Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Super Light Multi-Day Trips

So I have been backpacking pretty much since I could walk but just recently I injured my back pretty bad ending up with 2 slipped disks and two herniated disks. Whitney was my frist multi-day trip I have done since being injured and the pack was killing me. I am planning another trip for next year but was wondering if anyone here has done any SUPER light multi-day trips, Since I am planning a 3 day trip we will go with that. I had a mountaineering instructor who said he doesn't take a sleeping bag but uses some type of emergency blanket instead and he didn't use a tent but I have a super light tent so I am still thinking about taking that. Any advice?

I had a friend with an emergency bivy and a 20*F Western Mountaineering sleeping bag climb into a friend's tent when the temps got into teens at Cottonwood Lakes last year.

Ultralight backpacking must be thought out. Going out with gear that doesn't do the job can make for as miserable a trip for you as carrying standard weights.

There is a lot of information out on the internet concerning ultralight backpacking. Block out some time to peruse these sites and figure out what will work for you.

Be prepared to spend a lot of bucks.

Perhaps I should add more info to help out... I am not looking to hit the trail with a lunch sack and a extra pair of socks lol but I just did a San Jacinto trip this past weekend and carried about 10-15 lbs which I think was ideal, my back didn't hurt at all. This year on Whitney my pack was around 35-40 lbs. So I would like to some how fit 3 days worth of equipment in to about that weight... If anyone has links to the websites that WBTRAVIS was talking about I would love to check them out. I only found one and the infomation was marginal at best.

Check out BackpackingLight.com which is a great place to start.

But also consider this: if you have another year to prepare for your next trip, start training your body for it. Trunk strength and coordination is absolutely essential, balance is a close second. I agree w/ wbtravis in that just because something is labelled 'ultralight' doesn't mean it's going to necessarily work for you.

Ken will also have some amazing suggestions and references, I'm sure.

-L

ex3145 pm me if you need some advice. Been doing this this style of backpacking for the last 5 years. I was going to reccomend backpackinglight.com too. There are many great cottage gear manufacturers. Some examples would be Six Moon Designs, ULA packs, Gossamner Gear, Anti Gravity Gear, Granite Gear packs, Henry Shires Tarptents, Montbell, etc. I did Whitney a few years ago as an overnighter with a skin out weight of 15 pounds. Made my life easy the whole trip!!!!!

There was a recent thread that touched on many parts of the equation, and is a good place to look:

shave 5-10# thread

However, your recent trip shows you are going in the right direction.

You are NOT in the category of many, who are simply desireous of a lighter pack, you have a very significant medical condition, that can make the rest of your life into a miserable sequence of pain, drugs, and surgery.....if you do not address it adequately.
Moose has touched on the other variable, conditioning related to the back, and I totally agree. Another, touched on in that other thread, is getting body weight to an optimum. However, reducing your pack weight is a huge help, too.

To see what happens and what is required when things go REALLY wrong, take a look at my friend Steve Eckert's saga with his knees, and what he's had to do:

knee problem and rehab

Thanks for all the great information so far, those sites have a lot of good information. I actually decided to climb Whitney as a motivator to build up my back muscles and I worked out with a specialist for almost 9 months prior. I am in pretty good shape being about 6'1" and weighing in at around 166. Physically I was doing fine on the MR but it was the compression on my back that would cause pain and discomfort almost like being stabbed right in the spine, the next day when we went for the summit and I only had a day pack I felt I could go on and on for miles more. San Jacinto was a breeze and I plan on finishing off the 3 Saints next month with a hike up San Gorgonio. Woo Hooo, Well thanks again for all the great info.

ex3145, I am also not permitted to carry weight any longer. Concerns about pathological fractures and spinal cord compression mean I am not allowed to carry more than 10# (and actually, anything over 5# is Against Medical Advice( AMA). The 10# was risk assessment since they knew I was going to hike AMA).

My backpack is 2# (I use the granite gear vapor ki and love that molded NASA foam),and I am trying to find the lightest warmest bag I can. I forego a LOT of stuff that many others carry; I tend to travel (and eat) light. No tent (except emergency thing), no stove, no cookware, no utensils, no washcloth, no towel, no no no. There really is a lot that you can forego to get that weight down.

But don't repeat my mistake --- I had rebuilt and worked my way up to carrying 18+ pounds before my doctors found out and had to sit me down and explain that pathological fracture/spinal cord compression thing a little more thoroughly.

If you have back problems and still want to be out there in the outdoors carrying packs(HELL YEAH!), work closely with your doctors on risk assessment. (Interestingly enough, both my referring doctor and the neurologist doctor were mountaineers!)

oh hey, i will throw in one little tidbit... i found a product in Hawai'i very popular with the Japanese called Phiten Phiten. I wear a phiten undershirt when i hike.

when i climbed whitney, i also taped up the weak parts of my spine and ribs with the phiten tape. i did not have anywhere near the back pain i normally have; but you know how one day you can be stiff and another not. still, when i climbed white without taping up, i came down it holding my lower back!

maybe it's voodoo; maybe it helps. personally i think i'll tape up next time and see if i get a good result again.

ex3145 who gave you your diagnosis? "slipped disc" is a 1970's diagnosis.It is no longer used by anyone familar with the spine mainly because discs don't slip. They bulge, and/or tear and prolapse which many refer to as herniated. So someone is telling you that you have 4 out of 5 lumbar discs involved? 2 slipped and 2 herniated? Since you only have 5 lumbar dics that seems unusual. Maybe your doctor was referring to the same 2 discs. I hope he used an MRI to diagnose you.
Laura is right the most important thing you can do is strengthen your core muscles,specifically abs,obliques and extensors muscles. The most important muscle group for managing chronic low back pain is the multifidi back extensor muscle group. Working on a physio ball and doing extensor exercises can be magic.Good luck.

The Shave 5-10# thread is good, as are the manufacturers listed above. A friend of my hiked the Pacific Crest Trail last year with a base weight under FIVE pounds. He is hiking the trail again this year, but carrying a bit more weight. His trail journal for this year is at http://trailjournals.com/about.cfm?trailname=6694 .

Another friend went out so light a few years ago that he ended up using his sleeping bag and tarp as a jacket and raincoat when a storm came up while hiking.

I have been honing my "going light" list for 40 years, beginning when I first used my bivy sack and clothing in lieu of a sleeping bag, slept on beds of pine needles or smoothed-over sand, and forwent hot meals (e.g., JMT in eight days--starting out with 12 lb of gear and 12 lb of food). Later, sleeping bags that were lighter than my 2 lb bivy sack came along, and gradually also a whole lot of other things as well: packs, especially. My latest list is here , showing a base weight (without food) of 5.3 lb, but I need to update it. Not that I can save much weight in doing so, but I can cover more eventualities. For instance,

• My favorite multi-day pack is now the Six Moon Essence
• My Six Moon Gatewood replaces the DWR wind shirt and pants for many applications, as well as the Mylar bivy and Siltarp
• I've figured out how to use both sides of toilet paper, so can cut back to four sheets/day

I can't say enough about my Marmot Atom sleeping bag. I've been comfortable in it at 20 deg, in my clothing. But I know people who have been cold at 40 deg. I have two comments on this: (1) people are different, and (2) it helps to know some tricks.

Which leads me to the parting thought, which most people here overlook: The gear is only half of it. The other half is technique, experience, skill, knowledge, mindset. In other words, what you do with it; how you use it; your attitude. Ken Murray has alluded to this in prior posts, and it can't be emphasized enough. But it would take a small book to do the subject justice.

And I would argue that going ultralight doesn't cost all that much , except perhaps for the Marmot Atom ($250). I don't think that a pack for $120 is out of line, or $135 for something that performs as a tent and a poncho. And the rest of the stuff on my list goes for peanuts, except perhaps for the vest and headlamp.

Finally, reading about your specific problem, I wonder why you don't use a fanny pack for the heavier items. Put the weight on your hips, not your spine. Use a thin nylon backpack for the light stuff; I can't point you to a specific product, but I used to own a simple such pack that folded up into its own envelope, and could be stored on my belt like a cellphone.

Perhaps the best advice is to locate one of those ultralight aficionados, and connive to go on a multiday trip with him/her. Take notes.

There is some good advice above. Let me also add another suggestion in a different direction. I hurt my lower back last year a few days before a multiday back country trip. I tried using my ultralight pack and found that it was hurting my back too much. I probably should have stopped there, but I tried my big Dana pack, which is at the other end of the light is right scale. What it does have is a wide, well padded hip belt. I only needed to partially load it, took the top section off to save a little weight, cinched the hip belt a little tighter than usual, adjusted the shoulder straps a little higher than normal, and could carry everything with most of the weight on my hips rather than pulling down through my shoulders on my spine. Worked like a charm.

Regarding BobR's idea of a fanny pack, I've been intrigued by the packs used by our firefighter friends, which are essentially huge fanny packs, but allow a person to work with their arms and tools unimpeded:

That pack is interesting for sure. I have never seen one like it and I can see what you mean about being able to have free upperbody movement.

As far as my injury goes I do have 4 different disks that are not functioning properly. I had an Open Air MRI done on them, love those machines. I don't know the exact placment but two are in my neck area and two are in my mid to lower back, which are the ones that bother me when hiking.

About 15 years ago I crashed a mountain bike and broke a collar bone and 3 ribs about six weeks before a main trail day hike. A fanny pack kept me from needing to put any straps on shoulders.

I still got a lot of criticism on the switchbacks for not breathing more deeply.

Dale B. Dalrymple
http://dbdimages.com

I also have back trouble, and have found a fanny pack with more than a few ounces in it causes me back pain by the end of the day. Likewise, I need a functional hip belt on my pack. My ULA and Gossamer Gear packs work great, and still weigh just 2 and 1 pounds respectively.

That is actually a lot like my injuries when I got hurt... I was in a Boarder X competition and had a mid air collision with another boarder. Landed on my back after falling about 20 feet or so before the crash we were probably going about 50-55 mph. When we hit in the air the other boarders snowboard hit my ribs breaking 2 of them and I also broke an arm on impact. When the medics arrived they swore up and down I must have broken my back so when I was able to get up and sit on the snow-mobile they were stunned. The other guy was pretty bad off as well, He was out cold when they got to him, but we have since snowboarded together (although not in competition)

It's been almost three years, so I updated my Ultralite Pack list. At a base weight of 5 lb 6 oz, it's a few ounces heavier than last time. But more efficient.

Edit: I changed a few items, to reflect the need for more appropriate gear when the conditions are not summer-like. Real bivy sack, parka, and pants, for example, and a better sleeping pad. The base weight is 9 lb 5 oz. I call it The "Not-So-Ultralight" Pack