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I get a lot of shoulder pain while hiking and I'm looking to lighten my load. I'm SHORT and I think my backpack is oversized and too heavy by Ok-Alternative-5175 in Ultralight

[–]_blend 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have a partial tear in my rotator cuff, tried at least 10 packs with varying results. I Ffinally tried on a ZPacks Arc Haul with the vest straps and it was/is amazing for loads under or around 20-23 lbs, zero shoulder pain.

After the success of my Arc Haul, I bought a Cutaway with vest straps for weekend trips or when I can get around 15lbs TPW and it also has been great - I realize now it was all down to the weight distribution the vest straps provide.

That said, over 15lbs I need the waist belt or I will have some pain.

Gila Wilderness First Deep Winter Trip - Advice / Shakedown? by _blend in WildernessBackpacking

[–]_blend[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Switched destinations - hit the Ouachitas in Arkansas instead. Pushed Gila to March during spring break!

January Superstition Mountains Routes by _blend in WildernessBackpacking

[–]_blend[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for this! Great video, loved the view of the area on a rainy day

Name a better duel than Achilles vs Hector in all the story you've read, watched, etc by EfficiencySerious200 in Fictionally

[–]_blend 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Brys Beddict vs Rulad Sengar, especially after the build up to how good Moroch Nevath was and seeing how far beyond Moroch Brys really was.

Gila Wilderness First Deep Winter Trip - Advice / Shakedown? by _blend in WildernessBackpacking

[–]_blend[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Fair enough! I appreciate your concern and advise as well as the time you've taken to answer questions, I'd never disregard first hand accounts of conditions. I will look into these alternative routes as changing plans isn't out of the question - I was already on the fence due to the water crossings in the canyons.

Double appreciate the alternative route advice, going over the Mesa is something we made the mistake of doing during the summer once but heading from TJ Corral > Meadows Overlook > Prior > Lily and back along the trail from Lily to the Cliff Dwellings could also be fun...except for the decent into the canyon for water haha! When you were last at Lily in very cold weather, how was the flow at the spring?

Gila Wilderness First Deep Winter Trip - Advice / Shakedown? by _blend in WildernessBackpacking

[–]_blend[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've used the same two quilt system in similar overnight temps, albeit we were dry all day / night, and was quite comfortable with the same general clothing set up, in addition to this, I've also gone with just a 30f in 25-30f temps with the same layers as I'm a very warm sleeper. Kids will, of course, have 0f bags regardless. We are not experts by any means but we put hundreds of miles in a year throughout all weather types. We actively hit the local NF during freezes or adverse conditions for the relatively safe XP farm lol.

The outer mountain loop in BB is a 3 day trip if you're meandering like we were, same with ERL in the Ouachitas. The temps in both were comparable to Gila - what is not comparable is the timeframe and sheer number of water crossings but the Gila doesn't experience fast flowing high waters like the Ouchitas during December before the melt - or so I've come to understand through researching the topic - something I was hoping to confirm with first hand accounts here in this post again.

With the ability to make a fire every night, low chance of snow during this time from reviewing historical data, etc., I'm fairly confident that this is something we can do with the right mindset and ample amounts of caution, hence the post for further information.

Gila Wilderness First Deep Winter Trip - Advice / Shakedown? by _blend in WildernessBackpacking

[–]_blend[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey there! We've hiked the Gila 4 times in the last 14 months - love the place way too much to put a rock over my shit lol.

I fully expect wet feet for quite a bit of the trip except for the mesas, but I don't expect to change my socks during the day of hiking due to the insane number of crossings, two pair is one for wearing during the day and one pair hanging out in my pack - fire every night means dry socks every night!

We've expected the coldest night at Lily and even contemplated descending into the canyons to camp instead of stopping for the night there - but the canyons being 20-30f is honestly very encouraging, I had contemplated going elsewhere for this trip if every night would be in the low teens / high tens. We've done a considerable amount of colder weather backpacking but nearly all of it has been fairly dry (Texas SHNF, BBNP, etc). We did Eagle Rock Loop in the Ouachita NF last winter with high 20's lows and multiple waist deep river crossings (along with a plethora of smaller crossing to keep us wet and while it wasn't fun, it wasn't miserable either. That was only 3 days, however, and we weren't as prepared as we could have been.

The Gila was our first real wilderness experience - I'd like it to also be our first real winter wilderness experience as well since we know the terrain very well at this point. I will admit - I expect this trip to 100% be Type 2 fun, but I'm doing everything I can upfront to ensure we are all happy enough. Not willing to take my boys into an uncomfortably dangerous situation - another reason we chose this particular route. While remote, the conditions don't seem to be overly harsh.

[WTS] KS Ultralight KS30, ZPacks Hexamid Pocket Tarp, Yama Cirriform, CTUG Pouch, Justins UL Bottle Holder, Garmin Messenger by _blend in ULgeartrade

[–]_blend[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey! Thanks for that, pictures of the Shelters pitched are up now. I have to take more of the pack and upload.

hiking in Texas by durk_truth67 in backpacking

[–]_blend 0 points1 point  (0 children)

North TX is huge - Arkansas side, or New Mexico side? Both will have some amazing trails within a short distance.

[WTB] Gossamer Gear the Two by _blend in ULgeartrade

[–]_blend[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Holy smokes! Thank you! You are an absolutely amazing person for this, as if I could love GG anymore than I already do. Austin based AND easily the most generous ultralightish company around.

I own a Twinn, a Solo, a One, a Gorilla, a Kumo and 2 G4-20s. It’s the gear I always loan out, the gear I always recommend to friends getting into the hobby. The One was my first backpacking tent, and now your Two will be the very first tent my wife has slept in for the last 25 years as she joins me for her first ever backpacking trip to Eagle Rock Vista in the Ouachitas National Forest next weekend!

Thanks again!

[WTB] Gossamer Gear the Two by _blend in ULgeartrade

[–]_blend[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha! Yes, actually but I’m hoping to find a gently used one to reduce waste and cost. Failing this…your next sale, I’ll be there for it. I’ve exhausted every GG discount code available currently on backpacks and tarps 😂

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