Marble Mountain Summer Fastpack Gear List and Discussion
A few weeks ago I had the fortune of going out and doing my first fastpack in over a decade using some modern gear. It ended up being 76 miles with roughly 13,000' vertical gain. This is the gear list, some comments, and some discussion about what I might do differently for a future weekend overnighter.
The first observation I have is that this setup isn’t stupid light. It’s not even ultralight. In fact, the baseweight (the non-consumables and items worn without the pack on) of this setup is a whopping 12 pounds. For regular backpacking standards, it’s not bad. But for moving quickly, I definitely didn’t choose the lightest suite of gear that one could get away with. To really dig into the details of my gear list for this trip, click here.
My big three (pack + shelter + sleep system) was decent, coming in at only 3.5 pounds. For a fun comparison, look at the gear weight distribution for Early Bird’s (Nika Meyers) successful 6 day women’s unsupported FKT of the Long Trail last year.
Nika’s Big Three (she separated the sleeping pad from the quilt and called them her “Big Four”) weighed in almost the same as my Big Three. To explore the items she reported in detail, click here. Interestingly, even though I did not bring a sleeping bag and the night temperature dropped to about 50 F, I was still plenty warm. In fact, I would have been comfortable this particular night without wearing the softshell pants. I am reasonable sure I could have survived freak ridge rainstorms and sub-freezing temperatures with the softshell pants and my wool socks.
Where did I lose the ultralight status on this pack list? My first aid and survival gear alone was 2.2 lbs. If I were going for an FKT with very low margins to beat the previous FKT time, I could leave 2 pounds behind and just bring the Benedryl and duct tape. However, on most of my trips I will bring the full emergency kit and add even more items as we get into colder weather. My experience has been that my first aid kit often ends up being helpful to strangers who weren’t as prepared as they needed to be. It’s my guiding experience and instincts that I can never fully shake, and it feels good to help keep minor situations in the backcountry from becoming more serious incidents. With the emergency items I chose, I could easily be lost or stuck off-trail with a broken leg for 10 days and still make it. There were plentiful wild edibles along this trail, and I plan on brushing up on edible plants knowledge again in the coming months. Heck, a small deer even walked up to me and sniffed my hand. You may also notice that I don’t carry bandaids. If your laceration is small enough for a bandaid, then it doesn’t really need a bandaid in my opinion.
Now the really fun part. What would I have done differently? My shoes. The the 1st generation Mafates are extremely breathable and amazingly high performing trail runners on a variety of terrain, but the mesh material making this shoe breathable allows too much dirt to enter the shoe. Over time, this dirt builds up and starts to create blister issues. The longer the route, the more of an issue this becomes. The vast majority of the time I was hiking rather than jogging. Next time, I might go with more of a high route shoe like the La Sportiva Bushido II, and apply extra diligence to swapping my socks out and reapplying anti-chafe cream.
Another thing I will do differently in the future is bring a quilt. I didn’t bring a sleeping bag or quilt because nothing I currently own has a small packing volume. However, I recently ordered a custom Nunatak Arc UL 25 quilt. This will be an amazing piece of gear that will help me survive sub-20 degree conditions.
Another interesting note is my food list. I chose extremely high caloric density food, which means it was mostly fat and protein and minimal carbs. Unlike the typical ultra race, fast hiking doesn’t require quite as immediate sugar fuels to replace the loss of glucose in our muscles. As it turned out, I was extremely comfortable without sugary snacks. That being said, Jessica Pekari ended up sharing a significant portion of her cookies with me on the second day. I certainly wasn’t going to turn it down the yummy sugar. Plus, I felt a tad guilty about how much pack weight she was carrying to get to her next resupply. In any case, for weekend overnighters, I will carry a little more carbs to balance out the fats.
Another note about my food list. A significant portion of the dinner items intended to be shared with Jessica. But, due to my lack of planning and communication, I ended up camping alone which meant I ate all her hot food (I’ll let her tell the whole story later when she finishes the PCT). This really made me not very hungry on the second day, but I never really felt sluggish. I think in the heat of the afternoon, already having plenty of calories in my digestive system from the night before was a net benefit.
Another interesting note about my food list. You may be wondering why so many high sodium items. I have found the sodium in these “broths” help compensate if I’ve un-intentionally become dehydrated and/or semi-hyponatremic. Particularly when conditions are hot. Hyponatremia has a high potential to become a serious medical emergency out on an unsupported fast hike/run. They’ve done studies of runners at the Western States 100 and there decent risk of this actually occurring, relative to other potential risks. That is why I carry salty broths with potassium. The other benefit of having these hot broths is their ability to bring up your core temperature. I consider these items to be crucial to self-sufficiency in unpredictable conditions. I also just really enjoy the taste and experience of consuming soups. It makes me feel good. So in a way, broth is the perfect luxury and safety item in combination with my cooking system. The powder itself weighs almost nothing.
Ok, there you have it. What else did you find interesting on this list? What questions do you have about the gear or hiking in the Marble Mountains? What are you debating for your upcoming short overnight fastpack?
