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Hi everyone,
Below is a link to a trip report of my last big hike of 2018, on the northern loop of the Western Uplands Trail:
Cheers!
Rich
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Enjoyed the report and photos. Nice to have a solo hike when the leaves are down and you can see farther.
Wondering what is the solution to frozen boots. Chemical handwarmers thrown in to each boot in the morning between waking up and getting up? A Nalgene bottle of boiling water in each one before bed?
Last edited by Methye (11/09/2018 8:32 pm)
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Thanks for the enjoyable trip report. Brought back memories of my WUT trip earlier this year. Also, thanks for the "tip" about bringing your water filter into the sleeping bag. A few years ago I was on a trip where the night time low could easily have frozen up my Sawyer Filter but I never gave a second thought about leaving it out. Now I'll keep that in mind.
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Thanks for your replies!
Methye wrote:
Wondering what is the solution to frozen boots. Chemical handwarmers thrown in to each boot in the morning between waking up and getting up? A Nalgene bottle of boiling water in each one before bed?
Good question - I think the chemical warmers will be on my 'to bring' list the next time I do a hike with sub-zero temps
Also, thanks for the "tip" about bringing your water filter into the sleeping bag. A few years ago I was on a trip where the night time low could easily have frozen up my Sawyer Filter but I never gave a second thought about leaving it out. Now I'll keep that in mind.
I should add that I also kept the filter tucked in an inside sweater pocket after I used it on Sunday. I'm admittedly a little over the top when it comes to protecting it...
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Those frozen wet boots gave me a real shiver!
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Hi Rich, that was a really nice report. Thank you for sharing it!
I'm always looking to learn from those who know more, so I've got several questions for you if you don't mind:
- I see you pitched the tarp the first night not in an A frame but in a slope. Did the slope afford any protection from rain, or just wind? Did you have a place to sit under the tarp? Did you bring a chair?
- You covered a lot of ground during the trip. Is the trail pretty flat up there? Personally, I'm not sure I could do much more than 8-10 kms in a day, which is what is keeping me from trying the full Highland Trail in 3 days. As you know, the Highland Trail has some challenging terrain.
- How much did your pack weigh?
OK, enough questions 
thank you again.
Tracy
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Hey Tracy,
Great to hear from you! I've just recently started pitching my tarp on a slope vs. A-frame as my new one is slightly larger - I do find it does well cutting the wind while having enough room underneath to keep dry during rain. I didn't have a chair, but rather a piece of blue foam I cut out from an old closed-cell pad (this doubles as additional padding underneath my thermarest around my hip area when I sleep). There is a very light-weight chair frame that holds a thermarest pad as the cushion, but I don't have one. Here's a link to the product on the MEC site:
As for terrain, the first 9 kms or so starting at Rain Lake are very flat and easy but once you approach the loop, and for the entire time thereafter, the trail becomes quite similar in technicality to that of the Highland Trail. My pack was about 35 lbs., which is 10 lbs more than I would normally take during a summer hike. The colder temps required a heavier sleeping bag, some more clothing and food, my white gas vs. methyl hydrate stove, and a larger pack to accommodate all of this.
If you're interested in checking out the northern loop, something like the following may be a good option:
Islet day 1,
Pincher South day 2,
Brown day 3 (taking shortcut at Gervais/Lady Slipper)
Out on day 4
Hope this helps. Cheers,
Rich
Last edited by hiker72 (11/21/2018 8:34 pm)
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This information helps me quite a bit, thank you Rich. What capacity pack did you use?
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I used my 70 litre pack, although a 60 would have sufficed if I had one. For my summer solos, I squeeze everything into a 40 pack.
Last edited by hiker72 (11/22/2018 7:22 am)
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