Fun in the Snow and Mud - Tanner Trail (just south of Canon City CO)

This weekend I chose a trail out of an old copy of Hiking Colorado (1997 version):  Tanner Trail.  The weather was forecasted as rainy and cool.  I figured I better get used to backpacking in less than perfect conditions.  The directions in the book said the trailhead was about 12 miles south of Canon City after I turned onto CR 143.  The book also said the trailhead sign was hard to see with no parking but I could park along the road.  But less than 5 miles was a nice trailhead with big sign and parking lot.  I guess I need to get an updated book.

View at the beginning of the trail

RikSak under my O2 Rain Jacket

It was drizzling when I started hiking.  I put my RikSak backpack underneath my rain jacket as the foam mattress and sleeping bag liner weren't inside a plastic bag (lesson learned).  My sleeping bag and tent were inside plastic bags.  My O2 Rain Jacket also covered my fanny pack.

Land between Pueblo, CO and the mountains

There were lots of cacti, yucca, scrub oak and pinion trees (I don't know if they are called that in Colorado, that is what we called them in New Mexico) at the beginning of the trail.

Yucca starting to flower

The trail was muddy in a few places and almost completely uphill.  That is the reason I like hiking the Colorado Trail segments.  The terrain goes up and down which gives my lungs a rest when I'm going downhill and my knees a rest when I'm going uphill.  If it is uphill the entire trip in, I get pretty winded. Then the return trip is brutal on my knees and the bottoms of my feet.

From the trail toward the Southwest

The clouds started rolling in and it got darker as I went.  I almost waited too long to try to set up my tent as it was getting completely dark.  From where I pitched my tent on the ridge, I could see the lights of Canon City until the clouds rolled in completely.  The picture wouldn't turn out but it was pretty for me.  The rain started turning into freezing rain and ice so I was happy to be in my tent.  I had wondered how my ZPacks Hexamid would do in the rain.  I set up on a mound so the rain would run away from the tent and nothing splashed in.  With the bug screen underneath with the groundcloth on top, the rain would soak into the ground before it got to my ground cloth.  Since it was freezing rain, I don't know how much it would splash.  When I packed everything up in the morning, it was dry underneath the tent.

ZPacks Hexamid Twin with Extended Beak and Bugscreen (Front View)

At the last minute, I hadn't added it to my gear list but I decided to bring my GoLite umbrella that I bought at least 10 years ago.  I didn't really turn out needing it except it was very convenient to put my gear underneath it as I was taking down my tent.  I strapped it onto the top of my fanny pack.

ZPacks Hexamid Twin (Side view)

The Hexamid uses your trekking poles for support.  They worked a lot better than the tree branch I used two weekends ago.  The tarp/tent is pretty easy to put up.  I can lay it on the ground, open the bug screen, toss my gear inside then start putting it up without my gear getting wet.  I usually start with the center front guy line that helps hold up the front pole and then secure the two front corners.  It isn't as easy as tents with the long poles that connect to opposite corners but it weighs over a pound less.  I forgot to put the bottom of the second trekking pole into its sleeve so in the middle of the night when I slid down to one end of the tent and stretched out, the back pole fell over.  I was able to fix it without going outside.  Sorry that the picture is blurry.  It was about 6am so the light wasn't the greatest.

Fog with snow on the trees as I continue to hike west

I really liked the convenience of not having to cook.  I just started eating my food inside my tent and didn't have to fuss with the stove, fuel or cook pot.  I was quickly finished with my meal and ready to start packing up.  I did find out after I bought my PowerAde Zeros that the 1 liter bottles don't fit in the pockets of my Outdoor Products Fanny Pack.  I had to run back into Wal-mart and get 20 oz water bottles.  They fit, but now I was carrying 24 less ounces of water.  I wondered after I bought the water if I would be ok because the trail didn't seem to have water sources.  I decided to drink one of my PowerAdes before I started my hike and hoped the 40oz I was carrying would be enough.  I would drink the other PowerAde when I got back to my car.  I remembered running out of water on Segment 2 of the Colorado Trail, eating snow and hiking for several hours without water back to my car so I thought I would risk it. 

I I also liked the weight savings of the "No Cook Gear List" that I used.  The weight of the 20oz bottles was significantly lighter, almost 25oz if I did my math right.   It was a lot easier to hike uphill and the fanny pack didn't slide down over time.  It stayed snug to my back, which really helps with reducing torque on my lower back.

Snow and fog increased as I gained altitude

As I walked further west toward Tanner Peak, the snow and fog got thicker.  It was just starting to get muddy on the trail as the snow was starting to melt.  I was glad to have my trekking poles with me.  I really like the Black Diamond Z-Poles.  The Hexamid is pitched a lot better with them.  They allow me to include my upper body in the hike.  I can use them to pull myself up while I'm climbing.  They cushion my descent and save my knees.  With the mud, they saved me from falling 10-15 times.  I know I would have gone all the way down without them.  As I hiked through snow covered limbs that were leaning into the trail, I used my poles to push the limbs out of the way but the snow dumped on me several times.

Thick fog and snow near the top

The trail got extremely steep about 1/4 to 1/2 mile from the top.  The mud was extremely slippery.  I would have gone "off trail" if the scrub oaks weren't thick around the trail.  Even with my poles, I couldn't get up.  Summiting peaks has never been that big of a thrill to me and the fog was so thick that I couldn't see anything anyway so I turned around.   On the return trip, the snow was melting fast and the trails were a lot more muddy and slippery.  I had times where the mud was caked onto my shoes.  I was glad to have Gore-Tex now.  It was just above freezing and my feet would have been soaked.

Normally, I put my phone on Airplane Mode to save battery then go to normal mode to check every hour for text messages (I did have service most of the trail) and to see where I was on the map.  I got a text that the daughter (Hannah Luce) of my best friend in college, Ron Luce, had been in a plane accident and was seriously burned.  I quickly emailed and texted Ron to let him know I was praying for his daughter.  I spent most of the remaining hike praying for her and trying NOT to fall down.  Please be praying for her.

Descent finally got back under the clouds and out of the snow

I made it back to my car at 1pm after hiking since 6:20am in the morning.  I have found that I like hiking in the early hours of the day.  In the shoulder season when I'm still encountering snow, the snow is usually harder/firmer in the mornings.  In the summer, the sun isn't quite as hot.  I also don't sleep well while camping so I get up when I first start seeing sunlight.

Even though the tracking didn't get turned back on until about 11am on Saturday morning (I'll have to figure out what I did wrong because it worked perfectly on my last trip), I tried to draw the path I took.  Here is my trail route (augmented by my drawing), thanks to my DeLorme InReach:  

Tanner Trail

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Cut some more weight on No Cook Gear List

I could fit everything into a smaller fanny pack than the MountainSmith Daylight since I didn't have a stove, cook pot and fuel.

RikSak and Items in RikSak	Ounces	Pounds
Sleeping bag -Western Mountaineering High Lite	16.00	1.00
Tent-Hexamid Twin Tarp with Extended Beak & Bugscreen	11.60	0.73
Silk sleeping bag liner - Cocoon	4.50	0.28
GG Nightlight Sleeping Pad 19 x 29 x 3/4" (torso length)	3.65	0.23
Gossamer Gear RikSak	2.10	0.13
RikSak and Items in RikSak	37.85	2.37
Lumbar Pack and Items in Lumbar Pack	Ounces	Pounds
Outdoor Products fanny pack	8.70	0.54
Personal locator beacon - Delorme InReach - 8.3 oz	8.30	0.52
Droid Bionic cell phone	6.65	0.42
Extra batteries (2 AA, 2 batteries for Steripen)	2.60	0.16
Emergency Kit	3.45	0.22
Water Purifier - Steripen Adventurer Opti	3.55	0.22
Extra pair of wool socks	3.30	0.21
Water containers - two 1 liter Powerade bottles	3.40	0.21
Cord to hang bag	1.90	0.12
Varga Titanium Stakes (8)	1.65	0.10
Sunblock and bug protection	1.45	0.09
Painter's drop cloth 6' x 4.5'	1.25	0.08
Toilet Paper	0.60	0.04
Mini Bic lighter	0.40	0.03
Hand sanitizer	0.55	0.03
Pack towel (cut in half, half for body, half for food)	0.60	0.04
Driver's license, debit card and health insurance card	0.50	0.03
Knife - Swiss Tech Utili-key	0.45	0.03
Princeton Tec	0.25	0.02
Toothbrush	0.20	0.01
Walmart bag to line bag	0.25	0.02
Ziplocs	0.40	0.03
Whistle	0.15	0.01
Maps & guide in phone (scanned in)	0.00	0.00
Lumbar Pack and items in Lumbar Pack	50.55	3.16
RikSak and Lumbar Pack with their contents	88.40	5.53
Base weight without clothing, glasses, IDs and consumables	85.10	5.32
Consumables	Ounces	Pounds
Food 2 days (~24oz per day)	35.80	2.24
Water 1.5 liters (average, start with 2 @ 70.40oz)	52.80	3.30
Consumables	88.60	5.54
Total packs and items carried in packs (line 10 +line 44 + line 51)	177.00	11.06
Worn clothes & trekking poles	Ounces	Pounds
New Balance GTX Hiking Shoes	33.50	2.09
Patagonia Pullover Jacket	12.10	0.76
Black Diamond-Distance Zpoles	12.00	0.75
O2 Rain Jacket	6.70	0.42
Synthetic short sleeve shirt	5.80	0.36
Nylon shorts (with mesh liner)	5.35	0.33
Socks (1 pair wool, 1 pair liner)	4.95	0.31
O2 Rain pants	4.75	0.30
Liner gloves	1.90	0.12
Synthetic Baseball cap	1.80	0.11
Rx Sunglasses	0.85	0.05
Watch	1.75	0.11
Worn clothes and trekking poles	91.45	5.72
Total carried in packs, clothes worn and trekking poles	268.45	16.78
OPTIONAL ITEMS
Thermal underwear (top)	11.85	0.74
Thermal underwear (bottom)	9.10	0.57

Finished Segment 5 of the Colorado Trail (3rd Hike)

Here is the path I took:

Eastern Qtr of the Western Half of Segment 5 of Colorado Trail

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This was an interesting trip for a few different reasons:

• This was my third time to hike Segment 5.  I had hiked the eastern half of it, then came back to hike the western quarter and finally yesterday and today, I knocked out the final quarter.
• I couldn't drive all the way to the North Fork Trailhead and had to hike almost 4 3/4 hours to get to it because CR-56 was blocked off.  The beginning of April is pretty early to be hiking in Colorado.  I actually didn't see a single person my entire hike except when I was in sight of my car.  A pickup was turning around at the gate where the road was closed.
• I forgot my trekking poles so I had to use a stick to support one side of my tarp.  I left the other side sagging.

I'm going to talk about my trip from a new perspective of equipment that I bring and why I use it and what happened with it:

ITEMS in my Rik Sak:

• Western Mountaineering Highlite - It was between this bag and the Jacks R Better Sierra Sniveller.  Jacks R Better can also serve as a jacket.  I just didn't know if the jacket/sleeping bag combination would work for me since I toss and turn a lot switching from side to side.  I'm glad I chose the Highlite, it fits me well but also stuffs into the little space I give it in the Rik Sak.  The zipper works well and it doesn't seem to get wet easily.  The temperatures were in the upper 20's so I did get cold.  About half the water in my 1 liter bottles was frozen so it got cold.
• ZPacks Hexamid Twin Tarp with Extended Beak and Bugscreen - Joe Valesko did a great job with this tent/tarp.  He has a 6-8 week waiting list and I originally wasn't going to wait that long to get my tent but one came up with a repair in the Bargain Bin that I could get for immediate delivery.  This tarp, which comes pretty close to the ground on 3 sides is only 6oz after I applied the seam sealer.  Current models don't need seam sealing.  About a month ago, I sent the tarp back to Joe to get the bug screen added.  It almost doubled the weight to 11.75 oz.  It didn't take the 6-8 week wait time so I used it this weekend.  I forgot my trekking pole, used a stick that was too short so it was kind of cramped but it was fine on my trip last September.  The bug screen didn't tear (I put my painter's plastic cloth, 85 cent stuff that I cut into 4 pieces, on top of it.  I didn't pitch it in ideal conditions either.  I was kind of on top of marshy soil, which I was ok on top of the painter's plastic cloth.  It had plenty of ventilation.  I look forward to pitching it with two trekking poles.  I can't find another tarp/tent for the weight with bug protection and rain protection.  There are lighter tarps but we get a lot of afternoon rain storms when I'm backpacking in Colorado.
• Patagonia Polyester Fill Jacket actually didn't fit in the Rik Sak with the larger size of the tarp with the bug screen sewn in.  I wore it the entire time any way but I'll just tie it around my waist with my rain jacket.  When I was at REI last year, I thought I was getting the down pullover jacket but I must have grabbed the polyester one by mistake.  It has worked great.  I tore the sleeve with my trekking pole once and it has worked with the tear.  I do need to get it repaired.  I use it ALL THE TIME during the winter and with backpacking in the summer.
• Gossamer Gear Nightlight Sleeping Pad - at 3.65 oz, it can't be beat for weight savings.  However, it barely protects you from the ground.  Camping and backpacking has always been an adventure of hiking with sleep deprivation.  I'm praying for 5am or the first glow of sunlight so I can get up.  It was COLD this morning, my hands and feet hurt, so I tried to be hiking by 6am.  I would like to look at a Thermarest NeoAir XLite S.  At 8oz, it will be heavier.  The bigger problem is that it will take more of the room in the Rik Sak, I think.  I need to go to a store and look at it.  I also get the short version and my legs are unprotected.  I put the foot of my sleeping bag in my zipped up rain jacket and I wasn't as cold.  Later in the summer, I put my Patagonia jacket in the rain jacket and put the foot of my sleeping bag on top of the two.  That works but it was too cold last night.
• Gossamer Gear RikSak - at 2.1 oz, I really like this backpack.  I used it to carry my iPad and other items for short trips when I went to Europe for 3 weeks for work this January.  Because of my back surgery, carrying my gear on my back even with a hip belt (which is actually hard for an ultralight backpacker to have enough gear for the bottom of your pack to reach your hips) just wasn't working.  See previous posts.  I had to move to a lumbar pack but couldn't find one big enough for my sleeping bag, tent and bulkier items.  The RikSak came to my rescue and I only carry about 3 lbs on my back.  Sometimes I'm taking off my jacket and my RikSak is coming with it.  I don't even realize it until I actually see the RikSak and its contents in my hand.

I'll finish with the Lumbar Pack and its items tomorrow.

Another Year, Another Gearlist

Getting ready to start backpacking again.  Though I haven't been posting, I have been busy.  I've been working on my gear list.  Some changes have been:

• I sent my ZPacks Hexamid Twin Tarp to have the bugscreen sewn into it.  There still isn't a floor, you put your painter's drop cloth (barely thicker than saran wrap) over the bugscreen.  The weight only went up to 11.75 oz from 6.15 oz.
• Rainwear O2 Hooded Rain Jacket replaces my Mountain Designs Rain Jacket, reducing the weight from 9.7 oz to 6.7 oz.
• Rainwear O2 Rain Pants to replace my WW Sportsman polyster zip off pants, reducing the weight from 8.1 oz to 4.75 oz.
• I wanted to replace the Gossamer Gear Nightlight Sleeping Pad for a inflated Thermarest but I haven't bit the bullet, keeping my 3.65 oz option rather than 8 oz.  I'll have to find a softer place to sleep.  Otherwise, I'm just lying there praying for the sun to come up.
• I'm switching to Delorme's InReach personal locator beacon from my Spot, increasing my weight from 5 oz to 8.3 oz but I REALLY like the idea of knowing if people got my messages.  Last year, about a third of my 'check in' messages never made with the Spot.  It would also stop sending my waypoints as well.

So here is my new Gear List:

• 6.12 pounds of gear without the following:  consumables (food, water, and fuel), clothes I mostly carry in my bags, glasses, trekking poles, and ID.  
• 14.26 pounds of gear if I include everything I carry.  
• 18.69 with everything I wear and carry.

RikSak and Items in RikSak	Ounces	Pounds	Cumul Oz
Sleeping bag -Western Mountaineering High Lite	16.00	1.00	16.00
Hexamid Twin Tarp with Extended Beak & Bugscreen	11.60	0.73	27.60
Patagonia Down Jacket	12.10	0.76	39.70
Nightlight Sleeping Pad 19 x 29 x 3/4" (torso length)	3.65	0.23	43.35
RikSak	2.10	0.13	45.45
RikSak and Items in RikSak	45.45	2.84
Daylight Lumbar Pack and Items in Lumbar Pack	Ounces	Pounds
Mountain Smith Daylight Lumbar pack	13.60	0.85	13.60
Personal locator beacon - Delorme InReach - 8.3 oz	8.30	0.52	21.90
Cell phone	6.65	0.42	28.55
Cook pot - Snow Peak Trek Titanium 1 liter with lid & bag	5.70	0.36	34.25
O2 Rain Jacket	6.70	0.42	40.95
Sleeping bag liner - Cocoon	4.50	0.28	45.45
Extra batteries (2 AA, 2 batteries for Steripen)	2.60	0.16	48.05
Emergency Kit	3.45	0.22	51.50
Water Purifier - Steripen Adventurer Opti	3.55	0.22	55.05
Extra pair of wool socks	3.45	0.22	58.50
Water containers - two 1 liter PowerAde bottles	3.40	0.21	61.90
White box alcohol stove (with screen)	2.10	0.13	64.00
Varga Titanium Stakes (8)	1.65	0.10	65.65
Sunblock and bug protection	1.45	0.09	67.10
Painter's drop cloth 6' x 4.5'	1.55	0.10	68.65
Bottle for alcohol	1.00	0.06	69.65
Rx Glasses	0.85	0.05	70.50
Toilet Paper	0.60	0.04	71.10
bic lighter	0.75	0.05	71.85
Hand sanitizer	0.55	0.03	72.40
Pack towel (cut in half, half for body, half for food)	0.60	0.04	73.00
Camp soap	0.55	0.03	73.55
Driver's license, debit card and health insurance card	0.50	0.03	74.05
Knife - Swiss Tech Utili-key	0.45	0.03	74.50
Light My Fire Original Spork	0.35	0.02	74.85
ZipLit LED and Princeton Tec	0.40	0.03	75.25
Toothbrush	0.20	0.01	75.45
Walmart bag to line bag	0.25	0.02	75.70
ZipLoc	0.20	0.01	75.90
Whistle	0.15	0.01	76.05
Maps & guide in phone (scanned in)	0.00	0.00	76.05
Lumbar Pack and items in Lumbar Pack	76.05	4.75
RikSak and Lumbar Pack with their contents (including jackets)	121.50	7.59
Base weight without clothing, glasses, IDs and consumables	97.90	6.12
Consumables	Ounces	Pounds
Food 2 days (~24oz per day)	48.85	3.05
5 oz of denatured alcohol	5.00	0.31
Water 1.5 liters (average, start with 2 @ 70.40oz)	52.80	3.30
Consumables	106.65	6.67
Total packs and items carried in packs	228.15	14.26
Worn clothes & trekking poles	Ounces	Pounds
New Balance GTX Hiking Shoes	33.50	2.09
Socks (1 pair wool, 1 pair liner)	4.95	0.31
Nylon shorts (with mesh liner)	5.35	0.33
O2 Rain pants	4.75	0.30
Synthetic short sleeve shirt	5.80	0.36
Liner gloves	1.90	0.12
Synthetic Baseball cap	1.80	0.11
Rx Sunglasses	0.85	0.05
Black Diamond-Distance Zpoles	12.00	0.75
Worn clothes and trekking poles	70.90	4.43
Total carried in packs, clothes worn and trekking poles	299.05	18.69
OPTIONAL ITEMS
Thermal underwear (top)	11.85	0.74
Thermal underwear (bottom)	9.10	0.57

Colorado Trail Segment 5 - September 3-4

Wild Flowers

On Friday, September 2nd, I got all the way to Woodland Park and realized I had forgotten my trekking poles. I had to go about 30 miles back home so I decided to just go backpacking the next morning.

 On Saturday morning, I drove to Kenosha Pass, CO by way of Denver, since I take Highway 24 often into the mountains.

View from Kenosha Pass

I got on trail about 9:30am, starting from the western end of Segment 5. My plan was to hike Segment 5 and the western end of Segment 4 that I hadn't finished on a previous hike. Segment 5 is fairly flat without a lot of elevation gain or loss. The trail isn't very rocky overall but there are some segments that are rocky. It was an enjoyable hike. I hiked 16 miles on Saturday, which was all of Segment 5 and two miles into Segment 4.

Rock Creek crossing

6oz Cuben Fiber Tarp by Zpacks.com

My 14 pound combination of backpack and lumbar pack performed well. Three things that I want to change are: first, switch out my ultralight weight sleeping pad for an air mattress. I'll start working on a light weight solution but it will probably increase my load total to 15 pounds. That thin pad was too hard to sleep on since I sleep on my side. My hips start to hurt. Once I realized that I couldn't sleep, I decided I wasn't going to hike another 12 miles to finish Segment 4. I would just hike straight back.





Second, I use my cook pot to get water out of the rivers to sterilize with my Steripen UV sterilizer. However, I keep my stove, lighter, wind screen, and pack towel in my cook pot. Each time I got water, I had to take out all of those items. I'll start thinking about a solution but it might be a necessary inconvenience to save weight.

Third, I don't want to hike as far next time. 32 miles was the furthest I've ever gone. I was getting really tired when I had 2 hours or about 4 miles to go.  I also started having back problems again within days of getting back home.















I think my 14 pounds of gear, food, water and fuel isn't hurting my back.  I did fine on my 9 mile hike to Missouri Lakes.  I think it is just the 32 mile distance this weekend.  I was pretty exhausted and could feel pain in my right hip and lower back when I had a few hours to go.

Colorado Trail East Segment 5

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Hexamid Twin Tarp from ZPacks arrived

I got it last night and seam sealed all the seams then read the instructions again.  It said to do the seams on the outside so I had to do the other side as well.  It needs to dry for 6 hours.  I'll take some pictures of it when I'm backpacking this weekend but here is the promotional picture for it.  It is this color and has the optional beak. It seems to be big enough for me and my gear.  I usually like the 2 person tents/tarps so there is room for my gear and room to move around when I'm getting ready to sleep.

I'll have to weigh it when it is dry.  It started out at 5.4oz but will most certainly weigh more with seam sealer on both sides of the seams.  Hopefully not much more than 6oz.  But still, that is almost 1 1/2 pounds less than my Big Agnes Ultralight tent (Fly Creek 2) which didn't seem that bad when I carried it.  Just a pound here and a pound there added up to my vertebrate between L4 and L5 getting inflamed.

My RikSak and NightLight Sleeping Pad arrived from Gossamer Gear

My RikSak arrived and it is just how it claims, amazingly light.  I also got the NightLight sleeping pad (3.85 oz) but it doesn't fit in the RikSak length wise when it is folded into the 3 segment so I rolled it up.  I think my Western Mountaineering Highlite Sleeping bag will fit in the RikSak with the sleeping pad.  If not, I'll trim one long side of the pad, even though it only goes under my torso as it is.  Have to put my jacket under my legs.

I'm just waiting on my Hexamid Twin Tarp from Zpacks.com.  It is supposed to arrive by Friday, just in time for my trip to Missouri Lakes (near Leadville, CO).  It is said to weigh 5.4 oz with the optional beak.  I bought some no-see-um mesh from www.hikelight.com.  That is just 2.25 oz.

I have everything that I carry, including my down sweater and rain jacket (which I carry most of the time) and a couple days worth of food and fuel down to 13.88 lbs.  That, all my clothes that I wear and my trekking poles total 18.16.  This will be the lightest I have gone.  I'll publish my new list on my next blog entry.

Some people wouldn't count their down sweater and rain jacket in their carrying weight but for me, I'm trying to figure out realistically what I normally carry on my back and what causes stress to my lumbar vertibrate.  After hiking 29 miles over a weekend, my back was really bothering me even using ultralight techniques.  So I'm going to the next level after almost 2 months off.  I use a RikSak and a Mountain Smith lumbar pack to keep most of the weight off of my back.  I have 3.96 lbs of bulky stuff in my RikSak (including the down sweater, rain jacket and RikSak) which is the only weight on my back, 3.25 lbs in my Mountain Smith DayLight lumbar pack (including the lumbar pack) with another 6.68 lbs of consumables (water, food and fuel) that will go into the lumbar pack (if I can get it to fit).  I'm hoping that only 4 lbs of weight will keep my back from hurting and legs from going numb.  My hope that if I can keep the bulk of the weight on my hips, I'll avoid any damage to my back.  We'll see.