montanapalooza 2002

“I was waiting for:”

“Post # 2002, for montanapalooza 2002 :)”

“. . . and how did we let him/her sneak in here and become post #2000?!!!

Dangit, if my computer didn't crash a few minutes ago, it woulda been me........”

“HA HA!

8p”

“I have a extra trekking pole (with the cork/cane handle), adjustable length. I'll bring it in case anyone needs to use it.

Pepperdog, We'll have our extra stove with us, a pocket rocket if you want to borrow it. We're taking it as a backup for our Winds trip.

Navi, if you can get that pole to us by Thurs PM we can drive it to MT. Got your stove packed.

I'm uploading pics right now from the weekend, then I have to get the rest of my food packed for WY. I'm soooo behind!

Can't wait!!!”

“Hey Navi - Does that mean you will treat us to the Full Monty WITHOUT the hat?? This trip REALLY is shaping up to be an "...Excellent Adventure" *Grin*”

“Maybe, if there's enough snow for a lot of tequlia slushys.”

“Phil and Mather.....wow....see what years of ciphering can do to your neurons?......lol”

“Snowy, thanks. The poles fit inside the pack. So, no problem.

We could still meet for lunch if you insist.”

“How important are long underwear?”

“Hey Newgirl -

Have a great time on the trip! I know you've been looking forward to it for a long time!”

“Thanks Smiley! I had to cut it a little short, but I'm going to try and learn as much as possible in the time I have.”

“Newgirl, take long underwear, shorts and rain gear and you might be able to skip long pants.”

“mather - LOL.

pepperdog - Yes, our neurons are cooked. Consider the following:

A Physicist, a Biologist, and a Mathematician see two people enter a house, and then after some time, they see three people leave the house.

The Physicist concludes, "My initial observation must have been incorrect." The Biologist concludes, "Clearly, the two reproduced..." The mathematician concludes, "Well, if one more person enters the house, then the house will be empty!"”

“I won't be wearing any (long) underwear!

You might want to take some pants for after sunset and mosquito protection. if you think you might get cold at night, tho, long johns might be OK. It could easily get down in the 30's at night.”

“Am I being a wimp? I was planning to bring long johns, fleece pants and shorts with zip on legs. I plan to hang out around camp and don't want to be cold. Besides, my fleece pants came in handy on the llama trek last year - remember, Navi? Oh yeah - I'll bring shirts, too.

Snow Nymph - Thanks for the offer! I think I will take you up on it. It sounds like you are outfitting most of the people on this trip!

My co-worker is close to getting chosen for jury duty which could be a long trial. If she is gone next week they will REALLY miss us (kinda like all the TT'ers who are going to wonder why nobody is posting anything next week).”

“Oh, I didn't think about that. It is gonna be kinda quiet around here, isn't it? I suppose we'll survive...”

“We might be able to do a "group post" next Sunday afternoon or Monday morning from the Cooke City Sinclair. They have internet service for like $1.00/5 min. The owner said he'd post a group shot on his website too. So stay tuned!”

“Phil - I'm confused. Was that a joke? It made perfect sense to me!

What about the statistician's conclusion? "The sample space contained only two people. Therefore, the probability of three people leaving the house is zero. It didn't happen?" Maybe you can see why I'm NOT a statistician! LOL”

“Yes Pepper, I remember getting into your pants. I get warm-fuzzys every time I think about it.

But, alas, no llamas this trip so I should have my sleeping bag the whole trip.”

“Hey pepperDog - I was contemplating the fleece pants, too. It's always harder to plan, for trips away from your home climate. When temps could dip into the 30's (5c or less), I'll think about having them along.... especially where there's no campfires.”

“Long johns or fleece pants aren't a bad idea; it gets a little nippy at 10,000' with the wind blowing. No wind means mosquitos, so either way....”

“I'm bringing pants and maybe long johns. It was 35-38 degrees in the morning at the cabin last weekend and that's at 7,500'. I'd predict mid-30's for lows on the trip and highs of mid-70's.

MID-90'S IN BILLINGS, THOUGH!”

“I'm still up in the air about what to bring for warmth let alone what I'll be eating food wise.

Aero, UPS said it would be there Friday. Just an FYI.”

“Briar- Here's what I'm taking, more or less:

Shorts
T-shirts
long-sleeved poly shirt
Fleece jacket
Goretex jacket or rain jacket
quick-dry pants or wind/rain pants
2 pr wool or poly socks
stocking cap

This is the warmest time of year up there. if it were a little earlier or later i'd probably throw in some gloves and skip the T-shirts, but that list is BASICALLY what you'd want, IMO.

I'll keep my eyes open for the stove...”

“Hey Aero - I'm so used to packing the full gaiters, here on the 'wet' coast, that I almost forgot to ask. How's our trail for mud, brush, creeks etc?”

“It's not a real muddy, brushy trail. I wouldn't bother with gaiters. It should be pretty dry right about now. Not a lot of major creek crossings that don't have pack bridges, either. Last summer we went a week later than this and we really didn't get into much water.”

“I like to stay up late and enjoy the evening, so the fleece pants go with me. Its nice to sit under the stars. PD, if you're a wimp, so am I. I'm bringing:

fleece hat
bandana
Capilene Exp Wt top
Capilene Exp Wt bottom
Capilene light Wt top
Patagonia fleece pants
Capilene tank top
2 shorts
2 jogbras
Long-sleeve shirt for hiking
2 pr socks
2 pr liners
fleece socks for at night
2 pr underwear
capilene glove liners
Patagonia 4R jacket
Marmot precip jacket
Marmot precip pants”

“PD, got the pocet rocket packed too”

“pocet = pocket”

“Okay.... You guys all sound like you're ready to go.... tomorrow I am definitely going to start packing something”

“I am in and will pack soon.LOL”

“... about joining you all... Pepperdog tryin' to pursuade me... doesn't take much... dunno... #&%!$... gotta be there this saturday, huh?...

When do I need to decide?

Duh.”

“Not that I would try to use it that much, but can you get any kind of signal on a cell phone up there? Is it worth taking?”

“Not been hiking in Montana, but been in Colorado, where there was ice in the water bottles (not to mention ice still on the lakes) in the morning and got really sunburnt (can you say forgot the sun screen?) on the same trip. So take your speedo, sunblock and something to keep you warm! (Head, shoulders, knees and toes.) [I wish I could join you, but hope to have a chapter written before you get back.]”

“Big project at work blew up, my participation hangs in the balance. Dam! If I have to bail it will be the second bpacking trip this year that happened to. Will know more later today/tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I saw that too, geezr. We could see the smoke plume from cooke City this past weekend. It shouldn't be a threat to the Beartooths. There's nowhere for it to go to the northeast; that already burned in 1988! The Beartooths looked pretty good last weekend and i haven't heard of any closures. They might have some fire restrictions in place by next week. Worst case would be no open fires and stoves only.”

“According to the Cooke City Sinclair web site (where we all expect to see your smiling faces this weekend!), the overnight low there was 38.5 degrees at 6 AM today. What's the rule of thumb, about 3 degrees per thousand feet of elevation? If so, that would mean around 30 at Fossil Lake. Good luck!!

Heard about the heat in Billings - my dad reported 114 degrees on his deck. Ouch.”

“It is supposed to be over 110 here in Central California today, too. I will take it slow riding my bike home from work! I am really looking forward to those highter elevations!”

“Aero, just arrived home from grocery shopping . . . how I miss Malinda on days like this. ;-)
I hate shopping, but at least it's not X-mas.

I picked up everything except potato salad. Do we need paper plates and plastic forks and spoons?

Martyb, what's up lad? Waypoints are in the gps and pack is loaded.”

“My gear list (for same trip--2 weeks later)

Wear:
capiline boxers; quick dry shorts; silk weight capiline t shirt; Patagonia dragonfly windshirt; smartwool socks w/liner, sundowner boots; bandana

Bring to wear:
Spare pare of boxers and socks
silk weight capiline long john pants
expedition weight capiline pants
fleece pullover
silk balaclava
fleece glove liners
down vest (maybe)
Precip pants, jacket, and ball cap
Teva Hurricane sandals for fishing, stream crossings, and camp

Cooking and eating:
Snowpeak giga power stove w/ cannisters
Lexan bowl and spoon
2 Evernew Titanium pots w/ lids (cooking for group of 3)
food for a week (all repackaged with vacume sealer)
4 weight fly rod, reel, flys, and stringer
Pur Guide water filter w/Aqua Mira backup
Nalgene water bottle
3L Nalgene canteen (for camp water)
Garbage bag (for table)
Gregory bear bag with hollow parachute cord


Misc:
Zipka headlamp
matches and bic lighter
map and compass
Extra ziplocks (for whatever)
aluminum tripod stool (gotta have it)
Duct tape (on water bottle), Sailmaker thread/needle,small tube of Seamgrip
Sunglasses, lip balm
mylar emergency blanket bivy (for dayhikes)
emergency fire starters (for dayhikes)



Hygeine:
TP and "orange shovel"
small camp towel, campsuds, bandanna, and maybe my handheld backpacerk's shower (love that thing!)
2-3 dehydrated body wipes
First aid stuff in 1 quart ziplock
Ditty bag with tooth brush, contact solution, glasses, etc.


Sleeping/Shelter/Pack:
Western Mountaineering Megalite 30 degree bag.
Thermarest (either 3/4 ultralight or LE--can't decide which to bring)
Wanderlust Nomad 2-4-2 tent
Silnylon 8x10 tarp (for hanging out/cooking if rain; friends using bivies will sleep under it)
Gregory Palisade Pack (with about a pound of extra straps and buckles cut off)

Total weight:
Probably too much, but WTF, I like living large.”

“Great list, gearjunkie. I will post mine, possibly under a new thread for "Montanapalooza III" (I guess yours is "II"), which will take place August 25-28. Right now it looks like our team's average will be a little under 30 pounds, with me carrying 45, dad at 35, son at 8, all including water weight.

Geezr, just counting the days. Starting to try to get into shape - hip still not 100%. Also, picked up lithium batteries for the GPS and digital camera - will post several hundred pics when I return. Will be going to Yosemite in a couple weeks with visiting family - planning a 5-mile dayhike (with kids) and other relatively tame activities. Question: Is there a place to rent bear-proof canisters in Billings? Red Lodge? Anywhere? I remember earlier in this thread somebody (SN?) said they will be bringing one, someone else scoffed at the idea, etc., but I'll be bringing one, and we may want to use a second one.”

“Pack weight for Montanapalooza: 31.5 lbs.

Now to pack for the Wind Rivers 12 day trip....”

“mather - LOL. Yes, the statistician says it happened with probabilty = 0 (or N is unknown...which changes things quite a bit).”

“Martyb, I've never known of anyone using one, or noticed them for rent. Have your dad call BaseCamp, that is the only place that rents gear, as far I know.

Usually everyone just hangs there food. I put everything ( food, toothpaste, etc ) into 2 gal storage bags and then into a stuff sack and then hang from a tree. I've never had a problem. if you feel safer with the cannister you'd better see about getting one there. I'll check around as well.”

“Pack weight for Montanapalooza: TOO DANG HEAVY!!!”

“Martyb, just got off the phone with Base Camp . . . no cannisters and as far as they know, no one in town, or in Cooke City rents them.

He thought the Army/Navy store here MIGHT sell them.”

“Thanks for checking, Geezr. Yeah, it's not a big deal. Plan B is to just hang whatever won't fit in the canister, although that kind of defeats one purpose - to avoid the hassle of hanging and retrieving the food & garbage. Plan C is to buy another one for myself, but they're a little pricey. Plan D: borrow one from a TT-er in the Bay Area?? Funny that canistermania hasn't reached up your way, especially with your larger, meaner bears. Maybe Montanans are just tougher than bears.... Do you know if they use 'em in Glacier NP?”

“marty- I don't think they would even work on the bears here. I've heard of grizzlies tearing the roof and doors off cars and they just bite through big cans of food. i just don't see where the cannister would buy you a whole lot. The biggest problem for backpackers up in the beartooths seems to be smaller animals like marmots and picas sneaking in packs and eating stuff. Hanging stuff up seems to work fine.”