Packing and planning and more packing

 

We leave tomorrow for the Benton MacKaye Trail, and we’ve been busy this weekend packing and planning.

The Benton MacKaye Trail is a weird length for us.  We’re somewhat used to planning a 2,000+ mile thru-hike, and we’re also used to planning shorter weekend length trips.  The Benton MacKaye Trail is just short of 300 miles, so we figure it will take us about 3 weeks.

We’ve planned to stop about 5 times to resupply along the way, and we’re sending ourselves packages at 3 resupply points.  We have had to call ahead to make sure that resupply points are actually open this time of year (most were not), and if so, make sure what their winter hours are.

Packing our resupply boxes

Meanwhile, we also started packing for a winter hike.  That means more layers, and warmer sleeping systems.  After considering the gear that we had, we finally decided that we should actually take two sleeping bags each.  After trying to fit all my gear in the backpack that I am most comfortable with, I found that it barely fit.  I had to find an old compression sac (stupidly weighing an additional 5oz) in order to squeeze my two sleeping bags inside.  A larger backpack would have been smart, but I’ll make do with what I have.

We made our final pile of gear and weighed it all.  Here is the outcome:

Dormouse Total Pack Base Weight: 11.4 lbs

Dirt Stew Total Pack Base Weight:  15.5 lbs

Clothes worn
	Manufacturer	Weight (oz)	Weight (lbs)
Tanktop	Champion	2.8
Shorts	Brooks	4.1
Wool bra	ibex	1.6
Socks- short, thin	Darn Tough	1.4
Shoes	Astral	19.8
Gaiters	Dirty Girl	1.1
Ball cap	Outdoor Research	1.9
	Total:	32.7	2.04
Clothes
Rain pants	Lightheart Gear	4.7
Rain jacket	Golite (RIP)	6.6
Fleece hat	Found in Zion 4 years ago	1.4
Liner gloves	Merrel	1.1
Overmits	REI	1.2
Down hood	Zpacks	1.6
Neck Warmer	Outdoor Research	1.5
Long sleeved caplene baselayer	Patagonia	4.2
Long underwear bottoms	Golite (RIP)	4.4
Socks- short, thick	Darn Tough	1.7
Socks- long for sleeping	Keen	2.1
Underwear	Vanity Fair	1.2
Fleece, R1	Patagonia	10.6
Down puffy	Golite (RIP)	6
Clothes stuff sac	Sea to Summit	1.1
	Total:	49.4	3.09
Gear
Backpack – Gorilla	Gossamer Gear	28.3
Sleeping pad- prolite women’s	Thermarest	16.4
Pack liner	Gossamer Gear	1.2
Sleeping bag – 20 degree	Zpacks	17.6
Sleeping bag- 10 degree	Western Mountaineering	33.4
Compression sac	Alps Mountaineering (found)	4.9
Bandana		1
Headlamp	Princeton Tec	3.1
Toothbrush and toothpaste		1.6
Hand sanitizer		1
Dropper bottle with bleach		0.9
Ear plugs		0.2
Chapstick		0.2
P-style		0.8
Tiny towel		0.3
First Aid Kit		6.8
Pee bottle		1.8
Shoulder pocket	Gossamer Gear	1.6
Folding keyboard	iwerkz	5.1
iphone 6	apple	5.4
Wallet		1.3
		Onces	Pounds
	Total Gear:	132.91	8.31
	Total Gear + Clothes Carried:	182.31	11.39

Dirt Stew:

Clothes Worn
	Manufacturer	Weight (oz)	Weight (lbs)
Hiking pants	REI	12.1
Synthetic underwear	EMS	3.2
T-shirt synthetic	Hanes	4.8
Socks- long	Farm to Feet	2.6
Ankle brace		5.2
Shoes	Brooks	28.9
	Total Clothes Worn	56.8	3.55
Clothes Carried:
Down puffy	Golite (RIP)	6.9
Socks- long	Keen	3
Socks – short	Farm to feet	1.2
Long underwear top	Icebreaker	6.8
Long underwear bottom	Icebreaker	5.9
Synthetic underwear	EMS	3.2
Backlava wool	REI	1.6
Fleece	EMS	7.1
Gloves- liner	Smartwool	1.7
Overmits	REI	1.3
Neck gaiter	Columbia	1.3
Rain pants	Sierra Designs	7.6
Rain jacket	Golite (RIP)	7.8
Hat	Mountain hardware	2.6
Stuff sac	Big Agnes	1.2
Wallet		1.2
	Total Clothes Carried	59.2	3.7
Gear:
Two person Tent- The Two	Gossamer gear	29.7
Tent stakes with stuff sac		4.5
Sleeping bag- Humming bird	Feathered Friends	28.2
Sleeping bag	Zpacks	21.1
Stuff sac	Sea to summit	1
Pack liner	Gossamer gear	2.4
Backpack	Gossamer Gear	34.5
Sleeping pad- neoair	Thermarest	7.6
Pillow	Klymit	2.3
1L storage Jar (for cold soaking)	Nalgene	6.8
Bowl – plastic		1.5
Spoon- plastic		0.4
Spoon- titanium	MSR	0.6
Bandana		1.2
Maps (2 nat geo maps)		6.6
BMT guide book		3.5
Headlamp	Princeton Tec	2.8
Toothbrush and paste		1.4
Chapstick (with spf)		0.3
Flip phone		3.1
Camera and case		8.7
Bleach in dropper bottle		0.5
PLB	Res Q link	5.2
Chargers- camera, iphone, flip phone		5.2
Umbrella	Euroschirm	8.1
Food bag	Lightheart Gear	2
		Onces	Pounds
	Total Gear	189.2	11.83
	Total Gear + Clothes Carried	248.4	15.53