Gear dry run to Ruckle Park

With the departure date for my upcoming trip on the West Coast Trail coming up fast, I took all of the lightweight gear for a dry run on the weekend out to Ruckle Park on Saltspring Island. This was meant as a shake down trip to see how the loaded pack felt and to try out the hammock and clothes in some various types of weather.

For the most part I was very pleased with everything and with a few modifications and additions I should be set all set for the WCT.

The biggest problem I ran into was how cold I was sleeping in the hammock. The temperature on Ruckle was 7°C at night (44°F) with no wind. My campsite was right on the water. I had the Merlin -3 sleeping bag and the bivy pad in the hammock and was wearing my MEC Microweight long johns and long sleeved crew with the Wigwam merino socks. The side of me that wasn't against the bottom of the hammock was nice and warm but the other side was uncomfortably cold. I put on the Montbell Thermawrap at one point during the night but that didn't help much. I also folded the the bivy pad in half to put more insulation between me and the floor of the hammock. That helped more but as it is so narrow it was a hassle to try and stay on it. The hammock itself was very comfortable and if I had been more tired and warmer I would have had no problem getting a good nights sleep.

Since I've been back I've done some Googling to see what solutions there are to the cold problem. I'm happy to find I'm not alone. This seems to be a big gotcha with hammocks and it looks like everyone hits it unless they only warm weather camp. There are two main options to solve the cold problem, both involve adding more weight. One solution is to hang a down quilt outside the bottom of the hammock and use a sleeping bag or quilt inside. This seems to work well but is expensive and I don't think I've got time to wait for one to be shipped from the US.

The other option is to hang a cover under the hammock and put some kind of insulating material between it and the floor of the hammock. This is the route I took by ordering a Hennessy Hammock Undercover and Underpad. The reviews I've turned up see to be positive even though the open cell foam pad isn't the thick. This option is lighter than the quilt and cheaper. A bonus is that you can fine tune the padding under the hammock by adding your unused clothes, insulating layers and if needed leaves or moss. This should arrive by the end of the week so I can do another camp out at Goldstream Park to see how it works out.

The other issue I ran into was dirty clothes management. As it was chilly, I was wearing the long sleeved MEC Merino crew on the walk out to the park, in the evening while setting up and eating and to bed. I also wore it the next day on the walk back to Fulford Harbour to catch the ferry. By the time I got to Fulford I was smelling a bit rank. I had a quick wash in the sink while waiting for the ferry and changed into my short sleeved Merino t-shirt. If I was on the trail I would have washed the crew and left it to dry. However, because it was so cold in the hammock at night I feel like I need to wear a long sleeved shirt. I think the solution is to pick up another one from MEC and then I have one to wear if the other is drying. The t-shirt I can either leave or bring just in case.

Solar charging mobile devices

I'm starting to look at power options for the various devices that I like to have with me when backpacking. The HTC P4000 uses a mini-USB jack to recharge it and both the Garmin 60CSx GPS and the Canon have this type of jack as well. Unfortunately, neither charges via it. The 60CSx can be powered by the USB jack but it won't recharge the batteries. This is better than nothing as I'm looking at a Solio Classic solar charger. This 156g (5.6oz) fold out unit has three solar cells on it that recharge a built-in but replacable 1600 mAh Lithium Ion battery. The battery can be recharged from the solar cells, from AC or from 12v DC. It comes with a number of different charging tips that allow it to charge or power lots of different devices. The idea is that you can leave it charging the built-in battery with it strapped to the backpack or while in camp and then when needed plug the device into it that needs powering up.

So, with this, the PDA/phone and the GPS would be covered but the Canon SD850IS camera would not. So far I can't see any compact camera from Canon or Sony that can recharge the battery in the camera body; they all have separate AC chargers for their custom batteries. I already have two batteries for the Canon and I get about 120+ pictures from a charge so as long as both batteries were fully charged before the trip they should last for as long as a trip like the John Muir Trail would take (15-21 days).

The Brunton ADC, I'm not sure about yet. I haven't purchased one yet as I'm not convinced of its utility. I have a home weather station already that tries to predice that weather using the barometric pressure trends but it is almost never correct so the only useful features of it I can see would be time (but I've got a TAG watch already), alarm, temperature and wind speed. I'll continue to look for some reviews before making a decision.

Initial thoughts on Ultralight Gear purchases so far

I've now got all of the big stuff off of my Ultralight Gear List. On Saturday I packed it all up except for the food and took it for a 10 KM walk around the Victoria waterfront to see how it carried and how the clothes I'm going to wear felt in the cool spring coastal weather.

The Vapor Trail pack was very comfortable with the 8-9 Kg (17-19 lbs) of gear, water and fuel I had in it. The straps didn't dig in to me at any point and didn't slip or loosen as I walked. The only thing I'm a little concerned about was that all of the gear filled the pack upto the bottom of the sleeve that you roll down to close the pack. Getting 7 days worth of food in shouldn't be a problem but thinking ahead to the John Muir Trail, I've got to get a bear canister in as well. It would probably fit, but it is going to make the pack a lot taller. As it is now, the pack goes from the small of back to the top of my shoulders. I had the OR hat on and the back brim of it was only hitting the top of the pack every now and then. With food and a canister it would probably be hitting it all of the time which could get annoying.

The New Balance shoes were great as well. No pinching or rubbing and they probably don't need any more breaking in. They are a lot more airy than what I am used to wearing which makes my feet feel cooler which I guess is the point!

I also had the Montbell Wind Shirt on over the MEC Microlight Merino shirt and once I got going and warmed up it was fine. It wasn't very windy along Dallas Road but it should be fine in the forest trails of the West Coast Trail and JDF Trail. The bright red color did make me feel a little conspicuous though!

I'm going to take it out again a couple of times a week over the next month or so to get used to it. I will also be going camping on the weekend of April 26 and 27 to give everything a more thorough trial.