10-5-06: pre-trip log
OK. My smokin’ hot wife said to me a few weeks ago, “you haven’t been backpacking for a while. You should go.” Who cares if she just wants to get rid of me – I’m not missing that opportunity! So, we’re leaving tonight, late (Ryan has to work until 9). We like to leave late, the night before a trip is set to officially start, and sleep at or near the trail head. That way, we don’t have to wake up at 4 am to get an early start. Also, waking up at 4 am is a waste because Ryan won’t start packing until 4:30 am.

We’re going into the Uinta Mountains again – the Naturalist Basin area (just east of Mirror Lake, along the highline trail – elevation around 9,500 feet). It’s a high traffic area, but since it’s October and has been raining/snowing for almost 3 weeks now, we’re pretty confident that all we’ll see is a few stray muzzle loader hunters. We’ll be in a wilderness area also, so the hunters will either be on foot or horse – we won’t have to worry about 4-wheelers (dude, I hate those things).

Gear list for fall, alpine trip:
Clothing:
-Fleece jacket
-Water proof wind breaker
-Fleece gloves
-1 pair pants – the ones that zip off as shorts and have big pockets
-1 pair sturdy hiking boots
-2 pair of wool socks
-2 short sleeved shirts
-1 long sleeved shirt
-Extra underwear
-Wool beanie
-Poncho (one of the $2 Wal-Mart specials)

Gear:
-Backpack
-Day pack
-Cold weather sleeping bag
-Sleeping pad
-Stove
-1 canister fuel
-Matches
-1 mug
-1 spoon
-Head lamp
-3 extra AAA batteries
-2 32 oz. H2O bottles
-Water purifier
-Pocket knife
-GPS
-4 extra AA batteries
-Compass
-1st aid kit – I’ll blogg later about what is in my 1st aid kit
-Lip balm
-VIP (in Ziploc bag)
-Small plastic trowel
-Small paperback book
-USGS Topo map
-Pen

Food (for 2 nights, 3 days)
-Dinner (x2)
--2 mountain home camp meals (I like spaghetti the most)
--2 snickers bars
--Apple cider
-Lunch (x3)
--2 baggies full of wheat thin crackers
--9 string cheeses
--2 baggies of M&M delight (M&Ms, sunflower seeds, almonds)
--2 baggies peppered jerky
-Breakfast (x2)
--4 Quaker oat breakfast bars (apple is my favorite)
--Hot chocolate
--Multi-vitamin

Misc
-Gas money

Plan
Watch the Office at 7:30 PM. Leave my house at 8ish. Leave Ryan’s house at 9:30ish. I’ll be surprised if we get out of there before 10pm. Drive to Kamas and sleep on the road.

Day 1: pack into Naturalist basin, choose a lake we like, and setup camp
Day 2: wander
Day 3: Go home

Notes
I’ll post the results of the trip later next week