HighLine Trail 2017 Day 9

HighLine Trail, High Uintas Wilderness, Utah
1 August 2017

Location: Hayden Pass Trail head - N40.72204°  W110.86413°
Elevation: 10,362'
Ascent: 2845' (Total: 19,857')
Descent: 3216' (Total: 17,433')
Day Distance: 20.6 miles (Total: 123.7 miles)

I got up this morning to another clear sky.  After breakfast, as I was putting camp away, I had some deer just come in and walk around me.  They were not spooked at all.

I was, I thought at the time, 17 miles from the trail head and about 10 miles from my planned camp.  I was unsure if I was going to spend one more night or go all the way to the trail head.  Because of the infection in my foot, I was leaning towards the trail head.  As I came down from Ledge Lake and hit the intersection where the HighLine trail descends into Rock Creek, I took the right fork towards Lightening Lake as I had already planned.  My plan was to circle around and visit Helen Lake.  To me, the HighLine trail should already do this, since it follows the contour and mountains that I had been following all the way since North Pole Pass.  This small detour added about three miles to my trip.  As a 12 year old scout, my one and only journey into the High Uinta Wilderness Area included Helen Lake.  Helen Lake is my only clear memory of a place name that we visited.  I wanted to see it again, to see if it match my memories.  After passing the next intersection that would lead down to Jack and Jill Lakes I arrived at Helen Lake.  It is almost exactly as I remember.  A lake pinned in by cliffs.  Heading for Rocky See Pass from Helen Lake there is an initial short climb.  Then the trail follows the contour until Rosalie Lake, the descends down past Black Lake.  This is the point where the Jack and Jill trail reconnects. The trail doesn't actually go to the lake.  If you want to see Black Lake, you need to descend a couple hundred more feet on a side trail.  The trail then makes it way past Brinkley Lake.  Just after Brinkley Lake the Rock Creek trail reconnects.  This is the official trail 025 (High Line Trail).

Shortly after the junction with the Rock Creek trail, the trail begin to climb to gain the elevation of the basin below Rocky Sea Pass.  I got to my planned camp site near the unnamed lakes in the basin below Rocky Sea Pass about 14:00.  The skies were beginning to darken, and I did not want to set up camp so early, just to be confined to my tent by a rain storm and mosquitoes.  My foot was not bothering me, but I was worried about the infection.  So I made the decision to finish and hike the miles to the trail head.

Up and over Rocky Sea Pass I went.  As I got down from the pass it started to sprinkle, so I put on my pack cover.  I did not get out my rain jacket.  The trail from Rocky Sea Pass to the trail head is mostly down hill until the last couple of miles where it climbs to the trail head.  It sprinkled on me most of the way.  Not a constant rain, just brief moments of light rain.

I was making fairly good time because of the down hill.  The trail is also heavily trafficked so it is wide.  At 17:00 I called Shelly to arrange for her to come at get me.  Arranging the pick up for sometime between 19:30 and 20:00.  I wanted to make sure I got there before she did.  I had about five miles to go, according to the GPS.  As I got my phone out, it started to rain, not just sprinkle.  It rained slightly longer than it took for me to make my call, then continued to lightly sprinkle for about the next hour.

I arrived at the trail head at 19:30 and Shelly arrived soon after.  I was going to wash up, but the water coming out of the spigot was red/brown.  So I ate the Subway sandwich that Shelly brought me, got into the truck and drove home.

Side note: A few days later. My fourth toe (or ring toe) on my right foot is infected.  Looks like a strep infection of some kind.  The skin was just falling off the toe and the red streak had started climbing my foot and ankle.  The doctor gave me a shot, and put my on an antibiotic.  The toe is doing much better and will heal just fine.

Highline Trail 2017 Day 9

HighLine Trail 2017 Day 8

HighLine Trail, High Uintas Wilderness, Utah
31 July 2017, 20:00

Location: Ledge Lake - N40.72419°  W110.67771°
Elevation: 10,847'
Ascent: 3030' (Total: 17,012')
Descent: 3124' (Total: 14,217')
Day Distance: 15.02 miles (Total: 103.1 miles)

After yesterday's rain, today started out looking clear.  Unfortunately, it didn't last long.  It clouded up by 11:00.  It hailed briefly, long enough for me to get my rain gear on, then it stopped.  Rained hard several times in the same manner.  I ended up leaving the pack cover on, but I put away my rain jacket.  I never did hear any thunder.  It rained on the approach to Red Knob Pass, but as I got to the pass, the pass was clear skies and sunshine.  The same thing happened at Dead Horse Pass.  Rained as I was getting to the base of the pass, then the pass was all in sunlight.

I am sitting in my tent writing this, and a herd of deer just moved in.  I actually have a deer bedded down next to my tent.  They wandered around a little before bedding down.  Sniffing my tent, etc.  When I made some noise, they didn't leave.  I moved around and that seemed to make them move a little.  I'm sitting in my tent writing this because the mosquitoes are really bad, didn't expect company.  I got out of my tent to move the deer along, but they just looked at me.  So I guess I'll have company tonight.  At least the one next to my tent moved away a little.

Back to the mosquitoes.  Prior to leaving for this hike, I sprayed my clothing with permethrin.  This included my hat, shirt, pants, gaiters, and gloves.  While on the trail, I don't have any problems.  Things get bad when I remove my gloves to either get water, or at camp to pitch my tent and get dinner.  The mosquitoes then attack my hands in droves.  I have killed more than a dozen at once just slapping the back of my hand.  Things get really bad in the evening when I remove my shoes and socks to let my feet "air" and to let my shoes and sock dry.  My sandals my cover the bottom of my feet, but the mosquitoes attack the top, just like my hands.  I brought some deet for this eventuality, but it only seems to work for about 20 minutes before the mosquitoes are back.  So I mainly hide-out in my tent after dinner to write in my journal and read before going to sleep.

I left camp this morning and headed towards Red Knob Pass.  The junction was about four miles from my camp.  I always seem to bust out in the morning and then pay for it later in the day.  I need to learn to pace myself better.  Anyway I made the junction in well under two hours.  Now given the terrain in the Uinta Wilderness area, that is a pretty good time.  From camp, it was an immediate climb, followed by a long descent to the junction.  The trail disappeared several times on the descent.  With the GPS I always managed to find it again, but it is a little nerve wracking when it just disappears.  The basin just below Red Knob Pass was full of sheep, part of the reason the trail would disappear, and the trail went right through the middle of them.  The didn't seem to appreciate me, and were very vocal about it.

About 30 percent up Red Knob Pass I encountered a trail runner.  He has started the day at Hayden Pass Trail head, and was going to turn around at 25 miles.  He said he needed 3 more miles before turning around.  I warned him about the trail disappearing act, but he seemed unconcerned.  I finally managed to crest Red Knob Pass.  I was expecting the trail to bear to the left towards Dead Horse Pass, but it went the opposite direction away from Dead Horse Pass for quite some time.  It finally descends and turns towards Dead Horse Pass but after going what felt like about a mile out of the way.  After the turn you'll continue to give up elevation for quite some time.  I kept thinking about having to gain all that elevation back, to get up over Dead Horse Pass.  As you get nearer to Dead Horse Pass the trail really starts to climb.  This climb is not the pass, it is just getting back all the elevation you lost from the base of Red Knob Pass, but in a shorter distance.  You continue to climb until finally getting to Dead Horse Lake at the base of the pass.  That is where you hit the trail up the pass, or should I say rocks, boulders, loose scree, etc.  I stopped to eat just above the lake.  While I was eating the trail runner finally returned.  I had expected him to catch me long before that point.  He stopped to chat for a moment, and told me he had gotten lost below Red Knob Pass when the trail completely disappeared.  Took him some time to get back.  He didn't have a map with him, but he did have a GPS watch.  When he had finally gotten back to Red Knob Pass, he took another trail away from Dead Horse Pass, to complete is mileage before turning around.

When I finally crested Dead Horse Pass, he was long gone.  At the top of Dead Horse Pass, the trail again goes the wrong direction.  Going away from the desired direction and heads east.  It eventually turns back west and heads towards Ledge Lake and Rocky Sea Pass.  It immediately goes left along the ridge, before finally turn downhill, and the towards the west.  I mention this because the ground doesn't really show a path and it was not very obvious that the trail made a left turn at the top of the pass.  The north side of Dead Horse Pass, (which I had just ascended), after the initial rock field, which is about half the climb, turns into an almost a sand.  The trail is treacherous.  I finally made Ledge Lake, setup camp, and phoned home.  No answer on my first attempt, the call dropped on my second attempt.  Voice mail on the the third attempt.  The fourth time my daughter finally answered.  I gave her my information to pass along to Shelly, then Shelly returned before I was finished, and I was able to chat with her for a little.

I am considering hiking clear out tomorrow.  I will have to see how I feel.  I am about 17 miles from the trail head (according to the GPS).  Since most of the trail is fairly level to the base of Rocky Sea Pass with the detour I am going to take to Helen Lake.  My first scout outing as a youth visited Helen Lake, and I have never been back.  So I will be avoiding the 1000 foot descent into Rock Creek, and the 1000 ascent out of Rock Creek to the base of the pass.  Instead I will visit Helen and Lightening Lakes.  So a fairly flat hike, ten miles to Rocky Sea Pass, of course the detour should add about three miles.  I be at the base of Rocky Sea Pass by noon with about 7 miles (according to GPS) to the trail head.  I'm going to sleep on it and see how I feel in the morning.

Side note: my toe with the open blister has become infected.  I blame the greasy bog I had to wade through after Fox Lake a couple of days ago.  I have a red line beginning to inch up my foot.  I have treated it as best I can with topical stuff, but I really need to get an antibiotic if I have a staff infection, and that may drive me to hit the trail head tomorrow.

Highline Trail 2017 Day 8

HighLine Trail 2017 Day 7

HighLine Trail, High Uintas Wilderness, Utah
30 July 2017, 20:00

Location: Oweep Creek - N40.76590°  W110.41489°
Elevation: 10,953'
Ascent: 1744' (Total: 13,982')
Descent: 1699' (Total: 11,093')
Day Distance: 12.01 miles (Total: 88.08 miles)

Shelly's birthday today.  I called her early this morning, probably before 07:00 and wished her a happy birthday. 

Today is Sunday, and I was not going to hike, but the camp site was not that great for shade, and even though the wind was blowing last night, the mosquitoes were thick.  I actually pick the site because of the breeze, hoping for some relief from the bugs.  My clothing, sprayed with permethrin, is working, but they attack my face, hands, and feet.  When I take off my trail runners around camp, to allow my feet to dry, the mosquitoes think it is feeding time.  So with blue skies, a prayer in my heart, I ate breakfast, struck camp, and was on the trail by 08:00.

Today was a two pass day.  From camp there was a steady climb , as far as mountain trails can be steady.  Not steep like Anderson Pass, but consistent.  The climb is consistent all the way to Tungsten Pass.  At Tungsten Pass you give up some elevation and descend to Tungsten Lake.  Then back to a steady climb towards Porcupine Pass.  Porcupine Pass is typical of passes in the Uintas.  The trail climbs to the base of the pass, then suddenly gains 500 plus feet in the next .25 miles.  In other words, hike to the meadow below the pass, then go vertical at the base of Porcupine.  I encountered a west-east HighLine Trail hiker about a third of the way up the pass.  He was on his fourth day and had only planned for a total of seven days, at 15 miles a day.  Which he thought would get him out to the highway (where I started).  I guess Wikipedia apparently has the hike as about 100 miles.  He was talking about turning around.  My GPS says I have about 30 miles left, having covered 88 miles.

After climbing Porcupine Pass, the back side of the pass (west side) is more scary than the west side of Anderson Pass.  The trail is not as well used and there are some pretty bad pieces.  Narrow, loose, and rocky, with a vertical drop rewarding a misstep.  As I got down from Porcupine Pass, and started across the basin below the pass, a storm started to move in.  All along the ridges it was dark and you could hear thunder in the distance.  I was still above tree line with maybe a mile to the tree line.  Sometime around 14:00, the storm caught me.  I was just getting to the tree line, with some big parks to cross.  The rain turned to hail for about 20 minutes.  Then into a steady rain until about 16:00.  I got my camp setup during the rain.  At one point the time between flash and boom was under two seconds.  As I write this the storm has finally stopped.  I need to go get dinner soon, which means I need to emerge from my tent.  After all the work I did to inflate my mattress from inside my one man tent :).

The sun finally came out with clear blue skies.  I was able to put some wet things out in the sun to dry out a little bit.  Mostly, my rain jacket.  I've eaten, called home, and now I'm going to crawl into my tent.  The bugs are trying to eat me alive.  The mosquitoes are thicker than I've ever seen, not saying much :)

Highline Trail 2017 Day 7

HighLine Trail 2017 Day 6

HighLine Trail, High Uintas Wilderness, Utah
29 July 2017, 20:00

Location: Yellowstone Creek - N40.76590°  W110.41489°
Elevation: 11,011'
Ascent: 2893' (Total: 12238')
Descent: 2694' (Total: 9394')
Day Distance: 15.45 miles (Total: 76.07 miles)

I started a little late today.  It rained for hours last night and as I had picked a East facing camp I was hoping the sun would dry somethings out before packing them up.  Also my GPS needed some back up batteries charged.  My watch had also died sometime during the night.  Not sure why the watch died, when I went to bed it had plenty of battery.  Now since it died, it lost some more time, so now it is about another 40 minutes off.  So with the sun up I charged my watch and my batteries.  Both were done by the time I had struck camp.  To start the day my GPS only had about 50% life left in the batteries.  So I knew I would be needing the batteries.  Sure enough, around noon I needed to change them out.  I then put the solar panel on my pack and charged the depleted batteries.  This is the first day that I did not have bad weather move in during the day.

As I left Kidney Lakes, I went down the wrong side.  I had looked at the map and thought I could connect to the trail by crossing over and going down the west side.  Didn't really work out, got pinned by terrain and water, and I ended up back-tracking to the lakes.  Seems the output from both lakes converged, and there was no way to cross.  Looking at the map the trail curved away from where I was, and if I did not cross I would be descending into the wrong drainage.  So I went back to the lakes crossed both streams individually, and then reverse followed the horse tracks that I had encountered the night before, back to the HighLine trail.  Turns out that there is a sign, I was just a little impatient, about 100 yards.

With a 09:00 start, the extra for the 'tour of the area' really put be behind.  It was almost 10:00 before I regained the trail.

The descent from Kidney Lakes was brutal.  Steep, rocky, downed trees, water crossings, and water running down the trail for large sections.  When I finally made painter basin, at the base of Anderson Pass I had four miles left to go, including a 1400' climb over the pass and it was 14:00.  I had been worried about the pass because of the almost daily afternoon thunder storms.  Luck was with me, because there was not a storm to be seen/heard.  By the time I had reached the top of the pass, a short two mile distance, it was 16:00.  Nice 'speed' climbing the pass with a loaded pack.  If I never do Anderson Pass with a pack on, it will be too soon!  At the pass I ran into two couples.  They asked where I was going and if I was going to summit.  When I told them where I was going and how far, I got interrogated about what I was eating, about the solar panel, and just about everything else non-experience backpacker would ask someone that was backpacking.  When I explained my food, I got questions on 'how good it was' and how could I fit it in my pack.  When I explained about the vacuum packed food, and my bear bag.  They wanted to know what a bear bag or vault was.  Thankfully, at the point, another couple arrived up the trail from the Yellowstone side and I was able to changed the conversation to trail conditions down the western side of the pass.  I never did explain what a bear vault was...

The descent into the Yellowstone drainage is a little daunting.  The trail, while steep is also along a very sheer wall.  A stumble would send you falling hundreds of feet. Going down hill, with pack, tired from a long day, is not something I would recommend.  At the base of the trail from the pass, there is a small basin.  I bumped into a gentleman from Moab that was here to hit all the 13,000' plus peaks.  He was going to camp in the small basin and hit it all in the morning.  He just could find any water, which was everywhere.  He said that he and his wife were considering doing the Highline Trail in September, but couldn't figure out the shuttle thing.  I offered to help.  He was talking about doing only the Chepeta trail head west.

I finally made it down to the Yellowstone Creek where I had planned to camp at about 18:30.  I got my phone out and called Shelly.  Somebody heard me talking, and a couple came to investigate.  I think they were going to try and get a little closer to attempt the summit tomorrow, so they didn't camp nearby.

A strong breeze was glowing, but the mosquitoes were still really thick.  I may hike tomorrow just because of the bugs, since I don't want to have to stay in my solo tent all day.  My original plans were to not hike on Sunday, but to take a day off.  I see in the morning how I feel about hiking or staying.

Highline Trail 2017 Day 6

HighLine Trail 2017 Day 5

HighLine Trail, High Uintas Wilderness, Utah
28 July 2017, 20:00

Location: Kidney Lakes - N40.79780°  W109.228814°
Elevation: 10835'
Ascent: 1956' (Total: 9345')
Descent: 2111' (Total: 6700')
Day Distance: 13.28 miles (Total: 60.62 miles)

What a Day!  Started out really nice.  Clear skies, cool temperature (48° F).  Got packed and hit the trail about 08:30.  From camp near Reeder Lakes it was essentially all up hill towards North Pole Pass, and a fairly steep uphill.  The only real downhill was just before the pass.  Camp was at 10980' and the plan for the day was to cross North Pole Pass at 12,200' and enter the wilderness area, and camp near Kidney Lakes.  The trail climbs to a shoulder where a trail down to Taylor Lake forks off.  There is a sign post at the fork, but no sign on the post.  The trail then descends a couple of hundred feet before beginning a serious climb to the pass.  I had to stop at the base of the pass to treat a hot spot on my left foot.  After doctoring the foot I began climbing.  There were dozens of switch backs.  I must of crossed the same stream 10 times.  At times the water ran down the trail for dozens of yards.  The trail was extremely rocky and I was able to step from stone to stone to keep my feet dry, but the going was slow.  As I was climbing the pass the sky started to darken.  So while I wanted to stop for water, I felt it best to keep going and get over the pass and down off the high ground before the storm moved in.  Once over the pass the west side was steeper than the eastern side that I had just climbed.  I kept crossing small streams, or maybe the same stream.  There were so many switch backs I lost count.  After getting off the high ground I stopped at one of the streams where it came out of the mountain and got water. It was clear and really cold, and while I filtered it, (I always filter), I am not sure it was really necessary since it was taken right at the spring.

All those streams combined into a larger stream that I kept crossing.  Some of the crossings were wide and it took some 'skill' to cross without getting wet.  The trail then deviated from the USGS 7.5' maps by passing Brook Lake.  In fact it deviated twice.  The second time it cut a big loop out, so I am not really complaining.  As the trail headed to Fox Lake I kept seeing fresh horse sign, and at Fox Lake there was a camp with four horses and a mule.  I didn't see anyone at the camp, but it was raining at the time.  As I got past the camp I heard voices and saw three people out on the dam headed my direction.  The sky had just opened up, just prior to my reaching the camp, so I was not watching the people on the dam closely and they were several hundred yards away.  Not far after the horse camp, I came upon three tents, I could hear voices in the tents, but with the heavy rain, no one was out.  I suspect that the people I saw on the dam where the inhabitants of the tents, since I never encountered anyone else the rest of the day.

At the dam there is an old cabin/shack. No roof, and a door about four feet tall.  Not sure what purpose it served.

After about an hour on the trail, the rain stopped and after I had divested myself of rain gear, the trail continued across a large open area, all the while with large and frequent puddles.  Near Dime Lake I had a really nasty stream crossing.  About 30 yards from the stream, the trail went through a bog with no way around.  The oily/slime water/mud of the bog was about mid-calf.  The stream was also about mid-calf with no way to cross, except to wade.  Which actually worked out, since I needed to wash the bog off.  Off came the shoes, prior to crossing the bog, and on went the sandals.  Through the bog and stream I went.  I stopped in the stream to wash of the mud and slime of the bog.  On the far side of the stream, I noticed that the tape on my right foot was gone.  So I took the time to re-tape my little toe that had a pretty raw open blister.  That open raw blister is really the only major issue that I have on my feet.  I have taped several hot spots before blisters formed and they are doing well.  I now worry about that open sore, especially after what I had just walked through.

As I got to Kidney Lakes I kept looking for a trail to turn off to the lakes.  I never did find one, so as the trail seemed to turn away from the lakes, I went cross country.  I headed right to the SE lake, but I didn't really find a good place to camp.  So I crossed a major stream coming out of the lake on a bunch of downed trees.  On the far side I ran into some horse tracks which I followed to the other lake.  The tracks just kept going, so I picked a nice spot and set up camp between the two lakes.  Prepared dinner, made my call to Shelly, and got ready for bed.  Just as I was ready, the skies opened up, thunder, heavy rain and some wind.  It has now been ring for over an hour, and I putting all this away.

Just a note:  When I call Shelly, I give here my GPS coordinates, and my plans for the next day.  If I decide to deviate from those plans, I call her and let her know my new plans.  Since I am solo, this is my way of making sure my last known position is known, and my plans.

Highline Trail 2017 Day 5

HighLine Trail 2017 Day 4

HighLine Trail, High Uintas Wilderness, Utah
27 July 2017, 20:00

Location: Reeder Lakes - N40.78579°  W109.06909°
Elevation: 10921'
Ascent: 1484' (Total: 7389')
Descent: 1537' (Total: 4589')
Day Distance: 12.75 miles (Total: 47.34 miles)

The day started nice and clear.  The only problem was the dew after all the rain.  The rain fly on the tent was soaked.  I ended up wiping it down three times, inside and out.  Once before breakfast, once after and again just before I packed it.  While packing everything, I set out ended up with dew on it.  I finally hit the trail about 09:00.  A little late because of the moisture.  My socks and shoes were still wet and before I finished the pass above Deadman Lake I needed to stop and fix a hot spot on my right foot, and re-apply tape to the fourth toe.  I also had to fix the tape on left foot.  All the moisture, and wet feet, was playing havoc with my feet.  As much as I like the trail runners, with my wool socks my feet stay wet forever.  Note, coming down from the pass, before WhiteRocks, I post holed into a bog, then got both feet wet clearing the bog.  I stopped and rang water out of both socks, and every time I stopped I took of my shoes.  By the time I made camp my socks had finally dried.  Just in time for me to wash out the dirt out of the socks, getting them wet all over again.

Last year, descending from the pass at Deadman into WhiteRocks I lost the trail several times.  Today I only lost it once at a creek crossing, seems it didn't go straight across.  I picked it up pretty quickly and was able to stay on trail all the way down to Chepeta Lake.  The trail was soaked with mud holes and bogs everywhere.  I manage to keep my feet dry by either leaving the trail to get around the bogs, or by carefully navigating from stone to stone.  Sometimes (most times) it was a bit of a puzzle.

Just before I came out of the trees for the last stretch to the Chepeta Trail head I encountered what I believe to be two families with children near the age of ten and younger.  They were headed up to WhiteRocks.  We chatted for a bit.  The weather threatened all day, but never did more than sprinkle once, just as I ran into the families.

At the road I turned left and headed for the Chepeta Trail head, instead of turning right and going to the lake.  When I got to the trail head there were people and horses everywhere.  Tents were set up, trailers, etc.  I stopped and chatted with an older gentleman from Vernal.  While I watched a DWR employee setup a trailer.  He had two young children with him, but was driving his DWR truck.  I was told a youth group was expected tomorrow.  According to the USGS maps, and my GPS, the trail from the Chepeta Trail head goes to the far end of the Chepeta dam.  Not so!  It winds well away and actually heads away from Chepeta for a ways.  It is well marked, but I was beginning to wonder if I had missed a turn because I was going away from where the maps showed the trail to be.  It finally made a big loop and cut the trail from the dam, some distance past the dam and lake.  As I headed for my planned camp near Reeder Lakes I descended to a small lake with a moose standing in the middle.  Her belly was not even in the water.  Apparently the lake was not very deep.  At the lake there was sign indicating it was the lower Reeder Lake.  I had a significant creek crossing at the lower Reeder.  Luckily I was able to find a spot to cross on stones about 20 yards off trail.  I stopped for water and then continued on.  Not long after the Lake I encountered another stream crossing, about 10 feet wide and no way to cross without wading.  I change into my trekking sandals and waded across, then changed back to my trail runners.  My camp tonight is not where I planned.  I was going to head towards the Reeder Lakes, but I wasn't looking forward to the descent tonight, followed by the climb back out tomorrow.  Anyway I came across a small stream and headed off trail for several hundred yards.  As I was pitching my tent, two ladies walked by, heading out.  Turns out the trail turned and now I am a couple hundred feet off the trail, not a couple hundred yards.  Nobody else has gone by.  The mosquitoes are thick but the permethrin seems to be working.

Highline Trail 2017 Day 4

HighLine Trail 2017 Day 3

HighLine Trail, High Uintas Wilderness, Utah
26 July 2017, 20:00

Location: Deadman Lake - N40.77166°  W109.91210°
Elevation: 10,980'
Ascent: 2363' (Total: 5905')
Descent: 1125' (Total: 3052')
Day Distance: 12.1 miles (Total: 34.59 miles)

Apparently I got a late start.  When my watch died yesterday, the time got messed up, and I didn't notice.  It is off by an hour and a half.  As a result, when I called Shelly, I was late and she was pretty scared that something had happened.  The watch (fitbit blaze) has no way to reset the time without syncing and syncing requires Internet, which I don't have.  I am going to have to remember that it is later than the watch is reporting.  Lucky for me, the GPS has the correct time.  I will just need to check that instead of the watch.

When I got up this morning, the sun was out, so I took my time, thinking it was early (watch), letting some things dry out.  The sky began to darken to the west, which was mostly blocked by trees at my camp site.  Shortly after I hit the trail it started to rain again.  My sock were wet to start the day, as were my shoes.  Since Summit Park is mostly one big bog, they stayed wet.  I had used some tape (leuko) on my blister, but I scrimped a little in size.  Soon my blister began to heat up again by the time I got to the Hacking Lake Trail head.  At the road, where the trail comes out, there is a huge flat rock across from the road from the trail.  I walked over, set my pack down, and took off my shoe and sock.  I wrung the water out of the sock, the tape was still on but the adhesive had separated.  I re-taped using a larger piece.  I then put it all back on.  I then removed the other shoe and sock, inspected the foot, wrung water out, and replaced everything before walking up the road to the trail.

As I was climbing to the shoulder of Leidy Peak, clouds started blowing in, and at times I couldn't see 20 yards through the clouds/mist.  Makes it very hard to pick out landmarks and stay on trail since there is not a worn path through this area.  It rained on and off for the entire day.  My shoes would start to get some dry spots, on the outside and then it would rain.  After traversing the north side of Leidy Peak the sun finally came out, and I ate lunch there on the ridge line.  As I finished lunch, the sun disappeared and clouds blew back in.  This set was accompanied by thunder.  I never saw a flash of lightening, but to the south there was a lot of noise.  The trail from Leidy Peak to Deadman is all above tree line, with no way off the mountain.  The thunder was scary.  As I neared Gabro Pass the thunder that was well behind, at this point, quieted down.  There was a huge snow field blocking Gabro Pass.  I had to transition from the north side to the south side of the pass because the trail was completely blocked by a 20' wall of vertical snow.  Even from the south side I still had to cross about 30 yards of steeply sloped snow.  Luckily no mishaps.  As I crested Gabro Pass another thunder storm moved in.  This time the storm was right on top of me, and I had a mile descent to Deadman Lake, all above tree line.  Let's just say it was a bit spooky.

The rain was only a sprinkle until I got to Deadman Lake.  Then the skies opened up and turned into a hard driving rain with thunder for over an hour.  It even hailed for a few minutes.  I found a dry spot inside a small grove of trees.  I know trees are not good cover during a lightening storm but this was a low set surrounded by much larger tree nearby.  After the heavy rain let up, I pitched the tent and moved in.  While I was inside, inflating the air mattress, the sun came out.  So I made dinner, then puttered around waiting for 19:00 to call Shelly.  That's when I found out the error in my watch time.  After the call, I crawled into the tent, getting ready to call it a day.  The rain started back up, and I fell asleep to the rain.

Highline Trail 2017 Day 3

HighLine Trail 2017 Day 2

HighLine Trail, High Uintas Wilderness, Utah
25 July 2017, 20:00

Location: Summit Park - N40.79136°  W109.74796°
Elevation: 9824'
Ascent: 2404' (Total: 3542')
Descent: 1593' (Total: 1927')
Day Distance: 17 miles (Total: 22.48 miles)

What a day.  About 01:30 a storm started blowing in with high winds. By 03:45 it was raining, and it has continued to rain all day.

By the time I struck camp and hit the trail, my feet and pants below the knees were completely soaked. Since it continued to rain all day, my feet stayed wet the entire day. This was my first outing using trail runners and the wet feet were a new thing for me, but with the wool socks my feet never got cold. I kept worrying about blisters but that did not happen today.

I have never been able to find the right rain gear. I sweat and any rain gear just holds that sweat in. No matter how much the manufacturer claims about breathability, I still get as wet on the inside as the outside. I have tried ponchos and rain jackets all with the same result.

The previous afternoon I had heard chain saws, so I figured that trail maintenance was being done. Sure enough, throughout the day I kept seeing fresh cuts where the trail had been cleared. In one short section there had been a blow down, and there were over thirty trees downed trees that had been cut to clear the trail. This section of the trail crosses multiple dirt roads and you need to be careful at the crossings because the trail often jogs on the road for a few dozen yards before re-entering the forest. The re-entry point is not always clearly marked and seldom does the trail cross straight across the road.  In fact, I finally encountered the trail crew about four miles from Summit Park. They told me that there was a hiker they encountered the day before that had become lost, or lost the trail, when he had missed one of the crossing and had hiked the dirt road for a while. There chains saws brought him back to the trail.

My destination for the day was Summit Park. Summit Park has what is officially classified as an intermittent stream. But last year during the drought I had hiked in to check the stream, and verify the stream had water. This year it had about the same amount of water flowing. However Summit Park was one big soft boggy meadow this year, while the previous year it had been mostly dry. Summit Park was/is the first chance to refill water after leaving East Park.

In summary, it had rained all day, all the way from East Park, to Summit Park.  Some 17 miles of trail with 2400' of ascent, 1600' of descent, taking 10 hours, including lunch, refueling breaks and an extended chat with the trail crew.

I had my first break in the rain as I was scouting and deciding on a camp site. I was able to setup camp, filter water, prepare and eat dinner, call home, and climb into my tent before it again started to rain.

Highline Trail 2017 Day 2

HighLine Trail 2017 Day 1

HighLine Trail, High Uintas Wilderness, Utah
24 July 2017, 20:00

Location: East Park Reservoir - N40.79394°  W109.54566°
Elevation: 9024'
Ascent: 1138' (Total: 1138')
Descent: 334' (Total: 334')
Day Distance: 5 miles (Total: 5 miles)

The HighLine Trail has three eastern trailheads accessible for drop off by vehicle.

• Chepeta (N40.77997°,W110.01377°) about 75 miles from the western terminus
• Hacking Lake (N40.77732°, W109.81484°) about 90 miles from the western terminus
• McKee Draw (N40.79330°, W109.47627°) about 120 miles from the western terminus

I started my trip at the eastern most trailhead, McKee Draw, just off highway 191 near Flaming Gorge Reservoir.  Leaving the Salt Lake City area around 06:00, and after about a four hour drive I arrived at the trailhead around 10:00, the temperature at the trailhead was 87℉.  There is a composting toilet at the trailhead, but no water.  My plan was to hike the 120 mile trail in ten days. Since most of the trail is above tree line (above 11,000') I was planning a slower pace. The only drawback to a slower pace was that I would need to carry more food.  There are nine passes on the trail that reach near or above 12,000' elevation. Typically, there is a daily afternoon thunder shower in the High Uintas. This meant that I could get stopped behind a pass, short of my daily goal, pinned by a lightening storm, and adding days to my trip. With that in mind, I took provisions for 14 days, an extra 4 days.  As it turned out, this extra food was not needed, but I had some extremely great luck with the weather and passes as you will see.

My first day goal was East Park Reservoir, about five miles from the trailhead. East Park Reservoir is the last water source until Summit Park.  Summit Park is about 22 miles from the trailhead.  With my late start, and not wanting to carry water for a dry camp, I was going to hold up short, and get an early start the next day with enough water for the 17 mile day to Summit Park.

It threatened rain all day, and did periodically rain lightly throughout the day. The section of the trail between McKee Draw and East Park alternates from a single track, no motorized vehicles, to an ATV trail. This section of the trail also crosses several, well maintained dirt roads.  The few miles is a Black Diamond ATV trail, (steep and rocky).  Near the top of the climb and down the back side I had to skirt several deep mud holes that spanned the entire trail, and were conveniently located at choke points with several down trees on both sides of the trail. At one point I walked on down trees for about 20 yards, going from trunk to trunk to get around a mud hole. Before skirting the mud hole, I had stuck a pole into the hole and the mud was over 12" deep.

I arrived at East Park Res. in the early afternoon and had my camp setup, and water gathered by 14:00.  Conveniently, it only began to rain hard after I ate lunch and had all my gear stored at about 15:00.  It rained hard for about an hour, then cleared slightly but with dark clouds to the east.

Note: there is a re-route of the trail during this first short section.  The TOPO's do not reflect this re-route that avoids a steep loose section that is beginning to erode.

Highline Trail 2017 Day 1

Boil time for pots made from different metals

For years I have heard that aluminum pots are better for backpacking. While the aluminum weighs more than titanium, aluminum will conduct heat better and thus boil water and save fuel. Less fuel means less weight overall.

I decided to test which whether what I have heard actually proves out.

Here is what I did. I setup my MSR WhisperLite Internationale stove on my back patio.

Altitude:             4500ft
Ambient Temp:  48ºF
Water Temp:       37ºF
Water Amount:   500ml
Wind:                  15-20 mph

Pot	Weight	Boil Time (hh:mm:ss)
Peak 1 Stainless Steel	341g	00:04:30
MSR Quick Solo Aluminum (Hard Anodized)	220g	00:03:30
Optimus Terra Weekend HE (Hard Anodized)	278g	00:03:20
MSR Titan (Titanium)	341g	00:04:30

Weights listed are just for the pot, lid, and the pot lifter for the Titan pot as seen in the video.

Extending the Sawyer Squeeze

As spring struggles to make an appearance, I have begun taking short excursions in the foothills that surround my home. I generally tuck a Sawyer Squeeze into my hydration pack, just in case those ice cold mountain stream calls to me.

After my most recent trip, while drying the squeeze pouch I began to wonder about using the Squeeze as a gravity filter.  With the Squeeze connected directly to the two liter pouch the water flow using gravity is minimal. I retrieved from my gear, my Sawyer Inline Hydration Pack Adapter, and a replacement MSR AutoFlow hose. I removed the connector from the 12 inch AutoFlow hose piece. Placed the hydration adapters on each end of the 12 inch piece. Removed the bite valve from the squeeze and fit the long hose onto the nipple under the bite valve. Used the included pinch clamp to shut the hose down, and attached the completed squeeze/hose to a two liter Sawyer pouch. I essential built the same configuration that every gravity fed system uses. I released the pinch clamp, and started a timer. It took 1 minute and 26 seconds to empty the pouch.

My fastest gravity filter takes 1 minute and 15 seconds to empty a two liter pouch using a .2 micron nominal hollow fiber filter. The Sawyer Squeeze is a .1 micron absolute hollow fiber filter.  My gravity filter is rated at 1,500 liter cartridge life. The Squeeze at 1,000,000 gallons cartridge life.

A little nostalgia

Over the weekend I had the time and inclination to dig through my accumulated backpacking gear. It is amazing to see the changes in gear. I started backpacking in the early 1970's with a home made pack, pup tent, rectangular flannel sleeping bag, and an old aluminum mess kit. Dehydrated food was either too expensive, too tasteless, or unavailable.

My home made pack, gave way to an H-frame without hip belt. Then I added a hip belt, which then gave way to an internal frame pack.

The aluminum mess kit gave way to a stainless steel kit. Stainless steel turned into hard anodized aluminum. Hard anodized aluminum became titanium.

Open fire cooking turned into a Peak 1 400A stove with a factory windscreen.  Peak 1 gave way to a WhisperLite International.  The WhisperLite into a canister stove. Canister stove became an inverted canister stove. The inverted canister stove morphed into a stove system.

Drinking water straight from the source gave way to a ceramic filter cartridge.  The ceramic filter changed into hollow fiber.

Rectangular sleeping bag became a synthetic mummy bag.  Synthetic bag gave way to a water resistant down bag.

I have kept each item, and each item is still completely functional.  I still use my 20 year old WhisperLite (with original pump) for winter camping. I have, however, given up lugging the Peak 1 stove around.  I have also given up lugging most of the older equipment. You couldn't pay me enough to carry the steel framed home-made pack again :)

My point here. You do not need the latest greatest equipment to have an enjoyable time in the back country. Get the gear that works for you and your budget, and go have some fun!

What is the best ...?

When friends, acquaintances, and coworkers discover how much I enjoy backpacking I am often asked my opinion on specific gear. The question usually comes as "what is the best water filter, stove, backpack, etc.". I sometimes feel that the question is unfair, and very similar to asking someone, "what is the best car?".  As you can imagine, if there was only one best car, everybody would be driving the same vehicle.

Over the course of many discussions I have come to the conclusion that my best response is to ask another question of my own. "What is your budget?". Then I can narrow into some items in their budget and maybe add a little knowledge of the pro's and con's of the items.

There is not a perfect stove, nor a perfect water filter. You must make decisions based on your use patterns and budget.  Remember, a higher price does not necessarily indicate a better item.


My current bests (subject to change)

Best upright canister stove: Optimus Crux
Best inverted canister stove: Optimus Vega
Best stove system: MSR Reactor
Best liquid fuel stove (boil only): MSR WhisperLite
Best commercial alcohol stove: Evernew DX2 set with 900 ml pot
Best alcohol stove set (ignoring weight): Trangia 25 ULHA
Best personal water filter: Sawyer Squeeze
Best gravity water filter: Platypus Gravity Works 4L
Best pump filter: MSR Miniworks EX (Guardian would probably hold this place, if the price point was not beyond reason)
Best universal stove (canister or liquid): Optimus Polaris
Best tent: Hilleberg

Esbit solid fuel stoves

I was recently asked to give a stove presentation to a group of scouts.  One stove that was missing from my collection was a Esbit solid fuel stove.  I felt the presentation would not be complete without mentioning a solid fuel stove. So I purchased an Esbit stove for the presentation.  Now solid fuel stoves are fairly cheap, especially when compared to LPG stove systems and liquid fuel stoves.  You can basically use a solid fuel tablet on a "Kerr" lid, all you need is a pot stand.

The only solid fuel tables (14g) available at my local outdoor stores were packaged with a Esbit box stove for a price tag of just under six dollars.  The box stove came with six tablets. The box stove is a small steel box that opens to a pot stand, and solid fuel platform with venting to allow good air circulation. The stove can also store up to four 14g individually packaged tablets. Another store sold only the 4g tablets in a package of 24 without a stove.

The packaging for the box stove, and some internet research states that the 14g tablets will burn for about 12 minutes and boil water in 8 minutes. The packaging for the 4g tablets claimed 9 minutes burn. Past experience has shown that packaging and real measured performance rarely come close to matching. My tests with the 4g tablets show that a burn time, for a complete tablet, is about 5 minutes. Boiling water, using three 4g tablets, took over 12 minutes and never achieved a roiling boil for two cups of water. I have not tried the 14g tablets yet.  The packaging for the tablets also stated that burning left no residue.  A false statement.  Both the stove and the pot were left with a brown tar like residue. I was able to remove this residue from the pot using denatured alcohol and some elbow grease.

A couple of observations about the stove. First, the tablets stink. They smell like fish, at least that is how everybody describes the smell. Now I do a lot of backpacking in bear country, not sure I want my fuel smelling like fish and attracting bear. I left the tablets, still in there packaging, in a closed container for a couple of days. When I opened the container, the smell was over-powering. Close inspection of the blister packaging of the 14g tablets reveals a row of small factory made punctures. I assume they are there to equalize the air pressure so that the blister packs do not balloon as you go up in altitude. But they sure let the stink out!

Second, the little 3" x 4" x 1" box stove weighs 88g, same weight as the Optimus Crux. Esbit does make a lighter titanium stove that weighs 12g. You can make your own stove, unless you are a Boy Scout (see BSA Scout guidelines about home made or altered stoves).  Be careful using aluminum foil. The fuel burns hot enough to melt aluminum foil. I know it happened during one of my tests.

During my first test with the solid fuel I noticed a subtle issue. The fuel takes a little effort to ignite, but once burning, it burns well. The issue I noticed is that, the longer the fuel burns, the weaker the flame. This only makes sense. As the fuel is consumed the tablet shrinks in surface area. Less surface area, less flame. I smack myself for not realizing this before I even started.

While I will continue to present the stove during my presentation as an option, I will never actually take the stove into the backcountry. The little testing that I have done was enough to convince me, that solid fuel is not for me.

Stove systems - Reactor

Advantages

• Wind resistent
• Folding, rigid, solid handle
• Small
• Complete system, everything stores in the pot
• 90 second boil at 4500 ft elevation

Disadvantages

• Expensive
• No included canister stand.
• Possibility of a one time thermal shutdown, net research show rare event

Notes

• 1L Reactor nests with 4 oz. canister
• 1.7L Reactor nests with 8 oz. canister
• Packed weight: 14.6 oz. (414 g)

I really liked the idea/design of an integrated stove system. I especially like the fuel efficiency and the nesting of all the components.

Since I did not like the JetBoil, the only real competitor at the time, was the MSR Reactor. My initial reaction the the Reactor was shock, mostly at the price. But I saved my pennies and eventually I was able to purchase a 1L Reactor. The 1L Reactor has a maximum fill line at 500 ml, clearly stamped into the pot. There is plenty of discussion on the net about the maximum fill line, and marketed size, so I will stay away from that discussion.

So my thoughts on the Reactor. Wow! I should have bought this first, and then I would have never wasted money on the JetBoil.

I really like the fact that the Reactor does not twist connect to the stove. When the water boils, I can lift the pot off, and turn the stove off with my other hand. The lip on the radiant burner nests with the pot to give a very good connection and I never feel like the pot is going to slip off. The fold out rigid handle is so much nicer than the JetBoil fabric handle that I feel guilty even comparing the two. Solid handle, secure pour, and no burns!

I have heard complaints that you cannot use a regular pot with the Reactor. To confirm, no you cannot use a regular pot, but why would I want to. I purchased a high efficiency water boiler to conserver fuel, and boil water in all conditions. With the heat output of the Reactor, why would I want to try and simmer a dinner on such a stove. If I am going to take something that needs to be "cooked" for a while, a high efficient water boiler is just the wrong choice. Go get something like the Optimus Vega.

I liked the Reactor so much that I took it on my last 50 mile solo trek in the High Uintas Wilderness Area of Utah. Every time I used the stove, I validated my choice. One night was even in a wind that would have put the JetBoil out. If you read my previous post you know that what I called a "breeze" kept blowing the JetBoil out. The "wind" I experienced on my solo trek was no "breeze". The only minor difficulty I had was getting the stove lit. My butane lighter did not like the "wind" any more than the JetBoil would have :)  It did not take much effort to shield the lighter long enough to light the stove. Once lit, I was able to place the stove on a solid surface and boil water. I did not have to continue to shield the stove, so I could pick the best location to place the stove, even if it was somewhat exposed. You might even say I picked an exposed location to test the stove, and you would not be far from the truth.

The Reactor is a pressure regulated stove. By knocking down the pressure delivered from the canister, the stove can maintain consistent heat output as the fuel in the canister is consumed and the internal pressure of the canister decreases. This pressure regulator also helps the stove work at high altitudes where some canister stoves will not work.

There has been some chatter about a thermal one time shutdown mechanism with the Reactor. MSR does confirm the one time and done, thermal shutdown safety mechanism exists. It is a safety device in the event that the stove malfunctions and would cause the canister to overheat and possibly explode.  I cannot confirm if the JetBoil has such a device, but there is some chatter on the net that all regulated stoves now "offer" this safety mechanism. My only complaint is the one and done. What if I am half way into a two week, no resupply trip, when the stove decides to be "done". Not a good scenario. I have never experience the shutdown, and I have only been able to confirm one incident, and as such I have no pattern as to the cause. I cannot give any advice on how to avoid it.

My boil tests show that 2 cups (~500 ml) water boil in 1 1/2 minutes and used .3 oz (by weight) of fuel.

Stove systems - JetBoil

Advantages

• small
• complete system

Disadvantages

• Susceptible to wind

Notes

• packed weight: 12.3 oz (348 g)

My first encounter with a JetBoil system was on a recent trip to King's Peak in the Utah, High Uintas Wilderness area.

With very late start at the trailhead, our first camp was at Alligator Lake, only a couple of miles from the trailhead and at a relatively low altitude. After setting up camp it was time for dinner, and out came my trusty liquid fuel stove. The other stoves in the group were a top-mount upright canister stove and the JetBoil.

The JetBoil caught my attention, not because of speed of boil, which is impressive, but because of the compactness of the entire unit. The engineering to allow the stand, fuel, and pot all to nest is a great feature. The one thing I really did not like was the bayonet connection between pot and stove. As I watch the JetBoil being used, it appeared to be a hassle to disconnect the hot pot from the stove to be able to pour water out of the pot. Apparently the cosy does not do a complete job of shielding the heat, and the fabric handle is not much help either. But pack size...

So I bought a JetBoil. One of the worst decisions of my life. What a waste of money.

First use, was on my patio. Temperature was 45º, but breezy.  I honestly do not know the wind speed, but to me it was a breeze. I nearly failed to boil water. The JetBoil kept blowing out. Since the stove is directly above the canister, it is unsafe to wrap the stove with a wind screen. I finally ended up constructing a wind block with patio furniture and was able to boil water.  I have since tried two other times with the JetBoil.  One success was in near calm, the other failure in a breeze.

I had bought the JetBoil to use on a two week non-resupply extended trip, which will average above the tree line. No natural wind breaks, and now I am reluctant to trust the JetBoil and I will probably never use the stove. I would sell it, but I am having a hard time with my conscience.  Plus I do not make much of a convincing salesman, since I have nothing good to say about the stove. I cannot return it, I have used it three times, (well tried to use it three times).

One further mistake. I bought the titanium version (Sol).  The heat exchange coil is still aluminum. With the Sol, you need to be extremely careful to not melt the heat exchange coil. There are heat transfer problems from the the aluminum to the titanium. Instructions included with the Sol explicitly state that you only boil water with the stove. No cooking, no melting snow, etc...

The one time I was able to boil 2 cups (~500 ml) water without incident it took 2 minutes and used .2 oz (by weight) of fuel.  Impressive numbers when it worked one out of three times.

Stove systems

The latest advancement in stove technology seems to be the stove systems. A couple prominent examples of this technology are JetBoil Flash, the MSR Reactor, and MSR WindBoiler. The JetBoil and the WindBoiler closely resemble each other, while the Reactor has some important differences. However all three stoves share the attributes of being a complete system. The pot, burner and canister work together to form a high efficient system to boil water quickly with low fuel consumption.

For the next several posts I am going to be discussing these stove systems individually and in a bit more detail. Overall I think these systems are a good thing, but there are some small details that the vendors do not seem to want to talk about. These small details could become huge stumbling blocks for you outing.

Canister Stoves - Optimus Vega

Advantages

• Built-in stand for inverted canister stand
• Low center of gravity
• Wide pot stand
• Small total package
• Fuel efficient

Disadvantages

• 
  

Notes

• Pack weight: 8.4 oz. (237g)

This stove is the reason I do not recommend the MSR WindPro II. I had originally bought the WindPro, then upgraded to the WindPro II for the inverted canister design. A season or two after purchasing the WindPro II, I came across the Optimus Vega. I was immediately impressed with the design and sturdiness of the stove. The fact that it was a couple ounces lighter than the WindPro II did not hurt either.

The Vega fuel valve has two folding wire legs that when unfolded support the canister in the inverted position. The fuel hose is a little longer as well. The stove folds very neatly and stores in a small included stuff sack. A windscreen is also included. The whole package is significantly smaller than any other stove I have, with the exception of the Optimus Crux. The unfolded stove is also shorter than any other stove, making the center of gravity lower, and hence a more stable stove.

Do I recommend this stove. Yes! I wish that I had found this stove before purchasing the WindPro or WindPro II stoves. I could have saved myself some money. I have only used this stove a couple of times, since it is fairly new. I must still be in the honeymoon phase because I really cannot point to anything that I dislike.

One of the things I like about this stove is the burner head size.  Some of the canister stoves have such small heads, that the center of the pot is over heated while using the stove. Other stoves have such large burners, that the flame jets past the edge of the pot and heat is lost. I use a Titan Kettle almost exclusively. The Titan diameter is such, that a 8 fl. oz. canister fits snuggly inside the pot. With such a small diameter pot, many burner heads are too large. The Optimus Vega burner head is middle ground, and works very well with my Titan Kettle.  Note, the Crux appears to use the same head. This stove fold really well, with the folded legs curving around and protecting the fuel line and generator.

As I continue to use this stove, I will update this post as necessary. 

My use and testing show that the stove boils 2 cups (~500 ml) of water using a MSR Titan Kettle in 3 1/3 minutes using .2 oz. (by weight) of fuel. With the Terra Weekend HE pot, the boil time is 2 1/4 minutes, but pot weight increases significantly in respect to the Titan Kettle.

Canister Stoves - MSR WindPro II

Advantages

• Remote canister
• Canister can be inverted
• Windscreen

Disadvantages

• Separate canister stand
• Long boil time
• Fuel consumption

Notes

• Packed weight: 10.5 oz. (297 g)

On the original version of the WindPro stove the canister attachment did not swivel and inverting the canister was not very easy or practical. The WindPro II, has been modified to allow for the easy inversion of the canister, and a separate stand is supplied that attaches to the canister valve and keeps the canister in the correct position while inverted, giving access to the valve control.

I really dislike the separate stand. The separate stand just feels cheap! You attach it and detach it every time you use the stove. It is a non-folding, rigid three legged, space consuming "plastic" piece that you must also carry in addition to the stove. Being a non-metal item may make it weigh less, but it is a non-field-repairable point of failure for the stove. At least with a metal stand, you could straighten the item if it were crushed.

What makes the WindPro II better than a top mount canister stove such as is exemplified by the Optimus Crux? Two major items make the WindPro a better stove system.

First, the remote canister allows for the addition of a windscreen around the stove without heating the canister..

Second, the ability to invert the canister gives a wider range of temperature for operation. You still need a warm canister for stove ignition, but as soon as the stove is lit and hot, you can invert the canister. The pressure from the propane will force liquid contents of the canister through the fuel line and the stove then functions as a liquid fuel stove. Since very little conversion is occurring inside the fuel canister, the canister does not self-cool as quickly and you are not simply burning off the 20% propane. Note, you must have either a warm canister or enough propane in the canister to light the stove, or in liquid fuel stove terms, prime the stove. Keeping the canister inside you coat prior to using, or in the bottom of you sleeping bag during the night (if you are cooking breakfast) will to the trick.

In the inverted orientation, you will notice a lag between the time you turn off the stove, and until the stove actually goes out. This is similar to a regular liquid fuel stove. You will also notice some loss of flame simmer control.

Do I recommend this stove? No. I my opinion there is a better designed and a more efficient stove, both in terms of boil time and fuel consumption. I will discuss, in my opinion, a better stove next.

My use and testing show that the stove boils 2 cups (~500 ml) of water using a MSR Titan Kettle in 4 1/4 minutes using .4 oz. (10 g by weight) of fuel.

Canister stoves - Optimus Crux

Advantages

• Small
• Folding
• Stores in concave bottom of 8 fl. oz. canister
• Larger burner

Disadvantages

• Instability - Center of gravity (with full pot) vs. footprint diameter
• Worse with 4 fl. oz. canister
• No windscreen

Notes

• Mounts on top of canister
• Consider a stabilizer stand
• Pack weight: 3.8 oz. (108 g)

The Optimus Crux is similar to almost all canister stoves. The stove mounts directly on top of the canister and uses the canister as the base/stand. This style of canister stove suffers from the inability to use a windscreen. Using a windscreen will also reflect heat back towards the canister which is very dangerous.

This is the first canister stove that I bought. I had a trip planned for Havasupai, in the Grand Canyon. With summer temperatures and little wind in the Grand Canyon I had decided that I wanted a smaller, lighter stove. After talking with several people and doing some research I decided on the Crux. I liked the size of the burner head, and the fact that the stove came with a "pouch" that stored the stove in the concave bottom of an 8 fl. oz. canister.

After purchase, testing only re-enforced that I had made a good decision. My three day trip in to the Grand Canyon proved the stove even more. This was my mainstay summer overnight camping stove for several years, until I spent way too much money and purchased a MSR Reactor.

At the time of my purchase, I did not know that you could not use a windscreen with this style of stove, and none of my research mentioned the danger of using a windscreen with a canister. For my trip into the Grand Canyon the Crux performed flawlessly and since there was never any wind in the canyon, I never noticed the lack of a windscreen. Several weeks after the Grand Canyon trip, I took this stove on a solo overnight trip to one of my favorite fishing holes. At this particular location a light wind is always present especially in the morning and evening as the nearby valley warms and cools. That evening as I was attempting to boil water for my evening meal, I became very aware that upright, top mount canister stoves are susceptible to wind. I had to move my meal preparation area to find a more sheltered location.

On my return from the above trip, I started my research into windscreens for the Crux. I liked the stove enough, that I did not want to change to something else. At the time, no one made a windscreen for an upright top mount canister stove. Today is a different story. Optimus now makes a windscreen for the Crux and Crux Lite. Of course they have made the windscreen specifically for use with the Optimus Terra Solo or Terra Weekend HE pot, but I have found that the Titan kettle that I own is almost exactly the same dimensions as the Solo pot, and functions nicely with the windscreen. The only thing I do not like about the windscreen is it fixed size, and I have difficulty packing it since it is rigid. The windscreen does pack around the Terra Solo and Weekend pot very nicely.

You can also purchase a stabilizer stand for the canisters. These give a much wider footprint. I have found that not all the canisters have the same outside dimensions. As a result the plastic legs similar to the Optimus Canister Stand or the JetBoil Fuel Can Stabilizer work best for the matching brand canisters. The MSR Universal Canister Stand works across every brand canister that I have been able to test (Primus, Optimus, JetBoil, MSR, and several other less know brands).

Do I recommend this stove? Yes, I really like this stove, and the windscreen is not a requirement.

Note: The Crux Lite is a non-folding version of this stove which is 11g lighter. I prefer the folding version because it stores in the concave bottom of an 8 fl. oz. canister.

My use and testing show that the stove boils 2 cups (~500 ml) of water using a MSR Titan Kettle in 3 1/2 minutes using .3 oz. (by weight) of fuel. With the Terra Weekend HE pot, the boil time is 2 minutes, but pot weight increases significantly in respect to the Titan Kettle.