John came to the house at 9 a.m. Monday August 5, before going to hike the High Divide, a massive "wall" between the Hoh River Valley watershed and the lakes in Seven Lakes Basin/the Sole Duck River Valley. I looked at his food and said that 5 lb would suffice for 2.5 days on the trail. We took some food and his stove out of his pack. A second stove might have been a good idea in event of a malfunction. It was still too much for one bear can, so we rented another at the ranger station when we got our permit.
Bears in the park: none seen on this trip.
We could believe no maps nor trail signs re: mileage. We just trusted that they pointed in the right direction. John brought the trail description as well as a b/w trail map of the area. I wasn't responsible enough to print out a map from my National Geographic Washington map software.
Packing. John removed an 8 oz sunscreen bottle out of his pack, I had 2 oz, enough for both of us.
Gear.
Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo tent. I like it well. Set up tip: ensure the 120 cm pole is plumb.
Hiking poles. ONE IS ENOUGH for use with my Lunar solo. 2nd pole not needed.
John's Tarp with Ray Jardine Net Tent looked palatial with its acreage and airy long ceiling. It worked well for him.
The Ray Jardine Alpine quilt worked well for me in combination with the insulated hat, vs. a traditional mummy sleeping bag with hood, which I roll with rather than within, exposing compressed insulation and leading to a cold backside. That cold persists if the bag has less insulation on the bottom than on top. With the quilt, I'd roll under the quilt, which would remain atop me. Potential IMPROVEMENT? maybe a hat with thicker insulation.
I slept with socks on my hands for the times when they'd wander out from under the quilt.
My REI Flash 62 backpack. very well conceived. Tall items in the mesh pockets still wanted to fall toward the front of the pack. The number of pockets was right. Hipbelt pockets were great for compass, chapstick and water treatment bottles. Water storage in the side mesh pockets worked. It swallowed a bear can and a RayWay alpine quilt. I used the hip belt for the first 4 miles of the trip but shoulder straps only for the last 15 or so miles. Bare skin contact with the mesh shoulder strap was a bit abrasive. Jardine's pack, when I've used it with shoulder straps only seemed harsh and use with the hip belt was terrible--foam maybe too stiff?
Go Lite Umbrella. very good coverage and deflection of heat. It has too much arc in the canopy for a full pack--I often had to lift the umbrella higher for the tips to clear the pack. How do I make my own?
Camera. Sony Rx100. I don't know how to make it focus at infinity. Goats. Mt Olympus. People with blue tongue after eating huckleberries.
Goats: ever present at Heart Lake. pretty docile. two more goats at Sole duck Park.
Swimming: Cleansing, refreshing and brief at Heart Lake. While a shallow lake with plenty of all-day sun, the inflow was still glacier fed and I exited after 5 strokes. I went in again after a short day hike back to the High Divide.
Bugs. Biting flies and piercing mosquitoes besieged us at Deer Lake (our first night out) and while ascending to the High divide. The mosquitoes penetrated my layer of long underwear and nylon leg warmers and my thin wool shirt. Mosquitoes have a crazy flight plan that often looks like a World War I biplane spinning in spirals and oscillating at the same time. The flies bite a few moments after they land (often on my skin right above the top of my socks), but you don't feel them land--if you're paying attention and see one land, you can easily squash it before it bites, otherwise they'll painfully take a chunk of you as their dinner. Mosquitoes seem to pay a little more attention to their intended victims' attempts to thwart them and would fly off. Neither can penetrate urethane coated nylon, nor can they pierce REI's Sahara convertible nylon pants. Also effective against the mosquitoes: my LL Bean fleece shirt, a neck gaiter . On my long hike last year, I'd sprayed bug killer on my clothes and pack, but a heavy frost on my first three nights out killed most of the bugs so I had no notion of the efficacy of this strategy--I forgot to repeat the treatment this year. Potential IMPROVEMENTS: maybe simple light nylon pants and jacket (no pockets).
bug repellent. Cutter DEET stick (30%) deterred mosquitoes, but only briefly repelled the flies, large and small. The large ones were bigger than a Buick. The mosquitoes would try to fly into your mouth nose and ears--they'd land on my glasses and try to wiggle their way onto my eyelids, departing only after sensing DEET on my eyelids. I wish I'd brought my head net to justify its purchase long ago.
Ibuprofen went a long way to preventing itch and scratching bites.
Water management: No hydration systems, just my 32 oz Gatorade bottle, John's liter poly Nalgene & a 20 oz. disposable water bottle. Purification by iodine with neutralization tablets (mine) and SteriPen Adventurer (John)--both worked great, & it was reassuring to have both. The Steripen did work with the Gatorade bottle, but not the small mouthed 20 oz drink bottle.
Cooking & Meals: Vegetarian chili from the Marketplace and instant rice (two meals). Green pea soup (John) and instant rice. Coffee, trail mix by John & Trader Joes "Simply Almonds, Cashews and Cranberries," dried apples and apricots (John) dried pear (mine), Costco Sunrise Energy Bars & Sunrise Clusters w/ greek yogurt chips. The energy Bars crumbled easily--the clusters mostly stayed intact. We boiled water using a Snow Peak canister stove, added the food, turned off the stove and waited. Oatmeal with sun dried tomato brown sugar (John) Potential IMPROVEMENT: pot cozy.
Leftover food ~4 lb. Total food consumed: ~6 lb for 48 hours. Next trip, budget 1.5 lb per person per 24 hours.
Footwear that works: LL Bean Mountain Treads Low top 2# 14 oz. shields my feet from rocks. LL Bean Trail Model Hikers do not.
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