Backpacking with a Harmonica
How long have you been backpacking and what's the longest trip you've taken?
I started backpacking seriously in September 2008 but I have done some bike tours before that. My longest trip was a full traverse of the Picos de Europa in northern Spain in late June and early July 2009. I will improve on that this summer by hiking 900 kilometers along a seam of the earth: coast to coast through the Pyrenees, where they sewed the Iberian peninsula onto Europe.
When did you realize that you needed to reduce the amount of weight that you carried in your backpack?
I knew before I started but I only started acting on this knowledge after I was sure I was gonna stick with this. That doesn’t mean I started out really heavy though. For instance I used a 2.5 kilo pyramid tent from the seventies on my first trip, which was split between me and my companion.
What is the total weight of your big three: backpack, sleeping bag/pad, and shelter?
- Osprey Talon 44, 1100 grams
- Rab Quantum 400, 900 g
- Thermarrest Prolite full length, 460 g
- Terra Nova Superlite Voyager, 1660 g after switching out pegs
Do you own a scale for weighing your gear?
No but I sometimes weigh small stuff on fruit scales in the supermarket.
Where are you in the process of going lightweight?
I’m fine with where I am and any further improvements will be incremental. I prefer hiking with a partner and then my base weight is around 5.5 kilos.
How much has cost constrained the rate in which you reduce your gear weight?
Cost has not been a big problem for me. I’ve had much more problems with finding stuff, as there really is no market for lightweight stuff in my native Belgium. I’ve had to import pretty much everything from the UK and US.
What was the largest amount of pack weight you dropped by replacing or eliminating a piece of gear?
If I were a solo hiker that would have been switching from the 70’s Fjällraven pyramid tent to the Terra Nova. But, since the weight of the tent is shared, I actually had a bigger reduction from switching my pack from an old model Osprey Aether 65 at ~1800 g to a Talon 44.
My most cost effective weight reduction was when I bought a plastic glasses’ case at a Chinese bazaar for a euro. At 30 g (weighed in a supermarket) it was 70 lighter than my previous model.
What's your view on the trade-offs between the following types of backpacking gear?
Down vs. Synthetic sleeping bags?
If it’s raining so hard that your sleeping bag gets wet inside your pack, then you’re either not protecting it right or you shouldn’t be thinking of sleeping but instead try to get to civilisation as fast as you can.
Backpacks with an external frame, internal frame, or no frame?
I use internal frame packs because I think one of the points of going light is to be able to stay in the mountains longer. If I get uncomfortable as soon as I put 3 days of food and some water in my pack, which is what I think will happen with a frameless pack, then there has been no point in paying for all the lightweight stuff.
Double walled shelters, single walled shelters, and tarps and bivies?
I use a double walled tent but would consider a tarp if I was going to a very dry place for an extended period.
Full size sleeping pads vs. torso sized?
Full size for me. And I still put stuff under my feet because I think they’re not high enough.
Boots vs trail runners?
I said I knew beforehand that light was right. Well I didn’t follow that reasoning for footwear, which was my first purchase… I have Lowa Burma boots at 1850 g for a pair of European size 43s, they’re fine for up to a week but then my feet get tired. Out of spite, I will use them till they die. I’m not going to ruin my Pyrenees trip on them however, so I’ve bought some Montrail Streaks.
What would you say are the biggest benefits of carrying less gear?
Being able to stay in the mountains longer, comfortably, is definitely the biggest advantage.
What advice would you give to someone else who wanted to start reducing the weight of their backpacking gear?
Determine what your ambitions are and how you walk, then choose your gear accordingly. Also give things a try before spending money: for example if you want to buy a tarp, try camping under a sheet of painter’s plastic first.
Is there anything else you want to get off your chest?
There is one item in my pack that I will never weigh. I simply refuse to. It’s a harmonica.
And something political: Get Metric USA!
Backpacking Gear List
| Equipment class | Weight in grams | What is this? |
| Gear carried | ||
| Pack | 1100 | Osprey Talon 44 |
| Mattress | 460 | Thermarest Prolite |
| Sleeping bag | 900 | Rab Quantum 400 |
| Raincoat | 396 | Rab Super Dru |
| Rainpants | 205 | Montane Atomic DT |
| Fleece | 235 | Haglöfs Single Top |
| Insulation | 230 | PHD Ultra Pullover |
| Gloves | 50 | generic fleece gloves |
| Warm hat | 50 | generic fleece beanie |
| Bandana | 40 | generic cotton bandana |
| Socks | 75 | Smartwool |
| Headlamp | 85 | Black Diamond Spot |
| Compass | 30 | Recta |
| Whistle | 14 | Fox 40 |
| Cutlery | 35 | Light my Fire spork and Opinel pocket knife |
| Spare glasses + case | 45 | I am very nearsighted |
| Baby toothbrush | 2 | Baby toothbrush |
| Keep-stuff-dry stuff | 80 | trash bag, assorted ziplocks |
| Writing stuff | 40 | Pencil and paper |
| Subtotal | 4072 | |
| Gear shared | ||
| Tent | 1480 | Terra Nova Superlite Voyager |
| Pegs | 180 | 12 golite Ys |
| Cookset | 204 | Evernew 1,4 litre |
| "Plates" | 150 | lunchbox |
| Stove | 135 | MSR Superfly |
| Windshield | 40 | thin plastic sheet |
| Trowel | 23 | MSR blizzard peg |
| Water storage | 80 | plastic soda bottles |
| Water purification | 85 | Aqua Mira Drops |
| Camera | ? | to be determined |
| First aid kit | 150 | MYOG |
| Subtotal | 2527 | |
| Halved | 1263.5 | |
| Clothes + gear worn | ||
| Underwear | 70 | Haglöfs actives boxers |
| Zip-off pants | 345 | Montane Terra converts |
| Baselayer top | 230 | Smartwool ltwt zip longsleeve |
| Hat | 50 | Widebrimmed cotton hat |
| Socks | 75 | Smartwool ltwt zip longsleeve |
| Poles | 508 | Carbon Pacerpoles |
| Subtotal | 1278 | |
| Footwear | ||
| Trail shoes | 680 | Montrail Streaks |
| That means | ||
| Gear on back – solo | 6599 | |
| Gear on back – with 2 | 5335.5 | |
| Everything – solo | 8557 | |
| Everything in lbs | 18.90 |
Note: Len submitted this post in order to enter the Sectionhiker.com Gollte Ultralite Down Quilt Raffle. See link for full details.
First of all, Len, what is it with Flems? Y'all have a better command of the English language than most Americans.
~ I am insanely jealous of your Pyrenees adventure. Will you take the High Road? For goodness sake, get a good camera and start practicing with it soon. In a few years, I would like to follow that path if I can solve the resupply problem.
~ Now about using SI measurements in America—we're already there. I used them exclusively during my academic and working life of 28 years. Then I retired and reverted happily back to the P's and Q's of my childhood. Though I still keep our RV tires inflated to 250 kPa to honor Blaise. And often in the market, I'm forced to revert to grams for nutrition calculations on the fly. Our currency and road distances are decimalized too. My street address is based on a house location that is 2.217 miles from the beginning of the road. And we love our kilowatts.
~ Oddly, Europeans are not rushing to divide the year into 10 months, days into 100 hours, hours into 100 minutes, nor the surface of the Earth into 100 degrees of latitude. Where is the philosophic consistency? These forms of decimalization are no more of an artifice than all the rest of SI.
~ A fluid ounce of water weighs an ounce, so a pint is still a pound. Americans still demand the freedom to use whatever units of measurement best suit their needs. We hope that Europeans will someday rise up against the Aristocracy Nouveau to take back their fundamental human right to metrological emancipation. *wink*
Well Helen, I don't know about other flems but I was in Wales on holiday at the age of 2 months, both my parents teach English at highschools and I study Spanish & English at university.
I am doing a paper on colonial Spanish in New Mexico and I hope to do some fieldwork in the Sangre de Cristo for my master's thesis. There's been Spaniards in New Mexico since 1598, something I'm pretty sure isn't taught at schools in America.
I will be following the GR11 instead of the Haute Route Pyrenéenne for a number of reasons. I don't know how to use crampons and piolet and they are unavoidable on the Haute Route unless you start in late July or later, which means Hot Hot Heat. I prefer the dry and rocky Spanish side to the forested and misty mountainsides in France. I am much more fluent in Spanish than French. I have not found someone who wants to come with me the whole way and so am forced to do parts solo at the beginning and the end of my trip. I am simply not confident enough to do the HRP solo. Finally, and I think this is the best reason, I need to leave something to come back to.
If you want some information about the HRP you should go to http://www.viajarapie.info/index_english.htm and contact Inaki. He was very helpful with me.
I'm thinking of getting a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7.
I take your point on artifice, except that dividing the year into ten months is a lot like pretending the moon isn't there…
Thanks for the link. I'm delighted that your sense of humor matches your language arts. Let's remember how the last month of the year got its name.
~ The Lumix TZ7 is a fine camera. I used it for a month in New Mexico this year and made thousands of exposures. Nobody can distinguish the finished images from those made with my 1800g DSLR. Then I gave it back for the TZ10. This model has many key improvements, including GPS, for the UL backpacker. Highly recommended. Both require carrying the 60g charger to forage electricity for the proprietary batteries.
camera + memory + charger + 3 batteries = 330g
~ I don't know what they teach kids in school these days. US public education is intended to be regionally influenced. In the Northeast, most of our history was about the French and English battling for control of Quebec and Lake Champlain. Still, I learned a lot about Spanish and Paleo-American influence in the South. This winter, we visited dozens of archeological sites, found pottery shards, and discovered a hidden prehistoric cliff dwelling. The entire state is strewn with antiquities. Sometimes it is difficult to avoid stepping on it.
~ You might enjoy the Salinas Pueblo Missions, where the Spanish co-habitated with Meso-Americans and traded salt. We were told that a million documents from these missions are archived in Spain, but remain untranslated and unanalyzed. Sounds like a fantastic thesis resource.
~ This is a Lumix image showing the strange juxtaposition of a Salinas Catholic sanctuary with indigenous subterranean kivas. Maybe you are the guy to solve this mystery.
~ Northern New Mexico was cold and snowy when we visited, but there were plenty of attractions. Should you find yourself around Sante Fe, and interested in a unique wilderness 41ºC bathing experience, I can show you the "secret" hot springs in Jemez. Again, from the Lumix.
http://idisk.mac.com/helenwells/Public/Winter10/2…
Dang, forgot the Salinas image.
http://idisk.mac.com/helenwells/Public/Winter10/w…
We never made it to the Sangre de Cristo, but I found a distant view taken from Bandelier. Hope to see yours.
http://idisk.mac.com/helenwells/Public/Winter10/w…
Hi Helen –
The Salinas link in you comment does not work. This is sad because the other pix are so beautiful.
Thank you. Link fixed. That was one pesky little image.
~ How about one more on the topic of Spanish adventures in America. In 1540, Coronado came north searching for legendary treasure cities. Instead, he found Kansas. This is the mountain pass he came through with his army, and where he left empty handed. Centuries later, the road still doesn't have guardrails.
http://idisk.mac.com/helenwells/Public/Winter10/w…
Thanks for the feedback on the camera. I am picking the older model because of price. I also have no need for GPS, I think it will stunt the growth of my navigation skills. Love that first picture with the water!
I've never been further south than Albuquerque but that picture of Salinas pueblo looks very similar to what I saw at the Pecos ruins. You say the documents from the mission remain "untranslated" do you mean into English? It's interesting but I don't think they would let me take this. I'm doing my thesis for the Spanish Linguistics department. There used to be a professor at my university who promoted cultural and historical thesises but he's retired now.
The early Spanish explorations in North America are extremely interesting. Francisco de Coronado was looking for the Seven Cities of Cíbola, the first of which was a Zuni pueblo described by a Franciscan monk as "bigger than Tenochtitlan with streets paved with gold." Obviously he didn't find anything until at Pecos he was given a captive from the plains by the Puebloans. This captive lead him to the "kingdom of Quivira" (which was also supposedly very rich), across the great plains to the Missouri river, hoping the expedition would starve along the way. Many did.
When the Spanish settled they joined in the yearmarkets at Pecos where they traded with the Pueblo and Plains indians.
There's an account of my Picos de Europa trip here: http://www.elrincondeltrotamundos.com/2010/02/24/…
I plan to write something similar for the Pyrenees this year, possibly in English as well if I can find somewhere to publish it. Maybe summitpost fits the bill…
Fascinating trip report. Obviously you have a high photographic standard. The Lumix will serve you well. Hope you get a good deal.
~ Yes, until anything is translated into English, it's pretty much useless to Americans. I have a perfect excuse for being monolingual, but most people here prefer to deal only with the Galactic Universal Language.
~ Just wanted to be sure you knew that there is magnificent opportunity for someone with your skills and interests. The Paleo-Americans evolved into a vast and sophisticated empire. And then they vanished without leaving us a word. There is no valid theory to explain this. Our best chance to understand them is by examining the correspondence of the missionaries who last saw them. Nobody is doing that because the documents are written in Spanish and archived half a world away.
I'd be interested to hear how you got on with the GR11 – my account from 2003 is at http://www.davidgilbert.org.uk/GR11/ – if you have done it, you will find yourself thinking about it constantly in future years; I have been thinking about it and reading other people's accounts for the last seven years!
All best
David