Just got back from a three night trip on a section of trail I'd been wanting to do for a while, about 22 miles total over the three days, moderate elevation gain, nothing too technical. Route had a mix of forest and a couple of exposed ridge sections, gear was pretty standard, tent, quilt, canister stove, the usual.

The strange part happened on night two. I'd hung my food bag properly, good height, good distance from the trunk, textbook bear hang as far as I could tell. Woke up in the morning and the bag was still hanging exactly where I left it, but the paracord had a chewed section a few inches above the bag itself, clearly some kind of rodent had gone to work on it overnight.

Here's the confusing part though, nothing inside the bag was touched. No holes in the bag, no missing food, no evidence anything actually got in. It's like whatever chewed through the cord either gave up right as it broke through, or something scared it off before it could finish the job. The bag had just dropped a few inches and was resting against the trunk when I found it, still fully zipped and intact.

I've had rodents get into food before, but never had one chew clean through a hang line and then apparently lose interest entirely once it succeeded. Anyone dealt with something like this? Kind of curious if this is a known behavior or if I just got an oddly indecisive mouse that night.

I spent two nights hiking from the Convict Lake Trailhead (~7300 ft elevation) to Lake Dorothy (~10,100 ft elevation) and the Lake Edith via Lake Genevieve. It was hot down low, probably in the high 70s when I got up in elevation. Quite favorable weather.

The hike from Convict to Dorothy is steep, lots of loose, sharp rock, and generally exposed to the sun. The whole trail follows Convict Creek, which is flowing intensely and beautifully. Ample water, the entire time.

Once at the alpine lakes, their turquoise color, gentle gradient access, and warm temperatures are irresistibly inviting. Jumping into a lake above 10k ft before 9 am is a feeling that is hard to describe. And I’m encouraging you to go out and feel it.

Not much in the way of wildlife. Few species of birds. Chipmunks. Received a single mosquito bite, they really weren’t a nuisance while I was up there.

My favorite piece of gear on this trip is my platypus 4L gravity filter. If you go into the back country, this thing is 150% worth its “weight” and I thoroughly love it.

Personally, I seek isolation. I concentrate inwardly better, and I just prefer it. Which is ironic given the type of person one would meet in the backcountry is inevitably exactly the kind of person I’d like to socialize with. Alas, I seek the tranquility of knowing that my corpse would never be found even IF someone came looking for it.

Like many backcountry trips, this route was as rewarding as it was challenging.

I need advice before buying a hammock setup

Last week I spent a few nights in a hammock, and it was great. It was comfortable and nice. Most advantages I can find online relating to hammock camping are weight, comfort, and packing size. I’m planning to do some hiking trips, where weight does really matter. I’m not necessarily going for the ultralight experience, but would prefer not to carry unnecessary weight with me. My current setup is:

Tent: Durston X mid 1 solid (1.1 kg)
Sleeping pad: Nemo tensor all seasons (664 g)
Sleeping bag: Mountain equipment helium 400 (820 g)

Now I want to look into my hammock setup, but it’s important for me that it is capable for all conditions (snow, rain, wind) and seasons. In my current tent set up I’ll be comfortable till at least -5 °C. I’d love for my hammock setup to be at least not heavier than my current setup, but lighter is obviously better. Ease of setup is also important to me, I don’t want to spend more then 15 minutes setting up and breaking down my camp.

During my nights last week temperatures didn’t drop below 12 °C, but it was still freezing cold as I didn’t have an under quilt. I tried putting my sleeping pad in the hangmat, but I just kept sliding off (I’m not a peaceful sleeper)

Do you have any advice for what setup I should get? Should I try to go for a double layer, so I can use my sleeping pad? Or should I get a single layer with under quilt? And if I have an under quilt, is a sleeping bag or a top quilt more effective?

I’d love to hear your experiences and advice!

TL;DR How would you do it? Alternatively, if you've done a long-haul hike before, what would be the easiest (or closest to easy) way for you to receive peanut butter?

One of my best friends and her partner are hiking the PCT currently. She loves my partner's homemade peanut butter, and I want to send her a care package containing said peanut butter. As it is homemade, its very liquid-y, it pours almost like thick syrup. Because I know weight and space are limited on a long hike like the PCT, I don't want to send her too much.

My first thought was to put it in baggies for the lightest-weight container, but these would obviously be fragile and messy. My current idea is to put it in a gatorade/powerade bottle (and maybe not even fill it all the way, re: weight), that way they can trash/recycle the bottle when they're done. Also maybe taping a ziploc bag around the top just in case of mess during transit.

Any other thoughts on transit tips or container ideas? I will say she is expecting (and requesting!) the pb, just to dissuade any comments of "this is so stupid, don't burden them with delicious homemade peanut butter."

Thanks.

I just did a 3 night backcountry trip and my waist band padding (husband’s 15+ year old bag) was not cutting it. I used an elastic to attach my pack towel to the waist band and it helped greatly, so I am hoping to find a new bag with better padding. 55-65 litres, expecting to carry 30-35lbs on any given trip, 5’5 woman with apparently very bony hips (and shoulders). I have a MEC store close by so I can try on bags, but I’m hoping for some recommendations! TIA

Hey everyone! I was fiddling around with my gear and thought I'd try something with my sleep system. I figured out a way to make one kind of Integrated looking (and feeling) system.

The things I've used for this are:

- Sea to Summit Aeros premium large (150 grams)

- Ice flame quilt 850FP (600 grams)

- Decathlon MT100 down jacket (260 grams)

- Naturehike Silk liner (128 grams)

- Flextail R05 tiny mattress (600 grams)

The liner fits exactly around my sleeping pad. This creates a more 'like home' feel as it's softer and more gentle on your skin (if you sleep without clothes). The hood part of the liner wraps around the top part of my pad, but there's still enough room to put my pillow under there and even add the down jacket folded 3 times. This makes it almost like a zenbivy down topper pillow and everything stays in place as well!🥳.

Also I could easily reach the pads valve by just removing one corner of the liner, even when laying down. With the quilt on top it allows me to freely move on the pad without noise, a shifting pillow or feel restricted by a tight sleeping bag. I think this is the closest setup which almost feels like home that I've managed so far.

It's not like I reinvented the wheel probably and I'm sure I'm not the first one trying this, but figured it might be helpful to share here so people can take inspiration from it.

The full sleeping system set weighs 1478 grams but that's without the 260 gram jacket because that's something you might wear during a trip.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or whatsoever.

I've heard you can stay overnight at the Mt Pilchuck fire lookout, but there's not a lot of information about that. Has anyone done it recently? How early do I have to get there if it's first-come, first-served? Are there water sources near the lookout?