High Sierra Trail Pack List
Another backcountry trip, another opportunity for new gear! I switched a few things up from the Wonderland Trail to the High Sierra Trail. Not anything too big (except for my pack), but the small changes can make a big difference!
Pack
REI Flash 55
With only top strap, 2 side compression straps, and shoulder pocket added (no hip belt pockets, top lid), lined w/ nylofume.
First trip with this pack! Excited to use.
Thru. Summit Bum w/ Comfy Strap
Fanny pack to hold all of my goodies. Excited to use on a longer trip!
Sleep System
Enlightened Equipment Enigma 10* Quilt
Sea to Summit Aeros UL regular pillow
Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Uberlite Sleeping Pad
Tent
Big Agnes Tiger Wall 3 Platinum
Split in half: I carried body & fly.
Cook Set
MSR PocketRocket Deluxe
New stove! My Snow Peak Litemax broke an arm, and I wanted to try out this guy, which seemed more supportive of a mug anyways.
Toaks 750 mL cook pot
Sea to Summit Alpha Light Spoon - Long
Back to my Ti spoon! I lost it before the Wonderland, but found it later on.
Bic Click Lighter
Fuel: 4 oz canister
Pot Holder: PCT buff
Bear Canister: BV500
Water
Sawyer Squeeze
Back to the Squeeze because I didn’t want to worry about the micro clogging
1 L Smartwater Bottle w/ sport cap
0.7 L Smartwater Bottle w/ sport cap
1.5 L Evernew dirty water bag
Clothing Worn
Top: Mountain Hardware Crater Lake Hoody
Bottoms: Patagonia Strider Shorts
Bra: Patagonia Active Mesh (old version)
Underwear: Icebreaker Siren Bikini (merino wool)
Socks: Injinji Trail
Shoes: Altra Lone Peak 3.5
So I actually wore these on the Wonderland too! Couldn’t find my 4.0’s before flying out, and grabbed my REI garage sale 3.5s. They worked well on the WT, so wore them again on this trip.
Sunglasses: Ray Ban, non-polarized
Hat: Kavu Strapcap
Clothing Packed
Insulating Layer: Enlightened Equipment Torrid Apex 7D Jacket
New puffy! Got this as a Christmas present, and looking forward to seeing how warm it is.
Rain Shell: Frog Toggs Emergency W’s Jacket
New shell! Super cheap. Noticed my OR Helium’s seam tape was peeling and decided to pick up a cheap layer before I make a decision about a new UL rain jacket for next season. Since rain is not forecasted on this trip, I figured the emergency shell would be a fine choice. Also, its sub-4oz!
Wind Pants: Enlightened Equipment Copperfield
Rain Shell Bottoms: Enlightened Equipment Rain Wrap
Baselayers: Patagonia Lightweight Capilene Long Sleeve Top & Bottoms
Extra Socks: Injinji Trail, Darn Tough
“Extras”: Montbell Chameece Gloves, Montbell Zeo-Line LW Balaclava
Bathroom/ Hygiene
Storage Bag: ZPacks small DCF dry bag
Deuce of Spades Trowel & TP + 2 ziplocks
Kula Cloth
Hand Sanitizer
Sun Bum Lip balm SPF 30
Sun Bum small stick sunscreen SPF 30
Tiny toothbrush & travel toothpaste
Sawyer Picaridin Bug Spray
Eyedrops
Monistat for chafe healing
New! Trying this instead of Vagisil.
Body Wipes
Safety/ Repair
Garmin inReach Mini
Knife: Spyderco Ladybug
New, single blade that is more substantial than Swiss army and higher quality than my old Gerber
First Aid Kit:
Leukotape (on poles), ibuprofen, benadryl, immodium, alcohol swab, square of gauze, 1 band aid, neosporin, personal rx meds, lighter, needle, safety pin, tweezers
Repair Kit:
Therm-a-rest patch, gear tape, duct tape (on poles)
Maps: Digital (GaiaGPS)
Trail is well-marked, mom carried the Tom Harrison paper map
Electronics & Camera
Power Bank: Anker Powercore 20000
Back to the tried and true from the PCT
Headlamp: Nitecore NU25
Phone: iPhone XS
Cords: micro USB, iPhone cable
Zpacks small dry bag
Camera: Sony a6000 w/ 24-105 f/4 lens
Peak Design v3 Capture Clip
Peak Design Leash
Realized that it is incredibly stupid to carry my camera on the peak design capture clip without some sort of backup mechanism to catch my camera if it fell off. Will wear this around my neck while attached to camera.
Other
Wallet
Bug net for face
Trekking Poles: Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork
A little heavier of a load thanks to the bear canister, cookset, and a different pack as compared to the Wonderland Trail, my base weight is just under 13 lbs for this trip, not including 2.5 lbs of camera gear.
Post-Hike Commentary
What Worked Well, and What Didn’t
REI Flash 55 carried my load wonderfully. I carried most of the weight on this trip, including the heavier half of the tent, cookset, and bear canister. Mom sometimes shouldered the cookset once we ate the food from her pack down, but I carried a full load without losing food weight for 3 days (which hovered probably around 25 lbs). I also really appreciated the dual side pockets: one for storing stuff, the other for easy water bottle access.
I loved having my Thru. pack for this trip. It held literally all of my snacks, my phone, bug net, chapstick, knife, sunscreen, gloves… so much! I do think I prefer using a fanny pack over hip belt pockets, but wearing one with a pack that does have hip belt pockets is kind of redundant, and I think I’d only consider using it regularly for a thru-hike instead of smaller trips, just because I like having more of my stuff easily accessible on a thru-hike, but on smaller trips, I don’t really need everything right in front of me.
The Tiger Wall 3 Platinum was again a great tent, though I was getting kind of tired of the set-up and take-down process, which is more of a hassle than my ZPacks Duplex.
My Uberlite sprung a hole thanks to my puppy dog, Riley, on an overnighter a few days before this trip. Thankfully, the Therm-a-rest provided patch held up beautifully and I had no air leakage over the course of this trip.
Note to self and others: Self-igniters on stoves and Bic “click” devices DO NOT WORK ABOVE 10,000 ft in elevation. I knew this because of my time on the PCT… and forgot about that. Many, many clicks of the lighter later, we were able to light the stove at our high-elevation camps. But, it was super annoying. Need to get over my fears of using a regular lighter with the safety removed. Otherwise, the MSR PocketRocket Deluxe was great.
I was again really pleased with the Mountain Hardware hoody for hiking in. It does get smelly and really dirty, but it wicks sweat well, and most importantly, keeps sun off me! I wore the hood a lot to keep the sun off the back of my neck, and even though we had some 90* days, it didn’t overheat me. Having the hood is also nice when it is a little buggy.
My Patagonia Strider shorts officially bit the dust on this hike, with the seams at the crotch blowing out. Thankfully, Patagonia’s worn wear repair program is amazing and I’m waiting for the repair to be mailed back to me as I type this.
My Torrid jacket was perfect! Never felt the need for a hood on this trip as it was sooo warm every night. Does feel fragile though with the 7D outer. No rips to report though.
The Frog Toggs emergency jacket was great! It rode in my pack the whole hike and I think I only wore it once at a terribly buggy campsite in Junction Meadow. It felt nice knowing that I had emergency rain protection just in case there was an afternoon rainstorm, and even better knowing it was so light.
I used my wind pants only once - at the aforementioned buggy campsite. Otherwise, this trail was too hot. I also did not use the rain wrap.
My new Montbell gloves were great. More substantial than my previous ones. I only used these for part of the ascent up Whitney.
Was really happy with the Monistat chafe cream. It is a powder gel so it goes on super smooth, and doesn’t have the same smell as Vagisil. I only used this for chafe protection instead of having body glide and I’m happy with that decision. A little went a long way!
I really didn't need the bug net for this trip, but was very happy to have my bug spray!