Wind River Range -- Part Two -- Logistics

Planning a week long hiking trip is fun, if you are an excel nerd, or maybe a chemist, or an outdoor enthusiast. Okay, never mind, it is actually fun no matter what! For me, planning is part of the package that makes up the perfect gift, a trip of a lifetime. I am not going to go into that here; you will be able to read more about that in part three, the trip report. For now, I will just say that the work that goes into something, be it the planning or the hiking or the sweat and the tears, or the cold nights and long days, makes the reward all that much more sweet.

The Plan: So the first thing I had to do was figure out where I wanted to go. I had been wanting to hike the Sierra High Route (SHR), which is an off trail route in the Sierras, for some time. However, it is about 200 miles long and at my estimate, I could hike about 20 miles per day, which would put me at 10 days, or too many days to do the trip on a one week vacation. So I looked for other options and found the Wind River High Route (WRHR), which is in the Wind River Range of Wyoming, very close to Jackson, Yellowstone and the Tetons. However, I will admit, I had never heard of this section of the Rockies before. However, this route, which was also off trail, was closer to 100 miles, which I figured I could do in one week. So, I invited my ultrarunning friend Dr. G and the planning began.

The Route: We used the Andrew Skurka guide, along with CalTopo maps and the app "Offline Maps" which has USGS topo maps that you can download to use offline. Skurka gives you a few GPS way points but the route is not mapped out for you. Dr. G loaded the waypoints into the Offline Maps as well. We also had a compass and paper topographical maps.

The Big Three: Next, it was time to get my gear list together. Luckily, I have a skeleton list already made out for other trips, so that part was not too much reinventing the wheel. However, this time, I wanted to finally buy some of those elusive lightweight items that had been on my wish list for so long. The main one was a sleeping bag. They say that there is a "big three" of hiking: the sleeping bag, the sleeping pad and the tent. These items, aside from food, are generally the heaviest in your pack. I had been shopping around for a lightweight but not super expensive sleeping bag for years and had even bought one once which turned out to not be warm enough. This time I bit the bullet and spent a little more in the hopes that this time I would have the sleeping bag of my dreams (see how I did that?)

I bought the following and will likely review them at some point: Western Mountaineering Ultralite 20 degree sleeping bag (29 oz), Hyperlite 2400 Southwest Backpack (28.6 oz), and the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Xlite Small size (8 oz). Dr. G carried a two man tent, which weighed about 2 lbs (32 oz). Therefore, my big three + my backpack only weighed about 4 lbs, or if you include the weight I carried to compensate for not carrying the tent, it was about 5 lbs. To put it in perspective, my old backpack, which I love and have used a lot, weighs about 5.5 lbs empty. Yes, I said empty!

The Clothing: For clothing, my plan was to wear the following: running shorts, short sleeved running shirt, underwear, bra, socks and Saucony trail running shoes (Nomad). I would carry the following: Mountain Hardware windbreaker, long sleeved running shirt, Montbell rain jacket, rain pants, beanie, buff, gloves, MH down jacket, sleeping shirt (long sleeved), NorthFace tights, extra underwear, socks & bra. All of the clothing I carried (not counting clothing worn) weighed about 39 oz or 2.5 lbs.

The Other Stuff: I also had to bring toiletries, kitchen items (pot, pan, spoon, bowl, fuel, matches etc.), first aid, dry bags, water purifier, electronics (phone, charger, headlamp, camera etc.) and other utility items (knife, rope, compass, trash bag, whistle etc.). All together these weighed about 4 lbs.

Base Pack Weight: This is all things, excluding consumables, which include food, water and fuel. My goal was to keep this weight under 20 lbs, as I estimated food would be about 1.7 lbs per day x 6 days, which would be about 10 lbs, and I wanted to keep my pack under 30 total lbs. My total base weight ended up being about 11.5 lbs!! I was very excited about this.

The Food: This was the most fun but definitely the most time consuming portion of the planning. Oh my, I just said "portion." Ha. Seriously though, the goal is to carry the most amount of calories in the least amount of weight. We planned to try to have approximately 3,000 calories per day worth of food, which would hopefully be no more than 1.7 lbs per day. This sounds easy, right? You just load up your pack with Top Ramen and PowerBars, right? Nah. My goal was to have food that: (1) is nutritious, (2) tastes good, (3) is inexpensive (no $8 Mountain House meals), (4) can just have hot water added to it to cook and that (5) has some variety.

So I did a lot of weighing and calorie counting and math and came up with this food plan: Breakfast consisted of either muesli or oatmeal with milk, nuts and freeze dried fruit. Both were about 700 calories. There would also be coffee, with powdered milk and sugar, which would be about 80 - 100 calories. Lunch and snacks would consist of various nuts, bars, jerky, and dried fruit and would consist of about 1,200 - 1,600 calories per day. Dinner would consist of a curried top ramen dish, a mashed potato with bacon dish or a rice and beans dish, each clocking in at a little over 700 calories. I also brought olive oil to supplement, which is about 100 calories per serving. All in all, the goal was about 2,600 - 3,000 calories per day.

The H2O: I brought a 1.5L bladder and a 0.5L soft flask for water. Each liter of water weighs about 2 lbs, but my plan was to try to carry the least amount possible and fill up frequently, so as to keep the pack weight down.

Total Pack Weight: My food ended up being about 1.4 lbs per day. This, plus an estimated liter of water, would bring my total starting pack weight to about 23 total lbs. HOWEVER...Dr. G carried the tent and I carried some of his food, which brought my total up by about 4.5 lbs bringing my actual starting pack weight to 27.5 lbs.

The Verdict: This is the lightest I have ever been when doing a multi day backpacking trip. I lugged over 40 lbs up Mt. Whitney for a one night trip. I will (hopefully) never have to do that again. The pack felt comfortable and even when climbing up a steep rock or going through a tight squeeze, it was not too cumbersome.

A couple of things I would probably leave behind: the olive oil (it leaked plus we never used it), the all purpose soap (I did not shower, bathe, or use soap to do dishes or clean clothes like I thought I might), my sleeping shirt (I slept in my hiking clothes, although it is nice to have a possible dry shirt if needed), sports bra (I wore one and brought a spare and ended up wearing neither in the end) and my just-in-case tank top (it was never warm enough).

A couple of things I might bring some of / more of: gauze (I had tape but no gauze and I got a pretty big scrape which could have used a bit bigger of a cover), socks (I brought one spare but having wet feet is a pain), a different water carrying system (more on that in the trip report) and a different/newer charger (my solar charger is old and ran out of juice fast, plus it was not sunny so I could not recharge it).

A couple of things I could not have lived without: this Picaridin bug lotion (NO bug bites when applied, even with mosquitoes SWARMING), Advil, Neosporin / Bandaids / Leukotape (as mentioned above, I got a scrape and it was nice to have something to clean it), earplugs (my tentmate was a snorer, plus the sleeping pads are loud) my new sleeping bag (fabulous! We spent one night in a snowstorm and I was not cold at all), maps/compass/GPS (after all, this was an off trail trek), Garmin 910ST, camera (I took about 800 photos), Yaktrax (I almost left them behind), and nuts (fat, protein and carbs all rolled into one, which keeps you feeling more full throughout the day).

In the end, I ate every speck of my food, except for the olive oil and one packet of Justin's Peanut Butter. I also used everything in my bag, except for the few things mentioned above and any emergency items (rope, knife, first aid). There was nothing that I really missed or really felt was dead weight. I felt that the packing ended up being pretty much perfect. I may try to compress a few things down a bit more with a compression sack so I can fit a little more if I am hiking for more days. I also need to figure out my water system and probably configure one extra pocket on the front of my pack (my pack has two hip pockets but no chest pocket). Otherwise, things are looking pretty good!

Have you ever planned for a long hiking or backpacking trip? Or maybe a long vacation? What is your logistical planning strategy?

Wind River Range -- Part One -- Trail Conditions

At the beginning of this month my friend Dr. G and I went hiking in the Wind River Range in Wyoming. It was hard for us to find online information regarding weather etc., so my trip report is going to consist of three parts: (1) Weather Report / Trail Conditions, (2) Logistics and (3) Trip Report. This way if anyone needs trail info, they will hopefully be able to find it here. If you are reading this and don't plan on hiking, you can skip part one and wait until part two or three come out! 

A taste of what's to come

I will go into this in more detail later, but most of our hike consisted of traveling on the semi-charted and very informal "Wind River High Route." (See here for the Skurka version or the Wilson/Dixon version) Described by Andrew Skurka as being approximately 66% off trail, it consisted of a lot of boulder hopping, stream fording, snowfield crossing, bushwhacking and route finding. This was a huge challenge as well as being a lot of fun. However, there were some things that it would have been nice to know beforehand. 

First and foremost, there was A LOT more snow than I expected. Most of the route is above 10,500 feet and much of it is even in the 12,000 foot plus range. I knew there would be some snow; I knew this year was more snowy than others have been. However, there was still even more snow that I expected even after taking certain factors into consideration. I brought Yaktrax and Dr. G had micro-spikes and we used them a lot! However, depending on your expertise, I would even say that some sections warranted crampons/ice axes or at least trekking poles, especially if you are inexperienced or faint at heart. 

Wilson/Dixon descending the south side of Alpine Lakes Pass in 2013 (source)

Dr. G ascending the south side of Alpine Lakes Pass Aug 2017

Dr. G ascending the south side of Alpine Lakes Pass Aug 2017 (he is the tiny speck beyond the tiny rock)

Foodwise, I ate ALL of my food. When the hike was done, I had one packet of peanut butter (180 calories) left over. I had eaten every other scrap of food that I brought. I will go into more detail about this in the logistics portion of this series, but basically my takeaway is that I forgot how much the altitude and constant movement can burn up those calories!

In addition, of the seven days we hiked, five of them had rain, hail or snow. One night, as we were camping at about 11,000 feet, we got snowed on and woke up to the sound of the snow sliding off the top of the tent to the ground. The next day there was a beautiful layer of new snow, which was priceless, but it was hard to see the rocks underneath to see where to step or to determine where the best path was. Needless to say, I wore pretty much everything that I brought, even the "just in case" layers, and I was mighty glad to have bought a new sleeping bag before setting out. Also, if you do not have a waterproof backpack, I suggest dry bags or at the very least a trash bag pack liner. 

Rainy but never gloomy!

New snow! Beautiful but hard to get traction! Looking north from Europe peak.

Due to the above and probably other things such as route finding errors and variability of the route in general, the hike took us a lot longer than expected. The total route is supposed to be 96 miles, so we thought it realistic that we would take five or maybe six days to complete the route. However, due to a few wrong turns and snowy days, it took us seven days, we only averaged about 15 miles per day AND ended up with a total route distance of 114 miles. 

If you have any questions, I am happy to answer them! 

For my normal readers, have you ever gone off trail when hiking? Have you ever heard of the Wind River Range?

What a Difference a Day Makes

I run, but I am not a runner.

I wear a ratty old t-shirt; I don't have the newest lululemon quick-wicking, poly-propylene, fire-resistant $78 dollar t-shirt. I still struggle a lot. I lack motivation. I dread going out some days, even though I feel great once I am done. I still think, as I am running, about how much I would like to walk. This happens all the time. But I always tell myself, "just one more mile, just one more mile."

And that is how I run. One mile at a time, for 3 miles, or 6 miles, or 8 miles. Or 13.1 miles. And someday I will run for 26.2 miles. And then I might move to Turkey and lie on the beach all day eat dolmas and hummus and never move again.

On Saturday, my thermometer said it was 93 degrees. While this is hot, I have been running in the evenings most of the time and it is generally around 90 degrees then, so I thought nothing of it. I went out and did what Hal Higdon calls an "easy pace run", where you run only 3 miles at your half marathon pace. Sounds like a cinch, right? But I was dying. Literally. The sweat/humidity was dripping off of me; my face was the color of lobster bisque; I was panting like a Pomeranian. It was Hell.

So, my next day on the Hal Higdon schedule of Hell was Sunday, the long run day, and my goal was 8 miles. After my 3 mile "easy pace" run, I was sitting in the car crying/hating running with the AC blowing full speed on my face and as my brain cooled off a bit, I (got really smart and) decided that in order to not fall over dead of heat exhaustion and to keep myself from hating running completely from now on, the long run would have to be at a cooler time. So, along came the 5:30 am wake up plan. This is all well and good, except that Sunday is my ONE chance to sleep in. Out the window that went in the name of running. Ciao sleep (sorry mommies, I know you are thinking, "Dude, I never get any sleep and this girl is complaining about one little Sunday morning. Boo hoo her")!

Sunday morning I got up, had a cup of coffee and some breakfast and hit the trail running. Literally. It was 78 degrees outside. I ran. I kept waiting for the feeling to come back, you know, the one that I have had pretty much EVERY DAY that I have run in MO, but it didn't. I ran and was happy, not too sore, not too hot and not feeling like walking! One hour and 18 minutes later I was done. It wasn't even 8 o'clock yet. I was already done.

And I felt good. Not just physically good, and believe me, I felt physically GREAT, but mentally good. I felt confident that when my race comes in the fall, I am going to nail it. I am going to finish, not with dread in my heart but with a good feeling. I have been doubting that a lot. The runs I have been doing have been draining, even the short ones. And, while I may not be running at my goal pace (9 minute miles for a half marathon, which would bring me to a sub 2 hour half), I am feeling better about myself and my running.

Even if I am not yet a runner.

This post is a Fitness Friday linkup with Jill at: 

I have a couple of questions for the more seasoned runners (or smart people in general!). One: My iPod keeps dying. I think it's from the humidity. Does anybody know a way to protect it/fix it? Two: The strap that keeps my iPod on my arm is giving me chafe. Three: I have never used Gu or any of those supplements. What is your take on that? Any tips? 

Winter?

I just took these photos -- literally 5 minutes ago. Snow. In May. Can you believe it? And yes, I am back in California. In the snow. In May.

I took this one earlier today.

I noticed the weather in New Orleans was about 90 degrees today. How is the weather in YOUR neck of the woods?

Ewww, Wetness

Oh the horror. Have you ever lived in a really humid place? I mean, a REALLY humid place. Okay, so you have. Now, think about living there without air conditioning. Or a dryer. Or a car. With mold everywhere. And rain all the time. Now we are getting somewhere. You might understand what it is like in India right now.

I thought New Orleans is bad in the summer time. It rains every day. The temperature is in the 90s and the humidity is also in the 90s. However, I think in India the humidity is in…the 190s! Everything is wet. Everything. The bed is wet; my backpack is wet; any book you read - you guessed it - wet. I am afraid to take anything out of the double wrapped plastic bagging system I have developed. I don’t want to use my iPod or my camera or write in my journal. What if they get wet?

You take a shower, get out, dry yourself and hang up the towel. The next day, my hair is STILL wet, the towel is STILL wet. You never dry. It is so gross. To top it off, it rains every day AND it is hot. We came to the beach to relax but the water is warm and you never really get dry and if you get your clothes (or even your bathing suit) wet THEY never dry so you have to carry them around wet all the time. All our clothes smell moldy, probably because they ARE. There is no end to this insanity.

So, we are going north. We thought it would be a good idea to go where everyone said it was so nice - Goa (south of Mumbai). So we went to Goa. But its too wet and the water is actually dirty, sandy and warm. So we are going north (towards the Himalayas). We have not decided where yet, but I think the desert or the mountains. Anywhere where your feet don’t feel damp all the time and where your blanket on your bed feels dry. I can deal with heat but the wetness is driving me crazy.

Editors note:  I wrote the above a few days ago. Yesterday I found MOLD on my backpack. I am completely grossed out. I was never really a fan of Air Conditioning, but I may have to join the club after all. If only to be dry. I am totally disgusted.