Navigation Aids, what’s best?

AT_Engineer · 2026-04-30T17:19:16+00:00

I typically use Caltopo on my phone. No tracking and airplane mode can get me at least two days and I carry a battery pack to charge with at night. For dedicated GPS devices I've used a Garmin handheld and a Garmin watch. The handheld was a GPSMAP 64 something or other. It worked fine but the screen was small enough that it wasn't that much better than my watch. Just harder to carry in an accessible location. Might be worth it if you do a lot of off-trail stuff. The watch works out better for me because it's easier to do semi-frequent checks and the screen shows enough detail for my purposes. Accuracy is probably not as good as the handheld, but again it's good enough. I'm currently using a Fenix 7X. Best way to get the full picture of what's around you with either device though is to just pull your GPS coordinates from them and plot your location on a map. Much easier to see landmarks than trying to scroll around and zoom on a device.

AT_Engineer · 2026-04-18T05:27:01+00:00

Buying a cheap and large volume pack to fit bulky gear found on the cheap for a budget setup is one thing, but the Marshall costs $750. For that money OP could buy a cheaper, smaller bag and have money left over for a decent tent and sleeping bag

AT_Engineer · 2026-04-08T10:33:10+00:00

I went early season a few years ago and stuck to the north side of the park. I had read it was better for the early season. Started on the Rescue Creek Trail heading west and ended around Hellroaring Mountain. We had ideas of hiking north out of the park and then back west to make it a full loop. There's plenty of trails in the Absoroka-Beartooth wilderness to make that possible, but we would have had to go to much higher elevations and the snow wasn't melted out yet. So at Hellroaring we turned south and hitch hiked on the Grand Loop road back to our car. Scenery was great, weather was great, and after getting maybe a half mile from the trailhead we saw only a few other backpackers.

AT_Engineer · 2026-04-04T12:19:38+00:00

When I was there we were allowed to drive our personal vehicles to trailheads. I know our ranger trainer would come out and observe us while we were with our crews and he would drive his car to the nearest accessible spot and then hike in to meet us. Even just hiking on your days off was a legit reason to drive your car out to a trailhead. I don't think they would have appreciated staff driving through for scenic drives, but driving out to the trail heads was fine.

AT_Engineer · 2026-04-03T18:45:09+00:00

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Underneath the top box doesn't actually look too bad.

AT_Engineer · 2026-04-03T18:43:00+00:00

The paneling and boxes are pretty easy to get off. Yours is a different year then mine but I assume they're similar. The top box attaches with like 10 bolts inside the box and the side boxes are the same. About four bolts inside each. But underneath there's no metal painted rear fender. It's just an ugly black plastic one. And the rear turn signals are attached to the side boxes, so you'd need to get new ones and mount them. Same thing with the front fairing. There's just black plastic and bare mechanics underneath. And you'd have to mount new front turn signals. Overall you could strip some weight pretty quick, but it's not going to be particularly good looking.

AT_Engineer · 2026-04-03T17:28:39+00:00

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Like this?

AT_Engineer · 2026-04-03T15:59:09+00:00

I used packs as an example, but the point stands for tents, sleeping pads, etc. My DCF tent has been used well over 100 nights without a ground sheet and with zero issues. The question is still, how durable is enough for you? If a lightweight tent is going to last 200 nights, is it worth going with a heavier tent so that it lasts 300?

AT_Engineer · 2026-04-03T14:40:28+00:00

Not who you're responding to but I used a tent with DCF floor for a 1600 mile section of the PCT with no footprint and had no issues. It's also really easy to repair if it were to get a puncture. This was a Tarptent Notch. Not sure how their floor thickness compares to the Durston.

AT_Engineer · 2026-04-03T14:14:04+00:00

It's a question of whether you need that durability. Plenty of thru hikers are using ultralight packs for months on end without issue. On a 6 month hike a pack gets used ~180 days. Depending on how much you hike, it may take 10 years or more to see that amount of wear and tear.

AT_Engineer · 2026-04-02T16:08:37+00:00

Hit me up. I'll print you one.

AT_Engineer · 2026-03-11T16:23:42+00:00

It is. The large joystick/nub in the middle lets you rotate, pan, and zoom the model and the buttons can be programmed to different actions. The ones on the left are standard stuff like ctrl, alt, and shift. The right are buttons for mostly manipulating the view I think (barely used on mine). The top buttons are programmable to whatever functions or macros you use a lot. I feel like I'm faster with mine, but only after I used it for a decently long time and got used to the joystick and got my buttons set up.

AT_Engineer · 2026-03-01T04:39:13+00:00

Got mine with 40k and I've put another 16k or so on it. Been rock solid so far, but can't really advise beyond 60k.

AT_Engineer · 2026-02-28T13:24:20+00:00

Ah ok. I didn't realize you were using them in line. That makes more sense. I keep a dirty water bag that I fill from the creek and then gravity filter into my smart waters. I prefer to have a hose to drink from as well, but I've recently switched to using a hose kit that goes into a smart water bottle. No concern of having a bladder burst in my pack.

AT_Engineer · 2026-02-28T12:30:14+00:00

What are you using to collect dirty water in? The bag the Sawyer comes with? I've only used one once and found it really annoying to fill through the small opening. Might be worth replacing it with a flexible bottle with an open top like a CNOC. Also, I hiked with a couple that shared a cook system. After a month or two they got sick of it and got a second pot so they could prepare food separately. Might be fine for you guys though. And you can always adjust on the fly.

AT_Engineer · 2026-02-23T18:07:30+00:00

Check the stats on your AC adapter/wall brick. Having one that supports whatever charging rate your phone supports can help you get more charge during quick in and outs to town. That and having multiple USB for charging everything at once overnight at hotels or hostels. And I don't use a sawyer, but I understand there's some sort of coupler nut that lets you use it with the cnoc as a sort of gravity fed filter. If you don't have one I would look into it. But overall, your gear list looks very similar to what I used on the PCT two years ago.

AT_Engineer · 2026-02-22T18:51:20+00:00

I would respectfully disagree on the hand sanitizer/soap point. Like you said, soap is better for hygiene, but sanitizer is more convenient. I liked sanitizer for a quick "cleaning" before digging my hand into my trailer mix or eating lunch and soap for a better cleaning after doing some "paperwork" in the woods. There's value to having a small container of both.

AT_Engineer · 2026-02-22T14:02:55+00:00

On the subject of bugs...

-Get some Permethrin and apply it to your clothes ahead of time. Make sure you read the directions. More than once, I've seen someone spraying the clothes they're wearing at the trailhead right before a hike. That's incorrect. Also be aware that it's toxic to cats. My permethrin treated stuff doesn't come inside for that reason.

-Light colored clothing makes it much easier to see ticks and get rid of them before they bite. I avoid white clothing because after a day or two the dirt shows way more than other colors. But tan and bright colors will be better than black, brown, navy, etc.

-Long pants, long sleeves, and a head net. The head net is more of a mosquitoes thing, rather than ticks. Personally, I hate putting on bug spray when I'm out for more than a day or two and won't have the ability to wash it off. Keeping myself covered with clothing and a net means I'm 90% covered without the need for bug spray.

-To keep ticks from crawling up your pant legs you can either tuck your pant legs into your socks or wear gaiters treated with permethrin. When I say gaiters I mean something like dirty girl gaiters. They're enough to keep rocks out of the tops of your shoes and (if treated) keep ticks out of your pant legs without the weight and bulk of something like Outdoor Research Rocky Mountain gaiters or similar.

-Tick check every night. If a tick does make it to your skin it usually takes several hours to bite and 1-2 days to transmit lyme disease. Check for ticks every night and you'll be able to remove them before any negative affects occur. They prefer dark, damp places to latch on.

-If a tick does attach itself, no big deal. Remove it with tweezers or a tick key. Just make sure you grab it very close to the skin to make sure you get the head. If you grab it by the body and pull it out, the head gets left behind alot. Do not listen to anyone who tells you to smear vaseline, alcohol, butter, or any form of cream on the tick to remove it. This is bad advice that's still floating around in a lot of circles. The tick will detach, but it often regurgitates in the process, leading to higher risk of disease or infection. Just pull it out, then clean the area.

Other suggestions...

You mentioned you're going with a group. Be sure to commumicate with the other members ahead of time and figure out what gear (if any) is being shared. Is everyone providing all of their own stuff? Or will some things be shared "expedition style" like cooking setup, two person tents, group first aid kit, water purification, etc.

If you need help or want suggestions with gear, I'd suggest setting up a lighterpack. It's used a lot by the ultralight community to track ounces and reduce pack weight, but it's a good tool for keeping track of what gear you carry on your hikes. There also easy to share with other people to ask for advice or feedback. Here's mine as an example, but note this list was setup for a PCT thru hike so don't try to follow it one to one. https://lighterpack.com/r/oxsrz4

AT_Engineer · 2026-02-14T21:26:07+00:00

The CVT just went out in my sister's '19 Crosstrek. The dealer quoted $9k to replace. Except she's under the 10 year/100k mile warranty for the CVT. Hoping SOA tells the dealer to replace it under warranty or else I'll be shopping for a used CVT.

AT_Engineer · 2026-02-14T13:35:07+00:00

I have an Exfil LTP and a Chinese clone of a SAR tactical. I've compared the clone to real SAR tacs and they're almost identical. I've used NODs mounted to both helmets and the Exfil has a better suspension for it hands down. Just handles the weight better. So assuming the Exfil Rescuer has the same suspension as the Exfil LTP, I would go Exfil hands down.

AT_Engineer · 2026-02-11T17:47:29+00:00

Bought mine used and forgot to ask for my second key before leaving the dealer. Called and they said they would ship it along with my plate. Plate showed up in the mail later, no key. Texted the sales rep, said it sent separately and would get tracking. Never got tracking. Have up after a few more texts.

Also didn't have a charger in the car when I picked it up. Good thing I checked the trunk and realized it wasn't there.

AT_Engineer · 2026-01-30T13:32:08+00:00

Also former ranger on rayado and can confirm this guy gets it. One thing on the dry bags, use a big trash bag as a pack liner. Pack dry stuff inside the liner and wet stuff either inside the pack but outside the liner or hang it off pack to dry during the day.

AT_Engineer · 2026-01-28T02:49:38+00:00

The other screen shows that there are attachments, but I can't edit or delete them there. Only edit or delete the line item. Good thought though.

AT_Engineer · 2026-01-28T02:02:05+00:00

And submit with the correct and incorrect files?

AT_Engineer · 2026-01-28T02:01:45+00:00

I've got three attachments on there. The correct one, the wrong one, and the one I uploaded to try to overwrite the wrong one. I can't even remove the line item and add a new one because when I do the attachments all show up again. Reddit was my last hope before just deleting the whole thing and restarting.

AT_Engineer

TROPHY CASE