks to Dan Stenziano for his SSHR Post, this hike has been living rent free in my mind for the last couple of months. I have spent many, many hours on this sub and want to give back a little with a trip report for a XC route with some extreme (to me) challenges but lower MPD (my schedule was based on elevation gain per day at around 3500k) and a shorter overall timeline for those of us that are new to XC.

Where: Yosemite High Route + Sierra High Route (Section)

When: 09/07/2024 – 09/12/2024

Distance: 51.79 Miles – 13247/13617 Elevation (Max Elevation 12406 – wrong peak!)

Conditions: Incredible blue skies and very windy (10mph – 15mph sustained).

Lighterpack:Link

Useful Pre-Trip Information or Overview: A 50’ish mile section hike of the Yosemite and Sierra High Route inspired by Dan Stenziano’s SSHR trip. I purchased Skurka’s Sierra High Route and Yosemite Map sets w/rudimentary gpx (more on that in the trip report). Relevant maps were uploaded to Caltopo as spatial .pdfs and color printed 11x17 double sided.

Parked at Mammoth Mountain Ski resort (Section C – mountain side) for free long-term parking and pre-purchased tickets for the YARTS 120E at 8:30am from the main ski lodge. Aside: Mammoth RV Park now charges $25 per night for overnight parking. YARTS dropped .5 miles east of the Tuolumne Wilderness permit center (halfway to the Tuolumne Store).

Yosemite permit/hard sided bear can required for Mono/Parker pass which was widely available in September. Permit pick up in-person day before/of only (no printing from home). No camping allowed from TH up to and past spillway lake.

Photo Album: photos, route info and metrics: HERE

Background: I am a middle-aged male, in good condition and an experienced backcountry hiker (JMT, ALTA VIA 2) who had very limited cross-country experience. I spent many hours watching Map Reading Company YouTube videos on topographic maps, compass, micro/macro navigation. Right before this hike, I spent 2 weeks in the Sierra’s (Gem Lakes, Pig Pine Lakes) practicing XC skills. 1-5 miles at a time over increasingly difficult terrain while referencing paper and electronic maps. While this was nothing compared to the difficulties I ran into, it gave me the confidence to try this hike. My initial plan was to XC hike from TM to Donahue Pass via Kuna Crest and jump on the JMT if I was uncomfortable entering the Cathedral Range.

The Report: 

Day 1 (9.4 miles/2289 elev) 75f-45f

Great experience with the ranger picking up permit “as good as it gets” were his exact words. Started down the JMT and ran into a LE ranger who was more interrogatory and kept repeating the “no camping” policy for the parker pass creek watershed. Third (mounted) ranger 200 yards further down the JMT who smiled and waved. Lot’s o rangers in Yosemite. The first 1-2 miles was on trail with XC starting in a nice meadow and lasting until reaching the Mono/Park pass trail (+/- 5 miles). I have each day’s rudimentary /gpx loaded on my garmin Fenix and overlaid on Caltopo. Quite a bit of stress mentally as I am so new, and I mostly feel the pressure on setting off on a 5-6 day trip with no trail to guide me. I reach the Mono pass trail with socks full of foxtails but no major issues. I am really mentally tired after just 5, almost flat miles. Really struggling to stay calm with no “trail” to lead the way. The next 5 miles are cruisy and end with a short 1k climb to Mono Pass. Great established site 200 yards from the small lake at pass.

Day 2 (10.75 miles/3314 elev) 65f-42f

Garmin sleep score of 71 is pretty good for me in the backcountry. I audible a XC segment towards parker pass and down a meadow that was a great alternative to backtracking to the trailhead at Spillway lake. Next segment is up to Helen Lake. My mind keeps pushing back on how to proceed, I am stressed out over willow close to waterways as it’s so damn rigid and scratchy. Helen Lake is an open bowl and the wind is really, really distracting (20mph sustained). I make my way to the Kuna Crest saddle over medium talus and it’s about 20 minutes to the top. Very relieved to see the plateau! Next 4 miles are slab, mixed talus (some near the crux are huge and quite steep), tundra and an unbelievable view west! This is the moment that the high route views kick in. Lunch is on a massive plateau with a large lake and my first siesta (30 mins) as I am normally a grind it out and sleep type hiker. Start towards Donahue and spend most of my time just soaking in the views West/South, I am no poet but these moments are etched into my memory forever. Donahue pass is covered with hikers (11 in about 20 minutes) meet up with a trio that I was in-line with for permits at TM which was awesome! I leave the JMT and look up at another what the fuck section that seems way too steep to climb. I ignore the route guide and take the section left of the spillway which is even steeper but covered in grass (no talus). Day ends at a group of (3) tarns in a wind protected (I thought) site. Almost 11 miles feels physically fine but I am mentally exhausted.

Day 3 (4.09 miles! /1787) 62f-43f

Day 3 starts early (12:30am) as I have billowing (25mph+) wind slapping the sides of my tent which eventually pullout one of the Ti hooks, although fully seated and rock’s surrounding 75% of my site. The Xmid literally looks like a set of lungs with each gust expanding and contracting to the point where it feels like an empty shopping bag caught in the wind. I climb out and find a 25lb rock that stabilizes the roof. Very, very nosy night but I get a couple more (much needed) hours of sleep. Some talus walking leads to Maclure lake (incredible blue color) and it’s really , really cold and windy. I take a moment  to identify Russell pass and start my ascent.

** I am really trying to stay calm but this pass has been on my mind as the most difficult/dangerous of the hike and my lack of experience is crowding out the information in front me. I start traversing the bowl leading to the pass because I fell back on old habits of “follow the .gpx” which is really nothing more than connecting red dots on skurka’s map (he tells you not to use it for route navigation). I am scared and I am heading towards a very steep section. I follow the gps line which oddly points to a new ridge line. I ignore my earlier sighted pass and climb up, up up, looking to my left and laughing as I am now higher than I ever expected to be. I get to the top and look over to what is a shear drop off. I am not at Russell Pass and I feel sick to my stomach. I straddle the ridge with my feet and watch as my watch slowly adjusts it’s heading so that I can see that the pass is about 300 feet to my left. This is the moment I learn that a Garmin Fenix will takes minutes to display your accurate heading and my phone was much, much faster. I down climb about 100 feet and traverse towards the turret which I hoped I could use to ridge walk to the pass. I am wrong again and down climb a second time, traverse another 75 feet and finally get to Russell Pass. **

On the pass I look back and laugh out loud at how hard I have made this. Had I traveled the direct line through the bottom of the bowl (the Maclure glacier has a section missing which is exposed talus). I could have come straight up to the pass, and it would a have taken 45 min and not 2+ hours. No time to fuck around though, the descent is so steep I have to crane my neck and look straight down to get any idea of how to proceed. Luckily, it’s obvious with tables and ledges all within easy reach. The next 45 minutes are tedious steep talus down to the lake where I sit and look back still wondering how it’s possible I just climbed Russell Pass!

I walk over mixed tundra and talus past another tarn and down towards Sluggo Pass. The view is like some scene from LOTR and it’s hard to imagine that it’s real. I am done, mentally exhausted (maybe 50% as physically tired as I normally am and the end of a trail day). I can tell that I need to stop and I find a beautiful camp nestled in gully and out the wind which has been blowing all day. The campsites off trail are so much better than any I have ever found. Small bath in the lake and a couple of extra hours to try and mentally unwind. Netflix binge watch of Chappelle show was exactly what I needed.

Day 4 (7.69 miles/2600)(3800 down) 62f-45f

I wake up after a good night of sleep and try to convince myself that the most difficult part is over. Sluggo pass is an interesting set of ledges and I get in some much needed navigational practice. The view southwest of the pass is again, just incredible! It’s mixed talus and quite a bit of slick rock down towards the most beautiful alpine lake I have ever seen (Lake 10217). Shoes off and washing my socks, I look over with dread and the steep angle towards forester ridge and again wonder how it’s possible to safely climb this. This time I sight the ridge and keep it in perspective as I climb. From a distance what looks impossible becomes lined with cracks and switches, it’s steep, really steep but safe and I am at the base of Forester Ridge 40 minutes later.

**I make the exact same. gpx mistake aga...

Content cut off. Read original on https://old.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/comments/1flujkk/trip_report_long_yosemite_high_route_sierra_high/

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/WeevilsInTheCereal on 2024-09-20 17:47:08+00:00.

Original Title: For those who haven't discovered the amazing Lunatec washcloths: weighs only 10g, packs down to the size of a peanut shell, and will clean anything off your cookware without soap. Rinses clean, and dries in minutes if you snap it like a whip a couple times. Get the ones with the elastic loops!

Seriously, they're awesome. I've had mine for 10 years and still going strong.

I am not affiliated, but the official website is way cheaper than Amazon (at least in Canada).

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/Ok_Echidna_99 on 2024-09-19 17:21:07+00:00.

Garmin has just rejiggered their InReach plans this month and you will be moved to the new plan when your annual renewal occurs or if you want to change plans before. Annual plans are no more.

As best I can tell the Safety plan which I think most use is being replaced with the Essential plan which is $14.99 a month. The main changes are:

1. No annual fee.

2. There is an activation fee of $39.99 for new or to reactivate cancelled accounts.

3. You get 50 included messages instead of 10.

4. You can no longer suspend your account for free. You must cancel it and reactivate it paying the activation fee. Your data is saved for 2 years of deactivation. Cancelling happens immediately and not at the end of your current month.

5. Replacing "suspension" there is a new "Enabled" plan that is $7.99 a month for unlimited SOS but pay as you go everything else which you can chose instead of cancelling.

This is probably good news for people who mostly want the inReach for SOS as they can just use the Enabled plan for a one time $39.99 and then pay just $7.99 a month (~$96 a year) to have an always active SOS device. For other use cases it is probably slightly more expensive but you get a little more.

You can still upgrade and downgrade month to month for free if you want more prepaid messages etc.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/anthonyvan on 2024-09-18 18:26:09+00:00.

New norovirus outbreak on the Kalalau Trail, 50+ people affected. Trail closed until they finish disinfecting the place.

Reminder: soap weighs the same as hand sanitizer and actually works.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/tay_bridge on 2024-09-18 16:41:20+00:00.

What a great time for satellite communication, just when I was thinking of getting rid of my InReach Mini because iOS 18 supports sending text messages via satellite (tested last week, pretty good but not as "fire and forget" as InReach), Garmin drop this futuristic functionality. Seems like satellite comms is entering a golden age - great for safety, but maybe not so good for those of us that go into the mountains to escape the real world.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/Leonardo_DiCapriSun_ on 2024-09-17 22:44:02+00:00.

I’ve been thinking of graduating from three season backpacker for a while now and I think this year is the year.

Rather than asking about gear or just for general advice (I’ve lurked long enough to have heard most of it I think), I’d rather hear your first hand experiences of your first time. And I’m not talking a dusting in shoulder seasons, I’m talking winter camping on top of snow.

When/where did you go? Did you go with someone more experienced or was it up to you? What about it was harder than expected? What was easier? What mistakes did you make, and what were your successes? What do you do differently now?

This sub is so full of general advice and theory. Let’s hear some stories!

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/Lazy_Load_3981 on 2024-09-16 02:05:54+00:00.

I don't get the point of collapsible water bottles like the HydraPak Stow Bottles. I mean, I understand that you can roll them up, tuck them away and they take up very little space in your pack.

But if they started out full and got used (are now empty), or they're empty starting out but going to be filled along the way, don't you need to allow space in your pack for them regardless? How would saving some space later help if you always had to have that space available?

The only advantage I can imagine is if you didn't want to carry, say, a 3 litre bottle/bladder to your campsite but did want to be able to collect 3 litres of water at once from a nearby stream once at your campsite. What am I missing?

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/Ultralight by /u/hupo224 on 2024-09-13 19:54:31+00:00.

Just watched Justin Outdoors new video and saw this... can't find much info otherwise.

Obviously I purchased one as I really been looking for something with good ventilation and lightweight.

Outdoor research actually is sending me a new 2023 helium jacket (my current is a 2019 version) as I noticed that one soaks through and I am sure the 2023 one will too...

Excited to try the one from Ukraine though!