Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board What is the average weight of your BP on a 2-3 day

trip to MW? I know I am going to get a wide range of answers including "look up an old thread". I also understand that everyone has their own idea about what is essential and what is extra comfort.
I am curious if my 42 lbs for a 2 nighter is in the ball park for Whitney. There isn't much I can cut out with a 5 lb Gegory pack and a 5 lb garcia bear cannister(both rentals). I have a 2 lb tent,2lb bag,BA air pad and 3.5 lbs of food.The rest is stove,clothing,filter etc. Thanks

Solo or with a group?
With at least a partner one can distribute the food, bear can, cooking gear, tent, first aid, etc. For three nights I'm heavier solo, and with a partner or more my goal is 40lbs. Of course it depends on if I am treking or camping. With Camping it's a lot easier to carry more for a few miles in, then out, than to be carrying it everyday for a miles and miles.

Regardless, around/on Whitney, one is not really far from the people or the trail head, and if something is really needed people who will happily help are not far.

With Food and Water for 2 nights that seems about right, but you have room to shed weight. You could probably get it under 40lbs and still have the essentials. But with that BV rental you'll have a tough time cutting weight. If you get a BV350 Solo they are just a fraction over 2lbs and the perfect size for an overnight. If that's not enough room, the BV400 is 2 lbs 9 oz.

If your taking the Mountaineer's route you won't need the BV, it's only required on the Main Trail.

I would take a look at your food. I know an "accepted" average is around 1#/day, but since I tend to cook before, then bring with it's usually a bit heavier. you can mix/match all sort of treats and goodies for around that pound if you take "dehydrated" (which includes pasta like what I brought last weekend). You can probably shave a few pounds there.

Water: when I went up last weekend, I never carried more than 2L at a time because the sources were quite abundant. (Except the summit day, when I carried 3L, but ended up only using about 2). So that might cut a bit.

This is the area where I need to cut a lot of my own weight, so it's where I've been working. The rest of my gear is slowly (as I can afford it!) getting lighter, too.

Ken gave me a great tip on gear last week: EVERYTHING should have AT LEAST two purposes. He used the book analogy: something to read but also extra TP!

I think without food/water my pack and gear was around 25-28lbs. last week. And that was with a few extra niceties: pants to wear at night in camp, nothingz shoes, a wool shirt, an extra short-sleeve shirt. (I know, gang, they'll be left out this weekend!). But I'm also crazy about training so that the extra weight doesn't bather me so much.

Now, ask me that again after I lug 12 days worth of food over Trail Crest this August...

-L

Here is my list for a 4 day trip to Mt. Williamson (starting up Thursday). I've got it down to 31 lbs for the 4 day trip including ice axe and crampons (which will probably get left at the TH).

That 31 lbs includes food and water, crampons and ice axe which aren't always needed. Without those things the base weight is 19.8 lbs.
--GaryM

20 lbs. max for up to four days anywhere in the Sierra during summer season.

My son and I just finished a 3 day, 2 night climb of Whitney (via mountaineers rte), Muir (traverse from Whitney on Mt. Whitney trail), and Russell (climbed on the last day).
The great thing about Whitney is the scale at the trailhead. I was 23.5 lb. and my son was 34 lb. (my son is taller, younger (16) and stronger than I). I agree that you should be able to get under 40 for a solo.

I'm with Scott. But, if I took a bear cannister, I'd allow up to something approaching 25 lbs for up to 4 days.

It helps to compare apples with oranges. Generally, in the backpacking community, it is custom to compare weights without "consumables" (food, TP, and other things that will vary with the length of the trip), and water (which may vary from hour to hour)

This "base weight" should be about the same for a 1 nite, or a ten nite trip. It allows you to quickly estimate for any length trip, and to compare to anyone else, in spite of their # of days.

My base for an overnite temperate trip would be about 6 lbs. On the MR route, I'd add a down top layer, perhaps a heavier wool cap, and a third water bottle. Most books advise 1-1/2 to 2# of food per day. I don't heat food/water on short trips.

Summer weight is 5.3 lb. plus 2.0 lb. food per day. The 2.0 includes food that contains some water, such as individual fruit pies, cheese, honey, and bread. And packaging. And a wee sip of something or other for after dinner.

So 9.3 lb. for a two-day trip, or 11.3 lb. for three days. If the two-day trip requires a BV350, 11.4 lb. If the three-day trip requires a BV400 and is with another person, 12.6 lb.

Of course, weight decreases by almost two pounds each day.

The Garcia Bear Can is 2.7 pounds, so you've lost 2.3 pounds already.

Kathy -- If you are referring to the 2.3 pound discrepancy in my post, I was admitting that I would be at least 2.3 pounds less efficient in packing than Scott. (Reality may be worst than that, but no one is checking.)

Alan, I was referring to this post:

I'm not the most efficient person at packing either, but 25 pounds sounds about right for a 3-day trip in the summer.

Doc: If you're willing to leave the filter behind and carry a purifier like Aqua Mira you'll save some weight. Also, if you're willing to stay dirty you can carry less clothes you might save some weight. As long as you have dry clothes to put on at night to sleep in you can wear the some clothes during the day - but an extra t-shirt is nice to have. As far as clothes, a rain jacket and rain pants (which also can be used to keep warm in the wind), fleece top and bottom, one or two t-shirts, hiking pants or shorts, a fleece cap and gloves, and a couple pairs of socks might be enough for a short trip. You can always use your sleeping bag for warmth when sitting around camp.

I just completed a 3 night JMT hike between Tuolumne Meadows and Devils Postpile, and my pack weighed less than 25 even with 6 pounds of food and a bear cannister.

I used a 1 pound sleeping bag and a silk liner, with no tent. Ok, nights were cold! I wore all my clothes, and was warm enough one of the three nights. ...have to work on that setup.

I also left out a water filter -- dipped and sipped from every stream and lake along the way. Boy, that is a liberating experience! No bad side effects yet.

I did not carry a tent -- that would have made the nights warmer, but tents are too heavy when there is no rain in the forecast. I did have an emergency tarp and plastic rain parka which were never opened.

Someone else carried a stove, I carried a heavy bear cannister and a spare fuel cannister.

I carried the entire load in a Camel Back peak bagger day pack. The load was so light that at times I found myself forgetting to fasten the hip belt.

I need a slightly warmer bag, and some sort of rain fly to keep dew from condensing in those damp places.



Due to its placement, I kept the bear cannister empty, with all food inside the pack.

Just curious, but how did you arrive at the 8 sheets of TP per day? What about a compass? Matches?

Well, on a three day trip to Emerald Lake last month, my starting weight, including 3L water, was about 36 lb. I had a 3 lb tent, bear canister, my own stove and pot (I use an ultra-efficient combo of the MSR Windpro stove and Jetboil GCS pot, and used 1 oz fuel for the three day trip). I use a full length Insulmat insulated air mattress, I believe in comfort. As a scout leader, I always carry a good first aid kit and repair supplies. And, as a knife collector, I probably carry more steel than three or four of the rest of you combined.

I wish I had read some of these post before I did MW yesterday.I shleped a 46# pack plus water up to Outpost on Tues 6/19/07.That was WAAAAAAAAY too heavy.I brought way too much food and way too many things and clothes I never used.I had redundant things like a filter and a steri-pen.Too many first-aid items(I thought I would have a mash unit).I paid a big price in used-up-energy carrying so much just-in-case equipment.Good news is I left the big pack at outpost and summited from there yesterday.Full trip report and pics to follow.

You know, Rodney, you've hit on one of the key techniques for cutting weight....the after-action assessment. I find it a very efficient method for learning from one's own experience. If one has the discipline to write down everything one is taking, then compare afterwards, and identify those things not used, one has identified (short rescue stuff, which one hopes never to use) a group of things to leave behind on the next trip.

Congrats on the summit...the hard way!

Thanks Ken,
I think that I relied too much on reading books and other peoples check lists of what to bring in case of extreme conditions. I had perfect weather and no need for so much of what I brought.

I tend to go light like Bob R. My weight for 3 days is 16# (not including water - 20# with). The secret is in becoming comfortable with very little.