MO > Irish Wilderness hang - September 18-20

[Skygzr]

If anyone in the Ofallon/St Charles area wants to drive down together, I'm happy to drive. I live really close to the intersection of Hwy K & Ofallon Rd.

Edit: I just read my post and realized that may have sounded a little creepy. I assure you, I may be weird, but I'm not creepy.... Of course that may not help either. It's really tough to make that kind of offer to people you don't really know and not sound a little bit off. Regardless, the offer is out there now.

Hey I am right here at N and Z. (Wentzville), so if you are going down on Friday morning early I would be happy to keep you company and pitch in for gas.- Craig

[myingon]

I may just put in an appearance for this. Sitting behind the wheel driving for a living has added a couple of extra pounds to the middle regions, but this sounds like an easy hike by the standards I have been used to. Count me in.

[myingon]

Just got approval from the boss for those three days off. In exchange for having to cover for him Thursday. So I will see you all Friday morning.

[Skygzr]

Gideon
base weight 9 lbs, 10 oz. and I am bringing the jetboil!
tag your it!

[Gideon]

Nice challenge Skygzr; I'll reply later but for a clue, i'm packing my Darien UL
Gideon

[Disco]

I might have you both beat this time.

[myingon]

What type of weather are planning on next month? Me thinks you all may be jumping the gun.

[Gideon]

Hi Myingon; first, I really hope you make it out and believe me, whether it's driving a truck or flying a desk, work doesnt' help our health!

I'm hoping it's cool; the colder the better. I'd rather miss the rain but even that can add to the fun and feeling of "wilderness" on a hike.

I have a suspicion Disco has secretly been revolutionizing his setup and plans to supprise us all with it. So if the game is on then we're packing a single pair of underwear, socks, etc. No toothpaste (just use sand), no TP, just use leaves.

Believe it or not, I've actually toyed with the idea of going in the opposite direction. I have a granite gear vapor 60 pack that I love but I haven't used it in years. For it's volume, it's still a light pack at 2.2 lbs and it carries like a dream but I think it's a better "winter" pack.

I've put on 20+ lbs since the beginning of the year due to work, stress, and lack of discipline so the fall hiking season is going to be part of me trying to get back in shape!

For me, ultralight backpacking is all about my knee/back which are basically on their last leg (no punn intended). But the irony of worrying about ounces when I've put on the pounds isn't lost on me. Still, it's all good fun and the main thing is just looking forward to seeing some old friends again and meeting some new ones.

The head just seems to get right in the woods on a hike.

Time to go shorten all of the lines on my hammock, tarp, pack, shoes....

Gideon

[myingon]

Just wondering. I don't plan on being uncomfortable. I always plan for the worst and hope for the best. If this was going to be a grueling 35 to 40 miles a day. Then I would worry about every ounce. Not that I plan on bring much I don't need either. I'm already carrying an extra 27 lbs I would love to get rid of.

[Gideon]

Good attitude Myingon. I enjoy ultralight backpacking but it's easy to get carried away with any "style" to the point where we loose focus on the real point of it all. To me it's not about how light you can go, how far, or how fast, it's about coming aside from the crazyness which is my current life. If I can do that with a few like minded folks who are "real people" then I'm richer for it.

I've found that I enjoy meals less when I really go ultralight on my cookkit because I've never learned how to get the most out of freeze dried or FBC as much as I do when I actually cook a meal. I've tried the most popular sites/meals for freezed dried and found some pretty good ones but too often they're too starchy or they simply don't rehydrate as well as I'd like. I've also experimented with my own freeze drying and come up with a few good ones, like my version of freeze dried shepards pie. Still, I keep trying and playing around with it. For me, half the fun is just messing around with the gear; I really enjoy that.

Enjoy the day
Gideon