bz_711
WKR
- Joined
- May 7, 2012
- Messages
- 683
Thought I'd share a few pics of my wife and I's first backpacking experience recently...and a couple opinions on some budget gear I picked up.
What started as an anniversary trip (3yrs late for our 10th anniversary trip
) planned to the Florida gulf (our first trip without kids)...turned into my wife saying we should go to the mountains and do some things we can't normally do with little ones...you don't have to tell me mountains twice! She then wanted to experience a natural hot springs but did not want the "touristy" type that have a hotel near them...which led to her discovering Conundrum Hot springs in the Maroon Bells Wilderness. Approx 9 mile hike in to 100+ degree natural hot spring...which meant we'd be overnighting...so I went work on acquiring some gear, kept an eye on the above average snowfall this year, and hoped for a clear trail by Jun 26th. The last remaining issue was the final river crossing that can be very wide and raging during heavy snow melt...which looked like we'd be hitting that at the worst time.
We set out on a Thursday to avoid the well reported Fri and Sat night crowds...weather forecast was perfect, and ends up we did not see a rain drop our entire 5 days in CO which is rare, but we'll take it! (these are the few pics I have, majority on wifes camera)
My wife loves photography and especially open meadow views when we visit CO...this trail did not let us down. Huge open valleys with wildflowers, with large hillsides of aspen and pine...and snow capped peaks on both sides...along with a gorgeous stream alongside the whole trip...and multiple cascading waterfalls. It was as pretty as it gets.
Besides multiple stream crossings, there are two log bridge crossings and one river/wading crossing at about 6.5 miles in. Since my wife did not care for the first bridge (basically two logs suspended about 8ft high over raging river)...when we got to the 2nd crossing I told her it looked like we could bushwack for a 1/2 mile and avoid the last two crossings as you end up on same side of river at that point anyway. She was a little unsure at first as it got very thick with Pines at first, then willows (the elk sign was sure getting better), a few smaller streams we had to hop over to clear...then some pretty good snow...and then we came upon this
I loved seeing bear tracks...my wife not so much. One thing I learned on this trip is that she absolutely trusts me...which is awesome.
As we made our way back toward the trail we came right up to the river crossing, could hear people yelling, and then there were 6 different hikers in the middle of the river trying to hop on log jams to get across with no luck. One guys looked up at me and said "how in the f--- did you get across?"...I told him we bushwacked...most I believe had to lose the boots and pants and gets mighty cold to get across...not to mention the risk of center stream where there was a pretty good current. My wife finally said I was right by bushwacking and thanked me. Two more miles to the springs...and it was like climbing stairs from then on, with the weight of our packs we were starting to feel it a little bit (of course this is just elk hunt training for me)
When we arrived to the springs there were a few hikers around, but by the time we found a campsite clear of snow and put our suits on, we had the springs to ourselves
It made all the effort worth it. The center of the springs had bubbles coming up through the rocks and the temps were noticeably higher there, to the point you could not sit on them very long with out getting very hot. After a while alone, a few more younger couples made their way in with us, and we had some great conversation together. Ends up, nobody found the same way across the last river crossing, and nobody else bushwacked off trail like we did either to stay dry. We sat for over 2 hours in the 100+ degree water...and even had a cocktail of filtered water, vodka, and raspberry drink mix...life was good!
Closer to sunset we knew we needed to filter more water and eat some dinner...our first experience with Mountain House (Lasagna for her, Chili Mac for me)...we were both very pleased with the taste, although we could have shared a meal.
This pic shows the massive snow bank just 8 steps behind our tent
Daylight woke us at 5:17am...clouds did not look good at first so we actually got packing up around 6:00 and hit the road. The day gradually cleared. What took us about 5.5 hours going up, took just over 4 hours coming down. I would classify this as a strenuous hike that the majority of everyday vacationers would not be able to pull off without some training. We did pass close to 30 hikers on our way down proving true that Fri night was going to be busy as reported...although I'd put money down that quite a few of them did not make it as they were already huffing at the 2 mile mark...it gets harder the whole way up.
GEAR:
-I had plans to buy a new pack for elk hunting this year as I've always ended up packing out elk meat in my daypack and never once used my pack frame - since we always just took the whole thing out from kill site and have not returned. I needed a frame pack for this reason - and this trip was a perfect excuse.
I picked up the REI XT85 for $220 during sale this year. WOW - I love this thing. I had the pack loaded to help keep wifes pack to a min, and it rode so well - I cannot wait to hunt with this and hopefully fill with meat. The adjustments are great for getting a fit, I love the small belt pockets for GPS/calls, and the two water bottle side pockets are great for bugle call, bear spray, etc.
-Picked up a $97 Alps Mountaineering Zephyr tent. Might be heavy to some at 4.5 lbs., but it sure worked great for us, and I'll use it first time I need to stay in the backcountry for elk or mulies. Plenty of room for 1 guy and all your gear, but even wife and I had room for two sleeping pads, bags, and some extra gear...and both entries had vestibule big enough for packs and boots. Good first tent.
-Got a $14 stove from Sierra Trading Post (most gear from STP actually) and $5 cup from walmart and it boiled like a champ for MH meals, hot chocolate, and tea. Kovea ultralight I believe for the stove, packs down to nothing.
-sleeping bags were Zero and 20 degree Mountainsmith bags from STP for about $50 each...temps in the high 30's at night, both of us were very warm sleeping.
-She had a Hyalite sleeping pad with better R value $32, I had air only Hyalite classic $18
-both had a set of Black Diamond poles ($39/set from STP). I did not use on the way up until almost the end and some small stream crossings...big mistake...these things are AWESOME! I used the whole way back down and cannot believe how much they help on both uphills and downhills...will never hike without them again.
-Wore my Asolo elk hunting boots and they did great, and some walmart And1 slip on sandals for water crossings. Wife had some Keen waterproof hiking shoes, and Keen water sandals for crossings...she really likes the Keen products.
-Made my wife a pack with my Cabelas frame and two cheap Outdoor Research dry sacks lashed to the frame.
-Lastly, I had picked up a Sawyer Mini water filter $19.99 - looks like I'll never own another water filter. Small, weighs nothing, and works like a champ. Plugs right in the end of our Camelbak and drink straight from it, or I'd hang the Camelbak in tree and let gravity filter it into my other Cabela's bladder. also screws right on regular packaged water bottle, comes with collapsible water pouch, and even straw to drink right out of stream. It will be in my elk pack at all times now.
I know my gear is on the heavy side to most, but I still feel young and dumb so at this time I do not see any upgrades needed - I now have everything I need to stay out overnight with the elk if the need arises.
I did everything I can to make my wifes first backcountry experience a good one - sure hope we can add some overnights like this to future trips. I know we definitely plan to get the kids involved with similar camping once the little ones can carry a pack and keep up (littlest is 3).
Wife also drove by elk camp with me on our way there which was nice to share with her where I disappear to in Sept...and we spent some time around Aspen, Buena Vista, Leadville, Frisco...CO sure is a great state to visit. Really enjoyed our time away from kids, but missed them at same time and want to take them back soon to share some new places we discovered...we've taken kids multiple times to RMNP and Estes Park area as I grew up vacationing there...love that area, but so many other areas to explore with them.
Thanks again to a lot of good advice on this site that helped with my gear selections!
What started as an anniversary trip (3yrs late for our 10th anniversary trip
) planned to the Florida gulf (our first trip without kids)...turned into my wife saying we should go to the mountains and do some things we can't normally do with little ones...you don't have to tell me mountains twice! She then wanted to experience a natural hot springs but did not want the "touristy" type that have a hotel near them...which led to her discovering Conundrum Hot springs in the Maroon Bells Wilderness. Approx 9 mile hike in to 100+ degree natural hot spring...which meant we'd be overnighting...so I went work on acquiring some gear, kept an eye on the above average snowfall this year, and hoped for a clear trail by Jun 26th. The last remaining issue was the final river crossing that can be very wide and raging during heavy snow melt...which looked like we'd be hitting that at the worst time.We set out on a Thursday to avoid the well reported Fri and Sat night crowds...weather forecast was perfect, and ends up we did not see a rain drop our entire 5 days in CO which is rare, but we'll take it! (these are the few pics I have, majority on wifes camera)
My wife loves photography and especially open meadow views when we visit CO...this trail did not let us down. Huge open valleys with wildflowers, with large hillsides of aspen and pine...and snow capped peaks on both sides...along with a gorgeous stream alongside the whole trip...and multiple cascading waterfalls. It was as pretty as it gets.
Besides multiple stream crossings, there are two log bridge crossings and one river/wading crossing at about 6.5 miles in. Since my wife did not care for the first bridge (basically two logs suspended about 8ft high over raging river)...when we got to the 2nd crossing I told her it looked like we could bushwack for a 1/2 mile and avoid the last two crossings as you end up on same side of river at that point anyway. She was a little unsure at first as it got very thick with Pines at first, then willows (the elk sign was sure getting better
), a few smaller streams we had to hop over to clear...then some pretty good snow...and then we came upon this
I loved seeing bear tracks...my wife not so much. One thing I learned on this trip is that she absolutely trusts me...which is awesome.
As we made our way back toward the trail we came right up to the river crossing, could hear people yelling, and then there were 6 different hikers in the middle of the river trying to hop on log jams to get across with no luck. One guys looked up at me and said "how in the f--- did you get across?"...I told him we bushwacked...most I believe had to lose the boots and pants and gets mighty cold to get across...not to mention the risk of center stream where there was a pretty good current. My wife finally said I was right by bushwacking and thanked me. Two more miles to the springs...and it was like climbing stairs from then on, with the weight of our packs we were starting to feel it a little bit (of course this is just elk hunt training for me)
When we arrived to the springs there were a few hikers around, but by the time we found a campsite clear of snow and put our suits on, we had the springs to ourselves
It made all the effort worth it. The center of the springs had bubbles coming up through the rocks and the temps were noticeably higher there, to the point you could not sit on them very long with out getting very hot. After a while alone, a few more younger couples made their way in with us, and we had some great conversation together. Ends up, nobody found the same way across the last river crossing, and nobody else bushwacked off trail like we did either to stay dry. We sat for over 2 hours in the 100+ degree water...and even had a cocktail of filtered water, vodka, and raspberry drink mix...life was good!
Closer to sunset we knew we needed to filter more water and eat some dinner...our first experience with Mountain House (Lasagna for her, Chili Mac for me)...we were both very pleased with the taste, although we could have shared a meal.
This pic shows the massive snow bank just 8 steps behind our tent
Daylight woke us at 5:17am...clouds did not look good at first so we actually got packing up around 6:00 and hit the road. The day gradually cleared. What took us about 5.5 hours going up, took just over 4 hours coming down. I would classify this as a strenuous hike that the majority of everyday vacationers would not be able to pull off without some training. We did pass close to 30 hikers on our way down proving true that Fri night was going to be busy as reported...although I'd put money down that quite a few of them did not make it as they were already huffing at the 2 mile mark...it gets harder the whole way up.
GEAR:
-I had plans to buy a new pack for elk hunting this year as I've always ended up packing out elk meat in my daypack and never once used my pack frame - since we always just took the whole thing out from kill site and have not returned. I needed a frame pack for this reason - and this trip was a perfect excuse.
I picked up the REI XT85 for $220 during sale this year. WOW - I love this thing. I had the pack loaded to help keep wifes pack to a min, and it rode so well - I cannot wait to hunt with this and hopefully fill with meat. The adjustments are great for getting a fit, I love the small belt pockets for GPS/calls, and the two water bottle side pockets are great for bugle call, bear spray, etc.
-Picked up a $97 Alps Mountaineering Zephyr tent. Might be heavy to some at 4.5 lbs., but it sure worked great for us, and I'll use it first time I need to stay in the backcountry for elk or mulies. Plenty of room for 1 guy and all your gear, but even wife and I had room for two sleeping pads, bags, and some extra gear...and both entries had vestibule big enough for packs and boots. Good first tent.
-Got a $14 stove from Sierra Trading Post (most gear from STP actually) and $5 cup from walmart and it boiled like a champ for MH meals, hot chocolate, and tea. Kovea ultralight I believe for the stove, packs down to nothing.
-sleeping bags were Zero and 20 degree Mountainsmith bags from STP for about $50 each...temps in the high 30's at night, both of us were very warm sleeping.
-She had a Hyalite sleeping pad with better R value $32, I had air only Hyalite classic $18
-both had a set of Black Diamond poles ($39/set from STP). I did not use on the way up until almost the end and some small stream crossings...big mistake...these things are AWESOME! I used the whole way back down and cannot believe how much they help on both uphills and downhills...will never hike without them again.
-Wore my Asolo elk hunting boots and they did great, and some walmart And1 slip on sandals for water crossings. Wife had some Keen waterproof hiking shoes, and Keen water sandals for crossings...she really likes the Keen products.
-Made my wife a pack with my Cabelas frame and two cheap Outdoor Research dry sacks lashed to the frame.
-Lastly, I had picked up a Sawyer Mini water filter $19.99 - looks like I'll never own another water filter. Small, weighs nothing, and works like a champ. Plugs right in the end of our Camelbak and drink straight from it, or I'd hang the Camelbak in tree and let gravity filter it into my other Cabela's bladder. also screws right on regular packaged water bottle, comes with collapsible water pouch, and even straw to drink right out of stream. It will be in my elk pack at all times now.
I know my gear is on the heavy side to most, but I still feel young and dumb so at this time I do not see any upgrades needed - I now have everything I need to stay out overnight with the elk if the need arises.
I did everything I can to make my wifes first backcountry experience a good one - sure hope we can add some overnights like this to future trips. I know we definitely plan to get the kids involved with similar camping once the little ones can carry a pack and keep up (littlest is 3).
Wife also drove by elk camp with me on our way there which was nice to share with her where I disappear to in Sept...and we spent some time around Aspen, Buena Vista, Leadville, Frisco...CO sure is a great state to visit. Really enjoyed our time away from kids, but missed them at same time and want to take them back soon to share some new places we discovered...we've taken kids multiple times to RMNP and Estes Park area as I grew up vacationing there...love that area, but so many other areas to explore with them.
Thanks again to a lot of good advice on this site that helped with my gear selections!
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