Leave Gear for summit push

[alsrun]

leave camp set up and take a light peak bag to summit

[dmdoug]

What do you do when you leave your heavier packs below tree line? Hang them bear bag style? I'm thinking of East Cross Creek on the way to Holy Cross and I'm sure there are other examples.

Also, I've heard two different theories on leaving tents at camp. One is to leave the tent open and empty so critters don't chew a hole trying to get in, the other is to close it up so the critters don't use it as a restroom. Any lessons learned?

[susanjoypaul]

Stash the trash - and any food you're not taking to the summit - to keep the animals away from your tent. Separate the trash and food into two bags and hang it all inside a bear bag or other container, between two trees a short distance from camp.

Put everything else in the tent, leave the windows (vents) wide open and zip the door and vestibule shut. As others have already mentioned, this will allow the tent, bag and pad to air out while you're away, and you can take a nap when you get back, before packing up and heading out.

The only other things I might leave outside the tent are "hard" items such as snowshoes, sled, crampons, an extra pole, or anything else that I may have carried in and then opted to leave behind on summit day. I would lash the sled to a tree and tuck the rest under the vestibule.

If you're worried about animals chewing on the tent, sprinkle coyote urine around the perimeter.

[MountainHiker]

If I’m doing an overnight backpack for fourteeners, it’s because the distance is too long for a day hike. That means the hike to the summit from camp is still significant enough to warrant the usual day hike fourteener gear.

I really don’t like climbing 3rd and 4th class with my overnight pack, so I pack my day pack inside it. This adds to the weight but makes the summit climb safer. Others have covered strategies for the gear left behind. I don’t take anything to the summit I wouldn’t pack for a day hike of a fourteener.

It’s not just the extra exertion; there comes a point where the extra weight is dangerous on challenging terrain.

[JayMiller]

For overnight trips, I have great Go-lite Pack that holds everthing I need for an overnight and weights very little more than a standard day pack. I just strap it down tight and use it. For multiple day trips where I need more space, I carry a Go-lite daypack for the summits. Regardless, I leave the camp set up. As susanjoypaul says, it is great to be able to chill a while when you get back to camp.

If I used my large pack, I hang it with the food and trash bags. The sweat (salt) on the back of the pack is really enjoyed by the goats and other critters.

[CO Native]

I use the REI flash 18 for a summit pack. Inside out it makes a great stuff sack. As a pack it's hydration bladder compatible, comfortable, waist strap, two great daisy chains for attaching other gear, and an ice axe loop. All for only 10 ounces.

[TomPierce]

The only caveat I'd add is if your tent is pitched in a high wind area. I'd think twice about leaving an empty tent up in such a place unless you're darn sure it's well anchored. I'd never leave an empty tent up in the Boulderfield of Longs, for example; just leave it staked/moored at the corners, collapse the poles and put something heavy on top, e.g. a relatively smooth rock or two. I've personally seen and heard of a few stories of airborne tents, a.k.a. kites.
-Tom

[TravelingMatt]

Also, I've heard two different theories on leaving tents at camp. One is to leave the tent open and empty so critters don't chew a hole trying to get in, the other is to close it up so the critters don't use it as a restroom. Any lessons learned?

The critters I'm most worried about messing with my gear are the two-legged kind. I realize they're more likely to break into my home or car while I'm hiking, but still I try to find a place that's out of sight of the main trail to set up camp, or if it's out in the open, in an area that no more than a handful of people visit per day.

I have a small daypack I carry in my big pack and use on summit days. Works great. I take most of my valuables (camera, GPS, phone) with me, so if something eats or takes my gear I can easily cover the loss. It helps in multiple ways not to have the latest, greatest, most expensive gear.

The upper part of my large pack doubles as a fanny pack, which I use to store food. I tie the fanny pack to a tree a fair distance away from my tent (whether I'm at camp or not) so ther bears eat that and not my tent or me. No incidents yet, though.

[bking14ers]

I learned after my first summit attempt of a 14er is to go lite, lite, lite to the summits. Little food, and water, but I take my filter up. If I hike in then camp, I leave that stuff to fate. The only thing that bothered anything is a bunch of goats at South Colony Lake. The thing that really sucks is breaking down camp, and carring it out after a long day.

[MountainHiker]

I learned after my first summit attempt of a 14er is to go lite, lite, lite to the summits. Little food, and water, but I take my filter up. If I hike in then camp, I leave that stuff to fate.

Do a few more, you might find that doesn’t always work.

[somethingrandom]

I learned after my first summit attempt of a 14er is to go lite, lite, lite to the summits. Little food, and water, but I take my filter up. If I hike in then camp, I leave that stuff to fate. The only thing that bothered anything is a bunch of goats at South Colony Lake. The thing that really sucks is breaking down camp, and carring it out after a long day.

Not to sound like an ass, but I cant imagine too many places to get water to filter at 14k around here... Sure, in the winter you can boil your water but you said a filter. Are you filtering snow or boiling rock in the summer?

Personally, I will try to stash anything of interest before heading up higher but will pack light to summit providing I can likely survive if I have to overnight.

That said, another member and I were talking about taking a normal day pack out and ensuring we could make it through a night on the bare minimum equipment. I am actually quite looking forward to this....

[Jon Frohlich]

Not to sound like an ass, but I cant imagine too many places to get water to filter at 14k around here... Sure, in the winter you can boil your water but you said a filter. Are you filtering snow or boiling rock in the summer?

Depends on the peak. You're not going to find anything at 14k certainly but around 11-12.5k on quite a few peaks you can. I wished I'd carried my filter on the Wilsons traverse. It was hot coming down Mt. Wilson and I ran out long before getting back to Navajo Lake. It's not necessarily as bad of an idea as it sounds.