Barlow Trail

Had a great trip on the Barlow trail.

We began the weekend journey by camping at the trail head which intersects the PCT and the Barlow trail.  Friday night was spent cross leveling packs and hanging out in camp.  A slight 

drizzle past over us during the night, but we awoke to over cast skys and good temperatures.

We hit the trail heading South and East.  We stopped at Devils Half Acre Meadow to put on rain gear and it was back on the trail and heading to Grindstone Campground.

Grindstone greeted us with a swarm of bee's so we kept pushing on till we reached our camp at Barlow Creek.

We pumped water, had lunch, gathered some fire wood, and then just hung around camp the rest of the day enjoying the wet weather.

Sunday Morning we woke up to more rain.  We packed up and hit the trail to Barlow Crossing and then to our cars.

We wrapped up the trip with our traditional trip to Dairy Queen for Blizzards.

It was a great weekend trip despite the rain.

So What's in my Backpack NOW??

What’s in My Backpack. 

Most Backpackers are always tweeking their gear, replacing old stuff with new, looking for lighter, tougher, more useful (multi use) and of course just plain cool gear.

Recently I upgraded some gear, namely my backpack.

After years of carrying my Kelty External Frame Tioga 5500 I have switched to an internal frame pack. Now, before anyone says I jumped ship on my philosophy of External frame packs being better for younger bodies or beginning Backpackers.. Stop.  I still believe that.  External frame packs offer a much easier platform for the beginner and the young Scout to load and carry.

I have been looking for about a year now and finally fell in love with a pack I could not live without.

Loading it and walking around with it, doing the homework to see what its capabilities are and what I won’t be able to do with it.  Looking at all my gear and how I use it and what I use it for.

A couple things I am not willing to sacrifice some comfort and safety.  So I am willing to carry a little extra to stay comfortable and safe. 

So here is what is in my Pack Now. 

Pack:  Mountain Hard wear Koa 55
Camptrials pack cover
Tent: MSR Hubba
Sleeping Bag: Marmot Sawtooth 15 degree
Bag liner (10 Extra degrees)
Sleeping Pad: Thermarest Z lite
Water pump: MSR Sweetwater

Cook gear:
Stove:  Snow Peak Giga Power
GSI Soloist cook system
Guyot Designs -The Utensils (Spork and Spatula)

Platypus Water Bladders (2 Liters X 2)

Fuel canister

Little Stuff:
Compass- Silva
Light My Fire Fire steel Scout
REI Storm Proof matches
First Aid kit  (personalized)

Trekking Poles: Black Diamond Trail
Snow Shoes: Tubbs Sojourn 25

Gerber Pocket knife (not in pack)

Small role of Toilet paper
Personal kit (toothbrush, toothpaste)

Small Bic lighter

Clothing:
3 Seasons-
Sock liners (1 pair)
Wool Socks (cushion) 2 Pair
Cool max (Under armor) shirt

Long Sleeve sweat wicking shirt

Mountain Hard wear beanie

Marmot light gloves

Fleece Pullover

 

Winter-
Columbia Outer Shell

Fleece pullover

Poly Propylene tops and bottoms

Wool socks (3 pair)

sock liners (2 pair)

Mountain Hard wear gaiters

Rain gear: Frog Togg Dri Duck top and bottom

Eagle Creek Backpack trip

An alternate trail of the PCT, the Eagle Creek trail #440 is a fantastic hike.   It has enough challenging sections as well as some smooth hiking.

The view is what will keep you coming back.  Waterfalls mark the pay off of this sweet trail.  Punch bowl falls, Tunnel Falls, and many more keep your mind off the pain of a backpack or sore feet.

We recently (April 17, 2009) completed a 14 mile round trip.  We hiked from the trail head at Eagle Creek campground to the 7 1/2 mile camp.  About 1/2 way to the Wantum lake campground.

Setting camp at the trail head on Friday night got us an early start on the trail Saturday.

These pictures are not in any particular order, but just show the trail and the great backpacking opportunity that is right in our back yard.

Above  is our camp at 7 1/2 mile camp.  A perfect place to stay the night.  Great water source and as you can see a great cooking area complements of mother nature.

A great shot of Tunnel Falls.  One of the many falls you pass along this gorgeous hike.

Once you pass the WyEast Camp you enter into the Wilderness area.  Be sure to obey the Wilderness area rules.  We want to protect this gem.

Yes.. an opportunity to break out the Stick pic...

Parker, John, and Josh taking a little break on the trail.  The trail is pretty challenging in places.  Big drops and narrow passes keep you on your toes.  They have a great cable system in place on the steep areas.  Real nice when hiking with younger hikers.

Cooking me up some grub.  Punch Bowl falls is a quick 2 miles from the trail head and provides a great place to stop and eat.  The scenery is second to none and there is a nice location to pull out the stove, get some water boiling and enjoy a cup of oatmeal.

A shot of the trail skirting Eagle Creek.  The trail is pretty good shape for the pounding it took this winter.  You never have to worry about being short on water on this trail.  I carried two 2 liter platypus bladders and never ran out of water.

The Eagle trail hike is a fantastic hike.  Good opportunities for multi night trips and wonderful vistas.

There are some other sites to learn more about the Eagle Creek Hike.

Portland Hikers

Oregon.com

Enjoy the trip!

Menu for the Weekend:

Breakfast Saturday:  Oatmeal and a Special K bar

Lunch:  Summer sausage, cheese and chex mix

Dinner:  Chicken and Noodles, added a chicken noodle cup o' soup to it.  Real good flavor.

Breakfast Sunday:  Special K bar and dried fruit

Have a Great Scouting Day!

I just got home from the Pacific Crest Trail Trail Fest!!

Whooo Hooo. Man, what a great time we had. Class's, vendors, and hanging out with back packers all day!

Glen Van Peski from Gossamer Gear gave a fantastic presentation on lightening up your pack. His ultra light methods are a little much for me right now, but his tips on reducing by planning and thinking ahead were something that I will get in my routine starting now.

Sarah Kirkconnell from Trail cooking & the Outdoors blog also did a great presentation on cooking options on the trail.

We got to chat with all the vendors in a real comfortable setting. I had a ball... and came away with a bag full of Swag!

Leave No Trace was there and had a neat demo on impact, and of course the PCT Association and other "Trail Friends" groups were there.

It is nice to see the dedication to our wilderness areas and to this long trail.It was a great time and I encourage all of you to go to similar events when they are near you. You come out motivated to hit the trail, you learn, and you get a greater appreciation for the trail.

See you on the Trail!

March trip- East Fork Lewis River

A cold weekend on the East Fork of the Lewis River outside of Battle Ground, Washington.

We took the troop out for a weekend of learning camping skills, Map and Compass, fire building, and working on knots.
Found some great trails and practiced some good Backpacking skills.

Shelters at Camp Lewis on the river.

John and Me...

Doing some cooking... John and Tom watching water boil.

The trail at Camp Lewis...

Menu for the weekend:
Breakfast on Saturday- 1 pot meal, Potatoes, peppers, bacon and sausage.. heat and eat.
Lunch on Saturday- Casadias and fruit cups
Dinner on Saturday- Spaghetti and Apple Parfaits
Breakfast on Sunday- Oatmeal

Have a Great Scouting Day!

Whats in my Pack

Here is a list of the stuff in my Pack:
Pack: Kelty Tioga 5500 external frame
Camptrials pack cover
Tent: MSR Hubba
Sleeping Bag: Marmot Sawtooth 15 degree
Bag liner (10 Extra degrees)
Sleeping Pad: Thermarest Z lite
Water pump: MSR Sweetwater

Cook gear:
Stove: Jetboil Helios
GSI Soloist cook system
Guyot Designs -The Utensils (Spork and Spatula)

Little Stuff:
Compass- Silva
Light My Fire Firesteel Scout
REI Storm Proof matches
First Aid kit-REI Backpacker First Aid Kit

Trekking Poles: Black Diamond Trail
Snow Shoes: Tubbs Sojourn 25

Clothing:
Winter-
Fleece pullover
Poly Propylne tops and bottoms

Wool socks (3 pair)

sock liners (2 pair)

Moutain Hardware gaiters

Other 3 Seasons-
Sock liners (2 pair)
Wool Socks (cushion) 2 Pair
Cool max (Under armor) shirts (2 pair)

Rain gear: Columbia Sportware Parka and Pants

NOLS 40 - Pound Initiative

For those of you interested in shaving weight... here is a good podcast from Backpackinglight.com (a good website I frequent).
This podcast discusses the NOLS 40-Pound Initiative. The National Outdoor Leadership School is looking at reducing weight on their expeditions/ Classes.
Listen to the podcast to get an idea of what the NOLS Plan is and why. It is a good listen.
You can get to it by clicking here.

Also check out Backpackinglight.com. Good information, skills, and tips.

PTC -Wahtum Lake trail head to Benson Plateau Aug.2008

This weekender was a trip planned by our Order of the Arrow Chapter to maintain some trail off the the PTC on Benson Plateau.
The winter last year was pretty harsh. Trees and debris knocked down and covered most of trail 405 intersecting the Plateau.
We set out for the late August Trip on a rather chilly morning. Meeting at the Safeway in Sandy, we set out to Zig Zag, hopped onto Road 18 and wound our way to the trail head at Wahtum lake.

Once we got the gear out of the truck, we set out on trail 2000 (PTC) Heading North to Benson Plateau.
The trail takes you through some rugged wooded area and opens up just below Chinidere Mountain. There is a cut off there that will take up to some amazing views.
We had lunch just past the cut off. A fantastic view of Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Hood made for a spectaular meal and on the clear day offered a lasting impression on the Scouts that were on the hike. It is views like this that will make you a life long backpacker.

Heading down into the Herman creek valley and punching our way back up and onto the plateau challenged us as we entered onto what seemed like a never ending climb.
The reward once on the plateau was nagging mosquito's and a lot of work on the trail.

We cleared about 2 miles of trail and then headed South into the interior of the Benson Plateau.
We set up camp at Benson Camp, which is basically a wide spot on the trail.

It looked like rain was about to set in, so the tents went up quickly and dinner was cooked.
We made a small fire and sat around fighting off the bugs comparing gear and telling lies... well at least half truths.

The rain held off over night and we woke to a chilly morning. A quick breakfast, break down of camp.. and off we headed, South onto the PTC and back to the trail head at Wahtum lake.

We arrived back at the cars to find a flat tire and the outhouse minus the appropriate paper work.. luck we had a few roles in the group at the bottom of the pack of course.

All in all it was a great trip and I will do it again.

Welcome

As a guy that loves the wilderness and getting out there, pack on my back hitting trails that take you away from it all, seeing those vistas that your neighbors will never see, and enjoying the quiet of the great outdoors. I thought it was time to start an online journal of our Backpacking Journey.
Now those of you that know me from Scouting may have thought the BP Journey was about Scouting's Founder Baden Powell. Well, I can't say that he won't be referenced in this blog, I mean, he has had a huge impact on my life, and to ignore that would be disingenuous. But the focus is all about Backpacking and the adventure it brings.

More later.