daystrom

Grand Canyon Preparation

The page you are reading has been superceded by the more general Gear Discussion page in the Backpacking section of the site. The Gear Discussion page is more formal and aims to discuss our current practices and current gear without a lot of extraneous storytelling. In a number of cases, our current practices vary substantially from what is documented below. Links to products and references might also be dead. Unless you're interested in the story, you may want to check out the Gear Discussion page instead.

Background

This is where we are documenting (as much as possible) our research and decisions around preparing for the Grand Canyon trip. Mostly, that means a discussion of gear — since at the outset we did not own any gear and we we ended up buying pretty much everything we needed for this trip.

Rent vs. Buy

The rent vs. buy decision is a big one. Some people have wondered why we would bother purchasing at all, if we're not going to do a lot of backpacking in the future. This is a fair criticism — it's a lot of money to spend, and it seems silly to pile more unused gear in our closet.

On the other hand, if we buy, we get to use the gear in the future if we want (even if we use it infrequently), and we get the chance to purchase gear to our specifications, not someone else's. Another consideration is training hikes. Ken has a fear of edges — he doesn't mind heights per se, but does not like being near cliff edges very much. A big part of making this trip easier will be having a certain comfort level with the gear he is carrying. That means doing some training hikes to get a feel for how everything works, how the pack feels on his back, etc. It seems like it would be difficult to do this without owning at least some of what we're going to take along.

Initial Research

See also: Shopping on the Gear Discussion page.

When we started doing our research, we weren't even sure what we would need to buy. We started out with a trip to REI on a Tuesday night. We spent about 75 minutes in the store, talking with two different sales guys.

After our time at REI, we broke down the required gear into the following major categories:

We decided that things outside these categories, while important, were not things that would require major research (or major cash outlay, relatively speaking).

Note: eventually, it turned out that our assumption about "important" items was a little too restrictive — we spent lots of time researching various other items, like water treatment, bear bags, venomous snakes, etc. You'll find this research documented below, as well.

About a week after our REI visit, we went to Midwest Mountaineering in Minneapolis to do basically the same thing. We spent two hours with the sales person there.

Going to these stores on a Tuesday night was a good idea. Both stores were pretty much empty, and the sales people had time to talk with us in detail without taking time away from other customers. This is not a conversation you want to have in a crowded store on a Saturday aftenoon.

Backpacks

See also: Backpacks on the Gear Discussion page.

Between REI and Midwest Mountaineering, we spent over three hours looking at frame packs. Julie tried on seven different packs, and Ken tried on five different packs. At REI, we tried packs with 20-30 pounds in them, and at Midwest Mountaineering, we upped it to 30-35 pounds. At Midwest Mountaineering, we were also able to add some stair climbing into the mix, to get a feel for how the packs behave when doing something other than walking on flat ground. Julie's Pack

Our conclusion is that fitting a frame pack is almost as difficult as fitting a downhill ski boot. Julie only felt comfortable in one or two of the packs she tried on. The pack that Ken bought actually fit so much better than the others that it felt like it had half as much weight in it! Ken's Pack

The advice we got at REI was slightly different than what we got at Midwest Mountaineering. We purchased our packs at Midwest Mountaineering because we were happier with the results and because the prices were better.

Julie's pack is a Deuter ACT Lite 45, which is a 45L women's internal frame pack, expandable to 55L. Ken's is a GoLite Quest, which is a 60L internal frame pack. Julie's is a bit fancier than Ken's — the shoulder strap mounting is adjustable and there are more zippers and ways into the bag — but Ken's is lighter. Both packs include space for a 3L hydration pack (i.e. Camelbak) along the back of the pack on the inside.

Tents

See also: Tents on the Gear Discussion page.

We were a little unsure what to do about a tent. We already own an older (~10 year old) Walrus Rapeede XV tent, which is a winter backpacking tent. We rarely use it, and at 7+ pounds, it's pretty heavy. (A lot of the weight comes from the fact that it's intended for winter, so it has a heavy-duty fly and an extra ridge pole to support snow loads.)

The advice we got at both REI and Midwest Mountaineering is that we probably wanted a lighter tent for this kind of trip. First of all, we don't need the winter capability. Second, we have a lot better things to do with an extra 3-4 pounds.

At REI, we didn't look at too many tents. At Midwest Mountaineering, we had some extra time to talk about it, and our sales person suggested that if we were going to purchase a new tent, that we should get something that did not overlap with the other tents we own. (These include a 2-man Eureka Equidome tent, a 6-man Cabela's Alaskan Guide tent — both OK for car camping — and the aforementioned Walrus.)

The tent our sales person finally suggested was the Big Agnes Emerald Mountain 2. This is a self-standing 2-man tent with aluminum poles and a fly, and two relatively large vestibules (one on each side). One unusual design feature is that the entire inner tent (except for the floor and tub) is netting. This cuts down on the weight, but makes it a summer-only tent. Another interesting feature is that the poles and tent pack separately, meaning that you can stuff the tent into your pack and strap the poles elsewhere if needed. We dithered, but eventually decided to buy it because the sale price was really, really good, and Midwest Mountaineering's return policy is generous.

A few days later, we set it up in our family room to get a feel for it. All in all, Ken was a little disappointed. First of all, it's very small — there is no room inside for gear at all, meaning that everything would have to go into the vestibule (outside the tent and under the fly, which did not reach all of the way down to the ground). Second, the rigging of the fly did not look like it would be very stable in a crosswind. Finally, it looked like it would be difficult to get in and out of the tent in the rain without getting the inside of the tent wet.

It didn't look like a bad tent, but it did look like there were a lot of compromises. That made Ken think that, good price or not, it might not be the right choice. This set off a few days of internet research into what options might work better. The following articles were of use to us:

As might be obvious from the list above, the BackpackingLight site turned out to be quite good.

Among the posts above, we ran across Roger Caffin. Roger designs and builds his own tents. His general Shelter page has some well-organized thoughts around what criteria one should consider when buying a tent. His DIY - My Designs - Tents page shows how he puts his ideas into practice with his own tent design.

Roger's documentation influenced how we thought about our tent requirements. We decided we wanted a tent that:

Roger is a fan of so-called "tunnel tents", which meet our criteria fairly well. This led off to some other general research on similar tents. Some examples of commercial tunnel tents include the Hilleberge Nallo 2, the Terra Nova LaserLarge, and the Stephenson's Warmlite 2R. The following posts discuss these tents:

All of these tents end up being fairly comparable, with minor compromises between the three in weight, size, floor area, vestibule area, headroom, and price. In the end, we started leaning more toward the Stephenson's Warmlite 2R. Here are several posts that discuss the Warmlite in more detail (careful: the Warmlite folks are nudists, so their site is not work-safe):

In the end, we decided to go with the Warmlite 2R instead of the Big Agnes. The primary driving factors were cost (slightly less than the other tunnel tents), weight (about as light as a two-person tent gets), size (big enough for the two of us and gear), and the reputation of the tent design and of Stephenson's in general.

The design of the Warmlite tents has been around in relatively unchanged form longer than we have been alive. That got our attention.

The Warmlite weighs about a pound less than the Big Agnes, but has more room inside. This is partly because the Warmlite uses more expensive material (Silnylon versus the usual urethane-coated nylon) and partly because the Warmlite has a two-wall design with no rain fly. The two-wall design is also supposed to be easier to set up in the wind (something we have since confirmed), and contributes to the tent's stability in a storm — both features that are important to us given our experiences with strong storms over the past ten years. And, although we probably won't use it, the Warmlite will work fine in the snow, which makes it more flexible than the Big Agnes.

Besides all that, Stephenson's provides an incredible amount of detail in their catalog. For instance, there is an entire 3-column page discussing seam design. As a detail-focused engineer, that impressed me. You have to take some of Stephenson's opinions with a grain of salt — there is a certain hint in their writing that people who disagree with them might be idiots — but you can't argue with technical success.

Warmlite 2R The big downside is that the Warmlite is substantially more expensive than the Big Agnes, almost twice as much as we paid for the Big Agnes on sale at Midwest Mountaineering. Truth be told, Julie was not that happy about it. However, we both did agree that the Warmlite was the better tent, and in the end, we decided to spend more money on a better product. It helped that Stephenson's was running a 10% off sale in December. They nicely offered to send us some fabric samples in the mail, and we ordered a light green tent at the beginning of January.

You can see other pictures of our Warmlite 2R, alongside a few other tents that we own, on this gallery page.

In our limited experience so far (several nights in the back yard, plus two 3-day trips on the Superior Hiking Trail in northern Minnesota), we have been fairly happy with the Warmlite.

One of the biggest advantages is how easy it is to set up in the wind. We intentionally put it up a few times in a stiff breeze that would have been annoying with other tents — no problems. Practically speaking, it seems to be difficult to pitch the tent taut with only three stakes, however. You really need all seven. (This is is something we have read in other reviews, too.)

Ventilation is not great. This can be both good and bad. On the one hand, the tent stays cozy warm on cold nights. We've had it out in temperatures down into the 30s F and the tent was at least 10 degrees warmer inside, which was nice. On the other hand, lack of ventilation contributes to condensation (discussed more below) and makes the tent somewhat stuffy in warmer temperatures.

Here in Minnesota, we would prefer to leave the windows open on hot or muggy nights, to get whatever breeze is available. Unfortunately, it's often exactly those nights which have a chance of sudden storms. As a result, we're not quite comfortable going to sleep with the windows open, since we'd have to get outside in the rain to seal the tent up.

Also, the outside window flaps zip up easily enough, but we can't figure out what to do with them once they're open. The tent comes with little sacks that you can GripClip fill with rocks to guy out the flaps, but they don't work very well if there's any sort of breeze. What the tent really needs are some very light tie-downs at the top seam, so you could roll up the flaps and get them out of the way. For the time being, we are improvising, by using the same Grip Clips that we bought to repair our ponchos. We will be keeping a close eye on these, to make sure they don't damage the tent fabric.

The other issue we have dealt with (as mentioned above) is condensation. Every morning, we wake up and both ends of the tent (the single-wall portions) are covered with a fine sheen of water. It wipes off easily enough (a ShamWow! towel works great), so it's not too much of a pain. But, since Ken's sleeping bag is long enough to touch both the front and back of the tent, we're always dealing with a little dampness. This could be because most nights have gotten fairly cool (often in the 50s F — this has been a strange summer in Minnesota), but we think it's going to happen no matter what.

We have also decided that this tent is going to be a pain if it's raining. The door opens up right over the front "vestibule" (which has a floor). Due to the length of our sleeping bags and such, something is always under the door in a position to get wet. We have received only limited rain so far, and we're not quite sure how we are going to deal with this.

We do really like the tent. However, we are coming to understand that everything in backpacking is a compromise, and we have definitely traded some usability to get a tent that weighs only 3 pounds.

Sleeping Gear

See also: Sleeping Gear on the Gear Discussion page.

Since we have been camping for a lot of years, we already own some perfectly good sleeping gear: a pair of self-inflating roll-up pads, and a pair of Slumberjack sleeping bags with synthetic fill. Zipped together, we have used this gear comfortably in in three seasons, including very hot summer trips in July and cold trips (high 30s F) in early October. Unfortunately, both the pads and the sleeping bags are too bulky and too heavy for a trip like this.

During our first trip to REI, our sales person pointed us at a mid-tier Therm-a-Rest pad and the cheapest REI-branded down sleeping bag they sell (probably sensing that we were on a budget). Other than that, we didn't have time to discuss sleeping gear at all.

At Midwest Mountaineering, we had a more complete discussion and got a better idea what our choices were. We also realized that our initial budget (set based on the cheap bag we saw at REI) was probably too low. Midwest Mountaineering carries a huge selection of bags, including the relatively high-end Western Mountaineering brand. They were also able to show us some alternative pad choices, including a thick down-filled air mattress made by Exped. However, we did not buy anything during our first visit because we were not in a rush.

Over the next few days, we began to do some research. We started with two criteria:

Between REI and Midwest Mountaineering, there were 26 models among 9 brands (including the REI brand). Only one of the brands at REI overlapped with Midwest Mountaineering (Marmot).

Only 2 of the 26 bags had synthetic fill (both at Midwest Mountaineering, both by Mountain Hardware). The remaining 24 had down fill, ranging from 600 count to 850+ count fill. Weights ranged from 3 pounds exactly on the high end (one of the two synthetics) to 1 pound 3 ounces on the low end (a Western Mountaineering Summerlite bag). Every bag at REI weighed more than 2 pounds. Ten of the bags at Midwest Mountaineering weighed less than 2 pounds. Midwest Mountaineering seemed to have a better selection than REI, but the prices at REI seemed to be slightly lower on average (perhaps since they seem to carry lower-end gear in general).

Around this same time, Ken got the tent fabric scraps and catalog from Stephenson's and started reading about their Warmlite sleeping bags. Several things make these bags unusual. First, they contain a vapor barrier, which keeps the down from getting wet due to body moisture. Second, all of their bags have a four-piece design: a bottom section containing very little down, a DAM (down air mattress) that slips into the bottom section, and two different tops (light and heavy) that can be used separately or in combination to cover temperature ranges from -60 degees F up to 25 degrees F.

However, even though these bags were technically very interesting (just like the Warmlite tents), they were extremely expensive when purchased new. In fact, they cost more than twice as much as even the high-end Western Mountaineering bags that we saw at Midwest Mountaineering. (In retrospect, this wasn't quite a fair comparison since the Warmlite bags come with a pad, and the Western Mountaineering ones don't.) Anyway, due to the price, we crossed them off our list — technical superiority is nice, but that was too much of a premium to pay.

In early December, we had a chance to go to Cabela's (again, on a Tuesday night) to do some Christmas shopping. We ended up looking at, and buying, a pair of North Face Cat's Meow mummy bags. (While we were at it, Julie dropped a big sleeping bag hanger on her face, leaving a bruise <sigh>). We did this because we both had a $20 off coupon to use that expired at midnite — we figured we could return the bags if we didn't like them.

The Cat's Meow is a synthetic-fill bag whose weight compares favorably with some of the other bags that we had been looking at. However, two problems emerged. First, the bag has a reputation for poor longeivity. Reviews online complain that the synthetic fill packs down after a season or two, which is kind of annoying.

Second, Ken discovered that he has a really hard time being trapped inside a small, narrow mummy bag. He tends to get claustrophobic. The problem seems to be how much room he has to move his arms — for instance, leaving the bag unzipped at the top helps. Of course, having to leave the top open negates the advantage of having a snug bag when it's cold.

So, we did learn something important: if nothing else, we learned that Ken could not buy a bag as narrow as the Cat's Meow. This prompted a re-evaluation of our choices: Ken began looking for the widest possible bags at REI and Midwest Mountaineering, and narrowed the choices down to the following:

Around this same time, a pair of used Warmlite sleeping bags became available in a BackpackingLight gear swap forum. Coincidentally — even though the bags were custom-sized for the original owners — the sizes were almost exactly what we would have ordered if we had been willing to pay full price. This caused a bit of stress — Ken was excited about the chance to buy the Warmlite bags, but was nervous that he would not be able to fit into his bag without getting claustrophobic.

Warmlite Triple To gather some data, he made a hurried trip to Midwest Mountaineering to look at some of their wider bags and get an idea what would be wide enough for him to feel comfortable. He tried out a few different Big Agnes and Western Mountaineering bags, and learned that temperature ratings don't mean much between brands — a 25 degree Big Agnes bag is not as warm as a 25 degree Western Mountaineering bag. He decided that he probably liked the Western Mountaineering Badger and Ponderosa best.

In the end, it turned out that the Badger and Ponderosa bags were both narrower than the Warmlite, which gave us some confidence that the Warmlite bags would work fine. In the end, the price was good, we made an offer to purchase the bags. The seller kicked in shipping from Germany, and the bags arrived in early January.

We continue to think we got a pretty good deal, because the Warmlite bags seem to be of a quality comparable to the alternatives we considered, and seem to be technically superior (i.e. the vapor barrier) and more flexible (the mix-and-match tops). However, they are not perfect.

Warmlite DAM One disadvantage to these bags is that they are slightly heavier than the alternatives, and also somewhat bulkier. This isn't a surprise, given that these are semi- rectangular, roomy bags. We bought some Granite Gear stuff sacks to cut the bulk (the Warmlite documentation says that "uniform end compression" is OK), and these help. Neither of us have a problem getting the sleeping bags into the bottom of our packs.

The process of inflating the DAM (the down air mattress) is also kind of tiresome. To inflate the DAM, you use the sleeping bag stuff sack as a pump (since you never want to blow moist air into the down). This takes quite a while, and neither practice or seam-sealing the stuff sack has made much difference. We finally got fed up with it, and discovered that Ken's emergency bike pump has a head that fits into the stuff-sack valve. Julie now manages to pump up her pad in about 10 minutes, but it still takes Ken most of 25 minutes. (And yes, that's an improvement — one time, it took Ken most of an hour using the stuff sack.)

For our purposes, these bags are plenty warm even with just the summer top. We have camped in temperatures as low as the high 30s F and have been quite comfortable wearing just shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. In fact, if anything, we find the Warmlite bags too warm. We attribute this to the vapor barrier. Neither of us have yet figured out how to properly regulate temperature in these bags on more moderate nights (for instance, when outside temperature are in the 50s or 60s F). We often alterate between being a little sweaty, and being slightly cold. Hopefully, this will improve as we get more experience with the equipment.

Stoves

See also: Stoves on the Gear Discussion page.

We currently own a two-burner propane Coleman stove that we use for car camping. Obviously, this isn't going to come with us. We also have in our possession a single-burner white gas Coleman stove that Ken's parents took with to the Boundary Waters in the early 1970s (and which we took with us to the Boundary Waters in 2001). This stove works fine, but is way too big and heavy for our purposes. Once we realized this, we knew that we would need to buy something a little more appropriate to a backpacking trip.

For a subject that seemed "small" to begin with, stoves sucked up a lot of research time. There are a huge number of stoves on the market, serving a variety of different needs and with a lot of different inherent compromises. Eventually, we realized that it is a good idea to have some explicit criteria to use when selecting a stove.

The first stoves we looked at were ones that we ran across at Midwest Mountaineering. Two particular models caught Ken's eye: the MSR Reactor and the JetBoil PCS. The following links were useful as we began researching these two stoves:

Both of these stoves use an integrated pot-and-burner configuration with a heat exchanger to capture as much heat as possible out of the fuel. At first glance, they looked pretty neat. However, in practice, it turns out that they're basically good only for boiling water — they don't simmer well (or at all) which makes them useless for any sort of real "cooking". They're also fairly expensive.

Two other stoves which popped up during this research were the Primus EtaPower and Primus EtaExpress stoves:

Like the JetBoil and Reactor, these stoves use a Lindal-valve gas canister, typically containing a mixture of propane and either butane or isobutane. Because of this fuel choice, none of these stoves is a great choice for winter camping (the fuel can freeze). Primus EtaExpress

Both the EtaPower and EtaExpress get good reviews. Both can be used to actually cook. Both come with a pot and a frying pan (although the ones that the EtaExpress comes with are very small).

The EtaPower is too large and heavy for our purposes. However, The EtaExpress looked to be a good compromise — light enough and compact enough, but with good heating capacity when we want to just heat water quickly. The EtaExpress pot also has a heat exchanger, somewhat like the JetBoil.

Around this time, Ken got a Rivendell Bicycle Works catalog in the mail. In reading through the catalog, he noticed that they have started selling the Trangia alcohol stove for use with bike camping. Rivendell's description of the product was very positive, and Ken started thinking that he should investigate alcohol stoves instead of looking exclusively at gas-canister stoves.

These five articles have a detailed discussion of the Trangia including pros and cons:

The Trangia is not the only alcohol stove on the market, but it is one of the best known. They're difficult to purchase in the U.S., however. So, if we wanted one, we were going to have to order the model 27-7 UL/HA that Rivendell sells. This particular model comes with a windscreen, two pots and a frying pan. It is considered very windproof, and can be used for real cooking.

Alcohol stoves in general have a lot going for them: among other things, they're very simple (no moving parts), and they use cheap fuel that can be found just about anywhere in the U.S. — even Heet fuel line de-icer can be used in a pinch. Plus, there's no need to throw away fuel canisters or have a set of half-empty canisters sitting around home. If you're so-inclined, you can even make yourself an alcohol burner out of a tuna can (but then you'll have to buy your own pots, etc.)

There are two major downsides to alcohol stoves relative to gas-canister stoves like the EtaExpress. First, alcohol stoves produce less heat and thus take longer to boil water or cook food. Second is that you have to carry more alcohol (by volume and weight) to cook the equivalent meal. Regarding the Trangia set in particular, while the burner is very lightweight, the cookset itself is not — a direct consequence of it being more useful than the other stoves for general cooking tasks. Plus, the Trangia set is somewhat more expensive than the EtaExpress.

Ken was really torn on this subject. He really would have preferred to buy the Trangia: it's a cool, low-tech, green alternative to the canister-gas stoves, and it's more useful for real cooking. However, in the end, we realized that it wasn't the right choice. For this trip, we don't need the improved cooking capability of the Trangia, and we can't spare the extra weight of the Trangia versus the Eta Express. Although the Eta Express is less flexible and less environmentally friendly, it is a better fit for our needs.

Stoves and cooking are discussed further on the cooking page.

Stakes

See also: Stakes on the Gear Discussion page.

After receiving our tent, we realized that would need some stakes. The Warmlite doesn't come with any, probably because choice of stake is very dependent on locale (soil conditions) and anticipated weather.

Roger Caffin has a whole page devoted to stakes and lines:

It looks like BackpackingLight has a good selection of stakes. One particular model that looked interesting (based on Caffin's site) was the Lazr Hi-Vis Titanium Tent Stakes. These are normal "wire" style stakes. However, they're titanium, so it's claimed that you can pound them with rock if needed and they won't bend. (However, I have found that they will bend if you drive them into the ground along a big rock, ugh.) They're also bright orange, making them harder to lose. You pay a a $10 premium on a set of six versus the plain Lazr Titanium Tent Stakes that aren't orange colored.

Another similar stake by the same manufacturer is the Lazr Hi-Vis Titanium Nail Stake. This is more of a nail-type stake, same color, but each stake weighs 8.3g versus 6.5g for the wire-style stakes. These stakes are also discussed in one particular BackpackingLight forum post.

In the end, we decided to buy the plain wire-style stakes. They're lighter and cheaper than the nail-type stakes, and we think that they should hold fine in the conditions we're expecting (but we may change our minds based on experience).

These stakes come in a packs of six, which is an unfortunate number, since our the Warmlite uses between three (mild conditions) and seven (severe storms). We bought two sets of stakes, and we'll plan to take along one or two spares.

In retrospect, it would have been better to follow Roger's advice and buy the high-visibility orange stakes. We actually lost a stake the first time we set the tent up in our back yard — one more reason to bring a few spares along.

Water Treatment

See also: Water Treatment on the Gear Discussion page.

We know that we're going to need some sort of water solution for our training hikes in Minnesota. For the Grand Canyon proper, we can probably get by using the piped-in water, but we may take some emergency treatment option along just in case.

Again, Roger Caffin has a very detailed introduction to the subject:

Roger does make some recommendations. The ones most relevant to our situation appear to be:

The Katadyn Hiker is one of the more popular filters. It used to be made by Pur before Katadyn bought Pur from Proctor and Gamble. We're pretty sure that this is the filter that we brought with to the Boundary Waters in 2001. Unfortunately, we attmpted to use it on some sediment-laden water toward the end of our week and it cracked. So, take seriously the recommendation to settle, strain and pre-filter water like this.

SteriPen A few days after reading Roger's documentation, I ran across some further information about the SteriPEN, a UV (ultraviolet) purification system that is also mentioned on Roger's FAQ page. What caught my eye was an assertion that the U.S. Army issues this device to some National Guard troops. Further research yielded one other review on BackpackGearTest, as well as several other pages that popped up when searching for "SteriPEN efficacy":

SteriPen Interestingly, at as low as $80, it's about the same cost as a pump. Efficacy is reported as good, as long as the water is not cloudy. My main concern is the batteries dying, but that can probably be managed by starting out with fresh batteries and carrying a spare set.

In the end, we decided to buy the SteriPEN, including the optional pre-filter setup. The pen itself seems to work OK, but we're not all that impressed with the pre-filter. In order to make it work, you have to carefully pour water over the pre-filter — it doesn't work to just dunk in a stream or a pool or something.

Ice Traction Aids

See also: Ice Traction Aids on the Gear Discussion page.

Ice is reportedly not infrequent once we get into November, so it is a good idea to give it some thought.

It sounds like ice, if we see it, will be within the upper 2500 feet of elevation (perhaps the first few miles of trail). One person characterized it as "something a hiker with reasonable balance will be able to handle". On the other hand, our friend Sean mentioned in his email (discussed on the research page) that he and his friends turned around from a hike due to ice, so...

Options include:

BackpackTestGear has a whole page on traction aids, and there is a really good thread on BackpackingLight:

Alternatives include the following:

Prices range from $10 for the CMI up to $60 for the Microspikes. If we don't want to purchase, some stores at the rim may sell these if conditions require it.

Bear and Critter Protection

See also: Bear and Critter Protection on the Gear Discussion page.

In the Grand Canyon, the main problem is smaller critters (mice, marmots, ringtail cats, ravens, "cursed Kaibab Squirrels", etc.). However, according to the National Park Service, the camp sites in Indian Garden and Bright Angel each have metal aluminum cases. So, we probably do not need to worry about this for our Grand Canyon hike.

In northern Minnesota, we will need to deal with bears and probably racoons. As a result, we will need to come up with some sort of food-storage solution, but it's not clear what.

One option would be to go with odor-proof plastic bags and hang the food in a thin nylon stuff sack. This is probably the lighest and cheapest option, and is basically the solution offered by the Ursalite Bear Bag System sold at BackpackingLight and reviewed on SectionHiker.com.

On the other end of the spectrum is an approved bear-proof container of the sort required in National Parks like Yosemite. Examples include:

In the middle of the spectrum are devices which may or may not be "bear-proof" but provide some level of protection. One is the RatSack, a protective food cache bag made out of steel mesh. The RatSack is discussed further in BackpackingLight Thread #12815. It seems mostly focused on keeping out smaller critters, not bears.

Ursack Another option is Ursack. Ursack makes bear-resistant bags out of high-tech fabrics like Vectran and Spectra. However, they are often out-of-stock on the Spectra models because the U.S. military tends to exhaust the supply of that fabric.

The Ursack people claim that, when combined with an aluminum liner, fabric bags are bear-proof. However, these bags are not approved for use in places like Yosemite. (As of this writing, a lawsuit is ongoing as Ursack tries to get its bags approved.)

It seems that for our purposes, the Ursack might be a good compromise. The bears in Minnesota are not nearly as smart as the bears in Yosemite, so hopefully we don't have worry about them completely destroying the Ursack. At the same time, Ursack should provide some protection from smaller critters in the Grand Canyon and on our training hikes.

This post discusses using the Ursack in the Grand Canyon:

This gear review one focuses on the Appalachians:

These Ursack references are more general:

It's important to note that support for the Ursack is not universal. These are a few of the more negative reviews I ran across:

There are a lot of good general references on this subject, including the following:

Eventually, we bought the Ursack. It's smaller we expected. In practice, it fits our food, trash and smelly toiletries, but not any of the cooking gear like cups, bowls, spoons, etc. Instead, we hang the cooking gear in a separate stuff sack lined with its own odor-barrier bag.

The only problem we've really had with the Ursack has been a lack of suitable limbs on which to hang it. We've often had to just tie it around a big tree and let it sit on the ground. Also, we found the instructions for how to properly close and hang the bag to be a little confusing. In the end, we did finally figure it out after playing with it a little.

Venomous Snakes

See also: Venomous Snakes on the Gear Discussion page.

Venomous snakes are not a problem in Minnesota. However, they are a concern in the Grand Canyon. The NPS Hiking FAQ says:

Q. Should I be concerned about snakes and scorpions?

A: The canyon is home to a variety of snakes and scorpions, some of which are poisonous. A good rule to follow is to always be aware of where you place your hands and feet. Snakebites are rare and occur mostly when people attempt to handle snakes. Do not attempt to capture or otherwise molest any wildlife. If bitten, contact a ranger by signaling or sending someone for help. Although snakes often do not inject venom when they bite, any animal bite should be examined by a physician and monitored for signs of infection.

Scorpions are common in the canyon and stings occur with regularity. While scorpion stings are painful, they rarely cause serious health problems. The elderly and very young children are most susceptible to their venom. If stung, apply cool compresses to the sting site (for pain relief) and monitor the victim. It is rare for an evacuation to be necessary. Scorpions are small and their tan color makes them difficult to see. Avoid stings by shaking out your boots and clothing before dressing, wear shoes (even in camp), and shake out your bedding before climbing into it.

This sounds very calm and non-threatening. However, some further digging shows that there really are a lot of snakes in the canyon:

Once reading that page, I decided that it was worth doing some research into the level of risk that we might run, as well as treatment options.

The link below contains some very comprehensive advice on treating snakebites:

You should read the entire article. However, a fair summary is as follows:

Specifically, "old style" treatments such as razor blades, sucking venom by mouth, ice packs, tourniquets, etc. should never be used.

Extractor Since we might be literally hours from medical care in the canyon, it seems appropriate to bring along a venom extractor kit. Basically every reference I found suggested the Sawyer Extractor or the equivalent European product, so that is what we decided to buy (about $15 at REI).

Incidentally, if you really want a scare, check out the testimonials page on Sawyer's site.

Rain Gear

See also: Rain Gear on the Gear Discussion page.

We need two things when it comes to rain gear: some way to keep ourselves (relatively) dry, and some way to keep our packs and important gear dry.

For packs and gear, it seems best to take a two-tiered approach. While some packs like ours are water-resistant, they are not water-proof. Critical gear in the pack (i.e. down sleeping bags, certain clothes) should be packed in water-proof or highly water-resistant stuff sacks or bags. Then, a water-proof pack cover should be used over the top of the pack to prevent the pack itself from getting wet. We're using Granite Gear DryLite compression sacks for the sleeping bags and Sea To Summit Ultra-Sil Dry Sacks for packing clothing and other gear (the Sea to Summit sacks weigh about the same as other silnylon stuff sacks, but have a roll top for better water resistence).

There are a number of different choices for personal rain gear. Originally, we were planning to bring our Cabela's PacLite GoreTex rain suits. We bought these suits for traveling and we've always considered them compact and light-weight. However, as we developed our packing list, we realized that — outside of the tent and sleeping gear — the rain suit was actually one of the heaviest items in our packs. (Ken's weighs 835g, and Julie's weighs 730g.) As a result, we started doing some research to determine what might be a cost-effective way to cut some weight.

This subject is larger and more complex than we gave it credit for. It took us a while to work our way through it, and we finally decided that there is no "one right solution" — the right solution depends on the season and the conditions. We also realized that "custom" solutions or cheaper solutions might in the end not be that worthwhile.

The following are some general discussions of rain gear:

Our choices seem to boil down to:

A good comparison of rain suits versus ponchos can be found in BackpackingLight Thread #7170.

In general, a rain suit provides full protection and works best in the wind because it fits snugly and doesn't blow around. A rain suit might also be better when the trail is narrow and has lots of close-in brush that would snag loose clothing. A rain jacket can also double as a windbreaker, and in some cases, as an insulating layer. Examples include the GoreTex gear discussed above, as well as the DriDucks suits made by Frogg Toggs.

A poncho is usually lighter in weight and ventilates better. It's also easier to get on and off quickly. Some ponchos also double as tarp-tents, for people not inclined to take a tent along with them. Examples include:

With a rain suit, and probably with a normal-sized poncho, you will need to use a separate pack cover. Pack covers stretch over your pack and protect the outside from the rain. However, they do not cover the part of the pack that sits against your back, and they do not cover the pack straps. So, there is still a chance for water leakage along your back, and your straps will always be wet. Besides that, your back will probably not ventilate well even if you are wearing a breathable rain suit (since the pack is pressed on the outside of your rain gear.)

The hybrid solutions attempt to solve the two problems with pack covers by covering both you and your pack with the same piece of fabric. Besides that, they potentially offer some weight savings because often the extra pack covering material won't weigh as much as a separate pack cover would. Options include:

One question with ponchos or with the hybrid solutions is how to keep your feet (and to a lesser extent, your legs) dry while hiking. Water-proof boots are a good start, but you still need to worry about water running in at your ankles. One alternative is to wear rain pants if there is heavy rain. However, that can be fairly warm and negates a lot of the weight savings.

Another alternative is to wear so-called rain chaps, which are lightweight semi-pants that go under your poncho or Pack. Examples include:

A third alternative is to accept that you're never going to be completly dry when backpacking, and just use boot gaiters to keep water out of your boots. These are some general discussions of gaiters and rain gear:

Some options include the following:

Warmlite Poncho Among these, the most promising for our purposes appear to be the Integral Designs gaiters, reviewed here:

We bought these and have been happy with them so far.

The raingear choice was a harder decision. After talking it over, we decided that the hybrid solutions appeared to offer the best compromise of weight and functionality. We went with the Warmlite poncho, mainly because it was cheaper and because it seemed worthwhile to get something custom-sized. We liked that the Warmlite product zips rather than using snaps or velcro like on other ponchos. We also liked that the extra pack-cover section could be zipped up, something that the Packa doesn't do.

Unfortunately, we ended up being quite disappointed. First of all, the ponchos are enormous — way too big. Julie's is so long that she steps on it. We may have screwed up the measurements slightly, but we were aiming for mid-calf, so that would be a pretty big error...

We expected the pack-cover section to zip up, but instead it's held in place with velcro — so much for that advantage. The zippers on the sleeves are basically useless, since they only close up half the opening, and the remaining portion of the opening is big enough for either of us to put our entire body through. In fact, the opening is so big that almost the entire side of Julie's pack is exposed in a breeze. All in all, it feels like a waste of $65. We could have just bought a cheap vinyl poncho at K-Mart and it would have fit as well.

Ken's first reaction was to just start over, but we were loathe to throw away our $130, and we also didn't want to spend another $200+ for the next solution on our list (the Packa). So, we have done our best to fix the poncho by gathering up excess fabric and closing up the arm openings. For this, we utilized a product made by Shelter Systems called the Light Fabric Grip Clip. The Grip Clip is intended for use in attaching guy lines to tarps without puncturing or damaging the fabric. However, it seems to work fairly well as a way to clip parts of our slippery silnylon ponchos together. The result is workable, but not great.