What's in Our Backpack

Well, now you can find out! I added a new page, which you can find on the left side of this blog. I have posted the list of gear that we started out with as well as a more current gear list that was used on our week-long treks through the Andes of Peru and Bolivia.

I have been meaning to post our gear list for quite a while, but only got around to it for publishing our article. Our first list was a rough estimate using super market produce scales. Our second list is more accurate as I weighed items on a digital kitchen scale accurate to one tenth of an ounce. I know, it may sound crazy, but it is what we have to do to keep our packs manageable.

Please feel free to comment or email me if you have any questions.

As much as I like looking at our gear, I like it even better when you can't see our backpacks because they are so small! Going ultralight made it fun and easier to climb over the many 15,000' passes in Peru/Bolivia and scramble off the trail.

I Need a Vacation!

The last two weeks in California have been quite the blur. We visited my family in SF, went to a wedding in Napa, and spent one weekend with Kristin's parents and one weekend with her sister. I guided two trips for Shasta Mountain Guides and Kristin went on a three-day trek in Snow Mountain Wilderness (Mendocino County). We have been eating really well (and too much!), enjoying fine California wine, and visiting as many friends as we can.

As if that wasn't enough, our first travel article was published today. We wrote about having one small backpack with which we could see the world, what's in that backpack, and how we decided what to carry.  We wrote this article in March and April for BackpackingLight.com. Kristin is submitted a second article today: a trip report on our fantastic and challenging trek around the Huayhuash Mountains in Northern Peru. We have a third article due soon, which will analyze our backpacking setup - basically, how good were our initial gear choices and how did everything perform.

To top it all off, we bought tickets to Helsinki, where we'll jump ship to St. Petersburg and start our 10 week Russian Journey. After that, our best guess travel plan is Mongolia, China, Nepal, and India until February, when we head to Italy. We will spend the subsequent six months touring Eastern and Western Europe, Scandanavia, and maybe Northern Africa.

Our friends, now happily married. 

Summit of Shasta, 14,179 feet.

Descending with my four climbers after having summited Shasta. 

The sunset before summit day - the most spectacular sunset I have ever seen on Shasta. 

Two more happy climbers. Happy to have summited, and happy to now descend. Last trip of the season and what a good ending!

Alive and Well

Kristin and I are back in Huaraz after seven days of backpacking the Huayhuash Loop, which many say is one of the best treks in the world. Well, we certainly took enough pictures that give some credit to that claim. I cannot say I've hiked enough to be able to rank treks on a global scale. However, we camped above 4400 meters (14,400 feet) every night and hiked over numerous 5000 meter (16,500 feet) passes. We saw several locals, only two other backpacking groups (with guides) and zero independent hikers in our week on the trail. As I can edit and upload photos, I'll start sharing our tale.

As for me and Kristin, we are enjoying our last day in Huaraz. We have been staying with our gracious friend, Gary, and his family. Tonight we take an overnight bus to Lima. We will spend half a day there, buying food, checking out the Miraflores District, and trying not to get shot. Then we have a lovely 22-hour bus ride to Cusco. Luckily, I have plenty of photos to edit, emails to catch-up on, and books to read.

My mom and her friend are meeting us in Cusco, which is the nearest city to Machu Pichu. After a week of exploring Incan ruins, Kristin and I will continue south to Arequipe, where we'll trek through the Colca Canyon. Then it's off to Lake Titicaca, across the Bolivian border, a week in La Paz with Brady, south through the Andes to the great salt flats (Salar de Uyuni), into Chile via San Pedro de Atacama, and finally arriving at Santiago towards the end of June.

Our itinerary for the next five weeks is actually planned because we have a flight from Santiago to San Francisco on June 23. That's right, we are flying home! We are very excited to see local friends and family. However, we will not stay long as we want to head west, over the Pacific, to wherever the wind takes us. Email me if you'll be around. Hope to see you soon!

Until the Huayhuash travel posts are ready, here is a little eye candy to tide you over:

More Jumping Photos

More stunning sceneries with glacial lakes and dramatic peaks.

More bad weather.

And more macro shots.

Also, on the right side of this blog are the Stats Page, which is current as of today, and the TarpTent Love Page, which shows our camp spots over the last eight months and is updated as of the Santa Cruz Loop.

Cordillera Blanca - The Santa Cruz Loop

Peru has three very popular treks: the Inca Trail to Machu Pichu, Colca Canyon, and the Santa Cruz Loop. We just returned from the latter of those three and had an absolutely amazing time. I don't know that the Santa Cruz Loop is ever really crowded. However, we were able to escape the main trail by exploring the seldom-visited side valleys. (Thanks Mark G. for the advice!) Also, our timing was perfect: too early for the high-season crowds, but just late enough to have good weather. We camped by ourselves every night. Despite hiking more miles, we finished the hike easily in four days. In fact, we only hiked two hours on the first day and one hour on the fourth day, meaning we only hiked for 2.5 days. The normal guided trip is 5-6 days, even with the help of mules. The scenery was breathtaking, as I hope these pictures convey a small percentage of what we experienced.

Not a bad lunch stop. This was after three colectivo rides, but before we hiked along the road, then hitched with an American family, then hiked more, and then hitched in the back of a chicken truck.

The start of the trail weaved through a small pueblo, where we were often greated by farm animals or scruffy kids asking for candy (carmelos).

The line at the pit toilets.

The clouds danced through the peaks all day long.

Almost to the top of the 4750 meter pass (Punto Union).

Another fantastic timed-photo with the help of my Gorillapod (tripod)

The view from our tent at sunrise. Just one of the many 5800-6600 meter peaks within view.

It is OK to be silly when no one is around. We had this entire lake and valley to ourselves. And yes, I need a belt. I think I have lost a bit of weight in South America.

And just how high were we? Why don't we check my handy altimeter watch. Over 4400 meters! We camped just below this lake, which would be like sleeping on top of Mt. Whitney in terms of altitude. Thanks Lauren for delivering this watch to Janie, who then mailed it to us.

We got off trail for a while and started hopping around these meandering river branches. The water was crystal clear.

We set up the tarp for our lunch break to protect us from the really intense sun and UV rays that are present in the high altitudes of the Andes.

Sunset from our campsite on the last night, high on a ridge and away from the trail but within earshot of the thundering river rapids. 

Hike. Eat. Repeat.

The theme continues: great hiking, returning to civilization for refueling on good food, then more great hiking. A few pictures from the last two weeks as they tell the story better than me mincing words.



Our first backpacking trip outside of Bariloche. This was only a few hours trek from where public transport dropped us off. How can you beat that for a good start?



Coming over the saddle, we find our trail through the valley on the left. We eat pb&j and take in the views for as long as we can.



We set up camp on the right side of the lake. We also couldn't complain about that. Or the fact that camping is free. And there is no park entry fee. Or the great weather. Or anything really.



The walk home. Still spectacular.



Didn't make it back to town as we got sidetracked in the beautiful municipal park. We stealth camped in a bamboo thicket by this lake.



While I don't generally eat meat, I can't pass up the opportunity for the world's best beef. And at only $1.50 for a 10oz steak at the butchers shop, it's probably the cheaper than cheese or chocolate.



Back to camping. Mt. Tranador is 1,000 meters higher than everything else around it, leading to probably the most spectacular campsite and sunset that I've ever witnessed.



Don't adjust your monitor, these colors are accurate.



Adjacent to another campsite. Within an hours walk were "thermal pools", except that nobody bothered to build any pools around the springs. So, Mia may have enjoyed the dip, but the water was only ankle deep. Disappointing, but not surprising. Luckily we had a great hike along the way, lots of good conversations, and we hitched a ride back to town with two college girls and their dog. Hitching rides has so far proved to be the best way to meet cool people :)

Cochamó - Thorougly Soaked

Last week we had the brilliant idea to hike from Chile through the Andes to Argentina. Dire warnings about "bad weather" weren't going to stop us. We're in Patagonia after all. In ways, the weather defines the experience. But sometimes, the only way to enjoy the experience is to ignore the weather and to keep on trekking. It is said that only tourists talk of the weather here.

Well, that was before this summer. While Cochamó Valley saw the sun about half of the days last summer, we were in a spell of at least 26 rainy days out of 31, according to local climbers. It has been the rainiest season in history. Who knows how far back local history (read: memory) dates? Regardless, it was bad. On most days the clouds impeded the views of soaring granite cliffs and precipitous waterfalls. However, in the rare moments of spacial clarity, we were stunned with what we saw: a Yosemite virtually unbeknown to North America. There are no roads here. There are three buildings: one is an extremely basic hut used by campers for cooking, one is a caretaker's house, and one is a simple, rustic refugio where you can stay in a bunk for the night. During the summer the valley is temporarily populated by hopeful climbers and a few curious backpackers. Trails are muddy and steep, the routes are heavily vegetated, the weather is foul, and even the hike into the valley is difficult. However, at the end of this arduous trail of climbers love and perseverance is the chance to put up a new route on a big wall. Where else in the world can a climber do that?

I did notice a high proportion of climbers from Boulder Colorado. I also heard a few comments of "it's the Yosemite of South America" or "it's like Yosemite without all the tourists." While this are both true, there is already a Yosemite, and it's in California. I didn't find any other Californians wondering the globe for another Yosemite.

Kristin and I thoroughly enjoyed the hike, even if we didn't fully embrace the rain. At the end of the week, we made it Argentina. Mold was growing on certain textiles, but we were able to keep dry our precious things: books, computer, and sleeping bag. Yes, we were able to hike with 7+ days worth of food plus everything we need for the rest of South America.

Big Walls

Big Trees

Deep Muddy Trails

I'll write more about the Valley (as will Kristin), post more pics, and tell two more tales of border crossings (yes, two more!). But now, you must let me enjoy some hard-earned Argentinean sunshine and chocolate. Ciao!

Torres del Paine

With Torres del Paine, we concluded our tour of southern Patagonia and its triumvirate of stunning parks - Tierra del Fuego, Los Glaciares (Fitz Roy), and Torres del Paine. We spent the last month criss-crossing borders in search of the best backpacking. We found it in Torres del Paine (TdP), along with thousands of other people and high costs.

Yo, Robot.

Since arriving in South America, I have seen more Will Smith movies than I had in my entire life. I don't know what this says about me.

Regardless, it is hard to escape American culture, whether it is Friends or Sex and the City with subtitles, or an American idea turned into something like Latin American Idol or the numerous reality shows. The top three bands I've heard? Beatles, Bob Marley and Queen. Yes, technically not American bands, but you get the point. English is the de facto international language, and American pop culture is becoming the world's culture. Now if we could just do something about the sliding value of US dollar, that'd be great.

Food, transportation and sleeping arrangements are the three constant challenges of our journey. Kristin blogged about the food situation already. I'd just like to echo her sentiment that it is very difficult to pay for food you don't really like. It's worse when you have to pay too much for it. It's particularly hard to plan a 8-day camping trip when your choices are thus limited. I mean, I haven't had peanut butter since Guatemala. I don't know what to do for lunch!

We are really lucky, particularly in Northern California, that we have such a wide selection of good foods. Not that everybody takes advantage of that, but I know I couldn't live without it.

On that note, we're heading into the "wilderness" of Torres del Paine. This is a park that I've dreamed of visiting. Like the rest of Patagonia, it is absolutely notorious for unpredictable, rapidly changing weather and ferocious winds. We'll see how our little TarpTent does! And 8 days of processed food should be exciting.

Note: we will be out of communication for the next 8-10 days. If the world ends during that time, we'll have to wait until we get back to check Google News to find out. Until then, here are a few pictures from our last hike in Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina. Ciao!

Wind and snow are all part of the daily fun.

Even though it looks like Spring, we're certain to get all four seasons in one day. True Patagonia weather.

Glaciar lakes, tumbling waterfalls and towering peaks - it's worth the effort!

Trinity Alps Backpacking

After being in Davis for 10 years, it was about time to finally check out the Trinity Alps. They are north of Davis and seldom visited. We figured a good time to go backpacking would be Fourth of July weekend, when every other park is disgustingly overcrowded. We were rewarded with beautiful lake-side camp spots, breathtaking mountaintop panoramas, and few other backpackers. Thanks Kat and Brady for organizing this.