Eight days into my walk through the Alps on the GR5 I wrote
a piece for The Great Outdoors about the gear I was using. At that time I'd had
blazing sunshine, torrential rain, and four thunderstorms but no frosts and not
much in the way of winds. In the following twenty-four days I had more storms,
rain and sunshine, some frosty nights and some strong winds. In my feature I
wrote that the trail was mostly steep and stony with much ascent and descent
every day. It remained that way. For a late season walk like this I took a bit
more gear than I would at the height of summer. When I wrote the TGO report I
hadn't needed it. I soon did.
Here I’ve posted my first report with an update in italics as
to how the gear performed for the rest of the trip. Much of the gear was
well-used – some of it too much so!
Pack
Having been impressed with it on short trips earlier in the
year I decided the Gossamer Gear Mariposa would be just right for this trip.
It's comfortable with loads up to 15kg, more than I expect to carry, but only
weighs 945g. I love the huge front and side pockets which contain everything I
might need during the day. So far the pack has been fine, if a bit sweaty on
hot days.
The pack continued to
feel fine, even when slightly overloaded with more food than I expected to
carry in the second half of the walk. Most shops were closed so when I did find
one I bought food for many days.
Trekking Poles
As always I'm using Pacerpoles and these have been as useful
as ever on steep rough ground and essential for holding up my shelter. For the
first time on a long walk I have the DuoLock ones which are much easier to
adjust than the twistlocks. They weigh 570g but have only been carried on the
pack for very short scrambles where I needed my hands (there are ladders and
chains in some sections).
The Pacerpoles
continued to be essential. An item I’d never leave behind.
Shelter
Mountain Laurel Designs Trailstar has been my favourite for
many years now and I returned to it for this trip. It's stood up to an hours
deafening cloudburst followed by a night of heavy rain so although well-used
it's still waterproof. With pegs and Luxe Outdoor Ultralight groundsheet the
weight is 767 grams.
The Trailstar stood up
to much more rain plus some strong winds and always felt secure. It’s proved
harder-wearing than I expected for such a light shelter.
The groundsheet kept
out water when I camped on very wet ground a few times. By the time I got home
it stank, the first time I’ve had this happen. It must have been due to camping
on cow pastures on many nights. Hanging it on the washing line for a few weeks
removed the stench.
Sleeping
With a good chance of widely varying temperatures as autumn
progresses I decided on the same PHD sleep system I used on my Yosemite to
Death Valley walk exactly two years ago. This consists of the Minimus Ultra K
and Filler K bags (combined weight 610g) and the Wafer K down jacket, trousers
and socks (combined weight 447g). So far I've only needed the Ultra K bag as
the lowest overnight temperature has only been 8°C.
The last two weeks of
the walk overnight temperatures occasionally fell to -2°
and were mostly below 7°C
so I used either the Filler K bag inside the Ultra K or the Wafer clothing if I’d been wearing it
in camp. I never needed the clothing and both bags.
To sleep on I have the Therm-A-Rest NeoAir XLite Short and
an OMM DuoMat (combined weight 365g), also veterans of the Yosemite to Death
Valley walk.
Three days before the
end of the walk an internal wall split on the XLite and one end began to swell
up, though not so much as to render the mat unusable. This is the second XLite
I’ve had where this has happened. I won’t use this mat again as more walls will
probably split now. It was a well-used mat but I’m still a little disappointed
and probably wouldn’t trust one on a long walk again. The weight is wonderful
but I want reliability as well.
Kitchen
As on other long walks the one fuel I'm likely to find
everywhere is meths, here called alcool a’bruler, so I'm again using the Trail
Designs Caldera Ti-Tri set up though with the new Kojin burner as fuel can be
stored in this and it's more efficient than the original drinks can burner. The
total weight is 225g. My pots are my now thirty plus year old Evernew and MSR
0.9 litre and 0.6 litre titanium ones (220g). They refuse to wear out!
For water I have my usual 2 2litre Platypus bottles (87g)
and GoLite 750ml wide-mouth bottle (79g). Having realised how much I needed to
drink in the heat and with water sources sometimes a long way apart - some
streams are dry - I bought a 500 ml bottle of Evian water to supplement the
GoLite. I don't like carrying water far in the Platypus bottles as it sloshes
around.
Knowing there would be cows around I have a Sawyer Mini
Filter (47g). I've needed it too. The first four days I was really out of the
sound of clanging cow bells. One night I needed earplugs to sleep.
All my kitchen gear
continued to be fine, though the older of my Platypus bottles sprang a leak not
long after I returned home. I only used the Mini Filter a few more times.
Footwear
Having been impressed with three generations of Altra’s Lone
Peak trail shoes I'm wearing the 4.0 and they are proving excellent with good
grip and cushioning. When wet they've dried fast. In the hottest weather I've
worn them without socks. When cooler with Teko Light Cushion Mini Crew socks.
For cold weather I have Darn Tough Light Hiking socks, which I haven't needed
yet.
The Lone Peak shoes
still have much life in them after the trek. I never had sore feet or blisters.
I reckon they’re the best long-distance hiking shoes I’ve ever worn.
The last two weeks of
the walk I wore the Light Hiking socks quite often. They were fine at the end
of the walk. The much thinner Mini Crew ones had a few holes.
Clothing
With temperatures warmer than expected I've mostly been
walking in an old pair of Ronhill running shorts (79g) I chucked in at the last
minute and the Paramo Katmai Light shirt (207g). The latter is nearly twenty
years old and has been on my last three long distance walks. There are a few
holes now and I reckon this is its last trip, which is a shame as it’s superb.
I love the big pockets with Velcro closures - no fiddly buttons - and the wide
easy to roll up sleeves. The silky fabric feels great and dries really fast.
Best hiking shirt I've ever used.
The Ronhill shorts
started to rub so I replace them with a cheap pair bought in an end-of-summer
sale in Chamonix. These were a bit longer and heavier than I’d have liked but
otherwise proved comfortable and tough.
The Katmai shirt just
made it to the end of the walk though by then it looked very disreputable with
several long tears and split seams. I’m hoping it can be repaired as Paramo
don’t make it anymore.
For camp and cooler weather I have Mammut Runbold trousers
(310g), which are stretchy and comfortable, and a Patagonia Houdini windproof
(111g). So far I've hardly worn them.
Both of these were
worn during the cooler, windier weather of the last three weeks, especially the
Houdini, and both proved comfortable and efficient.
I have worn my Berghaus VapourLight HyperTherm Hoody (224g)
in camp on cool mornings and evenings and occasionally on breezy cols. It's
amazingly warm for the weight. Of course if it gets really cold I have the PHD
down clothing as well.
Later in the walk it
was occasionally cold enough to walk in the HyperTherm and I needed the Wafer
jacket over it at the coldest camps. The combination works really well.
On the basis that big autumn storms were a possibility I
didn't go for the most minimalist waterproofs, just ultralight ones. My jacket
is the OMM Aether eVent (235g), my overtrousers the Montane Minimus (153g).
They've been worn just once and only for a few hours but as that was during a
torrential thunderstorm they were really needed. I'll be happy not to wear them
again but if I do I know they'll cope with big storms.
I did have to wear
both again, and for many hours at a time during prolonged rain. Both worked
well. On one very cold windy day I wore them over the Houdini shirt and the
Runbold trousers for extra wind protection. Breathability of both was
excellent.
Other clothing for cool weather consists of my 20 year old
merino Smartwool Beanie (56g), which I've worn in camp a few times, plus
Sealskinz liner gloves (52g), an ultralight Black Diamond wool/nylon t-shirt
(97g), which is on test and won't be available until next spring, and SubZero
wool long johns (144g), which I could wear under the Mammut or Montane trousers
in cold and stormy weather.
The Smartwool Beanie
saw much use during the second half of the walk, while walking as well as in
camp. I wore the Black Diamond t-shirt under the Katmai shirt on a few stormy
days too. I never wore the gloves or the long johns.
One essential item of clothing is my Tilley Hiker Hat
(119g). It keeps the sun off and when soaked in water helps keep me cool. I've
worn a Tilley Hat on every little long walk since 1990. I can't imagine being
without one.
The Tilley Hat also
kept off rain when it wasn’t very windy later in the walk. In strong winds it wouldn't stay on though.
Electronics
I have two test devices with me. The Land Rover Explore
smartphone (161g) and the Casio Pro Trek watch (79g). The first, as you'd
expect, is rugged and tough. There's no need for a case and it has matt ridged
edges that make it secure to hold. As a smartphone it's performance is ok and
it has a number of extras useful in the outdoors. I'll do a full review after
the walk. I'm using it with ViewRanger - I have the route on 1:25,000 maps -
and it works well. The Explore comes with an Adventure Pack that attaches by
magnets - no cables required. This is a 3620 mAh power pack with GPS booster. I
like the magnetic attachment but it weighs 198g, making a 359g unit that is
quite bulky and noticeable in a shirt pocket. The power doesn't last that long
either, which may be down to the GPS booster. The latter makes no difference as
far as I can tell.
The Pro Trek watch has a nice big face that's easy to read.
It does all sorts of amazing things but using them means the battery runs down
in less than a day. Again there'll be a full review after the walk.
Both items continued
to work fine. I reviewed them for The Great Outdoors – Land Rover Explore here and Casio Pro Trek here.
Miscellaneous
Other items include the Cicerone GR 5 Trail guidebook (not
weighed, not light!), Petzl Actik and e-Lite headlamps, first aid kit, repair
kit, notebook, Kestrel Weather Station, Kindle, sunglasses, reading glasses,
and other odds and ends totalling around 800g.
Total weight
All this comes to around 10kg, to which must be added
another 2kg of camera gear - 2 bodies, 2 lenses, ultralight tripod, camera
bags. I reckon with several days of food and a few litres of water my pack
weighed 16-17kg at its heaviest.
