Vedau-wow and Misadventures with White Flowers

In which the ill-equipped adventurers encounter blobby boulders and massive mountains and can climb neither!

Vedauwoo (pronounced “Vey-dah-voo”) is a climbing area in southeastern Wyoming known for big, nasty, off-width cracks and chimneys. We hoped that there would be a few climbs we could tackle with our little Gunks rack, but there were very few trad routes we could protect. Folks, bring doubles of #4-#6 and maybe a Big Bro or three. Also a box of tape and kneepads.

the nautilus

So, we spent a half-day sport climbing at Beehive Buttress. The cliff is big, blobby, curves of rock, with lots of slopers and smearing at the bottom, finishing with a shorter, overhung, juggy section. A good way to break up the drive to California, but definitely not the climbing that makes Vedauwoo famous. 

cleaning some climb, don't remember which

We took advantage of the dispersed primitive camping around Vedauwoo at an awesome site strewn with boulders and lit with the most beautiful, golden, desert sunset. 

 

Medicine Bow Peak in the Medicine Bow National Forest is a sweet dayhike and had been on our radar back in Ithaca. Driving up-up-up into the mountains, temperatures dropped 25 degrees, and we started noticing large piles of white flowers (euphimism for SNOW). 

The trailhead looked like this:

nope

Needless to say, we were not equipped for this climb, either.

We camped off a forest service road at a lower elevation, but at 8,000-something feet, it was still chilly. I love the availability and accessibility of public lands in the Western states. Drive down a dirt road and you're likely to find an established campsite.

Ithaca to Laramie: Farms, More Farms, and Still More Farms

New York State: picturesque farms on winding roads and green hills.

new york state

Pennsylvania: don't remember it – I was working.

Ohio: mosquitoes. Dear heavens, who thought it was a good idea to sleep in a national wildlife refuge on the swampy shores of Lake Erie? At least I know that the mosquito net in The Matrix works (sort of).

#*%#(*F!!!

Indiana: run-down farms on sad, straight roads.

indiana

Illinois: slightly nicer farms on slightly less straight roads.

illinois

Iowa: wealthy corn, soy, and wind farms.

iowa

Nebraska: mega-farms that go on for hours, and hours, and hours, punctuated by single farmhouses with no neighbors for miles.

nebraska

Wyoming: beef and Sierra Trading Post.

wyoming

On the Road Again: Northwest Road Trip 2014

We're on the road again! Picking up where we left off on the Southwest road trip in 2011, we are spending June and July in the California Sierra, the Cascades of Washington, and the Northern Rockies of Montana and Wyoming. Doing the usual – living in The Matrix (a.k.a. our car), backpacking and climbing and hiking.

We had about 6 months of time to prep, compared to 3ish days last time. I'm not sure we really did that much more prep work, though! Last few days before leaving were pretty stressful. Our “to do” list before leaving:

1. Dehydrate a ton of food for backpacking.
2. Find a house-sitter.
3. Make a general map of ideas.

(Anyone else ***really*** dislike the new Google Maps?)

4. Acquire Lyme Disease.

poor dave :-(

5. Chop off hair.

obligatory crappy cell phone self photograph in the bathroom mirror

6. Pack up The Matrix. (Living out of a car deserves its own post – our micro-home is 40 square feet and gets 35 mpg.)

7. Say goodbye to friends.
8. Feel sad about leaving our home, our community, and our town at the most beautiful time of year.
9. Get in the car anyway, and head west!

We left on Sunday, 6/1/2014, and I'm finally posting this on Monday, 6/9/2014. Cell phone service has been spotty, and computer internet time...  well, I'm in a Quiznos in Merced, California, and the last time I was on the computer was at a McDonald's somewhere in Amishland, Indiana.  As much as I would love to post photos and blogs during this trip, I don't want to spend any time in fast food restaurants.  So, no news = good news, because it means we're in the mountains!

[Sidebar: I know what you're wondering: no, we did not quit our jobs this time.

My (Mostly) DIY Hammock Camp

Dave and I recently upgraded our tent to a Tarptent.  It's super light (3.43 lbs, including ground cloth), but it's tiny - a tight squeeze for the two of us.  It's adequate for shelter, but in terms of comfort, it's no Chateau Dayan.

Enter the hammock.

The hammock was my bed in my closet-sized room in the lake house.  I thought it would make a comfortable, lightweight alternative to a tent (as long as I camp below treeline!)...  of course, after I made a few modifications.

The Hammock

Grand Trunk Ultralight.  Still not sure where I got it - K & T won't take responsibility - must have been the hammock fairy?

The hammock itself was the only part of this kit that was not DIY'ed.

The Suspension

The hammock came with some heavy paracord and heavy "S" rings.  The paracord munches through tree bark, and the system was a PITA to adjust.  First it's too loose, then it's too tight, then it's not centered - bah humbug!!

I replaced that bunk with a ridgeline (that's the rope connecting each corner of the hammock) to hold the amount of "sag" in the hammock steady.  The ends of the hammock are connected to whoopie slings (whoopie!), which are adjustable, spliced loops of rope.  And the whoopie slings attach to tree slings, which are straps of 1'' webbing to protect the tree.

In this photo, you can also see my little ridgeline organizer, where I store my glasses, ear plugs, and headlamp.

Together, the hammock and suspension weighs 1.13 lbs.

The Shelter

I'm the type of person that needs to sleep under a cover 12 months of the year.  I like having hidey-holes and being tucked out of sight.  I was willing to have a bigger (read: heavier) tarp, if it meant I had a retreat!

my diy tarp!  right door unstaked

My DIY tarp has two doors that can be staked inward or outward for privacy, warmth, and additional weather protection.  

It's made out of light-weight silicone impregnated nylon with a ridgeline made of "Lash It" (which does not stretch).  The guylines are attached to some shock cord, so when the nylon stretches overnight, I'll maintain a tight pitch.

Weighing in at 1.80 lbs, plus 0.23 lbs for stakes, this isn't the lightest tarp.  But I made it, and I love it!  

On trips when Davo and I expect bad weather, we're packing this in addition to the TarpTent, so we have plenty of space for gear, cooking, sitting, etc.

The Insulation 

One downside to hammock camping is that the air passing underneath your hammock removes heat from your body via convection.  Sleeping in an un-insulated hammock in temps below 70ish is chilly.

For a while, I was sleeping on top of my ThermaRest, but at 1.50 lbs, I wanted something lighter.  This closed-cell foam pad is 0.68 lbs and cost $8 - much better.

To keep the pad from sliding around in the night, I sewed two pockets into the hammock.  I also painted circles of 100% grippy silicone caulk onto the hammock fabric.  Works great!

The Bugnet

My bugnet is a big bag made of No-See-Um mesh that slips over the hammock and has a drawstring at the bottom.  Super simple.  Don't even have a photo of it.  Weighs 0.28 lbs.

Ironically, the weight of the tarp, hammock, bugnet, and stakes is 3.43 lbs - exactly the same as the TarpTent!  For the same weight, though, I get a TON more space, WAY more comfort, MUCH more versatility in camping locations, and the pleasure of having made my own gear, customized for me, at a fraction of the cost of buying it from a store.

Happy hanging!

My Turbo Cat II Stove

True statement about my husband:  the man can eat.  Dave can really put it away!  When we backpack, we bring a 2 liter pot, fill it completely with food, and he eats 3/4 of it.

Our typical powerhouse for backcountry cooking in quantity is the MSR Whisperlite, a random not-so-light pot, and assorted utensils.

this, people, this is what i have to work with...

Problem:  that stuff is heavy.  Even leaving the big pot behind and bringing a small MSR pot, it is still

3.82 lbs heavy, before fuel.

Enter the Turbo Cat II Stove.

revised cook kit - fuel bottle not shown (it's just a boring 12 oz soda bottle)

Materials:
*1 sheet of aluminum dryer vent - $4.50 at hardware store
*1 cake pan - $1 at dollar store
*1 "grease pot" - $5 online
*Epoxy - $6 at hardware store
*1 PBR can (already in fridge)
*1 tuna can (already in pantry)
*2 paperclips (found in couch)
*Fiberglass insulation scrap (from shed)
*1 metal hanger (found in closet)
*Drill n' bits (already have it)
*Pot handle (from MSR kit)

Total cost:  $16.50

Total weight:  1.00 lbs exactly (saving 74% of previous cook kit weight)

Satisfaction of having built my own stove:  pretty darn high.

The Stove
This little stove runs on denatured alcohol.  Denatured alcohol can be found just about anywhere and it's relatively non-toxic, so you pour only what you need for a trip into an old soda bottle.

The stove itself consists of a burn cup (PBR can bottom) with a fiberglass wick enclosed by a vent cup (tuna can).  Holes are punched in the vent cup and closed with a sliding ring to limit the amount of oxygen available to the flame - resulting in a nice, long, slow simmer (try that with a Whisperlite!).

The Accessories
The windscreen is made of aluminum dryer vent.  The coat hanger pot supports bisect the windscreen, holding the pot above the flame.  The cake pan made a heat reflecting, durable ground cover.

The pot is a "Stanco grease strainer."  It's flimsy aluminum and isn't for gourmet cooking...  but for a single reheated meal, it's perfect!  Just replace the lid with a paperclip and save another ounce.

man that pot handle looks huge... gotta be a better way...

So, does it work?  Sure does!

boiling boiling boiling

I estimate ~1 tablespoon of fuel gets 2 cups of cold water to a hard rolling boil in ~5 minutes.

I won't be able to cook for both Dave and I with the Turbo Cat II - I'd have to cook three meals for Dave and one for myself.  But!  For solo trips, this is perfect for me.  Lightweight, simple, nothing to break, nothing to pump, nothing to prime, and the perfect size pot.

Many thanks to John Bednar for publishing his plans online - they were perfect!  I improved on his plans slightly by using a can opener that pries the lid from the can, leaving it intact.  This resulted in a perfect stove bottom (simply epoxied the lid of the can back on, instead of cutting another piece of aluminum).

Losing Weight: No Wonder Backpacking (Used To) Hurt

I'm planning at least one solo backpacking trip this summer - solo as in no Davo, solo as in I carry all of my own gear.  Typically, we split the "group gear," like the tent, stove, bear can, food, etc.  Knowing that I'm usually exhausted, even when splitting the group gear, I had no idea how I could manage on my own.

So, I did what I usually do when I'm trying to figure out a problem:  I made a list.

I listed every single item I would usually carry on a backpacking trip.  I weighed each of those items on my little kitchen scale that's accurate to 0.05 oz.  And I totaled up the weights.

Not including any clothing worn on my body, not including any consumables (food, water, fuel), not including variable weights (maps)...

...my base pack weight would be 32.65 pounds.  Remember, that's before 2 x 2 lb liters of water and 2-3 lbs of food per day.  If I didn't change what I was carrying, I could conceivably end up with a ~45 lb pack.  That's approximately 35% of my body weight.

No wonder backpacking hurts.  My pack needed a serious diet.

huuuge packs in the boundary waters...  (it's mostly sleeping bag, shhhh)

---

Fast forward 2 months and around $150.

My base pack weight is now 14.51 pounds, assuming it's not winter AND I don't need to carry a bear can AND I'm going to be slightly colder than usual.  Not ultralight, but a huge improvement for very little investment.

I cut down my pack weight by considering every single thing I used to carry and asking the following questions, in order:

1. Is this necessary?  (med kit = yes, inflatable pillow = no)
2. Can something already in the pack perform the same function?  (e.g. bandana = filter for water floaties)
3. Can I carry less, repackage, or literally cut off the bits I don't use?  (e.g. bye bye, toothbrush handle)
4. If not, can I make another DIY version that's lighter?  (introducing the cat can stove!)
5. If not, can I find a commercial version that is within my (very small) budget?  (only my tent stakes and hammock pad made it this far down the list)

What does this look like in practice?

From this (Dave has most of the pack weight on the last day - imagine me carrying 50% of his stuff):

i still have that scar on my leg, too...

To this:

yes, that is actually my backpacking pack.  plus blue sleeping pad, seen standing on floor

Pretty cool!  I'm looking forward to taking it out for a test hike this weekend.  I'm especially proud of my hammock/ shelter and stove, so I'm going to show them off in their own posts.