Summer is here, let's ULBackpack!

Me (reflection) Backpacking at Green Swamp last year

What I want to talk about today is Ultralight Backpacking, and what things you need and what you need to know to get out there.
The base weight of my gear is currently 9.5 pounds.  That includes the tent, sleeping pad, quilt, clothing, spares, cook gear, first aid, grooming, empty water bottles and the the pack itself.  That is everything I carry EXCEPT food, fuel & water.  I pack about 1.5 pounds per person per day (ppppd) for food, plan for 4 ounces (3 Esbit tabs + 1 spare) of fuel used per day and typically carry 2 liters of water at a time, unless the route requires I carry more between refills (water weighs 2.2 pounds per liter).
Let's start with a backpack.  For up to 3 days, a 35 liter/2130 cubic inch backpack is more than enough space for carrying your ultralight gear.  Some UL Backpackers can hike many more days with this pack.  Aim for a pack that weighs about one pound.  Expect a total loaded pack to weigh under 20-25 pounds including food, fuel & 2 liters of water.  Be sure your backpack can carry the weight before you overload it.  My pack is the Gossamer Gear Kumo and it is very comfortable for all-day long backpacking.  The GoLite Jam is also a very good choice in both the 35 & 50 liter sizes.

Gossamer Gear Kumo - 35 Liters, 1 lb.

For much longer hikes and areas where bear-proof canisters are required, a 50 liter/3050 cubic inch backpack is plenty of space with room to handle resupply stops and 5-7 days of food.  This should weigh about 2 pounds.  You may carry up to 35-40 pounds of gear in your pack for a few days including food, fuel & 2 liters of water.  This would be the right size pack for a through-hiker on the Appalachian Trail.  I like the REI backpacks like the Flash 45 shown below, but there are several other backpack manufacturers you should look at before deciding.  Just remember to keep the weight of a 50 liter bag to as near 2 pounds as possible.

REI Flash 45 - Lg 50 Liters, 2 lbs 3 oz.

Do carry enough clothing to keep warm at night like a polar plus jacket or sweater, long underwear, and a hat.  Remember the temperature drops 3.5 degrees for each 1000 feet you gain in elevation.  So if your trail will climb to the camp site at 3500 feet, and if it is forecast to be 40 degrees tonight down here at sea level, your temperature would be closer to 28 degrees at camp, cold enough to freeze your water bottles (or 3.5 degrees x 3.5 for each 1000 feet).
So with my ThermaRest Alpine 35 degree blanket (quilt) and wearing all my clothing, I would be quite warm and comfortable.  A 20 degree bag would be overkill in the summer and way too hot and sweaty for most nights.
Let's talk about water.  I always plan to carry at least 2 liters of water, unless I am familiar with the water sources along the trail.  For most backpacking trips I have the ability to carry 5 liters at one time using a combination of my two 1 liter Gatorade bottles outside the pack in the side pockets, 2 Platypus 1 liter soft water bottles inside the pack plus 1 liter of unfiltered water in my Sawyer filter bag (filter later).  While that is 11 pounds of water (more than my base weight), it is a full days supply of drinking water for me, counting cooking and cleaning needs.  That would cover me if I had to "dry camp", as long as water was an hour or two down the trail in the morning.  Desert travel may require more, Northeastern US travel may require less.  Just remember it is as important to carry enough water as it is important to not carry too much water.  Research your route and talk to others who have backpacked there recently (last week, this time last year) to get a hikers take on available water flow.  Remember the words from Andrew Skurka, who said that if you reach the next water source and still have water in your pack, you have made a mistake.
To review what you need to know:

• Your base weight is the total weight of everything in your pack EXCLUDING food, fuel & water.
• Plan to carry at least 1.5 pounds (ppppd) food per person per day, maybe more.
• 1-3 night backpack size 35 liters and weighs 1 pound.
• 5 day+, bear canister capable, through-hike backpack size 50 liters and weighs 2 pounds.
• Temperature drops 3.5 degrees each 1000 feet of elevation gain.  Carry adequate clothing and plan to sleep in everything you have when it is cold.
• Water weighs 2.2 pounds per liter.
• If you don't already know, learn how much water you need to drink per day, include cooking & cleaning.
• Have the capability to carry one day's supply of water, talk to previous hikers and study the maps and make your best guess at the next water source.  Try not to overload yourself if it is unnecessary.

Next week, we'll cover more about what to expect when backpacking.

REI Jacksonville Opens

REI Jacksonville

Last weekend, I traveled the two hours north on the Interstate to the new Jacksonville REI store opening with my friend Walt.  We passed the time catching each other up on what is happening in our personal lives, talking about hikes and bicycle rides and about the REI store's grand opening and the items we would be looking for.  REI was offering a free water bottle plus a gift card they were to be handing out to the first 200 people through the door daily.

We arrived about 15 minutes before the store opening, and were aghast (and pleased) at the long line outside the store, winding clear across to the West Marine store at the far other end of the strip center.  As we entered the store, we were surrounded by REI employees ringing bells (bear bells?) in their hands, welcoming us inside.  The store was packed!  It was so tight we had difficulty maneuvering through people in some of the isles to look at merchandise.  As full as it was, the store employees were always smiling and were being helpful.  After about 30 minutes of tight passageways, most of that crowd had now moved into the long checkout line, which wrapped around the store from the hiking boots section to the registers.

The REI store is laid out in a large square with high ceilings and was constructed in a similar ecological way to the western REI stores I was familiar with in Denver.  The layout starts with bicycles in front of you and to the right, with camping gear in the middle of the store. Backpacks adorn the back wall behind the camping gear section with kayaks, car racks and bicycle repair to the right rear.  Footwear covers the left rear store section, wrapping through hats to clothing which filled more than the left third of the floor space.  The travel section is in the front of the store on that left side with the registers in the middle, near the front door.  The clothing section was loaded with all the basic outdoor brands and, of course, REI's own brand.  This was easily the largest section of the store with a good variety of styles and colors.  The restrooms are to the right rear beside the community service information area.  To see store photos without the crowds, check out Sandra Friends Florida Hikes! blog here.
I was slightly disappointed the store did not have a climbing wall, since REI began business years ago by a group of American mountain climbing friends creating a co-op in order to buy climbing gear.  I was used to the Denver stores having climbing walls and there may be space to add one down the road.

REI Flash 45 Backpack

I did find all the equipment I was looking for and have made some decisions since I have now "touched" the items.  The REI Flash 45 backpack will work just fine for future week-long and through-trips backpacking.  It has two zippered pockets in the lid and the support stays seemed to transfer weight directly to the hip belt.  The "regular" size was way too small for my long body, and I would require the large size so the waist belt would actually land at my waist.  The front outside pocket is one big pocket, attached to the far sides of the pack.  It will have to be loaded a little differently than it would if it had separate side pockets.  This was something the online pictures do not show well.  The waist belt pockets were a little smaller than I thought, but they will still hold enough gear to be useful.  The next time I go to the store, I will load it up with 25 to 35 pounds weight to see how it carries on my back while loaded.  

I also liked the REI Safari Adventure Touring bicycle with it's butterfly handlebars for nearly-infinite hand positions.  This will work for loaded bicycle tours and the paved multi-use trails and local streets I ride weekly.  While the REI Randonee has been my touring choice for many years, the Safari has improved greatly in the past few years to become a really well-made touring bicycle.  It appears both bicycles use the same 520 chromoly tubing frame, though I do not know that for certain.   I also checked into new bicycle shorts and shirts that don't make me look like I just rode in from the the Tour De France.

REI Safari Adventure Touring Bicycle

From all my years of accumulating stuff, there isn't much equipment that I need anymore in the camping gear section.  I did check out the Princeton LED light and some small containers for use in the health kit.  I was disappointed they didn't have a large selection of Florida national and state park maps, but maybe they didn't come in yet.  They did have many of the 2013 maps for the Appalachian Trail plus the current AT guide, and had planning books and maps of several popular national parks around the country.  

Overall, I am very pleased REI has entered the Florida outdoor retail market.  It is much better than driving 8 hours to Atlanta, Ga to "touch" an item.  For now I will drive the 2 hours to Jacksonville to do so.  While in the checkout line, we overheard an REI employee saying that the corporate group was closely watching this store's opening, to see if there is enough demand to open more stores in Florida.  I think they will find that there is more than enough demand to open 3 or 4 more stores throughout the state.  Hopefully one of those is in central Florida real soon!

REI Store Comes To Jacksonville, FL

REI is expanding it's outdoor sporting goods stores into Florida with the first store to open here on Friday, March 1, in Jacksonville!  The store opens with a complete bicycle shop and provides paddle sports, outdoor clothing and gear and equipment rentals.
Store grand opening festivities include a free continental breakfast served Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings, March 1-3 before the store opens.  They also have early shopper gifts with free gift cards inside, a free REI T-shirt for new members who signup there, and daily sweepstakes (drawings) over the weekend.  More REI information is here.


REI has been my provider of choice of outdoor gear since the early 1980's.  They were a family destination when we lived in Colorado where my children learned to climb in safety on their in-store climbing walls. I still buy backpacking gear there online, including some company label lightweight packs and clothing.  When you go, check out the REI Flash 18 and the REI Flash 45 lightweight backpacks for day hiking or extended backpacking trips. While I have not yet tested the 2 pound, 4 ounce Flash 45, it appears to have the light weight and features I need for future through-hikes.  I love my 9.7 ounce Flash 18 and use it on all of my day hikes and to carry my lunch to work.  You can read about my use of the Flash 18 on my blog here.
The new REI store is located on Jacksonville's southeast side, just off Butler Boulevard.  Driving from Orlando; go East on I-4 and north on I-95.  Outside of Jacksonville, take the I-295 bypass east and exit onto Butler Boulevard, highway 202, going west.  Turn right onto Gate Parkway North and then right onto Town Center Parkway.  Turn right at the second turn and REI will be just to the left.  Check the map here.
REI is also very connected to the outdoors in the markets they serve and they provide highly organized volunteer work for trail maintenance and ecological projects around the area.  If you have the time and inclination to volunteer outside, I can say my experience volunteering with them in Denver was very positive.  Check here for the next volunteer event at Hanna Park.  They are also reported to be a great place to work.  Don't forget about REI Travel and the in-store outdoor training classes.  The Jacksonville area is lucky in this regard.  I plan to be at the REI store at some point over the grand opening weekend to look around and to actually touch the Flash 45 backpack, something that cannot be done online.  If you go, please drive safely and have a great time!