Colorado vacation day 9 - July 18

A good day with friends, first with Mike on a hike and then Kim and Judy for dinner and to stay the night at their house. Mike and I had planned on trying Mt. Evans from Summit Lake, but we had to change our plans.

Trip journal:

Mike & I were @ Idaho Springs by 8:00 to find Mt. Evans rd closed because of a bike race. Sigh. So we were @ the Herman/Watrous gulches trailhead by 8:30 (ah, the I-70 corridor!) & we had pounded up Watrous Gulch in about an hour. I climbed up to the 12,500' saddle on the E. side of the top of the gulch & took pics of the various ranges visible.

We were down by 11:00 & after running some errands & returning one last time to the Ǝ-G ranch, I left & was @ Kim & Judy's by mid-afternoon. Good conversation, good chess, good eats (Judy cooked dinner including my "birthday" cake!). Asleep by 10:00.

Colorado vacation day 8 - July 17

This was a day of mostly sightseeing and a bit more scouting for the upcoming Colorado trip with Les and the kids (we leave in less than nine days - yikes!) Drove up to Cottonwood Pass just to see the views and because I love the place and got a short hike in on top to a peak south of the pass that's about 12,500'. Then I drove back to Mike's to stay the night. I returned via Leadville and I-70, taking a detour over Loveland Pass just for the nostalgia of it all, since my folks and I loved going up on the pass for picnics and sightseeing back in the day. When I got to Mike's he and Ginger took me to dinner in Idaho Springs for my birthday. A good day!

Trip journal:

Broke camp by 6:30. On Cottonwood Pass @ 7:15. Another perfect day - so far! A quick climb S. of Cottonwood Pass up a trail to an unnamed at around 12,500' or so. Very clear. Stayed up ½ an hr. Took lots of pics & video - will be interesting to see how that turns out! [Note: I will be posting some of the videos from my cell phone at a later date - Jim]

Back in the truck before 9:00. Drove down, tried to make it over Weston Pass from the Arkansas Valley but got tired of driving up the stream that thought it was a road & turned around. To Mike & Ginger's by about 5:30. Out to dinner with them in Idaho Springs.

Colorado vacation day 7 - July 16

The day after my birthday was a rest day. I ended up driving around scouting locations for an upcoming Colorado vacation with the family unit and then found a nice campsite and just hung out by myself for the rest of the day and the evening. Sometimes a day alone is a good thing, and this was one of those sometimes. Lots of opportunity for reflection.

Here's the trip journal entry:

Day 2 of my 50th year - it's all right.

Was up & out of the cabin @ 9:00 - a nice alpine start! (ha) Took a nice, slow ('cause the rd. forces you) relaxed drive up to the pseudo ghost town of St. Elmo - about 25 mi. from the Shell station in town. Then drove the back way (Chaffee County 321) to the abandoned Maxwell school & then 326 W past the school to 339 over to Cottonwood Pass Rd.

Turned left @ County Rd 344 to Cottonwood Lk. Took pics @ lake & then drove 344 way up into Mineral Basin to above timberline. Had truck in 4WD & needed it. Some pretty steep (10°?) slopes (especially when I came back down). I ended up driving the truck until it got to a willow basin crossing that looked like a bog. I backed the truck down about 400' & turned around & came about 4 mi. back down (prob. 3-5 mi. above the lake) & am camped in a grove of trees fifty to sixty ft above the creek (which is rather inaccessible - bummer). But there are lots of fir for shade. I got here a bit after noon, set the tent up in a place that should get shade the rest of this 75°-80° (80° in the tent) day.

It is 2:15 as I write this. Not a cloud in the sky! A cool, gentle breeze is blowing to keep it from getting that hi altitude "too hot" feeling at 75°. The sky is that nice Colorado dark blue against the dark green fir needles, the aspen quaking softly behind my tent.

The best thing about this July trip is that for all the rain CO has been getting there are very few bugs. I've only put repellent on once, the 1st day going up Silver Creek. I am sitting against and in the shade of a tree feeling very unmolested (I will prob. get W. Nile virus or spotted tick fever just for writing that down! :o))

---

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7:33 p.m. Perfect evening - sun behind the ridge but not down, no wind, birds singing, stream flowing far below. The temp feels about 65°-75°. I am in my (t-shirt) shirtsleeves & comfortable. Dinner was a 3-egg corned beef hash omelet w/pepper jack cheese. I also boiled 3 more eggs, they're cooling now.

I have collected wood & built a little pyre of sticks to be lit a bit later, hopefully to result in a merry fire for an hour or two in the fire ring (one of many where I camped - it must be a popular place on the weekends but I have it to myself tonite (so far! :o)). This is the place where I wish Mike were here - he builds the best fires! Mine are more iffy.

---

9:30 p.m. Actually had a nice fire from when the sun was no longer shining on any of the high pks around me until lots of stars started coming out, @ which time I doused it (Hopefully! That fire ring was still smoldering from prior campers when I set up camp this afternoon.) Still no wind nor clouds! Unreal, almost "call the X-Files!" :o) Nice, relaxed evening. Perfect night! Never did put the fly on the tent - just slept toasty in the 40° tent.

Had a deer (doe) graze thru camp w/me standing by the fire. She got w/i 30' of me & even after I purposefully made noise after watching her eat for 10 min she didn't run very far & ended up basically dilly dallying thru camp.

Still some more posts on the way!

Colorado vacation day 6 - July 15

This was my 49th birthday and overall a good one. Summited my fourth 14er in four days (bringing my total 14er count to 14). Here is my journal entry:

Happy b-day to me!

The day started out hard & ended nice & relaxed. I left Mike's @ 4:45 or so and arrived @ the Mt. Shavano trail head @ 8:15 or so and was off @ 8:30. My goal was both Shavano & Tabeguache, but that ended up being ridiculous. For one being the 4th 14er in 4 days, my body was starting to feel the effects. and the 7 miles r-t distance was long. About half the trail was thru a thick forest of spruce, fir & aspen that gave way to stubbier alpine fir & finally krummholz & timberline. The forest smelled very "piney" or "foresty," it was nice. But long & steadily uphill.

As with all the Collegiates, Shavano's front face is E/SE exposed & the trail climbed up across the right side of the "Angel" to reach a grassy saddle @ 13???'. [it turns out to be around 13,400' - Jim] The tundra was in bloom & all those tiny, tiny yellow, white & blue blooms were putting out so much scent it smelled like honey - a phenom Mike & I experienced on Mt. Elbert on my b-day 11 years ago today!

After the saddle is a steep, rocky but well-cairned route up to the false summit (2nd motto for trip - "The summit you see is not the true summit.") Then up some scrambly rock. Since the saddle I had been stopping often to catch my breath. By the top I was stopping every 5-10 steps. But I made it! I summited @12:05 - so a 3 hr. 35 min. pace. I took pictures, ate some fruit, drank & looked around, & then descended because there were clouds forming & it was visibly raining on Mt. Harvard just a few mi. N. It spitted a little on me once during descent but not enough to make me wet.

The mountain had a decently small number of people on it, it being a Wed. I think I told everyone I met it was my b-day! :o) Then began the long descent. I had a 2 liter water bladder from Mike, since my brand new Camelbak failed on the 1st day of the trip! Anyway, 2 liters is not enough for this climb - 3 is min. & I think 4 would be good if you were trying to summit Tab. as well. Because so much of the trail is sun-exposed & for some reason the Ark. River valley 14ers get more sun, especially on their east sides, which are way more exposed for long distances to direct sun than their San Juan brethren. And a lot of the trails are on the east sides of the mtns. - the sides that tower 6K' above the valley.

Anyway, it was sunny & I was husbanding water for the whole trip. It was getting low - I did not want it to run out, but I was also not wanting to be dehydrated. I finally stumbled across some Boy Scouts & bummed some water off one of the troop leaders (a KU student). I could tell they were Boy Scouts when I saw the # of identical blue tents pitched thru the trees, teen boys lolling about trying to not be bored.

Thanks to the extra water the rest of the way down was a tiring down hike with tired legs stumbling on the occasional rock (26 hits, Mike! I counted against myself!) I was down by 2:56. I was in the Mt. Princeton Hot Springs by 4:00 in a set of trunks from the lost & found. It was marvelous, as all mtn hot springs are after a tiring day of something strenuous. They aren't as big as Ouray, but the crowd is much smaller, too. I mainly alternated between the "hot" & "not as hot" pools, although I tried the creekside "natural" "pools" (of rocks) as well. It was a wonderful 2 hr. relaxing soak.

Then I went looking for campsites up both Chalk & Cottonwood creeks & decided, "It's my b-day, I am going to eat Mexican food & sleep in a real bed." So I rented a small "housekeeping" cabin & went & ate @ the over-priced but good Casa del Sol, another Arkansas Valley b-day tradition from 11 yrs.

More to come!

Colorado vacation day 5 - July 14

July 14 (Bastille Day and my cousin Bonnie's birthday - I only remember either because they're the day before mine) was a day of transitions. Mike decided it would be best to return home and see the doctor about his vertigo:

Mike felt like he had fluid in his lungs & ears so we ate breakfast @ the Tic Toc Cafe (which is for sale!) & drove back via B.V. [Buena Vista - remember, kids, that's "boona", not "bwayna" - Jim] & Leadville to his house. I repacked & got ready to head back up to B.V. to do something in the Collegiates.

And as we shall see, that's exactly what I did!

The Tic Toc (including an upstairs apartment and two more city lots) is for sale for $525,000. Makes me wish I had half a million dollars! So I could work like a slave running a cafe in the mountains. Ha!

Colorado vacation day 4 - July 13

This day did not end up like planned (it ended up better). It was supposed to be a simple day for repositioning camps and resting. But by 2:30 or so we were going stir crazy in our new camp site and with a break in the weather decided to "go for it," and in less than half an hour we were on the trail up Handies Peak. The trip journal entry can say the rest.

We were up & out of the campsite up Silver Creek by 7:10 & to the truck @ the trailhead by 8:30 or so. We then drove up to American Basin. The truck didn't need 4WD until the very last bit, but it did need the high ground clearance! We parked in the final lot & set up the tent by 10:30 or so.

Then it rained (early!) In between rains we explored a bit. Lots of wildflowers in both Silver Creek & American Basin, with Amer. Basin being full of columbine (my favorite), especially on the rocky slopes. Something tended to so carefully in gardens grows in profusion in some of the most barren & hostile terrain, & with a fragile beauty.

Then we cooked lunch. The stuffing mix was a miserable failure (yuck) & was too big a portion for one & sat like a lump in my gut all day. I walked to some mine tailings & found a mine shaft - mining @ 12K'.

Around 2:00 the weather got nice & Mike & I decided to go for Handies, which was insane because it had already rained 2x. But the blue sky was killing us so we went for it instead of being campbound, with the determination we'd turn around if the clouds built back up. We set off on the trail @ 2:50. The trail seemed a lot longer to both of us, but especially to me, since I had climbed 2 14ers yesterday with about an 8 mi. round trip, & then we had down hiked with full back packs 4 mi. this morning.

We made it to about 13K' (just above Sloan Lake) when Mike's vertigo kicked in again (worrisome!) & he turned back. I kept slogging on, hoping the weather would turn me back, but ea. time I stopped to rest the sun would break free again. The last section was a slog, a total "stairmaster" & pretty unremitting, including a section on the summit where the trail had no switchbacks.

I summited, took some pics, ate & drank, signed the summit register & then headed down, despite the great views, after 10 min. because I did not want to be caught on the ridgeline in a t-storm. Came down carefully since I was the only person on the peak or trail (a rare bit of solitude on a 14ers, everyone else having gotten down by 1:00 or 2:00) & I did not want to hurt myself & have to overnight it. I finally made it down by 6:00 p.m. - 3 hours & 10 minutes. That was a great time for a roundtrip, even if it was a patimur bene climb!

Then I was totally bonked. Mike had to filter water for me to drink 'cause I had drank 2 liters in 3 hours & needed more & was too weak to even run the filter. But after drinking more fluids & nibbling a little food & changing clothes I felt better (& warmer - I was cold right when I got down - from caloric depletion I am sure). It rained only after I got back & only for 20 minutes, & now as I write this it is a perfect CO twilight, much like the one that preceded our stargazing for 2 hrs. last night.

I am sure I am going to be sore tomorrow, though & have told Mike I am taking the day off! 3 14ers in 2 days @ the age of 48 years & 363 days is plenty, especially given the lack of acclimation.

Funny story - when I got back to the trailhead a forest ranger was there & gently chided me - "You know, you should be off (the summit) by noon." I assured him I knew & had been watching the weather, ready to turn back @ any moment, & he just smiled. He had said his script, & knew it do no good, probably like the 200 other times he has said it! :o)

Colorado vacation day 3 - July 12

This was the first day on the trip for "climbing" (what the Brits call "hill walking," and probably more apt - just hill walking on 14,000' hills!). Repeated a summit of Redcloud and then summited Sunshine (scene of a previous attempt) and then back to Redcloud and finally down. Here is the trip report:

Sitting in the tent listening to the rain - it's about 6:00 p.m. & it's rained off & on all afternoon. We got up @ 5:45 or so after an evening of off & on rain. We ate breakfast & were on the trail by 6:35 a.m. We hiked to the saddle & started up Redcloud & Mike got vertigo real bad & had to descend after 300' or so. I continued on & summited Redcloud @ about 8:10. Ate & drank some water & then began the long slog over to Sunshine. Reached there @ about 9:20. Ate again & checked out the views. Great views all around - Uncompahgre, Matterhorn, Wetterhorn, Coxcomb & Redcliff. Sneffels. Handies. Grenadier Range with a great view of the Wham Ridge straight on. The Needles. San Luis Pk. I think I even saw Spanish Peaks - but maybe they were something else (but they were the right size & shape & a long way off in the right direction).

The weather was great but white puffy clouds were starting to form so I left @ 9:45 & did the steep descent off Sunshine (which was a real grind going up). Then the long uphill back to Redcloud. Made it back to its summit @ 10:50. Ate a bit & then headed down because the clouds were starting to seriously coalesce. I got to the valley & it started to sleet. I made it back to the campsite @ 12K' at about noon & shortly after it started to really rain & kept it up for an hour with lots of lightning. I felt sorry & worried for the people still on it, who kept coming down totally sodden for the next few hours including a family who cut thru our tent site in a deluge. We shouted out that they could shelter with us but they were actually shortcutting thru our site to get to their tent a few hundred feet below us.

We then spent most of the afternoon in the tent & given how tired I was I slept for an hour or so. But overall it went great. I took it slow, found my old 14er pace, never got too winded (& stopped when I did to rest) & made sure I ate on ea. summit & stayed hydrated & did OK. Tired when I got back, but OK. Now, if it will just stop raining we can cook dinner!

Later the skies finally cleared (after forcing us to cook dinner in the tent vestibule) & the wind died down & we ended up lying in the tent with our heads out the door, in our sleeping bags, & watching the stars come out on a perfect night with no wind. Saw the Milky Way & even a few satellites, & each of us saw a meteor. Slept with the tent doors open & when the [near-]full moon came up it was like a search light, it was so bright.

And yes, Mike is OK. He ended up having to have his ears medically cleaned! Until then he was getting terrible vertigo at about 13,000', making him feel like he was going to fall off the mountain.

Stay tuned for more tomorrow!

Colorado vacation day 2 - July 11

The first "real" day in the mountains, with a drive through two of my favorite places in Colorado (South Park and the upper Arkansas River valley) to a third (Lake City and the San Juan mountains). We got to the trailhead right when we expected and after a quick backpack up had camp set up above timberline in plenty of time to be ready for the afternoon rain storms. We camped less than 50 yards from where we had five years earlier.

Here's the entry from my trip journal:

Got up @ 3:25. Mike already up. [He] Cooked breakfast & we were out the door @ 5:00 & in Lake City shortlky after 10:00 & @ the Silver Creek/Grizzly Gulch trailhead ready to go by 11:00. Made it to camp by about 2:00. Camped @ 12K', just about where we camped last time.

I did OK - was slow. Felt a little dehydrated/nauseous when we set up camp but kept slamming water & ate mushed together dried fruit & felt better.

Then we watched people coming down as well as 2 groups coming up who both proceeded to set up their tents in the worst places in the valley in terms of comfort, level ground, etc.

Ate black bean soup & salsa & torn up tortillas. They were supposed to be burritos but 2+ cups of water was way too much, even tho the box said 2 cups. They were tasty tho & seem to have settled (except for the farting :o).

I am writing this in the tent @ about 6:00 while we wait for the typical afternoon t-storm to pass.

Colorado vacation day 1 - July 10

[We'll slide into recounting the whole vacation trip slowly, so as not to build the excitement levels (or envy) too fast. We'll just let my jotted notes out of my trip journal start us off. I have only edited them by adding punctuation or paragraph marks where needed.]

Left JC @ 5:00 AM (CDT). Arrived at Mike's @ 5:00 PM (MDT). Drove through heavy (frightening) rain & lightning in MO from Boonville to about Oak Grove - other than that the drive was uneventful.

Welcome to Colorful Colorado!

From 2007-07-10 - Colorado Vacation, Day 1

Saw a few pronghorn just w. of Limon.

Mike & Ginger live way up in the mountains above Golden!

Mike & Ginger's house

From 2007-07-10 - Colorado Vacation, Day 1

Looking toward Gray's & Torrey's Peaks from la Casa Slinkard

From 2007-07-10 - Colorado Vacation, Day 1

Truck is packed & ready - we are planning to leave @ 4:30 AM.

My truck - Pike's Peak is in the far distance if you know where to look and what you're looking for

From 2007-07-10 - Colorado Vacation, Day 1

Stay tuned for more to come!

Windmills!

[This post is to divert you while I catch up with real life from the vacation and also sort through all the pictures (and videos!) that I took on the trip and will be posting here soon. Pretend like this post is interesting and you're not just patiently waiting through it for the harrowing tales of Jim Against the Mountains.]

A very small sampling of the very large number (200?) of windmills for generating electricity that have sprung up on I-70 just north of Ellsworth, Kansas, in the past few years. If I can think of any place on Earth that can keep up a steady, directional wind, the High Plains are it.



And who says there's nothing to see in Kansas?

Ready to go!

[Posted ahead of time via the miracle of pre-scheduled blogging.]

Just under 40 lbs. with two days of food and fuel. I've lugged along much heavier!

New motto

[By the time this posts tomorrow morning through the magic of Blogger scheduling options, I hope to be on the road for at least an hour.]

This post is to explain yesterday's blog title.

As you know, I've been fretting about what shape I'll be in for this trip. I was talking to Mike about it a few weeks ago and he told me not to worry, it'll all be good no matter what, and besides, "You've always suffered well." I laughed at that, but it is true, at least in the mountains. In fact, both Mike and I have suffered well through a variety of mishaps on trips. I hope I still have that quality.

I decided it was such a good phrase that it deserved to be our motto. I asked my daughter Meghann to translate it to Latin. She's an über-nerd who not only took Latin in high school but was also president of the Latin club and married someone who also took Latin (and for the record, I took a semester of it in high school, too). Following is her explanation of what they came up with.

Well, all the stuff after the word "Mkay" was the work I did until I found the exact word you are looking for. So you can see and appreciate everything I went through. :-P

patior bene (I suffer well)
pateris bene (you suffer well. . maybe. The 2nd person of this word is tricky. Online translators and web pages say "patieris" but two textbooks say "pateris", so make of that what you will. I sided with the textbooks.)

patimur bene (we suffer well)

And this verb was a PITA. For the record. Lol! Jeremy took Latin too, and he helped with the translation.

Mkay, you have a couple of choices, depending on what inflection you want.

laboro bene - This is I suffer well, with the inflection of suffer being to work and toil, usually laborare and it's conjugations actually mean just "work" but *can* mean suffer as well.
laboras bene - you version
laboramus bene - is the "we" version

perfero bene - This is the "I" version, with the inflection meaning more along the lines of to carry through.
perfers bene - you version. I think. This verb was a weird one and kind of tricky.
perferimus bene - is the we version

tolero bene - I suffer well with inflection of endure/bear, also tolerate, which is obvious
toleras bene - you version
toleramus bene - the we version

I think out of all of them I like the 3rd set of options the best.

Now you know. And for some reason, that all reminded me of this.

Patimur bene

The following is insane.

Really.

Insane.

In my best days, living in Colorado in the late '90s, backpacking and climbing with Mike all the time, it would have been impossible. At least as doomed as our attempts at Noname Creek and the Pfeffner Traverse. But I am determined to try as much as possible this time, after four years since the last climbing trip. My legs are fine, my back iffy, but really my non-acclimated lungs will be the issue. Plus the weather - it's been real rainy in Colorado this year, like the monsoon is a month or more early (and part of the scheduling of this trip was to avoid the monsoon - ha!). Here's the weather 2,000'-6,000' below and 2-5 air miles from where we'll be camping and climbing, from Friday through the next Friday - doesn't it look promising? Especially when you remember to subtract three degrees per thousand feet?

But I am still looking forward to it, insane or not. Here's the itinerary I sent to Mike two days ago, which we will not complete (NFW). Five "14ers" in eight days (I did 11 in something like seven years). But I have always said, "Aim high, because you're gonna hit what you aim at or below it."

• Friday - Up at o-dark-thirty, I drive out and crash at your house. Hope to be there by 6:00. We sort gear, get everything ready and go to bed early.
• Saturday - Up at o-dark-thirty. Get to Lake City (US 285 to US 24 to US 50 to Colorado 149), hike up Silver Creek and camp.
• Sunday - Redcloud/Sunshine (or Sunshine/Redcloud). This will be my test day to see how I am doing.
• Monday - Break camp, descend and hike up Grizzly Gulch (no need to move the truck) and camp.
• Tuesday - Handies. Break camp, descend and drive over to Nellie Creek. Hike up and camp.
• Wednesday - Uncompahgre, possibly Matterhorn.
• Thursday - Wetterhorn. Break camp, descend and drive back over to Cataract Creek. Hike up and camp.
• Friday - Fart around above Cataract Lake, there's a couple of 13ers in that bowl.
• Saturday - Up at o-dark-thirty. Break camp, descend and drive home (Colorado 149 to US 50 to US 24 to Colorado 91 to I-70). Figure out where we want to eat on the way home. I vote for breakfast in Lake City and lunch in Salida or Buena Vista. :o)
• Sunday - Up at o-dark-thirty. I drive home.

I have also included the route guide for San Luis but we won't get there. Given the fact that none of the above accounts for any weather days nor rest days nor me suffering from acclimation issues it's certainly "aggressive." I will probably want to give up on Cataract Creek first and Wetterhorn second if we need to compress the schedule because of lost days to weather, acclimation or injury. I also want to look at the area around Uncompahgre/Matterhorn/Wetterhorn because it looks like some good 13ers around there, so maybe we take 3-4 days of food and fuel up there and depending on how it looks we just stay there and don't go back over to Cataract Creek at all (in fact, this is sort of what I am hoping to do).

Wish us luck! And health! And good weather!

[If I remember and have time, I will post about where the title of this post came from tomorrow. Then I will be out of touch for ten days.]

Getting into gear - non-essentials

The fifth in a series of posts on my lists of gear for the backpacking and climbing trip to Colorado (two more days!).

Notes:

• Some of the items in the series will be marked with a dagger (†) which means that I am taking spares and on any overnighter or two-nighter I will probably only take a subset. See comments for details. The count given will be for what I expect to pack for a one or two night outing and the weights will be given for that expected "as packed" weight, i.e., what would actually be in my pack for a given trip. See the final "pack list" for a representative two-night trip list and weight.
• Some of the items in the series will be marked with plus/minus (±), which means they really are optional and are included for either comfort or fun. I will probably take them, but if weight becomes an issue (or more precisely, my lack of acclimation) then they will be the prime candidates to be left in the truck first.

Non-Essentials

Non-essentials

The following are items that I don't need, but are sure nice to have along. Some will go no matter what, like the cameras. Others are purely comfort items, and depending on how I do may or may not get left in the truck.

Item	Comments	Count	Weight (oz)
REI thermometer attached to pack zipper	I like know how hot or cold it is.	1	Negligible
Fuji Film Outdoor Quicksnap 27-shot disposable camera (800 speed film)	I will take three of these and have at least one on me at any time. I bought the ones without the flash to save money and weight (and I already have enough pictures of Mike inside a tent! :o) I've had good luck with Fuji disposables in the past. I don't like to carry digital cameras both because of the weight and then worrying about batteries and battery life, let alone breaking it or losing it.	1†	2
Tasco Cool Fx 8x21 mini binoculars	Yeah, they're a luxury but when you are on a summit it sure is fun to use them to look at peaks around you. Weight is as packed with case and microfiber cleaning cloth.	1	7
Good book	'cause it's gonna rain at least some of the time we're there, plus I like to read to go to sleep.	1	5
Notebook and pen	I have a little notebook I've been using to record my trip reports in for years. It still has enough pages left for this trip, I think.	1	3
Tent whisk broom and dust pan±	Yes, you can just shake out the tent when you take it down, but in the mean time it gets full of crumbs and dirt and pine needles and what not and it's nice to be able to clean it out.	1	3
Petzl Ecrin Roc helmet±	This will only go up with me on one of the trails, and is along for the ride solely for the summit block on Wetterhorn.	1	16
Thermarest chair kit±	Turns your ground pad into a chair. Sometimes when camping the one thing you really, really want at the end of a long day is the ability to sit back against something. Near timberline the trees are usually not amenable to that. Truly optional and I may or may not take it.	1	9
No-Rinse shampoo±	I have about half a bottle left. The stuff works pretty well, and along with daily sponge baths with Wet Ones helps feel not quite so...scruffy.	1	2
Mini Uno deck±	'cause it's gonna rain at least some of the time we're there. These are actually a little 1½" x 1" deck that Les bought a bunch of as party favors for one of the kids' birthdays some years back and I looked at them and said, "Perfect for backpacking!" and snagged a deck. Now I just have to make sure and look up the Uno rules before I go! :o)	1	1
"Flying ring"±	Something to toss around in case we get back to camp early.	1	2
Total:			50 (3 lb 2 oz)

Next I will probably post an actual "as packed" list for a two-day outing.

Random backpacking tips - "Everyone gets a key"

One of the most important things pertaining to outdoor fun taught to me by my late friend John Stoddard was a simple maxim (he was good at generating those):

"Everyone gets a key."

He had a bowl full of duplicate keys for his truck at his house, and if you went out to do something in the wilds with him you got a key out of the bowl, and returned it when you were done. Why? So if the person whose vehicle was transportation for the trip falls off a cliff, the remaining person/people have a way to get out to civilization and get help or at least a body recovery team.

For this upcoming trip Mike gets four keys:

• Key to the truck
• Key to the camper shell
• Key to the padlock securing the gear box inside the shell
• Key to the cable lock securing the gear box inside the shell to the bed of the pickup

He only needs the truck key to go get help, but he needs all four if I am a dolt and lose mine. And thus is the trip not ruined.

It just makes good sense.

Always remember:

"Everyone gets a key."

Getting into gear - essentials

The fourth in a series of posts on my lists of gear for the backpacking and climbing trip to Colorado (three more days!).

Notes:

• Some of the items in the series will be marked with a dagger (†) which means that I am taking spares and on any overnighter or two-nighter I will probably only take a subset. See comments for details. The count given will be for what I expect to pack for a one or two night outing and the weights will be given for that expected "as packed" weight, i.e., what would actually be in my pack for a given trip. See the final "pack list" for a representative two-night trip list and weight.
• Some of the items in the series will be marked with plus/minus (±), which means they really are optional and are included for either comfort or fun. I will probably take them, but if weight becomes an issue (or more precisely, my lack of acclimation) then they will be the prime candidates to be left in the truck first.

Essentials

Essentials

Essentials - packed

The following is all stuff that I will take no matter what. My first aid kit, repair kit, "always carry" kit and toiletries.

Item	Comments	Count	Weight (oz)
Small fanny pack for holding first aid and repair kits	I like having human and equipment repair stuff in one easy to carry bag. The main pocket if for first aid supplies, the small front pocket holds the repair kit. Fits easily in the pocket on the Contour IV lid as well as in the Osprey summit pack.	1	3
Various bandaids	Lots of them - butterfly, knuckle, finger and some bigger adhesive bandages. Plus we can always custom make "bandaids" out of gauze and moleskin.	20 (or so)	Negligible
Various gauze pads	Blood sopper-uppers. Besides the usual assortment and one "trauma" pad I also always carry a, ahem, feminine hygiene product, since soaking up lots of blood is what they're made for.	10 (or so)	1
Sterile gauze roll	You can never have enough gauze.	1	Negligible
Hot Hands hand warmers	For bundling someone up and keeping them warm in case of shock.	2	1
Compound benzoin tincture swabs	Helps make bandages stick better, especially to sweaty areas like feet.	2	Negligible
Wet Ones	I'm a big fan of individually packaged "moist towelettes" in the wilderness. For cleaning hands before performing first aid, sure, but you see them in the "Kitchen" section as well. Stay clean! Or at least as clean as possible.	2	Negligible
Tylenol extra strength caplets	Three packets of two caplets each. While acetominephin (paracetamol to you Brits) is terrible for your liver and should be outlawed (I don't take it except in extremis) it is good to have to alternate with NSAIDs every two hours for maximizing analgesics in an emergency.	3	Negligible
Alcohol pads	Buck up - sure it stings a little! But at least then it's clean.	2	Negligible
Iodine pad	Buck up - sure it stings a little! But at least then it's clean.	1	Negligible
Neosporin spray	Kill the bacteria! Kill the bacteria!	1	1
Latex gloves	Non-sterile. Mike and I don't have anything I am afraid of catching, but if we have to help someone else out, ya never know what their blood contains.	1	Negligible
"Broken limb" medicine bottle	A lightweight plastic bottle holding legal prescription meds needed in case of serious injury. Contents vary and depend on recent operations, dental procedures and back problems. Currently holds 6 500 mg Naproxen tablets (there's the NSAIDs to alternate with the acetominephin above), 5 Flexeril muscle relaxants (I have a bad back) and 5 "Tylenol 3" acetominephin and codeine tablets. Nothing serious, nothing to handle days of pain, nothing truly worthy of abuse, just enough to either make the time pass in dull pain while waiting rescue or to help limp down the trail to the truck and get to real medical care. If you backpack or climb and don't save your (recent!) scrip leftovers for this purpose, you're courting unnecessary pain in the wilderness, friend.	1	1
Triangular bandage	You need one, just to satisfy your Boy Scouts merit badge. This is the bandage that allows you to make that cool broken arm sling.	1	Negligible
Wire splints	For help in making a splint (along with branches, trekking poles or whatever) for a broken limb. You want/need two, because a leg is a big limb.	2	4
Moleskin sheets	Don't get a blister! Protect it if you are dumb and get one! Moleskin is one of the things to have in your pack. Especially since it is so sticky it can double as duct tape when need be.	3	Negligible
Plastic tweezers	Splinters suck.	1	Negligible
Tiny knife/scissors	You must have scissors on trail. Really. Not just for dealing with medical tape, but for trimming nails, opening tricky plastic packaging, etc. The little Victorinox knife-and-scissor keychain knife is perfect.	1	1
LED flashlight (backup unit)	I may or may not carry my headlamp on a day outing, but there's always a spare, lightweight flashlight in my medical kit. My current love is an ultralight hand-cranked rechargeable 2 LED flashlight I picked up at a trade show. The thing weighs nothing but puts out a lot of light, and a few minutes of cranking is enough for 20 minutes of light. Kewl.	1	Negligible
Roll of waterproof medical tape	To hold everything together. Duct tape backup #2.	1	1
Knee brace	'cause I'm old. Considering getting a second.	1	1
Total First Aid Kit:	This is an objective measurement based on the entire kit weighed in the fanny pack.		19 (1 lb 3 oz)
Speed ties (a.k.a. cable ties)	Can fix a lot.	3	Negligible
Tent pole repair tube w/duct tape wound around it	Tent poles bend, that's what the tube's for. The duct tape's for everything else.	1	Negligible
Stiff wire	You can do a lot with some wire.	12"	Negligible
Safety pins	Of course.	3	Negligible
Cord lock	Lots of things in outdoor gear have cord locks.	1	Negligible
Tarp lock	Just in case a tent anchor point or grommet blows.	1	Negligible
Adhesive ripstop nylon repair tape	For fixing a tent fly, jacket or whatnot. Yet another duct tape analog.	4 sheets	Negligible
Total Repair Kit:	All the "negigibles" above. For everything that can be fixed, it's no weight at all to carry.		2 (2 oz)
Mesh bag	I like mesh bags 'cause you can see what's in 'em.	2	Negigible
40% DEET bug repellant	The worst bugfest I've ever encountered was a solo trip in the Gore Range in Colorado during a very wet July. I am expecting something similar this trip. I've tried higher DEET concentrations, but they just make me sick.	1	4
30 SPF sunscreen	Sunburns suck. Skin cancer sucks more. A bigger, cost effective tube of sunscreen decanted into two small 97¢ squeeze tubes.	1†	3
Petzl 3-LED headlamp	Headlamps rock. Light wherever you happen to be looking. What a good idea!	1	2
Toilet paper	Four of those "camper" rolls with no tube in the center.	1†	1
Waterproof matches in waterproof case		1	1
Mini multi-tool	Generic Leatherman ripoff. Pliers and knife are the important things.	1	3
Silva compass & whistle on lanyard	The compass is to keep from getting lost, the whistle for getting attention after the compass failed.	1	1
Trails Illustrated map 141 (Silverton, Ouray, Telluride, Lake City)	I love Trails Illustrated maps and never carry normal 7.5' topo maps. In addition to this map in the truck we'll have T.I. maps for all the surrounding areas (139, 140, 142), National Forest Service maps for the area, and the Delorme Colorado topo atlas in case we want to change our plans mid-week.	1	1
Total "Always Carry" Kit:	The above mesh bag and contents stay with me whether backpacking or climbing or whatever.		17 (1 lb 1 oz)
Mesh bag		1	Negligible
Folding toothbrush	No, I don't drill holes in the handle to make it lighter. It's under an ounce anyway.	1	Negigible
"Traveler's" tube of toothpaste	Name this movie - "Fresh breath's a priority in my life."	1	1
Floss	My dentist will be so proud.	1	Negligible
Lens wipes	Gotta see! Taking enough for eight days.	2†	Negligible
Total Toiletries:			3 (3 oz)
Total Essentials:			41 (2 lb 9 oz)

Tomorrow, the "non-essentials" (but nice-to-haves).