[pct-l] sleeping bag - rei sub kilo

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good morning, Lisa,



I usually carry a plastic garbage bag only in areas where I may have to wade
– and possibly fall into -- a creek; notably in the Sierras.  In those
instances about half my gear goes into the sack while the remainder must
fend for itself.



Included in the sack would be the sleeping bag, the fleece sweater, gloves,
stocking hat, extra socks, the ditty bag with its little items, susceptible
day-food that’s not in the ‘can, and my belt pack with its camera, documents
writing material, and maps.



Excluded would be my tarp/poncho whose job it is to get wet anyway, the bear
‘can whose contents are safely within an “odor-resistant”  – I can’t make
myself write “odor-proof” -- sack , the ground cloth, foam sleeping pad,
mosquito net, or anything/everything else that won’t be harmed by a dunking.



I’m fortunate to not have fallen or been swept away by a creek, but I did
once get the bottom 1/3 of the pack soaked when I had to wade in slow, easy
water up past my waist.



I don’t use the plastic sack in the rain because my rain gear covers the
entire pack; at least in theory because I did have one notable failure in
that regard.  I don’t use a pack cover:  It’s redundant with my rain gear,
and I’ve had lots of water run down the uncovered back area in spite of the
pack cover.



When I’m not using the plastic bag, if I’m not careful when I load my pack
for the day, I can easily end up with a partially damp sleeping bag.  I use
a small, thin pack the only structure of which is my folded foam sleeping
pad inside against my back.  Below the pad can be about 6 inches of pack
that rests against my butt and lower back, and often that’s where part of
the sleeping bag ends up because I don’t like to have anything hard –
particularly the ‘can – against my bones.  Unfortunately, copious sweat that
runs down my back easily soaks across the pack fabric to dampen any part of
the sleeping bag in contact.  If I’m not too groggy in the morning to do so,
it’s easy to arrange the ground cloth against the pack in that area to keep
the bag dry.



A lot of this stuff is small-time, process technology that you will easily
learn to develop and implement as you hike.



Enjoy your planning,



Steel-Eye

Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09


On Sat, Dec 4, 2010 at 9:37 PM, Lisa Freathy <rainorshinecamper at yahoo.com>wrote:

> Hi Steel- Eye,
>
> I recently switched to packing my down bag loose, however I was concerned
> about it getting wet so I put it in a garbage bag. It didn't seem to fill in
> all of the voids/free space in the pack as I had hoped, I think do to still
> being restricted to the plastic bag. Do you line the entire inside of your
> pack w/a garbage bag encompassing all gear and your loose sleeping bag, or
> do you proctect your bag from moisture in any fashion?
>
> Lisa
>
>
> "Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and
> climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean."
> ~ John Muir
>
>
>  ------------------------------
> *From:* CHUCK CHELIN steeleye at wildblue.net
>
> I don’t ever stuff – and certainly not compress – my down sleeping bags.
> Such
> treatment is damaging to the down, although not quite so much as Jardine
> writes.  By only poking it into the pack it is free to occupy all available
> space, even many nooks and crannies.  Not only is packing more efficient,
> but by its being loose I’m encouraged to drag it out at some sunny break
> spot for a good airing.  If I had laboriously stuffed/compressed the thing
> I
> probably wouldn’t bother to air it out nearly as much.
>
> Steel-Eye
>
>
>