- Don't trust mapping programs. They are a helpful utility, but always review a good old-fashioned paper map first to make sure they're not leading you down a treacherous 12-ft wide dirt road when you could be on a paved four-lane highway.
- Use appropriate zoom level with GPS devices. Given the size of the earth, GPS is amazingly accurate. Even if it could pin-point your position down to a few inches, however, when a mapping program is zoomed out, it is difficult to tell your exact location with regard to your route.
- Research campsites ahead of time. Carrying a 2 lbs. 9 oz, 9x9x13 inch bear canister to a camp-site with both a bear locker and a bear pole was a painful mistake.
- Pack a sheet of paper with standard volumetric unit conversions on it to aid accurate measurment when cooking.
- Try not to backtrack. We hiked 14 miles, but only saw 7 miles worth of scenery. Shuttle services take hikers from one end of pictured rocks to another for a small fee.
Gear
Packs: I carried the Osprey Atmos 65, and Sara carried the women's counterpart, the Osprey Aura 65. We both found the packs roomy enough for a cool weekend hike, but we also both noticed the shoulder straps lacked sufficient padding. These are great packs for the price, however. We both had a REI Duck's Back Rain Cover for 60L packs in case it rained. These easily fit over our packs. I had a CamelBak OMEGA Hydration 70 oz Reservoir in my pack from which we both drank.
Tent: Sierra Designs Lightning 2-person, 3-season tent. This is a standard tent with rain-fly. It goes up without hassle, and it does its job well. It was a little cramped with the two of us and all our gear, but we could have left the gear outside under the rain-fly.
Sleeping bags: I used the REI Sub Kilo +20 down bag, and Sara used the women's equivalent REI Sub Kilo +15 down bag. They pack very small -- about the size of a football -- and are very light. I found my bag to provide plenty of insulation. Sara, however, was very cold in hers. We both used Sea To Summit Ultra-Sil Medium 11 x 18 Dry Sacks to keep our sleeping bags dry in case of rain or unintended contact with water. These were great dry sack, and I could fit a few pair of extra socks and some other clothes along with my sleeping bag.
Sleeping pads: We both used the REI Lite Core 1.5 Self Inflating Pads, though Sara again used the women's version. Mine did well to keep me insulated from the cold ground. Sara was cold, but she slept on her side, possibly compromising the pad's ability to keep her off the ground. They both pack down to very small sizes, and they're both quite light.
Footwear: My hiking boots are Merrell Pulse II's. They kept me warm and dry, though I did have a few blisters on my heels after hiking 14 miles. Sara wore old cross-trainers that were comfortable, but cold. She has since bought proper hiking boots.
Base-layer: We both wore REI MTS Lightweight underwear, and we both liked it a lot. It has 0% cotton, so it doesn't get damp. It also is stretchy, snug, and warm. I'm considering a set of the mid-weight underwear for colder pursuits this winter.
Men's half-zip top, Men's bottom, Women's half-zip top, Women's bottom
Pants: I wore Columbia nylon pants; Sara wore jeans. I'm glad it didn't rain.
Layering: I just wore a zip-neck wool sweater, which kept me warm most of the trip. Sara had an REI fleece, though I'm not sure of the model.
Coat: We both had waterproof Columbia Titanium coats with removable fleece liners. Neither of us wore them except for at the camp-site when we were making dinner. Otherwise we packed them. I'm glad we brought them, however, because dinner would have been very cold in just a sweater.
Accessories: Sara wore a wool/fleece winter hat. I wore a baseball cap but brought an REI Taku Sombrero in case it rained, but ended up not needing it.
Water purification: We took one First Need Deluxe Water Purifier with us. I love this thing. Just dip one end in any water, screw a Nalgene bottle onto the pump/filter, pump for 3 minutes, and you have a liter of fresh, clean, parasite-free water. It tastes wonderful. I'm very happy I bought this.
Stove: Primus EtaPower Easy Fuel Stove. This did the job, and it heats water very quickly, but it's very bulky and the pizo-electric lighter is unreliable. When packed in one of our Atmos/Aura packs, it took a giant chunk of space in the bottom and didn't allow much else around it. I'd prefer a taller, narrower unit like the MSR Reactor. Also, after using it to cook dinner for one night (appox 3L water), I couldn't get it to light for breakfast the next morning. I could hear the gas flowing, but the ignitor wouldn't light the flame. I had matches, but I didn't want to hike 5 miles back to my car with third degree burns on my hands and face. I later tried lighting it with long matches at home, and it fired right up, confirming my suspicion that I didn't burn it out of fuel on my one night of cooking.
GPS: I rigged an old Dell Axim x50v to work with a compact flash GPS receiver. I used BackCountry Navigator for a mapping/topo program. This failed so miserably that soon after the hike I bought a Garmin GPSMap 60CSx instead. For some reason the topo maps I loaded to BackCountry Navigator at home wouldn't load up on the trail. Worse, the battery life of about 3.5 hours for the PDA is worthless for an on-trail navigation aid. The GPSMap works for about 20-26 hours on 2 AA's. Of course I brought a standard Silva compass along with a trail map just in case we got lost.
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