The gear I used and some thoughts on gear.
 |
| You can see my white compression socks |
I had some questions about doing a gear post and what my
pack weighed so here goes. My pack weighed 21kg all in at the start of the
hike. This is 3 litres of water, food, phone everything. As for my gear I think
I’ll start with my shoes and make my way up.
I wrote previously about how I do all of my hiking in vibram5 fingers and I really wanted to do this hike in my five fingers too. However
my pack was the heaviest I’ve ever hiked with and having walked the Tongiriro
Crossing before (in five fingers) I knew the terrain would be rocky and loose.
I was also cognisant of my broken toe and the injury I suffered walking on thebeach and up Mt Pirongia. In the end I decided the terrain in combination with
the heavy pack would be too much for my feet to handle. I knew that extremely
sore feet would take the fun out of the hike and could even force me to drop
out. So I decided to wear my zero drop trail running shoes I have written about
as my daily wear shoes. Once I had started on the track I know I had made the
right choice. I’ve mentioned before how I don’t need ankle support etc so I
want go over than again. I will say I was very happy with my shoes and will
likely stick with the brand for the foreseeable future. I’ll still be doing
most of my hikes in five fingers, but for the more mountainous stuff I think
shoes are the safer option.
Moving up to my socks. I bought some long injinji
compression socks for the hike, which I also wanted to test out for running.
Long story short, I ended up with a white pair and a purple pair instead of
black. I found these socks to be great, I’m sure they helped shift fluid in my
feet and ankles. I might do a full review of them once I’ve worn them running (Review here).
The only issue I found, which was not at all the fault of the socks was that
during the river crossings I got a lot of silt in my shoes, which worked its
way into my socks. So one big suggestion of mine is to bring a fresh pair of
socks for every day, it makes a huge difference.
Now for my pack. It is a 50 litre Kathmandu pack which I
bought on sale for $200, they eventually went for $180 on clearance. It has
been the right size for me, fitting everything I need, without any space left
to pack unnecessary items. If needed I could strap some stuff to the outside,
so in winter conditions a 60 litre pack might be necessary, but for what I do
its been prefect.
Now I’ll try to go through the contents of my pack, as I
would pack it. A 3 litre water bladder goes in first. I find on most hikes this
is enough to hike a 5-8 hour day, longer and I’ll fill an extra litre bottle.
Next in is my one man tent weighing 1.5kg or so. I bring along a ground sheet I
made from a cheap tarpaulin which weighs next to nothing. I also bought a
larger trap to go over both tents (for me and my hiking companion) encase of
heavy rain. My sleeping bag I think is a -8 °C so it’s a little
over kill but I just unzip it a bit. I also use a silk sleeping back liner
which I can wash more easily than my sleeping bag. My sleeping mat is a ¾
length self inflating mat which is fairly thin. I find it quite uncomfortable
so I might upgrade to something thicker but light weight.
Next I have my clothes in a dry sack. I
bought 2 pairs of thermal tops, 1 pair thermal long johns I didn’t use the
extra thermal and long johns but they were good to have just encase. I thought
it had packed an extra pair of shorts but I hadn’t so I only had one pair the
whole way, no big deal though. I had two t-shirts, one for while hiking and one
for at camp, my hiking one stunk but that's life. I’ve already mentioned my
gloves. I also packed a hoodie which came in handy, but was difficult to get
dry once it was wet.
 |
| The only shot I have of my tent set up |
Food and cooking. I have a light weight
cooker, gas bottle and two pots, the small one I barely use so I could just
leave it behind. One thing I am really glad I bought was a kettle, it makes
boiling water so easy and adds very little weight. For breakfast I have coffee sachets
which I use condensed milk with (so tasty even if milk powder is lighter). To
eat I have oats with a serve of protein powder. Lunch and snacks are jerky,
dried fruit, and a can of tuna. Dinner is a dehydrated backcountry meal, these
were always really good. On shorter hikes I’ll carry a can of beans, sausages
and cheese. This is followed up with a hot chocolate and condensed milk. I also
carried an extra days food just encase. Now this food isn’t super paleo, but
oats don’t give me any issues and I choose either gluten free meals, or meals
which don’t have a lot of wheat (no pastas), which I seem to handle pretty
well.
 |
| An example of my cooking set up |
Extras. I carry a small first aid kit, water
purifying tablets, small repair kit, duct tape, tic tac container with some
salt (to try to prevent cramps), headlamp. I carry all sorts of little extras,
some worth bringing, others I should probably leave behind, but that’s an ever
evolving process. One thing that was handy this time was two clothes pegs I
added to my pack, I was able to dry some clothes while I walked. If I wasn’t so
tired at the Rangipo hut I probably could have strung up a line to dry clothes.
Also a little cloth is really handy for drying pots and hands etc. I always
bring two rolls of toilet paper, its more than I need but is helpful if someone
forgets, and I always leave one roll at the last toilet; it lightens my load,
and might just make someone’s day. I carry a whistle on my pack for emergencies
(three sharp whistles is the signal), but it’s a farm dog whistle and not
everyone knows how to use one so I should probably get something anyone can
use.
Wet weather gear. I carry a gortex jacket
with me which comes in handy as well as a pack cover. One thing that broke on
me this time was a small dry sack which I keep my phone and map in. It got a
small hole in it so I’ll have to get a thicker one for my next hike. One thing
to note, I kept one of my maps in my pack pocket at the front and it got quite
wet, so best to laminate your maps, or keep them in a dry sack.
Camera. Simple point and shot which I carry
on my hip for easy access.
There are a lot of things I have forgotten
or left off, but this gives you a bit of an idea of the gear I’m carrying.
No comments:
Post a Comment