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Lunar Solo - The Perfect Pitch

ronmoak — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:56:00 GMT

Over the years one of the most pervasive knocks about the Lunar Solo is it’s difficulty in achieving the perfect pitch. Overtime we’ve made teaks here and there on the design to make setup quicker and more reliable. Still a few people find setup quite exasperating. Fortunately this is a small minority of people. Once mastered, most people are quick to get a nice setup each time.

More than one person has sworn that their specific tent was improperly engineered, cut or sewn. The panels on their particular tent were cut to different lengths resulting in the inability to setup the tent correctly. Once setup, the rear corners would severely sag, thus reducing headroom and allowing the tent to nosily flap in a slight breeze. Regardless of whatever steps they undertook to correct the problem, nothing seemed to work.

Totally frustrated, they would send back the tents for the needed alterations to correct the deficiencies. We’d take the tents out and set them up. Then we’d take pictures of their perfectly setup tent and send back the tent, unaltered, along with the photo spread.

Some complain that the panels are incorrectly cut resulting in a poorly shaped tent. However, technically that’s not possible. All of the seams on the tent join together two or more panels. If one panel is miss cut, then it wouldn’t align to the other panels when sewn. This problem would quickly be detected by the sewer and production would be halted. The sewers don’t re-cut panels if something doesn’t align correctly.

Since we cut between 100 and 200 tents each run utilizing thousands of dollars of fabric. It’s imperative that the panels are cut correctly. If one tent is incorrectly cut then all tents in that run would be similarly affected.

So how can the panels appear to be different lengths when measured. Simply put the, the fabric will stretch differently along each seam depending upon it orientation on the fabric. The Lunar Solo is a hexagonal shape. So each seam on the perimeter will have different elastic properties. Seams that run vertical or horizontal to the fabric will stretch less than those that are cut on the diagonal. So, when laying out and measuring, it may appear that seams are of different lengths.

So how does achieve the perfect pitch on the Lunar Solo? Here are a few do’s and don’ts.

Do’s

Do extend the webbing guylines to their extent. Run the guylines all the way to the ground.
Do stake the two rear corners last. Since the canopy floats off the ground on the top of the pole, it’s important to achieve a balance side to side and front to back.
Do set the height of the front pole between 45 and 47 inches.
Do close the vestibule before setting up the tent. This aide in getting the best alignment of the stakes.
Do allow the canopy to rest for a half hour before re-tensioning the tent. This allow the fabric to relax.
Do any additional tensioning with the adjuster on the main guyline, if needed.

Don’ts

Don’t try to raise the perimeter of the tent by using long stakes and terminating the guylines several inches off the ground. This is somewhat counter intuitive to normal logic. When you setup the tent this way, instead of the canopy and sidewall rising, they will tend to collapse instead. This will cause the corners to dip, resulting in reduced headroom and ventilation.

The Lunar Solo, with its single pole and raised canopy, creates an incredibly light and airy shelter. Unlike other tents with fixed points of setup, the floating canopy and floor design does take a little more patience to master. Still, the Lunar Solo’s weight savings makes it well worth the effort.

Ron

Six Moon Designs Website Back and Running

ronmoak — Thu, 29 May 2008 14:05:00 GMT

As a number of people have painfully pointed out to me recently, our normal Six Moon Designs website has been barely functioning. Thus making the ordering process painful for some and nonexistent for others. While one could, in theory, delete their cookies and at get functional again. This was a less than agreeable solution.

Back from a cross country drive to Trail Days, I devoted some effort to locating and resolving the website issue. After sometime tweaking the many setup options, I was finally able to come up with a combination that eliminates the run-time or server errors. The result is a website that appears to be running smoothly. At least for the time being.

If anyone is still having access or order issues, please contact us immediately so they can be quickly addressed.

Ron

Meeting Eric Ryback - a thru-hiking legend!

ronmoak — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:10:00 GMT

Ron Moak (left) and Eric Ryback (right)
at the Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kickoff

Over the years, I've had the pleasure of meeting various well known characters in both the climbing and backpacking fields. However, none have come as close to home as my meeting with Eric Ryback. Even though we're about the same age, Eric was already a legend when I was planning my first thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in the late 70's. By then he'd already become the first person to hike the Triple Crown.

Having completed the Appalachian Trail (1968), Pacific Crest Trail (1970) the Continental Divide Trail (1972), he had authored books on both the PCT and CDT and had written a section of the Rhodale Press 2 volume AT book. He quickly became a legend to many of us seeking to follow in his foot steps.

In those early days, long before the advent of the Internet, there were few backpacking stores and even fewer avenues of information on the long trails. For the most part, the PCT existed only on paper with a hodge podge of interconnected trails. So many of us aspiring hikers would eagerly snap up every book on the subject and read and re-read them trying to gleam every last nugget of information and inspiration. Eric's well worn books still adorn my library shelves and will be handed down to my son.

Eventually, my wife and I did thru-hike the AT in '77 and had planned to hike the PCT a few years later. However, life sometimes gets in the way of plans. So my PCT hike was delayed some 23 years. With the CDT it's been 6 years and counting since I first started hiking that trail. With well over half done, hopefully I'll finish up in the next couple of years. Then I too with join the Triple Crown team.

PS. Eric even bought one of our Lunar Duo tents. While he doesn't do much backpacking these days. He and his wife enjoy multiday bicycling trips. So the Lunar Duo is a perfect fit for their needs.

Up and Coming!

ronmoak — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 17:36:00 GMT

For those tracking the progress on the Refuge X - Cuben Fiber version. We've finally received our supply of fabric and will start cutting tents tomorrow. I hope to have tents available when I get back from our trip to ADZPCTKO or Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kickoff.

If you live near San Diego, you may want to check out this event. We'll be attending with all of our new gear. Also present will be Glen Van Peski from Gossamer Gear, Henry Shires of Tarptent and Brian Frankle from Ultralight Adventure Equipment. The event is located at Lake Morena on the Pacific Crest Trail and about 50 miles East of San Diego. This year's events will take place on April 25^th through April 27^th.

We've also be hard at work on a new backpack for 2008 named the Traveler Pack. This pack is based upon our popular Starlite Pack, except it's a Panel Loader. The Traveler is a super sized version of the Essence with a better suspension.

The Traveler is designed to useful wandering through the corridors of the Denver Airport as along the high trails of the Colorado Rockies. At 26 ounces, the Traveler is an ultralight pack capable of comfortably carrying 35 pounds. The Traveler uses the same harness system as the Starlite. In addition it has the same quick access through the back of the pack to your sleeping pad.

The Traveler has a number of features that make it useful for the ultralighter both on and off trail.

Features:

Panel Loading - This provide quick access to all of your gear. Plus it helps keep your gear more organized.
Top Pocket - This handy pocket is great for items that need to be quickly accessed but still need protection from the weather.
Three Exterior Side Mesh Pockets - These pockets are great for storing bulky items.
Front Zippered Mesh - The front mesh pocket is both zippered and gusseted. This allows it to expand as needed while the zipper keeps your stuff from spilling out when the panel is opened.
Heavy Duty Compress Straps - Two webbing straps help to compress the pack as needed or attach additional gear.
Daisy Chain Attachment - Dual attachment straps on the top of the pack gives you extra gear tie down points.
Heavy Duty Mesh - This mesh has smaller holes and a stiffer hand. Both features significantly improves the durability and reduces snags on sharp objects.
Tough Dyneema Fabric - This tough fabric provides significant strength for very little weight.
Hydration Port
Optional Dual Stays
Availability 2nd quarter '08

Did Coup miss the memo?

ronmoak — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 04:38:00 GMT

On March 21st, GoLite founder Demetri Coupounas (Coup) set out for an adventure on the AT (GoLite Press Release). Unlike the hundreds of other aspiring AT thru-hikers, Coup had a different plan. He started his trip from Springer with a pack loaded with enough food and gear to spend the next 40 days and nights on trail with no plan for resupply. That meant he'd carry everything he needed for the next 40 days including an extra pair of shoes for when his new ones wore out.

This required packing a whopping 110 pound of food. Add in another 17 pounds of gear and you've got a total pack weight of 127 pounds. Now anyone that's hiked more than a few miles in Georgia knows that it's one hell of a state for hiking. Many a hiker has blown out a perfectly good knee or two trying to maintain balance with a normal pack while hiking it's moss covered rocky trails.

The concept of carrying 127 pounds straight up and down mountains seems laughable if the potential for disaster wasn't so serious.

Now I'm not one to bash anyone's dreams. Last time I tried that was in a conversation with Brian Robinson a year before his Triple Crown in a single year hike. When he told me his plans, without any hesitation, I responded by questioning his sanity. Once he'd completed his adventure, it was I who had to swallow a healthy helping of crow. Still when I heard of Coup's attempt, those buried feelings of shear lunacy quickly surfaced.

Well after 5 plus days and a total of 30 miles, Coup pulled the plug on his hike at Neels Gap. Clearly the dreams of dancing across the southern Appalachians avoiding towns and civilization for 40 days was dashed on the realities of hard rocks. Sometimes reality does suck.

Still this whole notion of packing enough food and gear for weeks of travel without resupply seems to run counter to the whole notion of ultralight travel. It's core philosophy is about maximizing the experience. Lugging 60, 80, or 120 pounds up and down rough honed trails hardly seems like much fun. This particularly true of the AT. Where if Coup had been able to continue his hike, he'd have walk trough towns and right past grocery stores.

Perhaps one could stretch the concept of long distance no resupply hiking on trips such as the Ryan Jordan and Roman Dial's 1000K Arctic Traverse of a couple of years ago. Still even that pushes the limits on ultralight hiking.

On the other hand maybe we just feel a wee bit too guilty if we're having too much fun backpacking with little more than a day pack. Might it be that genetically we're just too deeply wired with the primeval need to haul massive loads that will somehow prove our manhood. Well maybe, but not for this cub scout.

Monday as Coup was struggling over yet another of Georgia's mountains with no views or MUDs (Mindless Ups and Downs) as thru-hikers are want to call them. I was finishing up my latest pack to use on this summers hikes. This Cuben Fiber beauty weights in at about 5 ounces. Thus giving me a total pack weight with 5 days food, water and gear, less than 15 pounds. And I'm loving every ounce of it.

Call me a fool, just don't call me a pack mule.

Ron

Spring's just around the corner!

ronmoak — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:57:00 GMT

I love winter, I really do. Though for the last few years I've not really taken advantage of it. We had a great snow year here in Oregon this winter and I did manage to get up to the slopes once for a day of skiing. Unfortunately the trip home was not so good for my body. A bad combination of cough and cramps caused my back to really flip out. The result was a couple of days lying on the floor of my den unable to move. Plus couple weeks trying to pull off my best impression of the "Hunchback of Notre Dame". I'm back on my feet and dearly looking to getting back out and doing some hiking.

Good News! The new Serenity NetTent is just about ready and should be shipping by early next week.

With Spring just around the corner, we've been working to get ready for the travel season. In April and May we travel to two major hiking events around the country. These include the ADZPCTKO (Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kickoff) in Southern California in late April and Trail Days in Damascus, VA in May. Some of you have stopped in and visited us at these events. They are the one place where you can see our entire lineup of gear at one time.

Many of you have also seen our Six Moon Designs Sprinter Van we use to travel around the country. After 4 years and over 100,000 miles our Sprinter is still going great. Mainly because it's made by Mercedes and is a diesel. This year we decided to do some upgrades to make our long drives even more pleasant. So between filling orders, assembling new gear, keeping production humming and doing the dreaded taxes, we've been reworking the van. The upgrades have keep me pretty busy and away from the blog.

Here are a few photos of the newly renovated van.

Six Moon Design's Sprinter on the road in Nevada headed out hiking in New Mexico!

Looking at the back of the Van. We added a new ceiling, overhead cabinets, lights and secondary electrical system. This way we can stay up at night after dark without draining the main battery. We've got power to run the lights, fridge and computer for a week off grid.

Looking toward the front of the van. We've added a nice large refigerator to keep thing cold and no more trips for ice and soggy food.

Just a note for anyone looking for a vehicle to travel to and from the trail. I can't recommend the Sprinter highly enough. With milage in the mid 20's it's got great fuel economy for a vehicle it's size. Better than any SUV I've seen. Plus they are easy to convert and make a great home away from home.

Until next time, happy hiking.

Ron

User Starlite Review

ronmoak — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 15:20:00 GMT

I recently picked up this Starlite review from Philip "earlylite" Warner at sectionhiker.com.

Starlite Ultralight Backpack

The Starlight Pack from Six Moon Designs is a wonderful ultralight pack for any serious backpacker and at 4,200 cubic inches, this is a pack that can hold a lot of gear and food. I have owned my Starlite for over a year and have hiked hundreds of miles with it in a variety of terrains in the eastern US. I also own a half-dozen other packs from GoLite and Kelty and they just don’t compare. more ...

Thought you might be interested.

Thanks earlylite,

Ron

Ultralight Bathtub Floors

ronmoak — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 17:39:00 GMT

Recently, I've been getting some inquiries and comments about bathtub floors. Mostly in regards to our decision not to include one in the new Refuge tent. So I thought now would be a good time to discuss some of the pros and cons of floor style on various shelters.

It's always seemed to me that phrase "Ultralight Bathtub Floor" is an oxymoron. A bathtub floor serves two purposes. Double wall tents with small fly's located close to the tent body incorporate high bathtub floors. The high tub walls guard against splash from pounding rain landing on the breathable sidewalls. Bathtub floors provide a barrier to any unforeseen streams of runoff that occur during heavy rains. The flowing water simply gets diverted under the tent when encountering the bathtub.

In the olden days before the bathtub floors became common in tents, the solution was to dig a trench around the tent to divert the water flow. So measured against that history, bathtub floors have reduced camp labor and limit our impact on the environment. So in general they are a good thing.

First a little history. So bear with me. All tents owe their heritage to the tarp. First there were tarps then there were special purpose shaped tarps. These were followed by fully enclosed tents with floors. Most of the early tents were made from canvas or silk. They were large and single wall. Since they were constructed from breathable fabrics, condensation was never an issue. During rain storms, the fabric fibers would swell when wet thus blocking passage of water into the tent.

When coated nylon tents were introduced, we saw first see the use of an inner tent. Thus the creation of the double wall tent. The inner tent was needed to provide separation from the condensation that formed on the exterior tent wall. Along with the introduction of the inner tent, its floor was formed as a bathtub. Thus the creation of the modern double wall tent with bathtub floor.

Recently, ultralight tent designers went back to the well, the tarp, and create a new branch on the tent family tree. In essence to chart a different course from earlier designers. We first start with the basic tarp, shape it to make it easier to reliably setup then add some sidewall mesh to keep out flying insects. Since it's still basically a tarp, a ground cloth substitutes for a floor. With more people carrying hiking poles the complicated support structure can be discarded.

While neither a true tent or tarp, it is never the less; simple, light and effective. These simple shelters provide a large degree of security while still allowing more interaction with nature.

Their downside? Like a tarp, they require a bit more knowledge of where to be placed. Unless you want to go back to trenching your shelter, you need to avoid sites that become rivers or ponds when it rains. For long time tarp lovers this isn't a problem. People with years of placing their backpacking tent anywhere they want, sometimes have difficulty adjusting.

It wasn't long before desire for "enhancement" took hold. Floors were added to keep the creepy crawlies at bay. Vestibules were added because no backcountry tent is adequate without it's carport. Bathtub floors were added simply because their double wall cousins had them. So if double wall tents needed them, it stands to reason that they should be needed on single wall tents as well.

However, there is one factor that often overlooked when comparing one tent vs. another simply on a feature by feature basis. In this case, it's a clear understanding of the materials used to construct the floor. To keep ultralight tent ultralight, lighter fabrics are used. This is true for both the canopy and the floor. Unfortunately a floor made from 30D or 1.1 ounce silicone coated ripstop, does not, will not and cannot offer the same degree of water protection of your traditional tent floor constructed from 70D or 1.9 ounce (or heavier) taffeta.

When used in the canopy, these light fabrics compare well to heavier polyurethane coated fabrics. The silicone coating not only waterproofs the fabric, it actually strengthens the fabric fiber. This allows lighter fabrics with smaller fibers to be used. The downside, is that when a heavy force is applied, as is the case of someone sitting or kneeling on a floor, the light fibers can be spread apart, allowing water to penetrate.

Don't get me wrong. I think ultralight floors are great. Personally that's all I ever use. I simply treat this kind of a shelter just like I would a tarp when looking for a place to setup. I want to make sure there is proper drainage away from the shelter during a deluge.

So back to my original comment about ultralight bathtub floors being an oxymoron. Making bathtub floors out of light fabrics conveys a false sense of security. The very presence of a bathtub floor makes a statement, "I'm built for more extreme conditions". Yet it makes little sense to divert flowing water under the floor just so you can sit on it and force it up into your sleeping area.

When comparing tents and features try and avoid the trap of simply thinking that no bathtub floor is a bad and having one is good. Look at the whole floor and consider both the fabrics used and the floor style. Ask yourself what kinds of campsite do I like? How much time to I spend in site select to ensure I won't wake up in a lake? Do I want the tent to do all the work in protecting me, or am I willing to share some of the load?

Happy Backpacking!

New Product Update

ronmoak — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 17:56:00 GMT

I'm still trying to get this whole blog thing down. Since we don't do newsletters, yet. The blog is supposed to be keep people informed about what's happening here. Of course that means sitting down and writing. The last few weeks we've been pretty tied up trying to finish off several new products and get them into production.

Koala Bag

I've already mentioned the new Koala Bag in the forums section. While I love the simplicity of Ultralight, I'm just anal enough to also like a bit of organization in my life. Unfortunately UL often means reducing components for weight at the same time reducing some degree of convenience. I designed the Koala Bag because the Silicone Nylon food bag I've used have a pretty short life span when hauling food items. Sometimes you just need something a bit beefier to do the job.

Also I like to keep related items together. So my spoon and (occasional) knife generally go in the food bag for convenience sake. That is until they fall to the bottom of the bag. So several years ago, I added a utensil pouch to my food bag and it made a world of difference. With the Koala Bag, I've expanded the pouch so that it's large enough to hold your utinsils along with other small items you want quick access to. At less than 2 ounces, it's still pretty light and it's features are darn convenient.

Serenity NetTent

We've had numerous request to provide a some insect protection for the Gatewood Cape. So shortly we'll be introducing the Serenity NetTent. It's designed to mate with the Gatewood Cape to provide excellent bug protection. At 7 ounces it's a tad heavier than a number of the bug shelters available. However, this one is full size, has a zippered door and is tall enough to sit up in. It also works well as a standalone without the Gatwood Cape.

When you marry the Gatewood Cape with the Serenity at 18 ounces you've got the worlds lightest double wall tent.

Cuben Fiber Refuge

We're also finishing up this shelter and hope to have it into production soon! I've been toying around with the design and components and have managed to drop the weight by a couple more ounces. This means that the production tent should come in at about 16 ounces! That's right a 1 pound tent that's large enough for two people to situp and sleep comfortably.

If that doesn't count as WickedLite I don't know what does.

Hopefully everything will be on the website and shipping before the end of the quarter and in plenty of time for your summer fun.

Ron

Tis the season!

ronmoak — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 22:56:00 GMT

In case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve been somewhat delayed in the next installment of the Philosopher’s Guide. The next section is proving to be more in depth than I had originally planned. So that along with the normal Christmas stuff has delayed things a bit.

With the release of the new Refuge shelter we’ve undergone some updates of the website. Hopefully we’ve cleanup most of those pesky errors. I’ve also just finished the new 2008 Catalog and posted it in the Downloads section of the community pages. There are a few additional items we’re working on for the 2008 season, but they will be announced at a later date.

Hopefully the Cuben Fiber Refuge will go into production after the first of the year. I’m currently working on final prototypes. Hopefully things will go smoothly as we start production. Needless to say, sewing Cuben Fiber poses some unique challenges compared to Silicone Nylon. The first production run will be fairly small quantities. It’s tough at this point to estimate the demand.

From the staff at Six Moon Designs, we hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Ron

#1 Continued ... Understanding You

ronmoak — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 23:33:00 GMT

Understanding your own Desires, Capabilities and Fears will yield the greatest rewards and may be your most difficult task. We are dynamic creatures; our desires fluctuate as wildly as our emotions and are frequently at odds with each other.

Identifying Your Desires?

Clearly the primary desire for anyone looking to go ultralight is in shedding pack weight to ease the chore of hiking. After all we are out there to have fun, aren't we? Personally I've never had much fun pretending to be a pack mule. I take great pleasure in strolling along mountain trails enjoying the sights and sounds and wondering what new things will be discovered around the next bend.

The thought of hiking hunched over carrying a heavy pack, doesn't give me much incentive to go backpacking. Frankly, I can see more speeding through the mountains at 60 miles an hour in my car than spending hours pondering the few feet of dirt in front of me. Carrying gear for a comfortable camp is great, but where lays its value if I'm too exhausted to enjoy it?

Now that we've decide we want to make hiking easy, what other items do we add to the wish list. I also want to be warm and comfortable at night, dry when it rains, free of all manner of bugs flying or creeping and have good food when I get hungry. Oh, and if it's not too much to ask, I'd also like to hike where the views extend horizon to horizon over a jagged, torn and wild landscape. At night I'd like to sleep by the sound of a babbling brook or maybe atop a treeless ridge to watch the sunset and sunrise.

Many of our desires are driven by those Kodak moments that years of reading backpacking magazines and looking at catalogs have infused into our hiking dreams. I want to be that happy person cooking dinner and watching the fading rays of sunset dance on the surface of lake deep in the wilderness. Of course it'd be nice to have that pack of Sherpa's that are conveniently placed off camera to carry everything in for me.

So how do we mold our experience into a series of Kodak moments and not an episode on the TV series "I Shouldn't Be Alive"? To get started, you sit down and make out a list of everything that's important for you to accomplish on your trip. Where do I want to go? How much hiking do I want to do? How and where do I want to camp? What else do I want to do while hiking (i.e. take photos, fish, hike side trails, peak bag or simply take my leisurely time)? What do I want to eat? Am I eating simply for fuel or does backcountry cookery play a motivating force in my trips? Since each of us has our own motivations for venturing into the backcountry, your list of desires is limited only by your imagination.

Once you've created your list, you need to prioritize it. Sort downward from the most important items to those that may enhance your trip but can be skipped if needed. As you're making your list, try to identify any potential conflicts. For example if you want to cover 20 miles a day, you may not have enough time available to devote to taking the kinds of pictures you want or hiking side trails.

Also make a list of what you don't want to happen on the hike (i.e. hike in the rain, deal with bugs, run into lots of people, etc.). This list is just as important as your desires and may wind up being longer and more detailed. Note that once you're hiking you'll have little control of things like the weather or bugs, but by identifying these issues in advance, you can at least identify areas and times to hike when these problems will be minimized.

Finally you'll need to make a list of both what needs to be done and what obstacles need to be overcome. We all have constraints on us that range from limits on time; travel time, distance and expense of getting to and from the trailhead; time needed for planning; to lack of appropriate gear.

As we start taking personal responsibly for the creating the experiences we want, these lists perform a vital function of focusing our mind on what is important. In the end it simply boils down to setting priorities and making choices. There is no right or wrong choices, except in how they contribute positively or negatively to your experience. Understand that the biggest choice has already been made and that is to put a pack on your back and head into the wilds. From now on there will be lots of choices to made, some relatively important and others not so. But with a little thought and care, they should lead you to the goal of Maximizing Your Experience.

Lists, lists enough of these damn lists! Making all of these various lists does seem to be dreadfully boring. After all don't we just want to go backpacking? Yes, and fortunately the act of all of the various lists isn't needed all of the time. In the past I used to make actual lists; however, overtime as the process got more ingrained I could scale them down to just the highlights. The rest of the decisions I'd resolve during my training hikes, thus killing two birds with one stone.

Managing Your Capabilities?

There are times when coming to terms with your capabilities is like having a bucket of ice water tossed in your face, whose sole purpose seems to be to wash away your dreams. It's not enough to simply ask yourself, "What do I want to do?" You must also ask yourself, "What can I do?"

It's easy to get caught up in the euphoria of planning. During all those hours spent studying gear lists, maps and myriad of other far more interesting aspects, it's easy to overlook the fact that most of us are pretty sedentary creatures. It's pretty easy to hike 20 miles a day with a 15 pound pack while sitting behind a computer screen and dreaming. On trail we soon discover that reality sucks.

A marathoner doesn't jump up off the couch one day and proclaim "Hey I'm going to run a marathon tomorrow!", yet walking 20 miles with a pack while ascending or descending several thousand feet is no less difficult. Either activity will take a heavy toll on your body.

I know lots of long distance hikers and most of them hate the prospects of getting or staying in shape. Fortunately if you're planning on spending months on trail your early days and weeks can be used to build strength and endurance. The limits are your ability to carry water between water sources and food between resupplies.

If you're like most people, your trips are squeezed between work and family obligations. There isn't the luxury of taking the first five days to get into shape for a six day hike. By the time you feel trail hardened, the trip is over.

Preparing your body for the hike need not be limited to getting into shape. Like most people, my ageing body found a 3/8 inch foam pad sadly inadequate for a good night's rest. Switching to a heavier Therm-A-Rest was worth weight so I could sleep.

Preparing for my 2600 mile Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike required pairing gear to a minimum. End the end I dropped the inflatable for a light pad. The decision was driven partly by weight added to the fact that desert hiking is hard on inflatables. Being naturally lazy, I didn't want the added fuss and stress of the inflatable. Fortunately the desert provides a wide selection of nice sandy sleeping beds that can be molded to my needs. Soon I slept as if back home in my bed.

Leaving the comfort of the desert behind, my body had grown accustom to sleeping on hard surfaces. Today I sleep on a hard mattress at home to ease the transition back to the trail. While hiking I can frequently find natural bedding more comfortable than what is at home. You need not spend months sleeping on a hard mattress to achieve comfort on trail. Sleeping for a few nights on the floor before you're trip can ease the transition from bed to trail.

Just because you have limits doesn't mean you should be limited. Identifying your limits affords you the opportunity to overcome them.

Understanding Your Fears?

All of us are plagued with our own fears and demons. If you delve into the pack of even the most dyed-in-the-wool Super Ultralight (SUL) hiker you'll find one or two pieces of "What-If" gear. Or simply gear carried that goes beyond what knowledge and experience tells us we need. On a recent hike on the Tahoe Rim Trail, I made a last minute change of my 5 ounce pack for one weighing 13 ounces. That extra half pound of fear weight amounted to roughly 10 percent of my base pack weight.

Would the lighter pack have failed? In hindsight, probably not. Had it failed, would I be endangered? No I carried enough repair materials to cover any unexpected failures. So why carry the heavier pack? Well in this case, the light pack was new and relatively untested. The heavier pack provided that additional layer of comfort. My fear or in this case ignorance drove the decision. A couple of dozen more miles carrying the pack fully loaded would have been more than enough to prove it merits, thus eliminating any fear or hesitation on my part.

While we can never fully eliminate our fears, through experience and training we can gain the confidence to corral them into manageable levels. Many of our base fears can be resolved by familiarity. As we spend more time in the backcountry we become more acclimated to the dangers we're likely to encounter, either real or imagined.

We have no fear of jumping into our car and driving to the trailhead. Yet we're more likely to be harmed getting to the trail than while hiking. Our familiarly with the dangers inherent in driving allows us to put risks into perspective. Lacking perspective, it's easy to become overwhelmed by fear.

Many fears cannot be resolved by familiarity. A few basic skills learned through training is all that's needed to cross safely over snow fields and passes, to wade swollen rivers or administer first aid in an emergency. While not difficult to master, these skills cannot be acquired through simple observation. They require your active involvement through hands on classes or study to be learned.

Here we go, back with the lists again. This time we'll create to two lists. Label on "Nuisances" and the other "Danger Will Robinson". In the nuisance category, we'll list everything that annoys the hell out of us but probably won't lead to our emanate demise. Expect that many of the items in this list will be duplicates of "Unwanted Desires" list.

Now in the "Danger Will Robinson" list, include everything you feel may harm or kill you. Examples of these include, getting lost, freezing to death, falling, getting attacked by an animal, drowning, etc. Now don't get too worked up. You're not writing an episode on "Tales of the Crypt", gruesome details and flights of fantasy aren't required. Just write a good faith list of concerns.

While pondering the evil lurking in dark shadows, consider this. Quite frankly, we are not that easy to kill. Years of living comfortable lives may have made us soft, but we won't drop dead the first time something goes boo. Books and magazines abound with stories of people suddenly thrust into survival conditions. A great many survive despite what we perceive to be insurmountable odds.

Understanding our fears is the first step to conquering them. For the ultralight hiker, learning to temper our fears allows us to free ourselves from their yoke. Once liberated, we soon find new worlds of adventures are now open to us to explore.

Principle #1 - Focus on Maximizing the Experience

ronmoak — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 04:28:00 GMT

Focus on Maximizing the Experience Not Minimizing the Gear

Too often when start talking about this subject or that we overlook the obvious or at least what we assume to be obvious. We dive directly into the meat of the matter without bothering to elaborate on topics which we presume is generally understood. The danger of avoiding the obvious is that we can easily overlook its importance.

Far too often our discussions of the ultralight hiking experience revolve around the joy of unencumbered travel. Drop a few pounds and your backpacking experience will improve. Drop down into the ultralight range and the improvement will be remarkable. With the constant equating of lighter weight equals better, one might come to the notion that backpacking naked would be nirvana. Well maybe for some.

Others, concerned at the potential loss of safety and comfort, couch their discussion of the UL experience in foreboding terms. "Sure you hiking may be easy, but your nights will be dreadful. And God forbid you should encounter a stretch of foul weather. If so, surly your life will be forfeit." At least that's how some people feel about this madness we choose to undertake.

Its true there is a connection between your pack weight and an improved backpacking experience. For many the improvement is great enough to allow them to continue backpacking years after they would have otherwise quit. Also despite the claims by some, going ultralight is not a sign of mental handicap nor will it put you on the fast lane to the hereafter.

Focus on Maximizing the Experience is the first and core principal of the Ultralight Backpacking Philosophy. It is the first principle simply because it was the genesis of the whole Ultralight Hiking movement. In its infancy, the primary reason to shed all that pack weight was to make hiking long distances more enjoyable. With 14 to 16 hours a day spent on trail between camps, most of camp time was spend either sleeping, eating or taking care of gear. No need to carry a fancy camp outfit if you don't spend much time in camp.

Almost immediately the focus shifted from the experience to the absolute reduction of gear, no matter how ridiculeous the reduction. Indeed, much of what's published online, in books, taught in UL Backpacking classes, discussed ad nauseam in web forums and whenever two or more UL hiker meet for more than a couple of minutes is all about the gear. I don't suppose that's too surprising, after all gear is something visceral. We can see it, touch it, wear it and wrap it around ourselves. It infuses itself into all of our senses. Plus it's damn easier to talk about gear than something ethereal like The Experience.

When we talk about experiences we're much more likely to frame them in terms of war stories. "Man you should have seen that storm. Fifty mile an hour winds, lightening and hail the size golf balls pounding us. It was extreme!" Or we talk about how much better we felt strolling into camp after a 15 mile day carrying a 15 pound pack.

Since gear is physical, we easily quantify it in terms of weight and volume; it's easy to fall into the trap of discussing gear solely on the basis of one or two key elements. So we say, "Look how great this gear list is! The pack's only 9 ounces the shelter is 8 ounces and the sleeping bag is a pound. It must be a fantastic setup!"

There was a day when manhood was measured by how much we could carry. As if suffrage could be equated with virility. Today it's more macho to say I walked a hundred miles through the wilderness carrying a 6 pound pack. Our manhood is now measured by how much we can hang it out on a line and somehow seem to get away with it.

When was the last time you hear a hiker talk about taking a leisurely stroll along a high mountain ridge and spending a delightful hour or so watching a bee dance from flower to flower all the time soaking up the warm summer's sun? Yet taking it slow and escaping the frenetic hustle of daily life is a damn good way to spend those precious few days of freedom we're allowed every year.

In an attempt to shift the focus back to the Experience. I've extended Focus Maximizing the Experience by appending Not Minimizing the Gear. It is, or at least should be, the quest for the ultimate Experience that drives us to travel into the remote sections of our country. Our gear is simply one of many tools in the UL arsenal that allow us too comfortably and safely travel where others fear to tread (unless encumbered by a ton of "necessary" gear).

What is the Experience?

In order to maximize the experience, we first need a way to quantify it. We need break the Experience into manageable components that we can explore well before we even step foot on the trail.

It turns out that it's pretty easy to breakdown Experience. Simply put, it is the sum of the four parts You, the Environment though which you're traversing, your Gear and a Strategy that binds it all into a workable plan. As we look into each of these components, they can be further divided. As go through the process of bits and pieces that combine to make up the experience, you can begin to get a handle on what changes you can make to mold the experience to suit your desires.

Takeing on the process of identifying and exploring all the individual components that make up an experience is important for anyone venturing into the out of doors. This exercise is bentifical wheither you go out to hike, hunt, fish, ski, mountain climb or undertake any outdoor activity.

This step is more critical to the Ultralight Backpacker. The ultralight backpacker doesn't simply float across the landscape, expecting their gear to provide all the necessary security and support. No, they create stategies that allow them to fuse together their gear, the very envirornment through which they travel with their own unique skills and capibilities. When combined they give the backpacker the power to travel safer, faster, lighter and derive a greater joy from their trips.

<< Four Principles Understanding You >>

The Four Principles of the Ultralight Hikers Philosophy

ronmoak — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 17:26:00 GMT

There are four core principles that when fully understood, crystallize the essence of the Ultralight Hikers Philosoply. They are Focus on Maximizing the Experience, Embrace Multipicity, The Power of Synergy and finally The Theory of Elasticity. If you are familiar with UL Backpacking, at least three of the principles should sound vaguely familiar.

Each of the principles covers some fundamental aspect of the Ultralight Philosophy. In addition each subsequent principle builds upon the previous one. Taken together they form a solid foundation which you use to enhance your backcountry adventures.

We start with Focus on Maximizing the Experience simply because we all want to maximize those few days each year we’re allowed to wander through distant mountains and wilderness unencumbered by the trapping of modern civilization. We need to go beyond the reach of cell towers, the internet and surveillance cameras, to where the roads are primitive and the trails lead us to sights seen by too few eyes.

In order to maximize the experience, we must first try to understand it in meaningful terms. To do so, we break down the definition of Experience into variety components that are easier to quantify. We can then look at look at how they interact with each other. The more we know about the experience we’re trying to achieve. The easier it is to evaluate whether our decisions will ultimately enhance or detract from the desired experience.

The principle Embrace Multiplicity builds upon the Maximizing Experience by giving us some tools with which we can start evaluating our gear. In order to Maximizing the Experience we must utilize the full potential of all the gear we carry. We’ll look at the gear we carry and analyze how it can be used to perform multiple functions.

By extending the number of functions a particular item of gear can successfully perform, the less overall gear needs to be purchased or carried. This will ultimately save you money that maybe use in some other way to enhance the Experience. It’ll also reduce the weight of your pack and help to make the miles more pleasant ones.

In The Power of Synergy we’ll look at combining individual items of gear together into a system. With synergy (where the outcome exceeds the sum of the parts) we are able to combine our gear, our capabilities and the environment through which we travel, in ways that make us not only safe and secure, but elevate us to new levels of confidence.

For too many us “The Wild” is viewed as our enemy. Our gear is viewed as our first and often last line of defense to whatever evils lurk in the dense forest or behind rocky outcrops on windswept ridges. With The Power of Synergy, we learn to stop looking at “The Wild” as some foe with which we’re at a constant state of tension if not war, but as a friend who’s glad to offer shelter, warmth and comfort, if we only know how to ask.

Finally there’s The Theory of Elasticity. It’s a rather academic phrase, which seems totally out of place as one of the principles of the Ultralight Philosophy. However; once understood, The Theory of Elasticity shows us how to really analyze our gear and how it’s used. When we cut our gear down to the margins, it is critical that we build systems that are not only light and functional, but also highly flexible.

One of the fundamentals of ultralight backpacking is to be forward looking. To look for potential problems then assemble the appropriate gear or devise a strategy to navigate safely through any potential hazards. However, despite our best efforts, there’s always the possibility of unseen pitfalls.

To overcome the unknowns, we need systems that provide enough flexibility that even failure of one component won’t cause the failure of the system. These systems provide a degree of redundancy. Fortunately adding in some redundancy doesn’t have to mean adding lots of extra layers of protection with the corresponding increase in weight. It does mean that must understand where vulnerabilities exist and what steps we can take to minimize them.

Ultralight Hikers Philosophers Guide - Introduction

ronmoak — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 20:11:00 GMT

In the dozen or so years since the concepts of Ultralight Backpacking was first penned by Ray Jardine, much has changed. Early adopters of ultralight backpacking were forced to make most of their own gear. Aside from your basic tarps, little ultralight gear was available. Normal backpacks averaged 5 to 7 pounds and sleeping bags easily topped out at above 3 pounds. Add in big stoves, cook sets, lots of clothes and personal gear and it’s easy to see how and overnight pack could top out a 35 pounds with food and water.

The last few years have seen an explosion in ultralight gear with the arrival of new gear manufactures to the market. Tarps have dropped from pounds to mere ounces. Full size tents are available that weigh less than bivy sacks a decade ago. Sleeping quilts of a pound or less provide an amazing amount of warmth for their weight. Packs have dropped from pounds to ounces.

Today, it’s easy to acquire an ultralight outfit that’ll get you down to a 15 pound pack with enough food and water for several days of summer hiking. Still, too many people continue to carry traditional gear weighting 35 or more pounds, while hiking in similar conditions.

New fabrics are flooding the markets that promise to make our gear weigh less, be more durable and offer more protection. What amazing new products that will be produced in the next decade is anyone’s guess.

Understandably, ultralight backpacking roots lay deep in the world of long distance backpacking. Long distance hikers are faced with the need to cover thousands of miles over a relatively short time span. This requires long hours of hiking day after day. With little time spent in camp, there is less need to carry a bunch of gear whose sole purpose is to make camp time more comfortable. Efficiency of travel is the key consideration.

As ultralight backpacking techniques have spread into the general backpacking population, it’s evolved to meet different challenges. For an increasing larger segment of the population, ultralight backpacking affords them the opportunity to venture out into our beautiful backcountry. Aging bodies no longer have the energy or desire to tote heavy loads into the wilderness. With a light pack, backcountry travel is not only possible, it’s downright enjoyable.

With the increase in available gear, there’s been a corresponding increase in information available on ultralight hiking techniques. New websites are constantly popping up, new books are being published and more ultralight articles are showing up in mainline magazines.

So with all the information that’s available, what is the purpose of the Ultralight Hikers Philosophers Guide? Simply put, over the coming weeks and months, I’ll try to look at Ultralight Hiking from new and different perspectives.

The Ultralight Hikers Philosophers Guide is divided into three sections, Four Ultralight Principles, Six Steps to a Light Pack and Ultralight Backpacking Strategies. In the first section we’ll cover the basic principles of ultralight hiking. While I’m sure we’ll be covering topics that sound all too familiar, we’ll also be discussing topics that hopefully you have never thought of before. The four principles form the basis for a richer understanding of ultralight backpacking.

In the section, Six Steps to a Light Pack, I’ll cover six basic steps to reduce your pack load. Each step is designed to build a foundation upon which subsequent steps are built. All of the steps are designed to allow you to lighten your load with a minimum of expense and mistakes. In the process of reducing pack weight, many people have traveled down expensive dead ends resulting in hundreds if not thousands of dollars needlessly spent.

The Ultralight Backpacking Strategies section takes the lessons learned in the first two sections and applies them to real world scenarios. Ultralight Backpacking isn’t about which shelter, pack, sleeping bag, stove or any other piece of gear we carry. It’s about how we incorporate our gear into our backcountry adventures to make the experience richer and more fun. Doing so means we need to know as much as possible about ourselves, our likes, our fears, our interests and our capabilities. With a better understanding of ourselves, the terrain we’re traveling through and conditions we’re likely to encounter, we’ll have an easier time selecting gear that’ll help us to maximize our experience.

What the Ultralight Hikers Philosophers Guide isn’t, is a guide to the latest gear available on the market. This may come as a surprise as I make my living off of producing what I hope is some of the best ultralight gear available.

In the Ultralight Backpacking Strategies section, I’ll look at how different gear choices will affect how various strategies play out in real world. Often we select gear for purely personal or aesthetic reasons; these choices can have a significant impact on where and how we hike.

Gear is certainly important, but its primary role should be to assist in making backcountry travel safe, comfortable and possible. Just how we define safe and comfortable varies wildly from person to person. It is hoped that knowledge gained from this guide will help in your efforts to select gear that will mesh well with you particular needs. No two of us seek the same experiences in our travels nor do we bring with us the same level of understanding.

What if you’re not interested in Ultralight Hiking? While the Ultralight Hikers Philosophers Guide is geared to ultralight hiking, it is by no means limited to people carrying little if any gear into the backcountry. Much of the basis of the Ultralight Philosophy is about maximizing the experience. So the core principals apply regardless of how much gear you ultimately carry. The importance is properly applying your gear to the task you’re trying to accomplish.

The Ultralight Hikers Philosophers Guide is being published over the coming months as series blog entries. I’ll try and post a new blog entry each week; however other activities may conflict from time to time and delay the post.

Because the guide is a blog, you can contribute both to the content and potentially to the guide’s final form. In the blog comments section you can add your own insights, agreements or even disagreements with my own observations. As I write the strategies section, I’ll try and incorporate as many y to do ultralight backpacking. Clearly what works for some may prove a disaster for others. What’s important is listen to a wide variety of voices, then go out and discover what works best for you.

Happy hiking!

First Annual Ultralight Brain Trust Hike - Tahoe Rim Trail

ronmoak — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 13:49:00 GMT

For over a year the four of us (Brain Frankle, Glen Van Peski, Henry Shires and I) talked about doing a hike together. Busy schedules and other life conflicts always seemed to intervene. Finally after much discussion, a date was set, last week of September, then a location agreed upon, the Tahoe Rim Trail. At some point we even named the hike the Ultralight Brain Trust hike. I’m not sure who came up with that one.

We even had grandiose plans of filming the hike for posterity, or was swapping gear and having our customers decide which items of our competitor’s collection we’d carry. Alas in the end we settled on the simplest approach, and simply collected our kits and assembled at Henry’s to work out the final details.

After driving from Nevada City to Tahoe, dropping of cars and procuring the last of the needed supplies, we set off mid morning from Echo Lake Summit for our hike around Lake Tahoe.

In our rush to escape into the wilderness, we failed to do the pack weigh in. Though it was pretty clear that all in this group were super ultralight or WickedLite ( as is my want to redefine the unwieldy term of super ultralight) hikers. Or to put it another way our packs had a base weight of 5 to 6 pounds. The only exception being Henry, and that was due in in large part to his last minute substitution of a more traditional Kelty pack. It's probably just well, he hikes so powerfully that by the end we almost resorted to loading his pack with rocks to slow him down.

The plan was to hike the 165 mile loop around the lake over a span of 8 days. Resulting in a day average of about 20 miles. This is a pretty stiff pace for most traditional backpackers but certainly not unusual for your average ultralight hiker. Assuming of course that you're in reasonable shape.

We had a long beautiful climb through pines growing precariously out of Granite boulders. We finally topped out at 9500 feet before descending into the grassy Truckee Valley. Along the decent we were treated with spectacular views of the open meadows south of Lake Tahoe.

Despite having hiked more trail miles this summer than the rest of the gang, I knew I'd probably be at a disadvantage in keeping up. I tried playing the sympathy card with my recent ascension to status of Grandpa, but that only garners one so much leeway with these guys.

By the time we'd covered the 17.5 miles to our nightly camp, I was more than bushed. It was enough for me to setup my shelter and crawl in for an evening of slumber. Lucky for me, my 7 ounce Cuben Fiber Wild Oasis was the easiest shelter to erect.

One of the traits shared by long distant hikers and ultralight hikers, is the lack of time spent in camp, especially in the morning. As soon as it's light enough to travel we're drawn down the trail or perhaps it's just that walking is the only way we can ward off the morning chill having carried too little gear. I suspect the former as I'm inclined to start hiking by 6 am no matter the conditions.

Despite Henry claims that better weather was on the way, the clouds had merely grown dense over night. Fortunately I ate my bowl of cereal in the half light of morning while waiting for the everyone else to stir. It didn't look like the weather would allow for a nice sunny break we could stop and lay out on some sunny rocks like a band of roving lizards soaking up the morning sun. Any warmth today would be generated by the simple act of walking.

After breaking camp, we started the 2000 foot climb up to the top of the ridge. Before long a light rain began to fall and as we climbed it turned into snow. So much of a nice easy warm end of summer hike!

By the time we stopped for a quick break and map check at the top, I was cold and wet. Even after 2 applications of a spray on silicone water repellant, my light nylon wind shell had done little to shed the rain. Even if it were up to the task, it would have mattered little to the final outcome. I was wet more from the exertion of the climb than the falling rain.

Over the years, I've found that I can continue hiking, even if moderately cold and wet. As long as I can maintain enough of a pace to keep my core temperature high. The difficulties with a group hiking is that not all of us hike at the same pace. So if group needs to slow down to stay together, the faster hikers aren't going to be generating enough heat to stay warm. In our case, I was the weakest link.

By now, we'd covered 4 miles with another 19 miles and lots of ups and downs to go before camp tonight. I decided to head back down to the road and allow the rest of the group continue on. I'd hitch back to my van and we'd meet at the next trail head.

It wasn't an easy decision and no one wanted to break up the group. But without me those guys could fly. And fly they did.

Later that afternoon we all met at Kingsbury Summit. I was quite surprised how quickly they'd coved the distance. Of course with the cold and snow there was little incentive to stop and linger around.

Being that the TRT travels a few miles on paved roads in this section. We found a great little pizza place right along the trail. Great quanitities of pizza was consumed with Henry winning the prize having ordered the largest size pizza on the menu. It was dark, cold and a thin layer of snow covered the ground when we bedded down for the night. Since I still had the van, I had the best and warmest accommodations. Of course it hardly qualifies as ultralight.

For the next day and a half, I played van support and meet them at different road crossings. The van provided a nice haven to escape the wind and cold while preparing for the next section. Also the TRT on the Eastern side of Lake Tahoe is quite dry with few dependable water sources. So while they were hiking, I'd place a few caches that we could use for later in the hike.

A Tale of Backcountry Product Design and Testing by Experts

So what do four gear designers talk about when they've got hours to spend hiking together? Did we discuss the ins and outs of various UL pack designs? No. Dwell on the details of our various dream tents made from exotic fabrics yet to be produced? No. The latest trends in ultralight, super ultralight or wickedlite gear? No.

In fact hours we're spent in the discussing the all the minute details of the Crotch Pot.Yes, you read that right Crotch Pot. Now in case your not aware of this new trend in UL cookery, let me fill you in.

Safe to say that anyone reading this blog has already made the transition to one of several ultralight methods of cooking food. Whether it's alcohol or solid fuel tabs. Sure it's light but there's still the need to carry a bunch of fuel, a pot to boil water, maybe a pot cozy and a few extra goodies. How about eliminating all of that with the one and only Crotch Pot. Simply mix your favorite dehydrated meal with cold water in your Crotch Pot, place it in it's convenient holder located in your pants and get to hiking.

After 2 or 3 hours of vigorous walking, your meal is nicely re hydrated and warmed to a pleasant mouth watering, body temperature. No more burning your lips on hot food. No more pot holders or grips. No more spilling your hot food all over your gear when you mistakenly pick up a hot pot. Forget soggy matches, wet lighters and flint that fails to spark. Out of alcohol or heat tabs? Who cares? The Crotch Pot is light, safe, sanitary and fool proof.

Following the usual long technical discussions about product details, there always comes the point when the rubber meets the road. Or in this case product testing. I should stop here and point out that act of hiking and making protypes are not compatible activities. In fact the mere act of attempt to stay on trail while laughing over the more nuance details is hard enough.

Plus in this environment we designers lack the various design and implementation accoutrements normally available back in our offices. Still, on the trail one must be creative and improvise. Fearless of any impending lose of dignity in failure, Glen took up the mantle of product testing.

Of course in order to do product testing, one must first have a product. Lacking a formal product specification it was determined that your typical run of the mill ziploc bag would do in a pinch. It did in fact meet most of our outlined criteria, save for one small problem. That being the inability to actually secure it into place.

So during one of our lunch breaks, Glen pulled out one his previously dehydrated dinners. Which was already conveniently contained in the afore mentioned ziploc. To which he added just enough water to re hydrate to taste. Excess air was carefully disgorged from said ziploc. Just knowing the prototype Crotch Pot was in place and working was bad enough. Listening to it slosh back and forth as we strode the trail would be, well frankly one step too far.

With the lip of the ziploc carefully folded over the top of his trousers, Glen tossed on his light pack and strode confidently up the trail. Though exactly why he should maintain an air of such confidence was certainly lost on the rest of the said troupe.

Now this last bit of news comes I dare say via the form of hearsay. Though I must admit it is from two highly honest and impeccable sources. Personally I was still on van duty so was unable to bare witness to the actual events.

Within a quarter mile of the start of the test or less than 5 minutes into the 2 hour test, it became clear that Glen's test plan was degenerating rapidly. It appears that the combined weight of food, water and ziploc bag when added to the normal up and down forces applied to it with Glen's long looping stride was simply overwhelming the elastic capacities of the spandex in the waist band of Glen's pants. Or in non technical layman's terms, the bagge (ie Crotch Pot) was slipping.

With all the grace of a gazelle, Glen snatched the falling prototype Crotch Pot from his waist band and in a single move, deposited it into a side pouch of his pack where it rode, safely comfortably and cold for the remainder of the afternoon's hike.

I never did learn if Glen actually ate said experiment of it if got buried in the nightly cat hole. Needless to say no more product testing attempts were made during the remainder of the hike.

Now please don't let this tale of bravery and or incompetence dismayed you on your own quest for the ultimate in product design. Without a bit of failure from time to time, life would be so massively boring.

Finally at Tahoe Meadows the troupe was back to full strength. Shortly North of the meadows the TRT reaches it high point at 10,338 feet a top of Relay Peak. A layer a of snow from the previous nights blizzard, still covered the ground but was rapidly melting. Henry's much anticipated and much delayed warm front was slowly settling over the lake. The skies were blue as Robins eggs, crystal clear with nice chill in the air. It's always more fun climbing in cool air.

We found a beautiful place to camp on the shoulder of the ridge with extensive view both to the North and South. After dinner, we sat in the warmth of the sun's waning rays. It was the first time in days we've been able to stay warm without resorting to crawling into the sleeping bags, hiking hard or sheltering in the van. Finally it appeared that we maybe in store for a few days of warm Indian Summer. Henry's promised deliverance was at hand.

There has been much speculation over the limits of super ultralight hiking. How cold can you go while still maintaining some degree of both comfort and safety. In past trips, I've tended to select SUL gear based upon moderate daytime temperatures and with nighttime temperatures possibly dipping down into the 20's. Having to deal with both cold days and nights poses additional challenges.

I have to say I learned a lot watching Glen work his magic with his WickedLite load. While I may have thousands more trail miles doing multi-month hikes, he's mastered the simplicity of the experience. Though I wouldn't have traded my shelter for his. We were fortunate not to have any serious nighttime weather. For I fear his three sided affair would have provided little protection. Fortunately Brian carried a large Gossamer Gear Spin Twin that would easily have provided enough protection for two.

In the morning we awoke to cold clear skies. The crunch of footsteps on the frozen snow as we walked along only enhanced the morning hike. On this section of the TRT, the combination of high altitude and South facing slopes work together to reduce tree cover. Resulting in some of the most spectacular views of the lake so far, and excellent hiking. I've always been a sucker for high alpine hiking. While not technically above tree line, it's still an excellent section of the trail.

By the time we stopped for lunch, the storms cold and snow from the previous days was fading into distant memories. The warmth of summer had returned and we were giddy as all get out. Except for one small problem. Brian was begining to hike with a noticeable limp in his stride.

The last few weeks before the hike Brian has been spending his summer riding his motorcycle. This summer's goal is to ride the 4800 mile long across country Trans America Trail. It's a long distance primarily dirt track that winds it's way from Tennessee out to the Pacific Ocean. For more information on his trip check out his TAT Blog. I guess all that time bouncing on the bike had done a number on Brian's knee.

By lunch time we'd wound our way down out of the high country into the wooded hills north of Lake Tahoe. Most of our hiking was spent weaving this way and that with little clear idea of where we were going. Occasionally the trail would wander out to the edge of the ridge and provide us with nice views of Lake Tahoe.

For the most part, the lack of views really didn't matter. It was just good to be hiking again in warmth. Despite a limp that was growing more noticeably acute as the day progressed, Brian still was all smiles and generally well ahead of me.

We found a nice place to camp but this time no views. Still with the warm evening we were able to comfortably lounge around camp socializing without the need crawl into our bags. Since Henry was testing a new prototype tent, he felt the need to setup a tent for the evening. The rest of us content to lay in our sleeping bags and gaze at the stars filtering down through the trees.

Morning found us continuing our mission to wander all over the ridges of North Lake Tahoe. First in one direction, then another and another. Landmarks on the on the map were passed with little recognition. Our goal by now was to get down to Tahoe City in time to eat lunch at a nice restaurant.

By the time we reached our first break, Brian wasn't the only member of the troupe hiking with a limp. Somewhere Henry had also popped a knee. We weren't sure if Henry was in real pain or had merely decided to hike in sympathy with Brian. Though by now Brian's limp had progressed to the point where there were doubts about his ability to continue.

On our arrival in Tahoe City, Henry put on a hiking seminar about how real hikers cross rivers. He elected to wade across the Truckee while Brian, Glen and I take the foot bridge. I must admit that the water did look inviting.

While Henry and Brian took advantage of the picnic tables in the park to cleanup and relax a bit. Glen and I drive back up to Tahoe Meadows to retrieve the van. It's clear that Brian's not going to be hiking out of town today. So he'll take over van duty and meet us tomorrow at Barker Pass.

With all the arrangements taken care of, the four of us slipped into tourist mode for an hour to have a nice Mexican meal at a local establishment. We had a great time sitting out on the porch (no need to stink up the establishment), soaking up the sun and rehashing war stories of the last few days.

After filling our bellies and saying our goodbyes, there was nothing else to do but start the long climb back up the mountain. At 6200' Tahoe City is the lowest point on the trail. From here it's over 2000' with several ups and downs back up to where the TRT rejoins the Pacific Crest Trail.

It was a long though gentle climb up to camp. By the time we'd located a suitable site, the sun was fading fast. As we started setting up, we heard a rumble in the woods. Soon a couple of mountain bikers popped out of the trees and into the clearing. Hell bent and at high speed on their way down the mountain. It was dusk and there was several miles of bumpy trail ahead of them before hitting the road.

In the morning the remaining climb up to the PCT was quick as we'd climbed further last evening that we'd realized. Once back on familiar trail, it was only a few remaining miles until we'd reach Barker Pass where Brian was waiting.

Henry's limp was becoming more noticeable as time progressed, yet he was still able to outpace both Glen and I. It was also clear that he was going to continue the hike back to Echo Summit. Personally I was torn about continuing on to the end. The final stretch from Barker Pass to Echo Summit was 34 miles and through the spectacular Desolation Wilderness. However, to complete the hike on time, it'd have to be done less than a day and a half.

I elected to get off the trail with Brian. While Glen and Henry continued the adventure, we'd shuttle Glen's car down to the start and I'd meet them there tomorrow. At Echo Summit, Brian and I said our goodbyes and he headed back to Logan, Utah to hop back on his bike and finish the TAT.

Comments on Barker Pass to Echo Summit by Glen:

Everyone enjoyed a brief rest at Barker Pass in the SMD-mobile. Brian was heading back home from there, so it was end of the trip for him. Since Ron was sticking around for the American Long Distance Hiking Association Gathering, he agreed to meet Henry and Glen at Echo Lake. Henry and Glen set off. Glen’s worst fears were realized, that without Brian walking on one leg and Ron slowing down on the uphill's, there was now nobody to rein in Henry’s pace.

Glen struggled valiantly to keep up. Richardson Lake made a great lunch stop, with time to freshen up, air out feet, and relax in the sun. Leaving the lake, they ended up on a dirt road, and it took a little route-finding to get back on the trail. Back on the trail, the remaining two powered on, reaching Middle Velma lake by dusk. It was a beautiful spot, tons of campsites, and they selected a cozy spot among the rocks close to the lake. Henry pitched his new shelter for testing, Glen cowboy camped.

The evening was clear and cold. The next morning the climbing started in earnest, cresting ***’s Pass. It was a cold and windy day. They met one hiker who had been dropped off the night before and had been hiking straight through the night. He seemed to be having a good time, though. He had a very ambitious plan [Henry, do you remember what it was?]. There were a few other hikers on the trail. One pair in particular, two guys carrying huge packs, seemed very intrigued by the ultralight loads.

Coming up on Lake Aloha, Glen and Henry passed a cute couple, and the guy said “Hey, aren’t you Glen Van Peski?” It was Jason, who had attended a Wilderness Advanced First Aid course (he was working on his Wilderness First Responder) a number of years ago, with his new wife. Jason and Glen both guide for Wilderness Outings, but had not seen each other in years. Jason had just ordered a tent from Henry and found out that about the TRT hike. They were having a great time.

Aloha Lake was very low. Glen and Henry powered on, reaching the end of Echo Lake around 1 pm. They waited around for awhile, then finally got ahold of Ron, to find out he was waiting up at an upper parking lot. After a quick hello/goodbye, Henry and Glen pressed on to Echo Summit. Weaving in and out of homes, crossing busy roads, it wasn’t nearly as nice as Desolation Wilderness.

Glen’s car was waiting at Echo Summit, courtesy of the Frankle Shuttle Services, so Glen and Henry took back roads back to Henry’s house in Grass Valley. Henry’s wife Cynthia fixed an awesome dinner, Glen took a shower and headed on down to San Diego.

Conclusion

All in all it was a great hike and fun was had by all. Well before the end we were already discussing next years adventure. There are no bailouts possible on that trip. But at least it's a summer hike and I've got 10 months to get into shape. Watch out guys!

Ron

Welcome to the Six Moon Designs Community Pages

ronmoak — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 14:30:00 GMT

This new introduction to the Six Moon Designs website is to help facilitate communications within the Ultralight hiking community.

On these pages we'll post current product information, photos of products in use, trips, gear lists and user supplied suggestions.

We hope you find this site useful an will be considerate in you communications with fellow users.

Thanks,

Ron Moak

Six Moon Designs