The backpacking thread

[Unimog]

My Venturing Crew met Tuesday night and voted for their weeklong high adventure choices for the year. They pretty much agreed on the Four Pass Loop trail over around the Maroon Bells outside of Aspen. Looks like a fantastic time to me. Anyone here hiked it?

 

[thefirstzukman]

My Venturing Crew met Tuesday night and voted for their weeklong high adventure choices for the year. They pretty much agreed on the Four Pass Loop trail over around the Maroon Bells outside of Aspen. Looks like a fantastic time to me. Anyone here hiked it?

Can I join your ward? I cant get our Crew to do anything like that, i'm working hard on them though.


New issue for me is that I laid on the Regular Xtherm pad and i'm wider then it.. I don't think the extra 5" of the large is going to help either. If I lay on my side I will need a big pillow, my arms don't lay close to my sides for some reason Going to take some playing around to figure out this one. Maybe Ill just carry my large size Dreamtime pad.

 

[mesha]

Can I join your ward? I cant get our Crew to do anything like that, i'm working hard on them though.


New issue for me is that I laid on the Regular Xtherm pad and i'm wider then it.. I don't think the extra 5" of the large is going to help either. If I lay on my side I will need a big pillow, my arms don't lay close to my sides for some reason Going to take some playing around to figure out this one. Maybe Ill just carry my large size Dreamtime pad.

one of the issues with the neo air pads is they are measured deflated. A 20" deflated pad is more like 18" inflated. Also, the neoair pads are known for having edges that "collapse" when you get close to them. I have found I can deal with it and it doesn't bother me too much. The exped series of pads are a little wider than the noe air pads. The large expel synmat ul7 is 26" wide instead of the claimed 25" of the neo air. The exped also has the tubes running length wise and that makes the edges actually hold you on the pad until you get all of your weight on the edge. The XTHERM is much warmer.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Can I join your ward? I cant get our Crew to do anything like that, i'm working hard on them though.

x2, our group has similar issues. However, our problem stems from the parents. Unless they're staying at a houseboat, cabin, or condo, the parents don't want to go, and we can't get enough adult coverage to hold activities. So the past 3 years have been houseboating on lake powell, staying at a cabin in strawberry, and houseboating at lake powell. Not too "high adventure" if you ask me.

High comfort? Yes.
High fun? Yes.

I just wish they wouldn't call it high adventure.


/rant

 

[Unimog]

Can I join your ward? I cant get our Crew to do anything like that, i'm working hard on them though.

Sorry - We are limited to 10 people on this one. We will probably have 6 young men, a couple of fathers, and I will have to turn away some leaders. Once the boys get a taste for real adventure, i'm betting most will never turn back. Some of the older boys want to "redo" some of our earlier adventures because they recognize now that they just didn't appreciate it when they were 14 and 15. I don't have any advice other than our adults are excited about adventure. We talk it up with the younger boys - when they are 14, they might be invited to join us.

 

[thefirstzukman]

one of the issues with the neo air pads is they are measured deflated. A 20" deflated pad is more like 18" inflated. Also, the neoair pads are known for having edges that "collapse" when you get close to them. I have found I can deal with it and it doesn't bother me too much. The exped series of pads are a little wider than the noe air pads. The large expel synmat ul7 is 26" wide instead of the claimed 25" of the neo air. The exped also has the tubes running length wise and that makes the edges actually hold you on the pad until you get all of your weight on the edge. The XTHERM is much warmer.

I could feel the warmth of the pad almost instantly, I was very surprised how fast it happened, and the pad felt comfortable to me, just the pillow thing i think.. I will just start playing around and figure it out.

 

[blznnp]

I was excited that our venture group wanted to go on a weeklong backpacking trip, but the. We realized that we will only have two boys at that time in the year so we are joining up with the adventure group an will be going to st George/ sand hallow area, wheeling for a couple days, fishing a couple, an hiking the rest. Should still be fun but I was looking forward to back packing. Only a couple of the. Have actually don't it, sad really. At their age I had done multiple 50+ mile week longs.

 

[ozzy702]

Really no boyscouts to speak of in my ward... it's very young families and super old people ready to croak.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Here's a golite 10% off coupon for orders over $100. Expires today.

coupon code: NYNA10

 

[sixstringsteve]

I'm planning on some backpacking this weekend. It'll be south of Saratoga Springs, on the motorcycle singletrack trail out there. I need to get some miles in to get in shape for spring/summer. Anyone who wants to is welcome to join. I plan on doing about 4-5 miles Friday night, camping, then ~15 miles on Saturday.

 

[thefirstzukman]

I'm planning on some backpacking this weekend. It'll be south of Saratoga Springs, on the motorcycle singletrack trail out there. I need to get some miles in to get in shape for spring/summer. Anyone who wants to is welcome to join. I plan on doing about 4-5 miles Friday night, camping, then ~15 miles on Saturday.

Wish I could, wife is strongly advising I help her with her YW group on Sat morn at the Temple. I have however bumped my morning workouts up to 2.5 hrs a day to get prepaired for hiking. That long at the gym requires a meal in the middle.. too long and the only time I have in my life for me is until 7am so 4:30 to 7:00 it is. I have run over 20 miles this week already, plan to be in the mid 50s a week by mid February.

 

[ozzy702]

Wish I could, wife is strongly advising I help her with her YW group on Sat morn at the Temple. I have however bumped my morning workouts up to 2.5 hrs a day to get prepaired for hiking. That long at the gym requires a meal in the middle.. too long and the only time I have in my life for me is until 7am so 4:30 to 7:00 it is. I have run over 20 miles this week already, plan to be in the mid 50s a week by mid February.

Wow! You just made me feel like a huge lard ass... Of course I hate running (all lard asses do) so that is a huge part of my awe for your workout program.

 

[DAA]

I've cut down from four cigars to three. And I've only been doing 750's on Friday nights instead of a full liter.

I don't run. I turn and fight.

- DAA

 

[Kevin B.]

I don't run either. I'm that guy you take with you to get eaten by the bear.

 

[thefirstzukman]

Wow! You just made me feel like a huge lard ass... Of course I hate running (all lard asses do) so that is a huge part of my awe for your workout program.

I'm no little guy.. 5'10" 240 lbs And I'm not fast, but I know the only way for me to do what I want is to put in work.

It's the 7 P Principle
Prior Perfect Practice Prevents Piss Poor Performance.. I refuse to be the guy that screws up someone's hiking trip.
I could cut down the time but I lift weights for the first hour then do whatever cardio I am going to do for an hour and a half or so.

I've cut down from four cigars to three. And I've only been doing 750's on Friday nights instead of a full liter.

I don't run. I turn and fight.

- DAA

I wish there was a like button instead of a thanks button!! You always make me laugh..

 

[sixstringsteve]

bump for tonight's hike/camp if anyone wants to come. There are a few options for those who can't stay the night:

1) just hike tonight. ~ 3-5 miles. There is a parking lot nearby where I will be camping, so if you don't want to spend the night you can just hike to your car and we can shuttle.

2) hike tonight and leave in the morning. Same as above, but with camping.

3) meet up tomorrow morning for the 10+ mile hike (this will be tougher to coordinate since I don't know exactly where I'll be pitching my tent.)

Tonight's hike is wife, kid, and fat man friendly. I'm not sure what the trail conditions are. It could be totally dry (not likely), muddy (likely), snowy (quite possible), or a combination of all 3 (most likely). Think of it as a perfect way to test out your new gear where the consequences are very low if you forget something important.

 

[Rock Taco]

I'm still recovering from last weekend but thanks for making this fat man friendly for me.

 

[sixstringsteve]

the fat guy friendly is more for me.

 

[thefirstzukman]

Made some Energy Bars last night and they turned out great, the only problem is having a pan full of energy bars and keeping everyone out of them.

 

[Rock Taco]

bump for tonight's hike/camp if anyone wants to come. There are a few options for those who can't stay the night:

1) just hike tonight. ~ 3-5 miles. There is a parking lot nearby where I will be camping, so if you don't want to spend the night you can just hike to your car and we can shuttle.

2) hike tonight and leave in the morning. Same as above, but with camping.

3) meet up tomorrow morning for the 10+ mile hike (this will be tougher to coordinate since I don't know exactly where I'll be pitching my tent.)

Tonight's hike is wife, kid, and fat man friendly. I'm not sure what the trail conditions are. It could be totally dry (not likely), muddy (likely), snowy (quite possible), or a combination of all 3 (most likely). Think of it as a perfect way to test out your new gear where the consequences are very low if you forget something important.

So how was it? Pics?

Made some Energy Bars last night and they turned out great, the only problem is having a pan full of energy bars and keeping everyone out of them.

What did you put in them? Samples?