KT trip planning

“I'm looking foward to reading the TR.....It should prove entertaining indeed!”

“Upon closer investigation of the topo I thought I would tell you in advance the number and severity of the climbs on this little jaunt.
The first 2 miles are nearly flat, then there is a gradual climb of 400' over the next 2 miles.
At mile 5.5 we gain 300' in about a half mile. (Ooh, wake up call)
After leaving our lunch stop at mile 8.75 we gain 300' again in about 1 mile.
As soon as we cross SR. 160 at mile 11 we go back up again, 250' in about .75 miles.
Just past mile 13 there is a nasty little gully we go down and right back up from in about 1/4 mile. elevation looks to be nearly 200' each way.
From there we wont have any Major elevation changes on to the second night's camp at mile 19.

On Monday we meet our fist big gain at mile 21.5. We gain about 250' in 1/4 mile.
Just before we reach the Leota TH we gain 200' in 1/4 mile again at mile 24.5.
At mile 29.75 we we climb 250" in about 1/3 mile.
From Elk creek TH on to camp it's a freaking roller coaster. The biggest gain is just past mile 32 where we climb 250' in about 1/2 mile. That is not the steepest climb, just the highest.

On Tuesday things aren't as wild until just before mile 40, where we go back up 250' in about .5 miles.
Coming up on the home stretch, and the last climb is at mile 43.25 where we gain 250' in a half mile, then we are home free with about 2 miles to go.


I just thought it would be fun to post that. I would love to see an elevation profile if anyone has that software. That would be awesome.”

“300' in half an hour? you can do that easy ;)


I did a trail in the trinity alps that went up 5,000 in elevation in five miels :) Fun fun fun. I think I was actually crawling into camp LOL. The views were awesome though.... Well worth it!

Yeah, that was my second ever backapacking trip as well LOL!
last edited: 9/30/07 9:14:03 AM”

“That would have been justified. Come with us for this one. It'll be fun. You'll get to hear me scream in the night from muscle cramps, instead of me screaming in your basement for other reasons...”

“No death marching for me, thanks. ;)”

“Windi could use a navigator. You could ride in a climate controlled car to each road crossing and laugh at us as we emerge winded, sweaty and dirty. Then only have to hike a couple miles to camp. That would be cool.”

“she'd have to smell you though. PHEW! Not worth it!

:)”

“HA! I don't know which would be more offencive, smelling like a day hiker to a thru hiker or smelling like a thru hiker to a car camper LOL”

“I guess it depends on which side of the wind you are standing on.”

“OK, HERE is the actual elevation profile that I recorded for the first 24 miles. No need for estimates....lol

”

“Chinmusic - I didn't see your name on the trip. Ater seeing the picture you just posted, I thought for sure you were going to sign up for such fun. lol.
Yeah, those guys are crazy for trying this trail in just 2.5 days.
last edited: 9/30/07 11:53:25 PM”

“Yeah, there's going to be a mountain of hills to climb! Lot's of straight ups, and downs.”

“Meangreen,

I just got my daughter's schedule for that Saturday, and their competition doesn't get over until almost 11. I really hate to do this, but I'm going to have to back out of this trip.”

“Boy, Meangreen won't want to check this tread because I am going to have to back out as well. My sister is going to be out of town during that time and I have to stay close to take care of my parents. I guess I can do that considering all the weekends she had covered this summer while I've been out backpacking.
Sorry! :(”

“phuk


mohawkman, e-mail me”

“BWT Thanks for the profile Chin. That much is day one plus 5 miles. SWEET!
last edited: 10/03/07 11:06:21 AM”

“Thanks and that was TWO and a half days of death for me.....lol”

“You could come run water for mohawk and I. Hike as much or as little as you want. Bring Mugsy!”

“Please, someone help these guys out so I won't feel so bad about abandoning them.”

“Just curious, but how were you guys going to cook dinner? I saw on the DNR site the following notice:

"Because of fire and burning bans due to the drought in Southern IN, no fires are allowed along the Knobstone trail or in the woods. This includes lighters, campfires and cooking stoves. We appreciate your cooperation during the drought."”

“OK, it looks like Windi is going to be helping us out Saturday and Sunday after all. So here's the plan:

SATURDAY: Meet at parking lot at Deam Lake about 5pm. Set up water caches, and shuttle with my car at Delaney Park. Drive back to Deam lake, and camp.

SUNDAY: Myself, and Mohawkman hike north, and Windigrrl drives to the lunch spot for water resupply, We continue on, and Windigrrl meets us at mile 19 & we camp.

MONDAY: At this point we loose our support. Mohawk and I will continue North, and Windi goes home. Windi will have cached water for us at each road crossing so that shouldn't be bad. Now we just need to focus on making at least 15 miles before dark.

TUESDAY: Finish up, no more than 11 miles, and head home.

Mohawkman, I'm buyin the first round at the nearest what ever when we get out. I'm still looking forward to this, and we are coming down to it. Tonight I will start going through my gear etc. (Of course I will probably do it 3 more times between now and next Saturday too! LOL!)”

“WOHOO!!!! I am glad you still get to go. I'm excited for you! :)”

“Mee too. Thanks SC.”

“I'll be waiting for the TR after you guys pull this off.

At least with it being dry the trail won't be slippery. It can get downright nasty when wet.”

“When I come home with pics of every mile marker on the trail you may refer to me as the PUD king! LOL! Especially if I end up doing it solo!”

“Knobstone Trail Information

Attention!
10-3-07 Because of fire and burning bans due to the drought in Southern IN, no fires are allowed along the Knobstone trail or in the woods. This includes lighters, campfires and cooking stoves. We appreciate your cooperation during the drought.

Hmmmm...
As if I didn't need another challenge for this trip...
This was taken directly from the DNR page. I guess my cooking gear will get to stay at home. This could be really interesting.”

“BWT, Thanks TBAstress for the heads up. Now I gotta go to the grocery store.”

“Please, someone help these guys out so I won't feel so bad about abandoning them.
It might change before the trip. If not, Mountain House makes a flameless pouch you can cook in. I've never used it, but this might be the time to give it a try.
Weather is looking good so far, High Upper 60's low upper 40's
last edited: 10/05/07 3:52:08 PM”

“You'll be so tired at the end of the day anyway you wont want to cook :P”

“those salt-and whatever flameless heating kits work really, really well. they are fairly light and if repackaged pack down fairly small. they can get a little messy but aren't if you use common sense. they work REALLY well but can get a little expensive. still, if you are only heating one meal per day one kit can last two people for a weekend easy. 5 runs costs about $12 bucks.

http://www.rei.com/product/703589

i was first introduced to these as a varsity coach for a group of older boy scouts. we were going backpacking in the black river state forest in wisconsin and there was a total burn ban in place. i had never used one before so wasn't sure it would work. it was impressive and actually quite fun.

this does not "warm" your food. it makes it HOT. the water in the kit boils vigorously.
last edited: 10/06/07 6:40:33 AM”

“the rei member review is hilarious!

Pros: Easy To Clean, Easy to Light, Great temperature control, Lightweight

The best invention since the wheel. Heats up fd foods with ease. I have also used this with [...] Nalgene water bottles and Mud Gourmet Coffee to heat up a nice cup of morning brew (use treated water). Works with most fd food packs.

what a freaking joke!

1. there is nothing to light.
2. there is NO temperature control
3. i see no reason why treated water would have to be used. the kit would easily treat the water. it gets SUPER hot.

the things people put in reviews blows me away.

"easy to light" and "great temperature control"... lmao!
last edited: 10/06/07 6:47:20 AM”

“This is what I was thinking about using, but I was also thinking about just some chicken, and tortillas and mabe some fajita seasoning, and I don't know what else. Has any one ever tried to rehydrate instant rice with out heat? Like if I put it in a nalgene, at lunch, and then just hiked on till dinner, would it be softened up enough to eat by then? I may experiment with this tomorrow...”

“it re-hydrates cold, it just takes a little longer. so does ramen. i can't say i find it very appetizing. it's a cheap experiment. i am not sure i would do the all-day soak thing in this kind of heat. sounds like a recipe... for disaster.”

“The idea was chicken, rice, and powdered seasonings in a tortilla would make a tollerable dinner with out cooking anything though. I'll play with the rice tomorrow and see how long it takes.
Ramen and shrimp or chicken is another option.”

“sarbar's cookbook has quite a few no-cook meal ideas if i recall.”

“How much do those MRE/saltwater cookers weigh anyhow? Obviously I'm trying to stay as light as possible, but here is the kicker: There is NO water on this trail. ZERO. All my water will have to be cached, so If I use one of those boilers, then I have to carry that much more water, and wont even be able to drink it since what it turns into is basicly sea water, right?”

“Really? I'll have to look into that too.”

“the kits don't use a lot of water. a few oz per run. you can't drink it once it's used up. still, you would have to expect to use a portion of your water for cooking. this is true. i have one upstairs and if you wish i would gladly fish it out and type the directions in here.”

“Directions

Easy to use: This kit is designed to be used with Mountain House meals packaged in a new stand-up pouches. Five uses per kit.

Prepare your favorite Mountain House meal following the instructions printed on the meal pouch Except use ambient temperature, potable (drinking) water, instead of boiling water.

Tear open Mountain Oven insulated zipper pouch and remove kit components from inner plastic storage bag. Place one heat activation pad flat in the bottom of the insulated zipper pouch.

Fill plastic bottle with water to fill line and add one salt tablet. Shake bottle until salt tablet dissolves. Pour the salt water from the bottle onto the heat activation pad.

Immediately place the Mountain House meal pouch upright inside Mountain Oven insulated zipper pouch and close zipper The heat activation path will begin to heat.
Wait 20 minutes. Carefully open zipper and remove the Mountain House meal. Stir and serve.

Warnings
Note: After the heating, a harmless white residue may remain on the outside of the Mountain House meal pouch. Discard used heat activation pad and save insulated zipper pouch and remaining kit components for next use.

Heating process does not produce carbon monoxide, but may cause carbon monoxide detectors to signal. Avoid touching steam or pouch during heating process - temperatures may reach 200°F. Do not heat Mountain Oven kit or components in microwave or other heating appliances. Use in well-ventilated area away from flame or electric spark. Do not eat salt tablets. Do not consume or break non-toxic heat activation pad. Children should use only with adult supervision. Odor released during heating process is not harmful.

Comments: It does NOT take 20 minutes. In fact you could probably do two meals with one tablet if you swapped at some point and used a cozy. Actually if you just used the kit to heat water in a nalgenene bottle and then prepared your meals in a cozy I expect you could do 2-3 meals with one tablet. This is probably a better approach.

I'll check on the bottle size but I am betting it's a 4 oz bottle of water for each time the kit is fired up. I am workign from my old, crunchy memory here...”

“4oz aint so bad. I thought it needed about a liter. I'll look into that. Thanks JS.”

“teh bottle takes 6 oz of water to the fill line. i had to fill it and measured it... it's not graduated. the bottle is intended to be a shaker to dissolve the salt tablet in, so there is an air gap when filled to the line.

the bottle weighs 21 grams (.75 oz).”

“LOL! Cool! Thanks Jim. I didn't mean for you to do a bunch of research, I just though if you had an approx. idea. I really appreciate the extra effort though. I knew you were a first class guy. I don't care what Crash says about you. LOL!”

“bump”

“Yeah, I'm going to have to have me one of those heating bags!”

“Did you see? Mohawk just posted on another thread. I was hoping to get his attention.”

“You still haven't heard from him?”

“nope.”

“Do you think you scared him off?”

“hope not.”

“where did he post?”