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Twenty nine pounds. That’s what I carried on my back up a mountain. And then I slept in the woods.
This season, our hiking group made two expeditions to Tahquitz Peak. At 8,846 feet in elevation, the trek is about 9-10 miles round trip. Both hikes were made from Humber Park and the Devil's Side Trail. Our first summit was on May 4, just a day trip. It was surprisingly easy compared to our hikes from last summer. Our second summit was on May 18, where we made our way to a campground just beyond Saddle Junction and set up camp. After an hour of downtime, we scurried up to the summit and back to camp. One of our group members actually made lemon drop shooters for everyone. Luxury, indeed. I was incredibly cold, but admit that I didn’t bring enough layers for the overnight temperatures in the low 40s. Returning to the car was an easy 3 mile walk the next morning.
What I carried: Backpack – Gregory Jade 40 small
Water bladder, 2L full
Sleeping bag – Big Agnes Pearl petite
Sleeping pad – Exped Basic 7.5 petite
Pillow – Thermarest small
Half the tent – REI Half Dome 2 (rental)
Chair Kit - Thermarest
Summit pack - REI Flashpack 18
Water filter - Katadyn
Platypus water bottle, 1L empty
Gallon ziplock bag of trail food – mostly full
Mountain House dinner
Spoon
Head lamp
First aid kit – 10 essentials and some.
Toiletries kit – Mini deodorant, Colgate Wisp cleaner, hair brush, hair ties, face wash towelettes, lotion.
Personal items – iPod, ID, cash, notepad and pen, car key. All in a small waterproof bag.
Sun screen
Bug repellant
Hand sanitizer
Sleeping shorts
Sleeping bra
Extra underpants
Extra hiking socks
Clothes stuff sack
Wind breaker jacket
Thinner layering jacket
Flip flops
Rope, small bungee chords, ties
What I wore: Hat
Sunglasses
T-shirt
Tank top
Pants
Toe socks
Hiking socks
Boots
What I carried on my person: Trail snacks
Chap stick
Cell phone
Hiking poles
Cooking system and other half of tent were carried by my hiking partner.
Although expensive, the backpack and sleeping pad were absolutely worth the investment.
Sleeping on a luxurious 2.8 inches of air mattress while the other campers tossed and turned on their paper-thin blue foam mats was validation that my purchase was a good one. My backpack was extremely comfortable. It carried all the weight on my hips as advertised and I did not have any shoulder or back pain the days following the hike. I did not use the Thermarest chair kit. While it is a good design, its one flaw is that there are no legs to this chair. So I'd either be sitting on the ground or awkwardly leaning against a rock.
What I wish I had brought: Warmer pajamas. Hands down, that was the one thing that would have made the trip perfect. Next trip I plan to bring more thermal gear for the evening and sleeping and a camp stool of sorts.
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