For this short post, I wanted to list some of the lessons I took away from my Isle Royale trip. This is not intended to be a comprehensive list!
1. Don’t try to eat
Paleo, and don’t take more food than I would expect to eat with only a modest
appetite increase. The Paleo meals from a startup company just were not appetizing. And I ended up carrying pounds of food back to Texas.
2. Try to reach
ultralight (< 10 lbs pack base weight without consumables) weights to make
the travel easier and more enjoyable. 35
pounds was bearable but used a lot of energy ascending hills and didn’t keep
the posture as upright as I would have liked.
Plus, I’m getting older. :)
3. Shift from full leather
boots to trail runners if I can get the pack weight down. The feet took more of a beating than I
expected. After I correctly sized my boots years ago, I've never had problems with blisters till I got to Isle Royale. And I’ve never had problems
with weak ankles. Trail runners should be fine.
4. Nothing seemed to
dry out overnight, except some pure synthetics with loose weave. Leave the bandana at home and carry some
lightweight synthetic cloth(s) instead, like my nylon ‘wash rag’. I take either a full brimmed hat or a ball
cap with attached neck covering for hikes anyway.
5. The Platypus
Gravity system worked well, but took up way to much space. Switch to a lighter, lower volume
system. And leave a bunch of the little
things I didn’t use at home. While half
to one ounce items don’t weigh much each, their weights add up and create a lot
of pack clutter.
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