Wind River High Route

  •   Category Weight
  • Big Four
    5.99 lb
  • Worn clothing
    2.67 lb
  • Extra clothing
    2.06 lb
  • Cook System
    0.66 lb
  • Food and water
    15.2 lb
  • Food and water storage
    1.01 lb
  • Miscellaneous
    4.12 lb
  • Electronics
    1.39 lb
  • Camera gear
    3.46 lb
  • Total 36.57
    lb
    • oz
    • lb
    • g
    • kg
  • Consumable 15.42 lb
  • Worn 2.67 lb
  • Base Weight 18.48 lb

Trip details

July 31 through August 6, 2022. We hiked the Wind River High Route in 7 days, south to north. Then we biked back to the starting trailhead (additional biking gear was stashed with the bikes, so it's not listed here). Shared items are marked as 0.5 quantity—some were in my pack, some were in Siyang's pack.

Post trip comments

I counted ounces for this trip more than I ever have in the past and this is about as low as my base weight is going to go for the foreseeable future. (I missed my comfort items like my camp shoes and chair.)

Most gear choices were good. I was particularly happy with the following items, which I used for the first time on this trip:

  • Granite Gear Crown X60 backpack: Not the first time using this pack, but the first time using it without the removable lid. I'm a big fan of this pack. Nice middle ground between ultralight and comfort.
  • Hammock Gear quilt: Light and warm. Warmer than necessary for this trip, but I'm still glad I have the 20 degree rather than their 30 degree quilt.
  • Wuru Wool merino sun hoodie: Lighter and more comfortable than my old polyester one. Only downside is it's less durable (I ripped one of the sleeves, but was able to patch it when I got home).
  • Trash bag rain skirt: I made a DIY rain skirt after my dad told me how much he liked his on the Long Trail. I like it too.
  • Army surplus wool glove liners: I lost my old gloves so I needed a replacement. These were super cheap ($8), pretty light, and plenty warm. I like them better than my old gloves.
  • Pictar Splat flexible tripod: The lightest tripod I could find that would hold my Sony A7C and lens, and it did not disappoint. My favorite small tripod that I've tried.
  • Sony A7C: First time using this camera body for a hiking trip. A tad heavier than my old camera (Sony a6400). Image quality isn't any better during the day, but video is far better due to the built-in gyro stabilization (it's basically like using a gimbal). Didn't get any opportunities for astrophotography but that should be a lot better too.

Here are the choices that were not so good:

  • Janji rain jacket: I like my rain jacket, but it soaked through really bad. I'll be replacing it with an emergency poncho next time, possibly adding a lightweight wind jacket or other shell.
  • Shorts: I wore my joggers every day so probably could have done without the shorts to save 4 ounces.
  • Sony 85mm lens: Hardly had any downtime so I barely had a chance to take this lens out. I'll continue to bring it on future trips, but probably should have skipped it for this one to save almost a pound. At least I got a photo of a moose with it.
  • Sawyer water filter: I forgot to test and backflush it before I left home, and it was unbearably slow on this trip. That's my fault, not the filter's. I still like this filter.
  • Food: I carried way too much food. Probably had 1-2 lbs left at the end. I had one trip (JMT in 2016) where I was low on food and I've been overcorrecting ever since. Really need to get better at that.