Interesting to me is that people don't want to carry a lot
of weight and complain about the weight of a water pump...
so they look into the Steripen (have one, really like it)..
Go look at the Pen with recharger.. and look at what it
weighs.. lmao
yeah, I don't carry any filter (and I had my giardia experience, so I know what I am risking) - but in winter - damn, these buggers die in frozen water, but I will have a much bigger issue with forzen water sources than polluted sources - so more fuel, heavier pack, can't win...
As for other gear, if you go early enough you certainly don't
need a bear can. I can't remember the no can needed dates
off the top of my noggin though. It may be March 31.
O well.
it is a nice stool for camp use and I like the sense of having my food in a safe place, so I may just bring it, at least for the bulk of my food.
Second the Leki w/ Snow Baskets...
checking them out now
-20 bag. Wow. In April I've used a 15 bag... although no
way I'd go this long without at least 0. I just bought -10.
(I don't have such a huge aspiration as u yet... Wanna
do solo traverse first..
)
Have fun
gotta plan big - I have to drive 2000 miles to get there, so I usually don't mess around with the warmup hikes ;-) The warmest bag I have right now is a 10 degree and it's really not that warm. I do plan on high camps along the way - there's no way I can be sure that I will reach lower elevations each night, so April at 12,000+ feet on a cold windy day is possible. I was freezing in July on Forester this summer (very cold day - about 30 degrees on the pass at 10am and very windy).
regarding a traverse - I never planned anything like that having to return to my vehicle at the end of the hike. Crossing the Sierra in winter means you can't even get back via Tioga Pass. Just makes sense to do something along the spine of the mountains and enter/exit on the east side.
