All (or almost all) my gear for what I’ve decided to call Bastian's Big Backpacking Voyage 2024 (#BaBiBaVo2024), six weeks (or so) of #hiking and #backpacking in the south of France. A total of 11kg, not counting food and water, which is about 2-3kg more than I’d like, so now comes the fun part of trying to whittle off any excess weight (like that giant roll of duck tape). With a limited budget I had to make some compromises, though, so I might not be able to reduce it as much as I’d like.
🧵 1/6
May 29, 1983, 41 years ago today: I began hiking exactly at 11:00 beneath a heavy overcast, but no rain. My first three miles were the climb up Big Bald.
I have very mixed feelings about this adventure. While I had a good weekend, it was decidedly Type II fun. Plusses include wildflowers and beautiful views. Minuses include monotonous ups and downs, dangerous landslide traverses, and poison oak absolutely everywhere. I’m not sure yet if I’m breaking out or not. I found myself wishing I was rafting the river instead.
This fine creature kept me company while I was eating dinner by a stream last week during my #backpacking trip in the White #Mountains, #NewHampshire. It just hung out on my boot while I enjoyed the sounds of the stream!
Continuing the biennial "completely rebuild my #backpacking water filtration and storage system" (DIY quick release bite valve so I can plug in my gravity filter to the same inlet)
I’m hanging out at the famous Blue Pool this morning eating lunch and drying out my tent. It rained a bit while I slept but was only misting by the time I was packing up. I’ve already covered a large portion of the trail last night and this morning. This trail is a gem, I love it out here. I believe the waterfall corridor is next. Just a quick post, more photos to come.
I tagged the end of the trail this morning. Incredible trail. No one told me I would be hiking on a lava bed at the edge of a beautiful lake. I’m currently in the snow attempting a summit of Sand Mountain to see the views.
Having not done a real hike since November, it seemed the perfect time to launch myself on ~40 miles over 3 days backpacking.
Day 1 started in old growth redwoods, passed remains of homesteading, then climbed past a selection of trees to one of the old growth redwood backpacking camps.
Day 2 wasn't far, but had excursions to make it longer than the first. Out along Hanson Ridge and up to the fire lookout on Grasshopper Mountain and one that shall simply be known simply as The Excursion.
Day 3 was the longest of them all, but also the most single track trail, the most old growth. Oh, yeah, and the most downhill. A little river and creek and lots of trees.