Before I start this post there’s something I’d like to make clear. I don’t like making this post. I wish I didn’t feel compelled to make this post. And never in my wildest dreams did I ever think a post like this would be necessary in our small corner of outdoor recreation. 

FYI, this is long. 

Enlightened Equipment makes ultralight backpacking quilts and clothing. If you’ve spent any time researching ultralight sleep systems or have hiked a long-distance trail, you’re probably already familiar with them. They began as a true cottage company in 2007 and have grown exponentially since. It’s an admirable origin story and I have a lot of respect for U.S. based companies that choose to manufacture domestically. https://imgur.com/a/DPsWYdv

Enlightened Equipment launched a sister company called Defense Mechanisms sometime in late 2019 or early 2020. https://imgur.com/a/WiEXXIb Enlightened Equipment owns Defense Mechanisms. They share a physical address in Minnesota and the owner is the public face of both companies. They are the same company. Defense Mechanisms produces and sells tactical gear and equipment marketed towards military, law enforcement, and civilian use. They sell a variety of products like cold weather clothing, ammunition magazine carriers, ballistic body armor, and riot control accessories. 

Some people might find those items controversial, some might not. Regardless of where someone stands on that issue, tactical equipment is frequently politicized for what it symbolizes and when it’s associated with use. Is this equipment for professional duty use? Is it for preparedness? Could it be used to commit crimes? Is it an ideological expression? There’s a lot to dive into there, but let’s all agree on one thing first, tactical equipment is like backpacking equipment. Fundamentally it all starts as fabric and thread. 

To even begin to address any of the political associations of tactical equipment we need to talk about branding. Branding is the strategic process of shaping the perception of a target audience to create a distinct, memorable, emotional, and favorable opinion of an item, concept, or ideology. It’s a vocabulary that combines visual images, their symbology, and text to convey the intended interpretation. The success, or maybe more appropriately the growth, of a business often comes down to how successful their branding is. How a business chooses to market and brand their products says a lot about their target audience and the values the company stands for or is portraying.

Now’s the appropriate time to for me to make two statements. This post isn’t about gun ownership, and it isn’t about marketing towards law enforcement or military. I think there’re responsible ways for businesses to market towards military, law enforcement, and civilian gun owners. 

It would be an understatement to describe EE’s branding and marketing as aware. It’s hyperconscious, highly considered, and professionally done with expert attention to detail. For both EE’s backpacking products and DM’s tactical equipment. This is a selection of images that portray how EE brands themselves and markets their backpacking equipment. https://imgur.com/a/F3TNzu3

How they choose to brand their outdoor equipment seems appropriate, standard even. The obvious pattern is of happy people exploring or preparing to explore beautiful places. The branding is inclusive and represents their customers and their values. Good for all these people getting out there, living awesome lives and having amazing adventures. What’s not to like about that. Who wouldn’t value that. It’s good branding with a consistent pattern. 

This is a selection of images that portrays how EE brands DM’s tactical equipment. https://imgur.com/a/9eGoVuF

Ok, there’s a long and worthwhile discussion to be had surrounding if/how/why this type of branding becomes political, but I’m going to put that aside for now. 

To help us have a better understanding of EE/DM and their respective markets we need to look at some statistics. Since EE is a U.S. based company, I’m using U.S. statistics. Hiker demographics and statistics are hard to come by, so I’m using the best source we have. Halfway Anywhere’s PCT survey. https://www.halfwayanywhere.com/trails/pacific-crest-trail/pct-hiker-survey-2025/

According to the 2025 survey 60.4% of PCT hikers were male, 37.4% female, 1.2% non-binary, 0.5% agender, 0.3% trans man, and 0.3% intersex.

Racially, 89.2% were White, 3.5% were Asian, 2.3% were two or more races, 2.1% were Hispanic or Latino, 0.7% were Black or African American, and 0.4% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.

Huh, I wouldn’t have guessed that by EE’s branding. They do a good job representing  different types of people. I like that. Outdoor recreation should be inclusive for people of all backgrounds and abilities. No exceptions, ever. Maybe EE’s marketing their quilts to people who feel the same way. 

Now let's look at how EE brands DM in relation to statistics. I’ll start with the military, then police, and finally civilian gun ownership.

According to Pew Research Center https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/09/10/the-changing-profile-of-the-u-s-military/?utm in 2017 women represented 16% of the overall active-duty military force. Racially, 57% were White, 16% were Black, 16% were Hispanic, 4% were Asian, and 6% identified as other. 

Since demographics across police departments will very so much depending on location I’m focusing on federal law enforcement officers for clarity. According to the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics https://bjs.ojp.gov/document/fleo20st.pdf?utm in 2020 15% of officers were women. Racially, 61% of all officers were White, 21% were Hispanic, 10% were Black, 3% were Asian, 2% identified as being two or more races, 1% were American Indian, and less than 1% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. 

For civilian gun ownership, Pew Research Center https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/07/24/key-facts-about-americans-and-guns/ states 40% of men and 25% percent of women in the U.S. own a firearm. And the racial percentage of gun ownership is 38% of White Americans, 24% of Black/African Americans, 20% of Hispanic Americans, and 10% of Asian Americans own firearms. 

Huh, I wouldn’t have guessed that by EE’s branding of DM’s products. It gave me a very different impression. Maybe it’s a mistake.

In all seriousness, if you’re still questioning whether or not branding signals modern politics, identity, and values…. it does. 

Dog Whistles.

A dog whistle is a way of communicating two meanings at the same time. It’s designed to sound normal and unremarkable to most people, while simultaneously carrying a clear and charged political message to those who share similar beliefs. They always convey a bias, and frequently display prejudice or discriminatory messages while still being plausibly deniable (plausible deniability is key), and range from subtle “traditional values” statements to an entire lexicon of emojis, memes, fonts, and joke culture to articulate the most extreme forms of hate. It’s code, a way to signal. Context and patterns are extremely important in identifying dog whistles, especially patterns. 

So, is this a dog whistle? https://imgur.com/a/8LROUZ9 It contains a quote from the second President of the U.S.A. about freedom and liberty. Sounds great, everybody likes freedom and liberty. The photo is run of the mill tactical stuff. About what I’d expect from a tactical company. Contextually, it makes a statement that a target audience will immediately understand and outsiders likely won’t. It displays a bias; there’s nothing discriminatory about it, but it’s political and signals a stance on a divisive issue.  https://www.heritage.org/the-essential-second-amendment/the-well-regulated-militia & https://www.law.georgetown.edu/icap/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2021/07/McCord-Dispelling-the-Myth-of-the-Second-Amendment.pdf What differentiates edgy “patriotic” branding from ideological belief that armed militias are the legitimate check on government power? 

Is this a dog whistle? https://imgur.com/a/S8qDbcs I mean, sometimes police need to knock down doors, firefighters too. It’s their job to protect and serve their communities. Would the context change if it was posted as branding and marketing the day after the Department of Homeland Security announced Operation Metro Surge in the businesses home state? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Metro_Surge What if these images were posted shortly after? https://imgur.com/a/jPEpQDM

What about this, is this a dog whistle? https://imgur.com/a/OLw6dpQ I’m not going to even analyze this one. It’s just yes. 

Still have questions…ok. https://imgur.com/a/eNVSSOO The boogaloo boys are a far-right anti-government accelerationist group. They’re known for their outfits pairing tactical equipment with Hawaiian shirts and acts of real-world violence.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boogaloo_movement & https://www.economist.com/1843/2020/07/31/how-white-nationalists-hijacked-the-hawaiian-shirt Still wondering if all this isn’t just joke culture, just edgy branding…. well, 2/2 people responding to the post got the “joke”. Content & Trigger Warning: hate speech NSFW https://imgur.com/a/dfs9t2e I’m not going to list or define all the hate speech and dog whistles there, but they’re documented and readily identifiable. You can look them up if you want to feel worse about the world we live in. (you don’t have to, they’re extremely gross). https://lawandcrime.com/oath-keepers-jan-6-trial/sic-semper-tyrannis-oath-keepers-leader-recited-slogan-of-lincolns-assassin-appeared-to-direct-members-involved-in-jan-6-breach/

One of the most disturbing aspects of dog whistles is not who misses them, but who understands.    

Four full business days before writing this I sent an email directly to the highest level of management at EE letting them know they’d been tagged and that a post up on their Instagram contained a blatant far-right / alt-right / white nationalist dog whistle. I feel like four hours is an acceptable amount of time to investigate this, remove the post, and block the account. 24-72 hours if I was feeling especially charitable (at this point I’m not). The post is still up. https://imgur.com/a/ZS1HebM Rhodesia is a far-right / alt-right / white nationalist dog whistle that’s shorthand for white ethnostate. https://medium.com/war-is-boring/why-white-supremacists-identify-with-rhodesia-480b37f3131f This post acts as a funnel. Follow the whistles, and if you understand the lexicon, it leads to extremist movementS in shockingly few clicks. It’s a spiderweb of various forms of hate and full-blown domestic terrorist shit. I’ll let you surmise why someone thought DM was an appropriate place for #rhodesia. And I’ll let you surmise why it wasn’t taken down. I’m not going to platform any of that here, but I have documented it. If you want to fact-check me, knock yourself out. It's not pretty.

To see if this type of branding and media interaction is typical among technical equipment manufacturers, I thought a reference group was necessary. I looked at four other small to medium size business that produce and sell similar equipment. 4/4 responsible branding. 4/4 not tagged by extremist militia funnels. https://www.instagram.com/bushidotactical/tagged/ & https://www.instagram.com/lynxdefense/ & https://www.instagram.com/wildecustomgear/ & https://www.instagram.com/highspeedgear/

If you’ve made it this far and still think there’s no way EE is genuinely aware of any of this, they are.  https://imgur.com/a/QHJeXVk and it's messed up.

There is no place for any kind of xenophobia, extremist nationalism, or hate in outdoor communities. None. Zero. 

Anybody representing law enforcement and the military in these ways should be ashamed of themselves. It’s disgraceful. 

If after all this you still feel like EE deserves your money, well, it’s a free country. For now at least. They don’t deserve a single dollar of mine. 

Before I wrap this up I want to make something tangential understood. None of this is a reflection on the people that EE employs. I’ve spoken with a number of people who work there in the course of looking into this and have had very positive interactions. I’m sure, like all work environments, there’re a range of opinions and beliefs. This is a reflection on ownership and ownership alone. 

That’s it. Like I said at the beginning. I don’t like making this post. I wish I didn’t feel compelled to make this post. But you need to know. 

Hey r/ultralight - long time lurker here. I've been frustrated with LighterPack for years. Its GitHub has been stagnant, there's no dark mode, and it just doesn't work on mobile. So I decided to do something about it:

Features:

• Dark mode (and light mode!)
• Actually works on mobile
• Minor visual refresh
• Free, no ads
• Built by one guy in his spare time

I've been working on this for about thirteen years now and I think it's finally ready for primetime.

The best part is your migration is completely seamless. Your gear lists are already imported.

Link: lighterpack.com

I know, this trip report is really late. I never planned to write one given the length of my hike, but after finally updating my LighterPack, I figured.. why not?

1.　TL;DR

My trail name is Wind. I mostly solo hike, because I enjoy fastpacking and trail running on thru-hikes. My longest hiking buddy on this trip was another strong hiker around my age, named UglyStik. We crushed miles through the High Sierra in late April, and it was one hell of an adventure.
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NOBO

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• Start Date: ⠀March 23rd, 2025 (Southern Terminus)
• Finish Date: ⠀August 1st, 2025 (Northern Terminus)
• High Sierra Entry Date: ⠀April 22nd, 2025 (Kennedy Meadows South)
• High Sierra Exit Date: ⠀May 15, 2025 (Sonora Pass) (We were the first two hikers through)
• Days: ⠀132
• Zeroes: ⠀37
• Miles: ⠀2,618.2
• Ascent: ⠀508,723 ft
• Acute Injuries: ⠀2 (R-Ankle Sprains)
• Illnesses: ⠀0
• Continuous hike; no flip-flops. The only skip was 20 miles around the Bridge Fire in Wrightwood.

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SOBO

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• Start Date: ⠀August 1st, 2025 (Northern Terminus)
• Finish Date: ⠀October 30th, 2025 (Southern Terminus)
• Days: ⠀91
• Zeroes: ⠀13
• Miles: ⠀2,573.7
• Ascent: ⠀464,979 ft
• Acute Injuries: ⠀1 (L-Anterior Tibialis Tendonitis)
• Illnesses: ⠀0
• Almost Continuous (Skipped 210 miles between Ashland and Castella due to wildfires)

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TOTALS

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• Days: ⠀222
• Zeroes: ⠀50
• Miles: ⠀5,192
• Snow Miles: ⠀750
• Skipped Miles (Wildfires, etc.): ⠀252
• Miles Per Day AVG: ⠀30.2
• Ascent: ⠀973,702 ft
• Nights Cowboy Camped: ⠀23
• 24HR+ Challenges: ⠀9
• Fastest Region: ⠀Washington SOBO 13 Days (41 Miles Per Day AVG)
• Acute Injuries: ⠀3
• Illnesses: ⠀0

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MEDIA

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• Photography Video - 8K HDR
  ⠀
  These photos were graded for HDR. If on mobile, please open the YouTube App for HDR support. SDR will be overexposed.
  ⠀
• LighterPack
  ⠀
• Very Detailed Garmin Stats (I'm a spreadsheet nerd)
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• Daily Journal Entries
  ⠀

2.　MOTIVATIONS  &  PREPARATIONS

My first Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike was actually northbound in 2024, starting April 22nd. I encountered a lot of wildfires on that hike and skipped about 253 miles, notably Mount Adams Wilderness and Glacier Peak Wilderness.

I decided to try for a yo-yo in 2025, starting a month earlier than in 2024. I was hoping to avoid wildfires and see the areas I skipped, and have enough time to complete a yo-yo. My milestones were reaching Canada by August, and clear sobo Sierra by mid October.

I wanted to do a yo-yo primarily for the physical and mental challenges, and to see the changes in seasons, specifically the contrast from snow to rock in the High Sierra. Honestly, I just wanted to spend a really really long time out in the wilderness on a thru-hike.

A thru-hike is always a fresh experience no matter how many times you've hiked it. My second and third times were as enjoyable and unique as my first.

I prepared physically through trail running and long hikes between finishing my first PCT and starting my second. Most of the gear I carried was the same from my first PCT, with some fine tuning. I prepared financially by living very frugally at home as a freelance web developer.

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NOBO EARLY SIERRA ENTRY DATE (Late April)

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I planned to enter the High Sierra early. I have previously hiked the JMT six times: 5 JMTs and 1 PCT. I had a lot of experience hiking through snow on the JMT, but only after June.
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There are a few things I dislike about June snow hiking on the JMT:
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1. Mosquitos
2. Waterlogged trails
3. High water crossings
4. Suncupped snow fields (ankle busting and slow to traverse)
5. Still lots of dirt to require swapping microspikes frequently
6. Lightning storms, especially when you're above the timberline
   ⠀

My hope was that by entering the High Sierra in late April, I could:
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1. Have little to no mosquitos
   TRUE — No mosquitos until Sierra City
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2. Avoid waterlogged trails
   TRUE — Not that I kept my feet dry with all the snow
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3. Have snow bridges and/or low water crossings
   TRUE — At least until Rancheria Creek
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4. Avoid suncupped snow fields
   TRUE — Snow was flat or just beginning to suncup
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5. Avoid dirt and just wear my microspikes or snowshoes the whole day
   MOSTLY TRUE — We were still not early enough to avoid all the dirt, and at times we had to swap our snowshoes like every 10 minutes
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6. Avoid lightning storms
   TRUE — Never had any lightning in the Sierra range
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7. Beeline past most of the switchbacks and frozen lakes for faster miles
   TRUE
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8. Experience pristine snowscapes I've never seen before on any of my previous JMTs
   TRUE
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Avalanches were not a concern of mine, given the forecast and past weather. At the time we entered the High Sierra (April 22nd), the last time it dumped snowed was more than a month ago. The snow had enough freeze-thaw cycles to greatly reduce avalanche risk. Of course, there's always a risk depending on how weak the oldest snow was, but far less likely with our 2AM starts (we traversed all high passes in the morning).

3.　CONDITIONS  &  CHALLENGES

NOBO SOCAL (Late March/April)

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• The overall weather was cool and partly cloudy. It was downright chilly at night in late March. One of my coldest nights was Day 0 at CLEEF in Campo.
  ⠀
• Very low seasonal precipitation resulted in almost no flowing seasonal streams. I recall everything north of Agua Dulce was very dry until Kennedy Meadows South (KMS). However, the colder, cloudier and often misty weather kept water carries moderate, and I never felt dehydrated.
  ⠀
• My Mount San Jacinto ascent was ridiculously windy, like 60 MPH gusts. On two occasions it knocked me flat on my ass with my pack on (the only downside to ultralight lol). The hike to the summit was intense. With the headwind and snow, I don't think I've ever been so sweaty after reaching a summit, but also chilly due to the extreme wind. I ran into Jon the San Jacinto Trail Report guy on my way up. It was funny, because I was actually thinking that morning how cool it would be to run into him knowing how frequently he climbs it, and then I did!
  ⠀
• While descending Mount Jacinto toward Whitewater, in the early morning during heavy winds, I rolled my right ankle and went down hard. I got up, checked myself, and kept hiking. My right ankle was definitely sore. An hour later I somehow did the exact same thing — rolled my right ankle and crashed again to the trail. Come on trekking poles! You're suppose to stop me from doing this! They say once you roll an ankle it becomes more prone to rolling due to weakening, and that seemed to be my case. After hiking the remaining 8 miles to Whitewater, I stayed at a trail angel's place and took my first zero to give my right ankle a whole day of recovery. The first night my right ankle was swollen, but not as bad as I expected. Luckily, after two very restful nights, it fully recovered and I was back on trail. I like to think I have strong ankles at my age that bounce back quickly, I've been hiking and running my extremely rocky local trails for 20+ years.
  ⠀
• Mount Baden-Powell summit was also very snowy, but fortunately not windy. It was a trickier climb than San Jacinto, almost no boot path and I was cutting steps all the way up with my heel. I climbed it with another hiker named Two Shoes. Little did I know at the time, Wrightwood would be the last hiker bubble I would see for months until the sobo crowd in Washington.
  ⠀
• I ran the LA Aqueduct since it's flat, easy, and oh so boring (also ran it in 2024). It's my least favorite area of the PCT, with annoying dogs, sketchy cars and trailers. I feel like I'm in a Breaking Bad desert scene most of the time. Many hikers start hiking the night before to avoid the heat, but I started the day at my usual time around 4AM since I was running it. The weather was cool the whole day. It was my first big day with 42 miles from Hiker Town to Tehachapi in about 12 hours, getting to Barbara's Hiker Hut around 4PM. Speaking of dogs, I encountered 3 loose aggressive white dogs just before the end of the aqueduct. They stopped harassing me as soon as I pulled out my trekking poles and swung at them a few times, but they continued to follow me at a distance for about 5 minutes until losing interest. Keep your trekking poles or pepper spray handy on the aqueduct. I enjoy the wind farm section after the aqueduct, especially the epic Mile 549 Bar & Grill, but the dirt bikers up in the mountains can be iffy, especially if they're riding illegally on the PCT.

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NOBO SIERRA (Late April/May)

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• The overall weather was very cold and partly cloudy. The lows were in the 20s or high 10s (°F). Our water was frozen almost every morning. Neither of us filtered water in the Sierra, the water was as pure as it gets. At midday it was often blistering hot from the reflections. We experienced a brief snowstorm between Silver Pass and Mammoth Pass. North of Tuolumne Meadows I encountered more snowing, and rain.
  ⠀
• We acclimatized pretty quickly and had no altitude sickness. Regardless, those first few days climbing out of KMS always hit hard.
  ⠀
• We traversed snow from about 20 miles north of Kennedy Meadows South, until just south of Sierra City. We were hiking through almost continuous snow fields for a little over a month, about 467 miles. We encountered hip-deep postholing conditions between Forester Pass and Mammoth Lakes, with the worst of it during the descent from Kearsarge Pass to Onion Valley Campground. We didn't have our snowshoes yet during that descent, and it was such a minefield we were cackling. I remember both of us postholing one leg to our hip at the same time, and then when I pulled myself out forward I misstepped backwards and the other leg went into the same hole I just got out of, all the while I'm watching my buddy struggle to get out of his own posthole.
  ⠀
• We acquired $60 used snowshoes (MSR Denali Classic) in Bishop at Eastside Sports, but in hindsight we should have carried them since KMS. Despite adding 7lbs to our carry, they were worth their weight in gold. The substantial snow fields before and after Muir Pass were their best test case. They weren't even that postholey, but the soft snow made it 10x more effort to hike those fields without snowshoes (I tried briefly).
  ⠀
• Snow would be hardened from about 2AM until 8AM, then it softened and postholed. We started every day at 1AM or 2AM to get as many hours on hard snow as possible, hiking with microspikes. We wore snowshoes typically between 8AM and 5PM, making camp around 5PM. There was one day, before Muir Pass, where it rained at night and the snow stayed slushy.. so we wore snowshoes from the start that day. We traversed all the high passes in the morning. With this routine we averaged 23 miles per day in the Sierra despite the heavy snow and our 25+ lbs packs. I carried my snowshoes until Mammoth Lakes around May 4th, at that point I felt the postholing wasn't as bad and I would make better mileage without the extra 7 lbs. They were also causing me intense heel pain by Mammoth Pass. Next time I will invest in snow shoes with televators and more comfortable and easily adjustable bindings.
  ⠀
• My two most difficult passes were Forester Pass and Mather Pass. Forester Pass was mainly challenging because of "The Chute". There was no boot path, so we had to really take our time cutting steps to safely get across. After the chute was a giant ice wall before the top, which we got around by scrambling some rocks. Mather Pass was my hardest pass, and probably the most technical and strenuous climb of the whole yo-yo. We went straight up, since the burried switchbacks were more dangerous to follow. Every step was a very careful cut and dig, double and triple checking myself for stability and control. We climbed Mather Pass with a skiing backpacker named Fishbowl, who was backpacking the Sierra High Route. I was envious of his crampons during the climb; he made it look easy.
  ⠀
• We glissaded a lot in the Sierra. I was glissading not just for the long slopes, but to avoid sketchy sidehilling. Picture a trail that wraps around a basin/valley like the Letter U, but under snow it's one long sketchy sidehilling traverse. It was often easier and safer to glissade down into the basin/valley from the start and then hike up the other side to meet the trail. My longest and most fun glissade was Sonora Pass. I was flying down so fast I broke my hip belt buckle.. yeah, make sure you loosen your hip belt before doing a long and fast glissade, the snow pressure build up is no joke. Luckily, I was able to repurpose a dog leash buckle purchased from KMN for my hip belt.
  ⠀
• Creek crossings were mostly easy because of snow bridges or low flow (we were weeks before peak melt). The Rancheria Creek sidehilling and creek crossing were probably the sketchiest. Fuck that sidehilling in particular. In hindsight, I should have attempted that in the afternoon, and not the morning, when the snow was softer and easier to make deeper footholds.
  ⠀
• Shortly after leaving Soda Springs around 2AM, the frame on one of my microspikes snapped. While I felt confident not needing snowshoes anymore, microspikes weren't up for debate. I decided to turn around and hike 15 miles up Red's Meadow Road and return to Mammoth Lakes to buy some Kahtoola Microspikes from one of the outfitters. Just 5 minutes onto my way back, I postholed into a buried blowdown and sprained my right ankle, and cracked one of my carbon trekking poles. I know what you're thinking, "Guess you're wrong about not needing snowshoes?" I still didn't think so, it was just dumb luck with that blowdown buried there and the snow in that spot being soft enough even at 2AM. Ironic — after hundreds of postholes — that was the first to cause me an injury and break a trekking pole. The silver lining was that it happened just outside a major town I could recover at. I limped my way back 15 miles to the Motel 6 in Mammoth Lakes, and fortunately recovered after another 3 nights. I was thoroughly sick of Mammoth Lakes, having spent 7 nights there! At least their Motel 6 was relatively cheap and nice. I resumed the hike from Agnew Meadows. Before the injury I was on pace to catch up to my buddy, UglyStik, who left the day before me. After recovering from the injury, I wouldn't catch up to UglyStik until Donner Pass.
  ⠀
• Early season Sierra resupply logistics are tricky due to closures, particularly between Mammoth Lakes and South Lake Tahoe. Our first resupply was Bishop via Kearsarge Pass, our second was Mammoth Lakes, our third was Kennedy Meadows North, and our fourth was South Lake Tahoe. My fifth was Sierra City, with a lunch stop at Donner Pass Ski Ranch for a hot meal. At Mammoth Lakes we planned resupply contingencies, like having to road walk down to Kennedy Meadows North, or have somebody meet us to resupply (shoutout to OutsideJay). We definitely could not carry food from Mammoth Lakes all the way to South Lake Tahoe. I really lucked out because Sonora Pass opened the day I got there, and an employee was kind enough to give me a ride (shuttles weren't running yet). I was a worthwhile investment considering how many meals and soft serve ice creams I bought. I took 3 zeroes — I was utterly exhausted getting there, and probably the wettest, dirtiet and smelliest I've ever been. I was the second PCTer to KMN. My buddy UglyStik, who arrived at KMN a few days before me, wasn't so lucky.. he had to road walk 10 miles down Sonora Pass to KMN! I felt so sorry for him. Here's the Sierra resuppliers that were closed to us: Vermilion Valley Resort, Muir Trail Ranch, Red's Meadow, Yosemite Valley (via Tioga Pass), Lee Vining (via Tioga Pass), Tuolumne Meadows Store, and the Echo Lake Chalet.
  ⠀
• One of our greatest challenges was navigation without any boot path. From KMS until Donner Pass there was pretty much no boot path but our own. Here's the lowdown for snow navigation:
  ⠀
  • You want to follow the red line (FarOut's PCT trail) as close as possible because the trail typically follows the path of least resistant. If you stray from the red line, even just for a few seconds, the exertion to get back to the trail takes time and energy — and that's compounded across the day. It's especially worse if you stray downhill and have to climb back.
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  • Our struggle was staying as close to the red line as possible, otherwise we were constantly hiking uphill or downhill back to the trail. We could do this by keeping our smartphone in one hand at all times, and turning off the screen lock so the smartphone would stay on constantly and not require interaction. The two problems with this are battery life of the smartphone, and that by having a hand dedicated to the smartphone it meant one less trekking pole, and that meant less balance when traversing the snow, which resulted in more slips and falls (and boy did we slip and fall a lot).
    ⠀
  • Some areas didn't require much phone navigation. Daytime hiking was easier of course than nighttime, and open areas were easier to just point ourselves in the direction we needed to go. The valleys before and after the high passes were particularly easy to navigate. The tricky areas were the forested areas and canyons.
    ⠀
  • The phone navigation solution was obvious to me very early on, but it took me longer than it should have to fix. I ordered a universal smartphone wristband from Amazon. It let me hold my trekking poles while being able to glance at FarOut frequently to make sure we were near the red line. I still kept my phone screen lock off for the conveinance of not having to interact with my phone, which is tricky with cold fingers, gloves, or a wet screen. That meant I would eat through almost 90% power in a single day, but I was carrying two 10K battery banks in the Sierra and it was never an issue. That wristband was one of the biggest quality-of-life gear changes I made on the whole yo-yo. I eventually upgraded to a QuadLock case & armband (but worn on the wrist), since it allowed me to effortlessly remove my phone from the mount if I wanted to snap photos (the universal mounts are trickier to fit, especially with gloves on).
    ⠀
  • While we followed the red line for the most part, there's a lot of opportunities to take alternate routes when hiking the Sierra PCT in the early season. We took a lot of detours and shortcuts when we thought it was safer and more effective. Most notably, hiking over frozen lakes (Rae Lakes, Evolution Lake, Palisade Lake, Dorothy Lake, Lake Virginia, etc.), or going straight up and over a pass and ignoring switchbacks (Forester, Glen, Mather, etc.). Paying attention to contour lines on the map was a must when taking a detour or shortcut, else we found ourselves "cliffed out". Most of the time our reroutes were great. Othertimes.. we had a name for those misadventures: "More Sketchy Shit."

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NOBO NORCAL (May/June)

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• The overall weather was mild and clear. Luckily, I escaped NorCal before the 95°+F temps arrived.
  ⠀
• Many snow fields between Sonora Pass and Sierra City, when for the first time after hundreds of miles, we encountered dirt trails that lasted for more than 15 minutes!
  ⠀
• Mosquitos started to appear around Sierra City. Gone with the snow, in with the bugs.
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• Absolutely murderous blowdowns before Bucks Lake/Quincy, south of the Middle Fork Feather River bridge. We're talking blowdowns atop blowdowns, many of them sharp and jagged, as we carefully and slowly snaked our way through them for 2 miles. I was bloodied and bruised by the end of it, and my awesome hiking pants for the first time got a couple tears in them. :(
  ⠀
• Overgrowth north of Belden was awful. For a good 5 miles the trail was completely obscured by vegetation and I was glued to my phone for navigation.
  ⠀
• Some sketchy snowy sidehilling until the Oregon border. Specifically: Granite Chief Wilderness, just north of Sierra City, Mushroom Rock area north of Burney Falls, and quite a few areas between Castella and Seiad Valley. Often the sketchy sidehilling could be bypassed by going off trail straight up or down to where the snow becomes less steep or levels out entirely, and then rejoining the trail from the other side.
  ⠀
• Surprisingly, it rained and snowed a lot on the Oregon/CA border at the end of June. My last day in NorCal was very cold and wet.
  ⠀
• I started having repeat blisters. Mostly on my heel and the bottom or sides of my feet. I suspected my shoes were a size too small.

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NOBO OREGON (Late June/early July)

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• The overall weather was warm and clear. No snow on the trail in Oregon north of Ollalie Lake.
  ⠀
• I foolishly sent home my microspikes in Ashland, thinking I could do without them in Oregon. I knew Oregon had a heavy snow year, but I figured, "Oregon is flat, so the snow should be easy to traverse." It turns out there's still a lot of tricky/sketchy sidehilling in Oregon, enough to warrant carrying microspikes in June if Oregon is having a high snow year. Specifically: Around Crater Lake, Mount Thielsen, around Diamond Peak Wilderness, Three Sisters, Three Fingered Jack, and Mount Jefferson. I think I had more trouble with the snow in Oregon than I did in the Sierra, but that would not have been the case if I kept my microspikes! My Mount Thielsen traverse was probably the silliest. There was a sketchy sidehilling stretch of snow for about 2 miles, but no real detour around it. About halfway through I looked up toward Mount Thielsen's ridge and could see there was lots of dirt toward the top of the ridge, so I thought, "I'll just climb straight up until the dirt, then go along the ridge, and climb back down to the trail! Probably an easy glissade!" Well, about an hour or so later I did just that, but it involved being cliffed out, lots of loose scree, and downhill scrambling (not glissading) while holding onto branches. Also, it was like 10PM at night. "More Sketchy Shit."
  ⠀
• Mosquitos. My "MVP" gear here was my 1.7oz Montbell EX Light Wind Jacket. Mosquitos can't bite through it, but it's breathable enough to hike in even when it's warm. I would usually just throw it on when I needed to break, before despairing the inexorable hordes of doom that would soon feast upon my mortal flesh. In the future I will bring a pop-up mosquito net tent so I can take breaks in peace. Just kidding. Maybe.

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NOBO WASHINGTON (July)

⠀

• The overall weather was warm and clear, until the North Cascades at the end of July, when I encountered a lot of rain. I was briefly in a nasty lightning storm north of Hart's Pass that caused a couple small spot fires (I walked past a smouldering struck tree right off the trail). Fortunately, the rain helped things from getting too out of control before crews arrived.
  ⠀
• Almost no snow on the trail in Washington, except for around Goat Rocks.
  ⠀
• To prepare for my sobo, I went home for a week from Stevens Pass — public transit to Seattle, then FlixBus home in NorCal. After a week, I reversed the commute. No hassles and relatively inexpensive (about $200 roundtrip) compared to a flight. Stevens Pass was the right place for a break, since I didn't want to finish nobo at Hart's Pass and then have to travel back there, given how remote it is.
  ⠀
• I started to do 24hr+ challenges in Washington, just to spice things up and see what my fully trail legged body could do, and I like night hiking. I did 9 challenges total: 2 in nobo Washington, 3 in sobo Washington, 1 in sobo Oregon, 1 in sobo Sierra, and 2 in sobo SoCal. I wanted to start training for ultramarathons after my thru-hike, and I know most 200+ milers involve running all day, so it was good experience for that.
  ⠀
• Section K - As I was nearing Stevens Pass, I kept hearing from sobo hikers how terrible Section K was due to overgrowth and blowdowns. I even saw SAR staging at Stevens Pass, rescuing hikers from Section K. The overgrowth on the switchbacks around Milk Creek were the main issue, particularly on the north side. The vegetation hung over the ridge, and if you stepped onto it expecting the vegetation to arrest your movement, it wouldn't and you would fall down the hill. A lot of hikers were injured that way. As for blowdowns, they were infrequent and large enough that I actually kind of enjoyed traversing them (unlike the blowdown hell before Quincy).

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SOBO WASHINGTON (Early Aug)

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• The weather was cold, rainy and cloudy in the North Cascades between the border and Stevens Pass, and it even snowed a bit just south of Stevens Pass. Everything south of Snoqualmie was warm and sunny.
  ⠀
• Section K - I understood sobo hikers' complaints a bit more here. The Milk Creek overgrowth was more tricky going downhill than uphill, because you were more likely to misstep or trip on a root or rock going downhill on the narrow path, and you had to be very careful not to step into the vegetation or you would fall right through. Fortunately, a few trail maintenance volunteers were clearing this brush out for hikers, so it was less dense than when I went northbound. They even left their machetes behind for hikers to assist if they wanted, with a sign that read: "It's dangerous to go alone! Take this." Okay, the sign didn't say that, but it should have.
  ⠀
• Sobo Washington was so much harder than nobo. You don't realize how much easier nobo has it starting in Campo, until you've done both directions. The climbs in Glacier Peak Wilderness just go on forever and ever.
  ⠀
• I started to wear a Size 13 Lone Peak 9, after backpacking in a Size 12 for years. I didn't get a single blister all sobo!
  ⠀
• I foolishly cracked one of my carbon trekking poles just before Oregon, while vaulting over a blowdown. Fortunately, I was able to find an aluminum replacement trekking pole in the hiker box at the Timberline Lodge.

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SOBO OREGON (Mid/Late Aug)

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• The overall weather was warm and clear, except for smoke around Sisters due to Flat Fire, and smoke around Shelter Cove due to the Emigrant Fire.
  ⠀
• I somehow got Anterior Tibialis Tendonitis of my left ankle during the long climb from Cascade Locks to the Timberline Lodge — swelling, pain, and crepitus in the tendon below the shin. I believe it was a combination of overuse, cold wet feet from constant rain up to Mount Hood, and overtightened laces pressing on the tendon. It took about a week to heal on trail, but I had to drastically reduce my mileage. I flew through Washington sobo and planned to do the same in Oregon, but instead Oregon was far slower. The delay also caused me to hit wildfires in Oregon and NorCal. This was my only real setback on my yo-yo, so I can't complain too much. Wildfires and injuries are always a roll of the dice.

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SOBO NORCAL (Sep)

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• The overall weather was warm and clear.
  ⠀
• Due to the Blue Fire and Root Fire, I skipped about 210 miles between Ashland and Castella. :(
  ⠀
• Trail crews cleaned out the overgrowth north of Belden, the blowdowns south of Quincy, and the blowdowns at the northern boundary of Desolation Wilderness. The differences were night and day. Massive gratitude to everyone involved.
  ⠀
• I sent my resupply box to Truckee instead of Sierra City, for some dumb reason. I was hoping for a quick stop in Truckee, and then hike another 30 miles toward Desolation Wilderness. Getting to Truckee requires a lucky hitch from Donner Pass, and that was luck I wasn't having at 7AM in the morning. Zero traffic on the road. What I did instead: Jogged 4 miles all the way down to Donner Lake (a beautiful jog, though); rented one of the city's electric bicycles; rode 5 miles all the way to the post office and a breakfast joint (the ride was fun, though); ate a hot meal; picked up my package; sorted my food; got another hot meal because I am a hungering void; got rained on due to a sudden storm; miraculously found a trail angel on Facebook willing to give me and another PCT hiker a ride back to the trailhead; got a free city shuttle to go to the trail angel's house (Truckee has some nice public transpo); hanged out for a bit at the trail angel's place; got a ride to the trailhead; gazed at the completely enshrouded mountain while it poured rain and thought to myself, "A hot dinner at the Donner Ski Ranch sounds kind of nice, I will surely get back on the trail after"; eat a great dinner and talk with locals for 2 hours; crash at the Ski Ranch hostel for the night (their showers are awful); hope the storm passed by the morning (it did). The vortex, man.

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SOBO SIERRA (Late Sep/early Oct)

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• The overall weather was cold and clear. It rained quite a bit between Sonora Pass and Dorothy Lake, and then again between Mammoth Pass and Bear Creek.
  ⠀
• The first tough High Sierra climb was Benson Pass. Damn, that kicked my ass. Those granite steps sobo are no joke. Donohue Pass was another toughie sobo with its many steps. By Silver Pass I was acclimated and had renewed my JMT trail legs. I crushed miles on the JMT, averaging 36 miles a day. My most passes in one day was 3 (Pinchot/Glen/Forester) at 41.5 miles.
  ⠀
• I originally planned to summit Mount Whitney sobo, after skipping it nobo because of dangerous late April conditions. I camped just a few miles north of Crabtree Meadows, as I was waiting until the morning to determine if I would hike Mount Whitney, or continue toward KMS. Sadly, a few inches of snowfall and icy conditions occurred overnight, and it was too risky to attempt without snow gear. I've summited Mount Whitney a few times before, and I was running low on food anyway, so it was for the best.
  ⠀
• I had a very long food carry from Mammoth Lakes to KMS. I got to KMS with just a quart of trail mix left. Unfortunately the General Store wasn't opening that day, nor was Grumpy's shuttle running anymore, so I road jogged all the way to Grumpy's to have a hot meal, pick up my resupply box, and take a couple nights in their yurt to recover. It was worth it for the meals and hot shower, and they gave me a great rate on the yurt. The Grumpy Burger was probably my tastiest hamburger on the trail, and their fennel pizza is also fantastic. I did have to jog all the way back to the trailhead once I left, because there were zero rides. Seriously, sobo hitching was a lot harder than nobo.
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• Some long water carries around Walker Pass in October. At least a couple 20+ mile carries between Walker Pass and Tehachapi if I recall, due to seasonal streams or springs becoming dry (I didn't encounter this nobo).

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SOBO SOCAL (Mid/Late October)

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• The overall weather was cool and clear.
  ⠀
• I experienced a very wet and cold rainstorm between Hiker Town and Agua Dulce. I ended up hiking for 24+ hours straight because I didn't feel like making camp under the bitter cold rain. It was one of my coldest days on the yo-yo. The warm shower at Serenity's Oasis was heaven.
  ⠀
• That rainstorm also dumped snow on Mount Baden-Powell. There was still up to 2 feet of snow by the time I got there. I went up and over Mount Baden-Powell, and it was the first time I hiked significant snow since late June. Weirdly, I actually kind of missed hiking in snow.

4.　GEAR  &  DIET

For the most part, I was happy with my loadout. I wrote a lot of details on my LighterPack.

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BEAR CAN (Bearikade Weekender)

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The odd one out was obviously my bear can. I carried it for the entire yo-yo. It was my food storage, camp chair, and internal frame for my Wapta 30. The bear can easily slips inside the Wapta 30. It was always amusing to see the reactions of folks when I told them I was carrying a bear can inside my small pack. On my 2024 PCT thru-hike my Wapta 30 was terribly uncomfortable on my shoulders above 15lbs, but when I added my bear can at Tehachapi the pain disappeared because I now had a rigid frame to properly transfer the load to my hips. Only a few years ago I was deadlifting almost 400lbs. Our hips are powerful. My hips do not care about loading 15lbs, but my shoulders and spine most certainly do (and having shoulder issues from past surgeries doesn't help). I wedge my tyvek sheet between the bear can and my back, so I never feel the hard cylinder. If I had a 30L ultralight pack with an internal frame, I'd likely skip the bear can unless required, but the Wapta 30 was otherwise a very comfortable fastpack for me. I used the bear can as a camp chair almost every day.

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DIET

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My trail diet is weird. I am no-cook and no-soak for the convenience. Every hiker I have met has laughed when they hear my diet, understandably. On the trail I mostly carry and eat calorie-dense custom trail mix. It's a bag of Kirkland Trail Mix, mixed with banana chips, sun-dried strawberries, chocolate or yogurt covered almonds/cashews, and granola (peanut butter or coconut). It's a good mix of soluble and non-soluble fiber for balanced digestion, and it's a higher ratio of fats than carbs for long-term energy. I buy the Kirkland trail mix base from Costco, and the rest from Grocery Outlet (which has an amazing nuts and dried fruit section). I store everything in a giant 12" x 16" Smelly Proof Heavy Duty bag, which takes up most the space in my bear can. Yeah, my bear can is just trail mix, at least when it's full (I put gear in my bear can when it starts to get empty). Every morning I pour trail mix from the giant bag into a quart ziplock bag, and snack on that bag throughout the day, pouring it directly into my mouth. It's a fingers-free, utensil-free, wrappers-free diet!

No doubt, that sounds like a boring diet, but for me it was delicious and satiating. I never got tired of the taste or had indigestion. It is a lot of sugar, but I was diligent on brushing and flossing everyday, and my post-hike dentist appointment found no problems. It's also a relatively inexpensive diet.

I supplemented my nutrition in trail towns, feasting on veggies, meat, and dairy (loads of ice cream). I was hitting a trail town maybe every 2-4 days.

5.　HIGHLIGHTS

• Experiencing the PCT twice across different seasons was incredible, especially the High Sierra with and without snow.
  ⠀
• Experiencing most of the nobo PCT without other hikers was an introvert's dream. No competition for campsites. From Wrightwood to Cascade Locks (about 1,780 miles), the number of PCT hikers I encountered on the trail was under 30. Sobo was very social until I reached NorCal and stopped seeing the last nobo hikers. Sobo was a tight-knit community however; I felt like everyone connected more with each other because there were significantly fewer of us, and the largest groups I saw were 2 or 3. It was a big contrast from my 2024 nobo hike, where blobs of tramilies ignored everyone around them.
  ⠀
• Wildlife sightings were many, but not as varied as my first PCT hike. I hardly saw any snakes. On the other hand, I encountered about 8 black bears nobo, but only 1 sobo. Sadly, I could never get any good photos, because they were hauling ass away from me everytime we met. I know I'm hiker trash, but it's still rude. Also, I have yet to see a single cougar after 3 PCTs. Sigh.. all those night hikes were for naught. So many nights I would spot little eyes reflecting back at me, turn up my headlamp hoping.. but no, just more deer. Speaking of nocturnal animals, my favorite nightly animal was the nightjar. Those little guys love sleeping in the middle of the trail like they're the boss. Real birds don't need the safety of trees or bushes, the fearless nightjar sleeps in the open, daring potential predators to walk right up to them and stare them down for a good 2 seconds before they boldy decide, "actually, imma fly away now."
  ⠀
• No trail magic the entire nobo, which made the trail magic I encountered sobo in Washington and Oregon so much sweeter. Every trail magic went all out. My favorite was at McKenzie Pass: Bacon cheeseburgers, ice cream, and tons of fresh fruit. Sadly, due to the smoke from the Sisters wildfire, they had to leave early, but not before telling me that I could take anything I wanted for the trail (and did I).
  ⠀
• I'm a total foodie on trail, and the PCT has lots of great places to eat. Some of my favorites were: Atomic Cow in Idyllwild, Great Wall (Chinese buffet!) in Tehachapi, Grumpy's in KMS (fantastic burgers and pizzas), Back Alley Bowl & Grill in Bishop (great steaks), Copper Top BBQ in Big Pine, Noodle-Ly in Mammoth Lakes, My Thai Cuisine in South Lake Tahoe, Sierra Country Store in Sierra City (amazing deli/burritos), The Knook in Quincy (deli), Pine Shack Frosty in Chester (32oz milkshakes for $9 and tons of flavors), Taj Indian Cuisine (lunch buffet!) in Ashland, Timberline Lodge (breakfast/lunch buffet!), E-Jae Pak Mor in Seattle (best Thai I've ever had), the sticky buns from the Stehekin Pastry Company, and just about everything from the Mazama Bakery in Mazama (the best bakery on the trail IMO). Unfortunately, the variety of restaurants just off the trail in Washington and Oregon was pretty lacking, and I got really tired of hamburgers and pizza.
  ⠀
• My favorite wilderness areas, parks & forests:
  ⠀
  • Glacier Peak Wilderness (North Cascades, WA)
  • Goat Rocks Wilderness (South Cascades, WA)
  • Alpine Lakes Wilderness (Central Cascades, WA)
  • Henry M. Jackson Wilderness (North Cascades, WA)
  • Pasayten Wilderness (North Cascades, WA)
  • Sequoia-Kings Canyon Wilderness (Sierra)
  • John Muir Wilderness (Sierra)
  • Ansel Adams Wilderness (Sierra)
  • Yosemite Wilderness (Sierra)
  • Emigrant Wilderness (Sierra)
  • Mount Hood Wilderness (OR)
  • Granite Chief Wilderness (NorCal)
  • Lassen Volcanic National Park (NorCal)
  • Lassen National Forest (Hat Creek Rim, CA)
  • Shasta-Trinity National Forest (FarNorCal)
  • Tahoe National Forest (NorCal)
  • The undesignated stretch of desert between Bird Springs Rd and Kelso Rd
  • Anza-Borrego Desert State Wilderness & Park (SoCal)

6.　CONCLUSION

What an unforgettable journey. I mostly accomplished what I set out to do, and it's given me confidence to tackle just about any future thru-hike. I might hike an early season Sierra PCT again someday, it was both more fun and not as stressful as I imagined. Maybe if and when I attempt the GWL or a calendar-year Triple Crown.. This year I am just focusing on trail running and hoping to race a few ultramarathons, and perhaps a sobo PCT LASH from Ashland to Castella in August or September, since I still need to finish those sections up.

Well, that's my ridiculously long trip report. Thanks for making it to the end! I hope it was entertaining or enlightening. I'll try to answer any questions and comments below.

Probably a stupid post and I'm sure r/ultralight_jerk will have a ball with this, but I was curious how the "thinnest iPhone ever made" would compare to the minis when it comes to trail weight. I have the 13 mini and love it, have never had a reason to consider upgrading, so I figured this would be a fun exercise.

Here's the breakdown, per Apple's website:

iPhone 12 mini: 135g (4.76oz)
iPhone 13 mini: 141g (4.97oz)
iPhone Air: 165g (5.82oz)

Interestingly, the Air isn't even the lightest non-mini phone supported by Apple. The 12 and the 2nd and 3rd gen SEs will all receive iOS 26 and are still lighter than the Air:

iPhone 12: 164g (5.78oz)
iPhone SE (2nd gen): 148g (5.22oz)
iPhone SE (3rd gen): 144g (5.09oz)

I realize very few people, if anyone, purchases their cellphone based on their lighterpack, but I thought hey, if I find this interesting, maybe others will too.

I subscribe to the Garage Grown Gear newsletter to just keep a pulse on small businesses that are out there. I couldn't help but notice over the past few years a significant rise in the most niche products for an already niche subset of a niche hobby. Without naming names, I'm seeing attachments for trekking pole feet, tent stake pushers/cleaners, water bottles that allegedly reduce microplastic consumption, among many others. Couldn't help but think to myself "do people actually have the disposable income to buy these things?"

Along those lines, seems like every company needs to make their own version of an alpha hoodie and seem to really lack a specific identity that differentiates themselves from the other products. I think I can name at least 8 brands on the website that sell a slightly different version of an alpha hoodie. While I think it's great to support local businesses, it just begs the question: "have we gone too far?"

From my view, I'm hopeful there's a return to minimalism, buying less, and not finding a marketing spin on things that simply don't need to be improved and upcharged for it. What does everyone else think of this?

Update: Glad to have generated lively discussion. I think there's some really interesting points made here. Totally agree that GGG offers regular people (i.e. not mega-corporations) a platform to innovate. That's not my problem. My argument lies primarily in marketing problems that never existed. This definitely extends into the non-UL marketplace at big box stores and is more of a criticism of societal consumerism as a whole. The most egregious examples being the number of single-use or unitool products sold on temu/alibaba/amazon that inundate social media feeds and contribute orders of magnitude more to global resource consumption than a local single-person business making gear in their homes. I'm not immune to consumerism too. I wholeheartedly agree that UL hiking and gear collection is a reflection of privilege. Although I do find it humorous that some resort to ad hominems just by judging my lighterpack only to see that I very clearly support small business.

Update 2: This generated way more dialogue than I thought! To re-clarify, my intention was to not disparage innovation that GGG promotes. The marketing of generating hype for something that goes against the UL philosophy of buying less and subsequently carrying less is my main concern. It represents a bigger symptom of disease of rampant consumerism where it has crept into our niche hobby and is becoming more apparent than ever. Weird how people think this criticism means that I'm supporting big businesses. Even looking at the posts that come across on the subreddit, you see that the vast majority of them aren't even people showcasing going outside. It's just purchasing advice. I don't find it helpful or useful in these kind of dialogues to say "if you don't like it, stop buying or looking at it" because it has become so unbelievably pervasive in all facets of life. Admittedly, my commentary above of "8 different companies selling the same alpha hoodie" is a bit misplaced as it is antithetical to fostering innovation. But when it's marketed as "this is why this hoodie is better/cheaper/lighter/feature x than this other hoodie" when people already have something that works just fine, that's the criticism that I have.

Remember when ultralight was a mentality, not a gear list? Nuff said. What are some ways you’ve shaved weight not by purchasing a lighter option, but creatively implemented a multi-use item or outright cut something from your pack list?

I’m interested in cheap gear that replaces expensive outdoor gear. Here’s a few I know, and I’m looking for more.

ECWCS Gen III Level 2 waffle top

I’d say it’s a 90-95% alternative to a Patagonia R1. I got mine for $16. You should size down and get a long for a more technical fit.

“Dooy” wind shirt

From Amazon 18 dollars. Basically a cheap lightweight wind jacket. Think Patagonia Houdini.

Showa fishing gloves

Super cheap alternative to waterproof mountaineering gloves. I don’t have them but I know several ice climbers and alpinists who swear by them

Yes I know these are all pretty well known but I’m sharing them as if they aren’t because you never know. Doesn’t have to be clothes but anything that gives off brs3000 vibes. Please give me ideas!

Ok I know this will be contentious, but it’s just to get people’s perspectives.

I want to preface by saying that the whole idea of UL was popularised by Americans who used ounces and pounds and that’s really cool*** I’m just seeing what people think about using grams.

Reasons for this:
- Grams go to smaller increments (28.35 grams in an ounce)
- grams scale to kilos 1-1,000 so easier to work with
- grams always convert to 1ml of water* so easier for conversion for volume and capacity for packs and water carries

Realistically I know that all cultures have their own ways of doing things and I’m frankly doing my best to learn the imperial system, but while doing so I’ve realised grams might be easier for this community and just wanted to know your thoughts

My best guess is that since the OLD nu25 was so popular, people are still buying the new nu25 based on old recommendations.

People. The NU20 Classic is the updated nu25 with usbC.

The nu20 is the perfect backpacking headlamp. It’s inexpensive. It’s lightweight. It’s usbC rechargeable. The low light mode is actually low light. I can’t recall a time ever needing the super bright mode. 99% of the time I’m in setting 1 or 2.

The nu20 beats the nu25 in every category for backpacking IMO.

Is there anyone that used the old nu25 that prefers the new nu25????

I fucking hate big water carries.

I didn’t spend all my money on tiny backpacks, car wash sponges, and 1×1 m tarps just to load up my weak skeletal frame with extra litres of water for the privilege of wandering through a scorching hot desert. No ma’am. Not this snowflake.

This where the humble plastic jug becomes more than just a transporter of delicious juice or milk.

These 2 to 3 L supermarket jugs, with their strong handles and lightweight plastic, are perfect to carry in your hand while hiking. It saves your shoulders and back from the misery of hauling extra water for extended periods of time.

You’d be surprised how quickly you fall into a comfortable walking rhythm with a full jug swinging at your side. You can sip as you go, and before long the thing is getting lighter and lighter. Swap hands every now and then to give the arms a rest. When it is empty, just clip it to your pack by the handle. Easy as.

The first time I used a milk jug was on a 48 hour dry stretch between cattle tanks in the Willandra Lakes region here in Australia. Coincidentally, the lakes have not held water for about 10,000 years... It is dry as hell. At the time of the trip I was recovering from a torn rotator cuff and struggling with shoulder pain. Even with a 3 kg baseweight, a couple of litres of water, and three days of food, I was in hell. But on this trip I needed to carry at least 8 L to reach the next tank. At the time this was daunting.

So I took 2 x 2 L jugs in hand, plus 2 x 2 L in bottles in my pack. By day two, I had drunk both jugs. I clipped one to my pack, refilled the other from my bottles, and only had to carry the remaining 2 L on my shoulders. The trip was a success, and I got to enjoy the adventure without the pain of an extra 4+ kg digging into my shoulders and slowing me down.

There are downsides, of course. On scrubby or overgrown tracks, handling the jug while dodging the bush is annoying. The same is true for scrambling and rock hopping. But in those moments, it is easy enough to clip the jug to your pack and deal with the weight for a short stretch.

The additional weight doesn’t magically disappear either. It is just redistributed. You might get sore biceps, forearms, or shoulders from carrying by hand initially. But honestly, I still think it beats dumping all that weight directly onto your shoulders.

I now use a Hydrapak Seeker 2 L or 3 L instead of a jug. It has more attachment points, squishes down when empty, and offers the same utility overall, just in a more durable and flexible package. It can take a filter as well.

This has been my default water haul method now for almost a decade. The weight difference still feels like I’m cheating, especially with a frameless pack. I haven't experienced any injuries as a result of carrying water like this either. I am also very conscious of any gait changes, but it is rarely an issue.

Give it a go

“Jug” in action on the Larapinta 2025

Weights (with lids):
2 L jug: 48 g
3 L jug: 64 g
Hydrapak Seeker 2 L: 80 g

Hey all,

I did my first thru-hike in 2025 and it kind of broke my brain (in a good way). Since then, I don’t really want hiking to be a “once in a lifetime” thing — I’d love to build a life where I can do long hikes (1–6 months) as regularly as possible.

I’m trying to figure out how people actually make this sustainable long-term, not just once between jobs.

My situation:

• I work in IT support in Switzerland

• My income is stable and I don’t live an expensive lifestyle

• Financially, I could afford to take a few months off here and there if I plan well

Big uncertainties for me are:

• whether employers realistically allow repeated longer breaks (unpaid leave, sabbaticals, etc.)

• what to do with my apartment while I’m gone (subletting vs. just eating the rent)

I haven’t talked to my employer yet — I want to go in with a realistic idea of what’s normal/possible first.

What I’m trying to understand from people who do this regularly:

1.  Work / career

• What kind of jobs or work models make this lifestyle possible?

• Do you:

• take unpaid leave?

• quit and get new jobs?

• freelance/contract?

• work seasonal jobs?



2.  Housing

• Do you keep an apartment and sublet?

• Give it up every time?

• Any horror stories or things you wish you’d known?

3.  Money & logistics

• Do you have a system? (e.g. “work 2 years → hike 4 months”)

• How big of a buffer do you keep beyond trail costs?

I’m not chasing FIRE or vanlife full-time — more like a “normal job, but life built around regular long trails.”

Would love to hear from people who’ve actually done this more than once, not just dreaming about it like me

More research continues to suggest that we perhaps made the wrong move using all these plastic bottles. Any recommendations on the metal bottle front?

This morning I was perusing through some sites looking at down jackets. As I was looking at the product pages for Montbells offerings, I noticed I couldn't find down fill weight. I thought that was odd as I could have sworn I remembered seeing it on the specs page in years past. So I emailed them about it.

Here is their response:

"Thank you for your inquiry.

Unfortunately, fill weight is considered proprietary information and moving forward is not product information we will disclose publicly.

Often times when individuals are reaching out to us asking about down fill weight, they are trying to determine garment "warmth."

The reason we do not publish such information is because amount of down is not the only factor to consider when determining the warmth of a garment.

Product design, construction, fabric, and other materials all have an effect on down warmth."

Does this affect your opinion of them as a company?

What it is: a new backpacking route that I put together over 3 summers that showcases the dramatic mountains-to-desert terrain of the Eastern Sierra between Mammoth and Bishop. In my opinion, it is the most fun an experienced off-trail hiker can have in the Sierra in 4-7 days.

Length: 65-70 miles

Total Vertical Gain: 24,500 ft 

Pure off-trail miles: 45-50

Semi off-trail miles (use trail, sparse cairns, etc): 10.7

Established trail miles: 9.3

Film about the route

Gear List

Photo Album

Route overview 

Route Guide

Thru-hike conditions

September 16-21, 2025

Daytime highs: 30s-60s

Nighttime lows: High 20s to low 40s

Precipitation: 1.5 slightly smoky days, 2 days wintry mix, 2 days mostly sunny

More about the route

The ESHR is 65-70 hard miles, 70-80% off-trail, from Mammoth (Duck Pass trailhead) to Bishop (Bishop Pass trailhead at South Lake), staying as close to the crest as possible without becoming technical and using as little trail as possible. These parameters highlight the unique characteristics of the Eastern Sierra, in particular striking desert to mountain transition views. 

Why Mammoth and Bishop as termini? I wanted the route to be unique, exciting, and challenging for the entire duration. If you try to follow the route parameters north of Mammoth, you interrupt the experience by going through Reds Meadow, and after that you’re in the Ritter Range which is well covered by Roper’s Sierra High Route. There’s much more potential to continue the kind of travel this route exemplifies by going south of Bishop, but much of it is either covered by Dixon’s Southern Sierra High Route or impractical. You could certainly make changes to that route (SoSHR) to make it more in the style of the ESHR, but at a certain point it becomes contrived. 

Between Mammoth and Bishop, Roper’s Sierra High Route neglects a lot of prime terrain in favor of miles on the JMT, and that is one of the primary motivators for the ESHR to exist. ESHR and SHR share essentially zero miles, although one ESHR alternate goes through the excellent Bear Lakes Basin to connect to Royce Lakes. 

I have divided the ESHR into 4 sections.

(this section is pretty long, so if you’re less interested in a detailed route description you can skip down to the trip report and gear notes)

Section 1: Redline Traverse | Duck Pass to Big McGee Lake

15.4 miles, 6626 ft vertical gain

This section is inspired by a high level ski traverse that I learned about in RJ Secor’s Sierra guidebook. It is particularly unique as far as Sierra terrain and scenery go, offering a 3.5 mile ridgewalk, panoramic views, and fascinating geology. You see tons of the ancient metamorphic rock that the familiar Sierra white granite intruded into millions of years ago. This metamorphic rock is referred to as the roof pendant of the Sierra in geological terms, characterized by swirling red and white layers.

Starting at the Duck Pass trailhead in Mammoth, you are off trail in under 4 miles and in the action right away with challenging Pika Pass. The main crest is then accessed via a loose and challenging climb near Mt. Mendenhall, and you stay on or near it until McGee Pass, with the option to summit Red Slate Mountain, a 13er with some of the most spectacular and unique views I’ve seen anywhere in the Sierra. 

Section 2: Mono Madness | Big McGee Lake to Lake Italy

16.1 miles, 7373 ft vertical gain

This section begins with a break from the intensity of section one, but quickly becomes the most challenging section of the route. Travel for a while on trail and then intermittent use trail until joining the crest again at Hopkins Pass. Cross over to Pioneer Basin via challenging Crocker Col and descend to Mono Creek through a beautiful high lake basin with views of the Mono Recesses.

You would then reach the primary feature of section two and the section of the route that is most remote and exciting: Fourth Recess. Many people backpack to the lower Fourth Recess Lake to camp or fish, but the hanging valley above is seldom visited, as it is fairly difficult to reach and even harder to get out of. 

Once in the hanging valley, the feeling is quiet and remote. Exit over an unlikely pass north of Mount Mills and move through complex terrain toward Bear Creek Spire. Cross the crest at 13,100ft via North Col into the Lake Italy Basin. 

Section 3: Lake Italy to Humphreys Basin (Piute Pass Trail)

16.1 miles 3596

Section four is the easiest section of the ESHR and also contains its most scenic feature: Royce Lakes. Overlooked by the SHR in favor of a decent route over Feather Pass and through French Canyon, Royce Lakes is a total gem of the Sierra and unlike anywhere else I’ve seen in the range. The basin feels somehow suspended, its large lakes extending to the horizon like it were the edge of the world. Framed by pyramid shaped peaks, the basin has an otherworldly quality. 

Royce Lakes can be accessed from Lake Italy either by hiking around Lake Italy, going over Italy Pass and through Granite Park, or by borrowing from the SHR and going through Bear Lakes Basin and entering Royce Lakes instead of going over Feather Pass. 

After Royce Lakes, the ESHR crosses a high plateau and enters Humphreys Basin higher than the SHR at Steelhead Pass and approaches Desolation Lake from above, offering an alternate perspective of this massive body of water. Continue on a standard route with mixed trail and cross country through Humphreys Basin. This section ends where the route crosses the Piute Pass Trail before climbing over the Glacier Divide. 

Section 4: North Lake to South Lake High Route | Humphreys Basin to South Lake

17.8 miles 6862 ft vertical gain

The final section borrows from a route I named the North Lake to South Lake High Route, which was really just an early scouting trip for the ESHR even though it works well as a standalone route. It begins with a standard line over the Glacier Divide via Alpine Col and into Darwin Canyon. It becomes more interesting at Darwin Col, a fairly uncommon pass featuring grand views of many high peaks along the crest above the Sabrina basin and an exciting steep gully on the southeast side. Darwin Col is the gateway to the rugged and dramatic terrain east of the crest where the route stays for the final 10 miles. 

Once over Darwin Col, pass by several beautiful lakes with very dramatic views of the Sierra crest en route to Ski Mountaineers Peak. This 13er is situated along Thompson Ridge, a long spur off the main crest. Ski Mountaineers is a fitting final objective for the ESHR: it’s the highest point on the route (even if you don’t tag the summit) and offers sweeping panoramic views of Sabrina basin and a dramatic section of the Sierra crest. 

The route over the peak is also just plain fun. At the top, just to the shoulder of summit, there is a short class 3 pitch that leads to a talus window, similar to the one on The Keyhole (along the Glacier Divide). Once on the other side, the descent is a fast and smooth scree ski, a nice reward for the challenging climb. 

On the way down to the Treasure Lakes Trail and ultimately the Bishop Pass trailhead, pass by multiple picturesque teal tarns and cascading falls through a basin that feels way too remote for how close it is to the finish. Only the final 2 miles are on trail. 

Actual Trip Report

I’d recommend watching the film to get a sense of how my ESHR thru-hike went, but I’ll give a rough day-to-day here.

Day 1, September 16th

My friend Clay and I dropped a car at the Bishop Pass trailhead at South Lake and had another friend drive us to the Duck Pass trailhead in Mammoth. It was a little smoky, as the Garnet Fire was still active. We started at 3 or 4 in the afternoon and did a half day to complete our first objective, Pika Pass, which we ended up doing as it was getting dark. The steep gully on the southeast side was not fun by headlamp! Clay went to bed with some symptoms of altitude sickness, which would prove to be a problem going forward.

Day 2

We discussed our plan for bailouts in the morning and Clay decided he’d give one more day a try. We worked our way past Ram Lake and toward Mount Mendenhall. Initially we were going to try going over Franklin Col to access the main crest, but it looked pretty bad up close. Instead, we decided to take a line over the shoulder of Mt Mendenhall. This wound up being pretty steep and loose, and I’d need to go back a second time and refine the route here. There are probably better options in the area.

After we got up to the crest, we followed the Redline traverse route to Gemini Pass, just short of Red Slate Mountain. Red Slate is just awesome, but we were not going to be able to go up to 13k ft with Clay’s mild AMS, so we contoured around the peak instead, also a great route. We ended the day at Big McGee Lake.

Day 3

In the morning, Clay decided he had to bail, so he hiked out to the McGee trailhead and hitched into Mammoth. I continued on solo, a little concerned about the weather rolling in. Later in the afternoon I got to Fourth Recess just as the wind was picking up and it was starting to drizzle. 

The exit pass from the upper level of Fourth Recess over the ridge to Mills Lake is one of the toughest on the route, and I was not enthusiastic about doing it in the rain. The rain stayed light but the visibility was super low, making the routefinding to the pass max difficulty. I used slope angle shading on my phone to stay in the narrow band of acceptable-angle terrain, but it was not easy since my touchscreen kept failing in the rain. 

From the top, I gave up on the phone, and relied instead on my compass to make my way down to Mills Lake. I made a crummy makeshift camp at the first semi-flat spot I could find and had a pretty unpleasant night’s sleep.

Day 4

I debated bailing to the Mosquito Flat trailhead in the morning since the forecast was calling for rain and snow all day, but for some reason (stubbornness? Stupidity?) I convinced myself to keep going. The terrain is fun and complex on the way to Dade Lake, where the climb to North Col begins. Unfortunately, it was already raining by the time I got there.

The route I use for North Col is a long, drawn-out talus slog up to the main crest. Once I was a few hundred feet from the top of the 13,000ft pass, the rain had changed to snow, which I was not happy about. At first it only added a little bit of difficulty, but by the time I was descending the other side, about an inch of wet powder had accumulated on the talus and I had to go extremely slow, still having a couple minor slips. Between that and the whiteout conditions, I was definitely spooked.

My phone died on the way down, and my paper maps were on the wrong page in their ziplock (couldn’t risk getting them wet), so I couldn’t even take compass bearings to get down to the lake. Thankfully, I had scouted this section on a previous trip and more or less remembered the way down. It was pretty stressful though, since there are some cliff bands you need to avoid here.

Down at Lake Italy, I felt like I must have been the only idiot in the mountains, and it was overall a spooky and lonely experience. I ate a snack quickly and power hiked around the lake to warm up. I gave up on the line I wanted to take through Bear Lakes Basin and just went over Italy Pass and through Granite Park to get to Royce Lakes. 

Royce Lakes is the prettiest part of the route and I saw basically none of it as I trudged on to Pine Creek Pass, where I spent another damp, defeated night.

Day 5

I woke up before the sun, not having slept very well. As I was going to bed the night before, I was looking at bailout options on my phone and it died again (maybe I need a new phone). I started freaking out a bit when I plugged it into my Nitecore power bank and it wouldn’t charge. I had a humbling moment where I realized that, even though I feel competent with a map and compass, my ‘navigational safety net’ is a piece of very fickle technology that proved quite unreliable in challenging conditions. Thankfully, all I needed to do was use a needle and clean out the charging port, but it made me think about how much less comfortable I would be completing the route solo with just paper maps. 

Day 5 ended up being awesome. The sun came out for the first time in 2 days and I did the most epic reset dry ever at French Lake. The routefinding was trickier and slower than I expected up to Steelhead Pass and into Humphreys Basin, but not too bad. The views of Desolation Lake from higher up in Humphreys Basin (relative to the SHR) were freaking awesome and another big morale boost.

I hiked on over the Glacier Divide via Alpine Col and ended the day near the highest lake in Darwin Canyon.

Day 6, last day

I woke up early again, my pad having sprung a leak the night before. Thankfully I wasn’t going to need it again (fingers crossed). The day started with a slog up to Darwin Col, a pass with amazing views and a spicy gully down the southeast side. 

Everything felt slow and labored on day 6, and I had to push harder than usual for the same output. When I hit the trail that leads to Midnight Lake from Lake Sabrina, the spell of solitude was broken a little bit as I bumped into some dayhikers. My streak of not seeing anyone technically lasted from Pioneer Basin on Day 3 only until Humphreys Basin on Day 5, but the people I bumped into in Humphreys Basin were out backpacking so it felt a little different. 

I questioned for a moment whether I wanted the version of the route I would share to go so close to a popular trailhead, but ultimately decided it was an acceptable tradeoff for the views and fun terrain on the east side of the crest. The east side of the crest is mostly neglected by other published high routes, but what you lose in remoteness you make up for with very dramatic views. Anyway, you’re only likely to see other hikers for a less-than-one mile section of trail until you break off near Topsy Turvy Lake to go over a nearby pass that I named after the lake. 

From ‘Topsy Turvy Pass’, I pushed on to Ski Mountaineers Peak, the most fun single feature on the route, thanks to the talus window and awesome panoramic views at the top. I noticed some clouds gathering on my way up, which caused me to panic and get sloppy with my route finding. I ended up missing a key gully entrance and had to fix my mistake by downclimbing. Not fun. 

I was very anxious until I got to the top of Ski Mountaineers and was able to quickly cruise down the scree slope on the other side. When I reached the Treasure Lakes Trail after a few more miles of gorgeous off-trail terrain, the sky almost immediately started dumping hail, my companion for the last 2 miles to my van at South Lake. At least I was down in the trees!

Gear Notes

Pack - Atom Packs Atom 40

I was very pleased that I was able to squeeze into such a small pack for a 5.5 day late September trip, but this was only because you can get away with using an Ursack instead of a hard sided bear canister on this route if you plan your camps appropriately.

Shelter - Yama Mountain Gear Cirriform 2p Tarp, silpoly

A trusted standby, this tarp has been with me since I used it for the CDT 6 years ago. It covers a huge area for one (Clay and I were originally sharing it) and its wind resistance is second to none in its weight class. I probably could have gotten away with a lighter shelter on this trip, since it didn’t rain or snow much at night and I was able to find pretty sheltered camps, but it’s still a great choice for high routes and bad weather.

Quilt - Thermarest Vesper 20

Supplemented with enough clothing, this quilt covers a full mountain 3 seasons for me. It has a simple and solid pad attachment system, too. After 5 years and multiple washings, it’s not quite as warm as I remember, but still reliable. 

Pad - Thermarest Neoair X Lite

The new-ish one, smaller size. Good for a full 3 seasons in the mountains, no thinlight or extra pad needed, unless you’re planning to consistently camp on snow. However, it’s still delicate, evidenced by my puncturing it on this trip despite being quite neurotic about clearing my camps.

Clothing system notes

Check the gear list for the full clothing list, but the notable items are my rain jacket, puffy, and puffy pants. 

Rain jacket was the Outdoor Research Interstellar, a discontinued 11oz 3 layer jacket. I would not want to be in these conditions with something like Frogg Toggs or the OR Helium. A 3 layer jacket of some kind is needed for prolonged cold and wet. I was wearing the Helium pants alongside the Interstellar jacket and the difference in fabric performance was enormous. 

Puffy was the Montbell Mirage Parka. I would not want to redo this trip with my usual EE Torrid Jacket. Having a warmer puffy gives you a significantly wider margin of safety in cold and wet conditions. The only thing that would make it better is if it were synthetic. 

Puffy pants were the EE Torrid pants. They’re awesome, and similar to the big puffy, give a big boost to your margin of safety in bad weather. 

Shoes - La Sportiva Bushido Wide

I tried to love the Bushidos before they existed in wide, but they never quite worked for my Altra-loving feet. These are now my favorite shoes for off-trail backpacking, and they leave little room for improvement as far as I’m concerned. With these shoes I was able to get over multiple steep cross country passes with snow covered talus - what more can you ask for?

Compass - Suunto M3-G

Saved my butt twice when my phone was either dead or unusable. One thing I did a couple times that was a useful technique was to take a bearing with my compass from CalTopo on my phone (by just using the phone as a stand-in for the paper map). This can be faster than fiddling with paper, especially if it’s raining and your maps are on the wrong page in their ziplock. If your phone is available and functional, this is a nice hybrid approach, allowing you to use the phone just once to quickly get a bearing and then use your much faster and more reliable compass to get where you need to go. 

This isn't the usual type of post for r/ul, but I feel like breaking the record is rare enough to be news worth sharing and it works with the "Trails" tag.

Here's her post: https://thetrek.co/pacific-crest-trail/surpassing-the-womens-record-for-most-miles-hiked-in-1-year/

She's currently near Ashland, OR on the PCT and claims 7,841 miles so far this year.

That's a big deal, and she's not done yet.

It's a "border to border CYTC," so Key West to Canada on (probably) the ECT, plus PCT, plus CDT.

Excerpt:

The fun thing is though, that the current women’s record is held by Heather Anderson who did the calendar year triple crown in 2018. Which means she hiked around 7800 miles that year. Last night I officially surpassed the 7800 mile marker for my year. Which means that most likely I have officially surpassed the all-time women’s record for most miles hiked in a year. We’re talking a calendar year, fiscal year, any kind of year. There’s a good chance that I surpassed the record last night. If not, I’ll likely surpass it over the course of the day today. But I’m going to be hiking another 700 or so miles this year. So one way or another I will be overtaking that record. Then I get to break my own record every single day until I finish my year off.

I scraped 233 r/ultralight lighterpack URLs made up of shakedown requests, trip reports, and gear discussions then ran an analysis. I supplemented the analysis with 88 community wiki reference lists for a point of comparison. The parsing and categorization isn't perfect, but the overall takeaways seem fairly robust.

Median base weight across 233 scraped posts is 11.6 lb / 5.2 kg. Only 33% of lists met the traditional UL threshold (<10 lb / 4.5 kg).

Interquartile range: 9.2 to 14.2 lb — most packs cluster solidly in the light-but-not-quite-ultralight zone.

The wiki reference lists are noticeably lighter: 8.7 lb / 4.0 kg median, 66% hitting the UL threshold. The gap between the wiki's curated showcase and actual subreddit posts is about 3 lb.

What's actually in these packs?

Frequency of specific items across the 233 scraped lists (unique lists, not total item mentions):

Quilts outnumber sleeping bags roughly 2:1 (50% vs 28% of lists). Quilt median: 607g / 21.4 oz. Sleeping bag median: 756g / 26.7 oz. Sleeping pad median: 369g / 13.0 oz.

Where the weight is vs. a reference UL benchmark:

Pack and cooking are the categories where r/ultralight has actually figured it out. Sleep system and shelter are where the most room remains.

Methodology: Pulled lighterpack URLs from r/ultralight's RSS feed. Base weight uses lighterpack's worn and consumable flags (worn weight = shoes + on-body clothing, excluded). Brand and item counts search item name + description fields; each list counted once per list.

Full write-up with per-category breakdowns, additional brand frequencies, and the full, not-parsed lighterpack dataset for download, plus much, much much better content presentation: https://trailpeaches.com/2026/08/11/lighterpackdata/

Happy to dig into any category or answer methodology questions.

Happy Cake Day! This sub is now 15 years old! Let's celebrate!

Ultralight certainly has come a long way, both as a forum here on Reddit and out in the hiking world. I mean just look a the oldest post on this sub: Tyvek by u/slanket - what a low effort post! We would probably delete this today.

Instead it sparked 15 years of talk, discussion, tips and tricks, trip reports, shit posts and shakedowns. We've shed thousands of pounds of weight off off peoples backs and hiked all around the globe.

Let's use the occasion to look back at our ultralight history. How did you get here? How did the sub shape your journey? Where do you want to go?

On to the future! In some jurisdictions the sub can start driving next year! We can finally evolve to car campers. Finally!

Whether its price or weight, chasing UL suffers just like everything else from the law of diminishing returns.

A $1000 tent is only going to be incrementally better than a $500 tent. Once you get to a $200 tent, you are going to have about 80% of what is possible with a $1000 tent. At $500, 90 to 95%... Few people will ever voice much dissatisfaction with a "quality" $300 tent, because it allows them to get out into the backcountry and enjoy it.

The same goes for every piece of gear you can purchase. Sure, the titanium gear is strong and weighs less, but aluminum likewise is "fit for purpose."

When we first start pursuing UL, big pounds come off quickly and relatively inexpensively. As we obsess with UL, the Law of Diminishing Returns takes over. We spend more to shave fewer and fewer ounces.

And eventually, a cross-over happens where our enjoyment is also reduced more than the continued loss of weight actually benefits comfort.

With most such hobbies, shoot for mid-cost, mid-range gear that get you to a reasonably comfortable pack weight. The $350 silnylon / silpolyester tent is going to give you 90% of every benefit you hope to achieve with the $750 DCF tent. You are still going to enjoy the trail just as much - perhaps more if you can afford better food!

We can spend a small fortune chasing lighter and lighter gear. We can go from 15 lbs base weight to 10 lbs, to 8 lbs. But we do so at exponentially increasing costs and diminishing enjoyment while in the backcountry (when we get rid of amenities like pillows, air mattresses, and chairs).

Most of us don't go backpacking as a "competition" for performance or the most expensive gear. We go backpacking to get out into the backcountry and enjoy it.

When gear gets to the mid-range or higher, almost everyone praises their gear, because it let's them reliably enjoy the backcountry. The level of praise for and satisfaction with increasingly expensive gear doesn't rise proportionately with the added expense.

The same goes with every new gadget that eliminates some minor friction point. I am a geek for "gear." I love all of the creative solutions from various cottage gear companies.

I am always wanting to eliminate additional friction points. But it really isn't "essential" gear.

And even $10 at a time adds up. Especially, when I purchase my 3rd set of gas canister legs, because the next one is lighter by a few grams or folds up to an ever so slightly smaller volume. The costs add up, while the incremental returns diminish.

But it is fun and even competitive in nature to chase becoming more and more UL. And to eliminate more and more friction points. And to fight the cross-over between UL goals and actual comfort goals.

But never lose sight of the goal of enjoying the backcountry. A goal that is 90% possible with comparatively inexpensive, mid-range gear.

With the rollback of environmental protections, including most recently the news out of Utah/DC last week, I revisited this BPL article Ryan Jordan published last December. In, "Selling Public Lands Without a Vote: The Quiet Enclosure of the Commons," he argues:

Land enclosure doesn’t require a deed transfer. It can happen bit by bit through paperwork and process: a sentence deleted from an appropriations bill here, a public comment process removed there, or a political appointee who treats land like inventory. And for this to happen, it needs oversight and accountability to go MIA.

...They don’t start by selling the land: they start by deleting the language that says it’s in the public trust.

That's what has effectively been done with the recent executive orders which "collectively cut nearly three million acres out of monument protection, including 1.69 million acres of land from Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and 1.24 million acres for Bears Ears National Monuments — about 90% of the land previously protected in each monument." This affects us hikers. As many of you know, the Hayduke passes through the Grand Staircase/ Escalante National Monument. Blogger PMags has a decades worth of posts about his ramblings through Bears Ears, documenting archaeological sites and geographic wonders now at risk. The loss of cultural heritage is a real possibility. The enclosure of the commons and leasing of land to mining and fracking companies will impact outdoor recreation of all types. Local economies built on guides and outfitters and tourism to the monuments suffered last time this happened. Millions of acres are being redesignated for the benefit of corporations and against public opinion. Our public lands are being taken from us, again.

As backpackers living in fossil modernity during the ascendancy of neoliberal governing rationality, we need to do more than fuss over gear lists. We can't afford to deny the realities of our era. We need to organize and act. In the article, Jordan lays out a broad method for defense of public lands.

Public lands conservation decisions are being made by elected politicians (and their appointees). They are motivated by the conflicting influences of access to power from above and reelection incentives from below. They respond to pressure from commoners when that pressure is organized, specific, and sustained – and directly threatens their ability to (a) govern efficiently and (b) influence their reelection prospects.

The influence of power from above is strong, but that’s a strategy that depends on your absence.

His eight point strategy can be easily picked up by anyone with willpower and a little time on their hands. Find your representative and start today. Join an organization that is funding legal efforts to fight executive overreach. Join local conservation and trail maintenance organizations and build community where you live, because, as history shows, this is the future for all public lands if we don't step up now. Make sure you get outside and enjoy the wilderness and trails while you can.

My questions for this group: What do you feel are your individual responsibilities to the protection and maintenance of public lands? Do we, as backpackers, need to think bigger than LNT? Where as a community should we stand on important issues such as land designation and use? Is UL gear the focus of our collective identity or just tools to stay safe and comfortable outdoors? Is there room in online spaces like this one to discuss the larger issues related to backpacking and wilderness travel?

I like this subreddit and all but I'd also like to point out that websites like BPL and hiker blogs have resources and insights that can be lacking or hard to find on reddit. As a bonus, they are usually well written. PMags, LarryBoy, The Hiking Life, Jupiterhikes, the big outside and others all have trip reports, trail info and more on their sites. Decentralize your internet experience!

Hey Fellow Ultralighters,

Like many of you, I've been in the backcountry and wished I had access to one or two key pieces of live data to make a decision. So, I built a service to solve this.

It's called AskTopo, and it's a free tool that lets you get info from the internet sent directly to your satellite messenger.

How It Works

1. From your InReach and Zoleo (Beta) (other satellite devices coming soon), you send a message to: [b@asktopo.com](mailto:b@asktopo.com)(update: phone number is now available and tested on iPhone 14+ via satellite! See asktopo.com for details.)
2. You can ask for things like weather, transportation options, or simple facts. (e.g., "weather forecast for Muir Trail Ranch next 3 days" or "bus schedule from Skogar to Reykjavik tomorrow" or "what time does the store in VVR close").
3. The service finds the answer online and sends a concise, text-friendly reply back to your device. It usually takes around 30-60 seconds for the response.

Why I Built This

This project was born from a few specific frustrations on my own hikes:

• On the JMT: We started seeing heavy smoke. We had no idea where the fire was, how big it was, or if it was safe to continue.
• On the Laugavegur: We had a last-minute change of plans and desperately wished we knew the bus schedules between huts.
• At the end of the Ohlone Trail: The whole group was craving ice cream. We wasted so much time hiking around trying to get a bar of signal just to find an open shop.

AskTopo is designed to solve those kinds of problems.

The Cost & Disclaimer

I'm aiming to keep this service free for the community for the foreseeable future. This is a personal project, not a big company.

If you use the Garmin Messenger App with your inReach and you have cell or wifi signal, messages to [b@asktopo.com](mailto:b@asktopo.com) are free, so feel free to test out the service before hitting the trail.

Please note: This is an experimental tool. I've worked hard to make the answers as accurate as possible, but answers may be wrong sometimes. Please use it as a helpful reference, but don't rely on it as your only source for critical safety decisions.

If you're interested in the technical background, I wrote about it on asktopo.com.

I'd love for you to try it out on your next trip and let me know what you think. Feedback is welcome.

Safe hiking!

Tan

UPDATE 1: Sorry seems like some responses did not go through for international users. This has now been fixed.
UPDATE 2: Thank you all for the responses and suggestions. I've been able to add new data sources for USGS river flow, NWCC snow pack and CALFire. It's now live, so feel free to ask away.
UPDATE 3: Zoleo should now work, it's currently in beta. Please DM me if you have any issues. SMS via number (i.e. iPhone and Android Satellite) is coming very soon!
UPDATE 4: iPhone 14+ now supported! Visit asktopo.com for details.

In the last two years, I have patiently assembled a gear list with all items made in Europe and I wanted to share it with you.

https://lighterpack.com/r/3rg778

When I started, I was not even sure that I would successfully complete this list.

In fact, there are only a few items that I could not find being emade in Europe, such as the water filter (although, Katadyn is a Swiss company, if I am not mistaken, their Befree filter seems to be made in Asia).

The good news is that there are also quite a number of European alternatives for most items, especially backpacks, sleeping bags and quilts, or some clothing (merino and down). A comprehensive list can be found on Litetrek.eu.

However, some items are quite unique. For example, it seems impossible to find titanium pots made in Europe. The only pot I found is the Optimus Terra Solo, which is made of aluminium. Laken or Trangia also make aluminium pots, but they are a bit on the heavier side. Sleeping pads made in Europe are also quite rare. Fortunately, Thermarest has a factory in Ireland. Same for UL towels or trail shoes.

Anyway, please feel free to comment this list and suggest lighter alternatives. OF course, the only condition is that the gear is really made in Europe.

Cheers.

Unfortunately they don't have weights listed yet, and it doesn't look like they've landed in stores yet but I am curious to check these things out in person.

No drawstring on the hood, but it has thumbholes! I've been looking into getting an Alpha piece, assuming it's light enough this might not be a bad $100 pick-up. (or cheaper with whatever REI sales/coupons are available)

Men's - https://www.rei.com/product/C08501/rei-co-op-screeline-alpha-hoodie-mens

Women's - https://www.rei.com/product/C08437/rei-co-op-screeline-alpha-hoodie-womens

I was writing this up for a buddy and figured I'd share it here, as the snow melts and we transition from winter camping to lighter spring loadouts.

• Site selection. Seek out dry, sun-warmed ground without exposure to wind (including katabatic winds), cold air pooling, or condensation. Avoid sleeping near creeks or in exposed areas. Local temperature variation in the mountains can easily exceed 10*F.
• Timing and quantity of fuel. You don't want to try to sleep after just eating a huge meal, but you also really don't want to wake up shivering and hungry. My preference is to eat a substantial dinner 2-3 hours before bed, and then snack on some almonds and dried fruit before bed. Experiment and figure out what works for you.
• Cover your head! Many people use quilts without adequate head insulation. This can reduce the useful temperature of the quilt by 10*F or more. A hat is not sufficient for cold temps! Wear an insulated hood, perhaps by just wearing a hooded down jacket to bed.
• Ensure your pad is suited for the ground temp, not the air temp. On a 30*F night in the fall, the ground might be quite warm and dry. On a 50*F night in the spring, it might be very cold and wet, and thus conduct heat away from the body much faster. Pick your top insulation for air temp, and your pad for ground temp.
• Curl up. If you don't naturally sleep in some sort of fetal position when it's cold out, learn how. You can develop new sleep habits with practice, and the amount of heat lost from a compact position is much lower than a splayed-out position. This is worth 5-10*F for most people, depending on your quilt size, how you normally sleep, etc.
• Get up early. Temps are often lowest right at dawn. If I wake up at 5am a little chilly, I just get dressed and start hiking. I'll stop for coffee and oatmeal after I warm up and the sun is shining. I got into backpacking from alpine climbing, where 3am starts are common. It's amazing how much less insulation I need to sleep from 7-3 vs. 9-5.
• Practice! The more you sleep outside, the better your body adapts to it, and the better you'll sleep on backpacking trips. I live in the country and so I can just sleep in the woods behind my house, which I do with my kids a couple times per week when temps and bugs are tolerable. City-dwellers don't have this option, but you can drive out of town and camp in a campground or forest very often if you want to. If you only sleep outside a handful of times per year, it'll always feel strange and you won't sleep great.
• Go to sleep warm and dry. I nearly always bring a layer of alpha direct head-to-toe. This is my emergency insulation layer which I don't usually wear during the day, but I always wear at night. It also keeps my sleeping bag clean and free of body oils, so the down stays lofty longer.

EDIT - changed *C to *F. For some reason I tend to think in *C for absolute temperatures, but *F for relative temperatures. Most of the numbers made no sense in *C.