Backpacking Again
Update 5/25 10:30am We won’t be leaving until sunday morning due to a new weather forecast showing very high winds on saturday. We will return by monday night, now.
It’s been a few years since our last adventure. I suppose it’s time to try out the backpacking skills again. This time we are attempting a much less strenuous journey. We will be walking part of the Salt Creek Trail in the Buffalo Peaks wilderness. It’s supposed to be a gentler trail, and most of it is south facing, which should remove most of the worries about snow. We aren’t going to push ourselves on this one, it’s just a simple out and back, and we will only go as far as we have energy. Becca is still recovering her strength from the surgeries, and we don’t want to hurt ourselves. Here’s the map of our trailhead and hopeful campsite. We will just stop and camp anywhere that it looks very nice along that trail before that point.
We will leave Saturday morning May 26th and return to the trailhead Sunday May 27th. We will be traveling west and south along the trail from the lot at the end of FSR 432 2B.
Navigation and Communication
Our last trip was foiled by snow and poor planning. This time we have a slightly different strategy for emergencies. We still are bringing a cell-phone, because you never know if you might get a signal. And, I can use my iPhone as a GPS as well with pre-cached topo maps. Also, of course a Nat. Geo. Trails Illustrated Map of the area and Compass. Then there is the SPOT tracker which we received as a gift. It’s activated and has emergency contacts punched in. We can keep people up to date, and ask for help or emergency rescue pretty much anywhere. You can even follow our progress online.
And, we have our gear list put together again, and as you can see, packing has begun.
The gear is always an interesting balance between weight, necessity, comfort and cost. We’ve invested some money in moderately good and light backpacking gear. But, as you can see in the spreadsheet we aren’t considered ultralight. I would say mostly light-weight, but I take on a larger portion of the load from Becca in order to increase our enjoyment of the trip as a couple. 
Ultra-light? Hardly.
When I look at that list there are a few things that I would be willing to switch out.
- Water Filter (15oz)- currently to heavy, could get by with ClO2 instead.
- Hiking Poles (22oz) - these are necessary but way too heavy, but the lightest ones out there are kinda expensive.
- 2 Person 3 Season Double-wall Tent (5.125lbs) - this seems like overkill, and I want to try out tarps. But there is probably a considerable tradeoff of comfort and weight on this item. Not sure if I can convince Becca.
Some things that seem too heavy but I won’t trade out for safety (Colorado is a unpredictable environment) or comfort reasons.
- Inflatable mattress and a foam roll (32oz together) - it gets really cold at night and good sleep is worth it’s weight in gold. Gold is heavy, so is good sleeping gear.
- REI eVent Jacket (19oz) - Colorado thunderstorms suck, a wimpy little windbreaker will leave you miserable, trust me.
- Gaiters (7.4oz) - Seems extraneous, but snow drifts and talus slopes appear is the strangest places.
- Knife (6oz) - this is a 3.5” knife and sheath, it is my Man Card, you will not take it away.