Rae Lake Epilogue

We learned a few lessons on the Rae Lakes hike, as this was our first trip of this length.  I’ll try to splatter them on the page in a few broad categories in the hopes that someone as inexperienced as myself can find them useful.

Maps and Navigation

We searched in stores for maps without much success, and as I was prepping for this article, discovered to no little surprise that online is the best place to shop.  We ended up using the map from the Sequoia Natural History Association, http://store.sequoiaparksconservancy.org/.  This is good map that I highly recommend.  Trail mileage was accurate according to the signs we saw posted along the way, but didn’t measure the same as our GPS app.  That’s probably to be expected.  Another map we didn’t see available is from Tom Harrison.  We have his Sequoia and Kings Canyon map, but if we had known he had a detailed Rae Lakes map, we’d have probably bought it (http://www.boredfeet.com/mappages/map187768984X.php).

We haven’t found any of the GPS devices to be much good, but that’s without seeing the extensive maps you are required to purchase.  My experience with GPS devices doesn’t lead me to favor them; they might be useful for finding your location on a traditional topo map, but not much else.  Smart phone apps with GPS maps are good for recording where you go, but without cell signal in the wilderness, real-time usage is not possible.

Gear

I’m pretty sure we carried too much of it, since our packs were 40-45 lbs each without water.  Speaking of water, it’s probably one of the most important considerations, and there has to be a better way of dealing with it.  We had two filters, and MSR and Katadyn, and I’m grateful that we had two.  The MSR, while it functions nicely, takes at least 5 minutes per liter of difficult pumping.  The filter mechanism must be cleaned daily to keep it flowing at that rate, also.  With the daily usage of four people, one can spend literally hours trying get enough water.  The Katadyn worked much faster, but one must be careful to avoid disconnecting the hose mid-stream.  For the future, I’m going to bring a large capacity gravity-fed filter in addition to the MSR, so that I can spend less time filtering water.  Another huge annoyance is the design of all of our backpacks that places the hydration bladder internal to the pack.  This means you need to empty almost your entire pack to refill with water.  Toward the end of the trip, we managed to find a way to strap the bladder to the outside of our packs to make them easier to refill, but this practice increases the risk of a puncture.  I said it earlier, but the one luxury I will willing carry again was the small-capacity sun shower.  I really can’t over-emphasize how much better we all felt after a shower.

I carried REI’s Half-Dome 2+ tent, and would do so again.  It’s compact, easy to set up and tear down, and provides 3-season protection.  Inside, we both slept comfortably on REI’s Air Rail 1.5 pads and Cosmic down sleeping bags.  My wife uses a “bone pillow” travel cushion, I like the combination of a large inflatable pillow with an invertible clothing stuff sack/pillow.  We each took the lightweight mini-camp chairs, and my wife carried a similar camp table.  I’d list these last items as optional, but we did find it comforting to sit in a real chair instead of on a rock or a log.

Jet-Boil stove and pan, period.  Don’t even consider anything else.  Don’t bother with the coffee press, however, Starbucks singles are the answer to morning.  The dehydrated meals in a bag are expensive, but oh-so-comforting after a long day.  Complimenting them are collapsible bowls, a titanium spork and the collapsible Kitchen Sink to wash up.  One thing to watch out for: the biodegradable soap in the small bottle may find a way to leak in your pack as you change elevation.

The last thing I’ll mention is a set of two-way radios.  We find these to be an essential, as frequently our party of four would get separated.  Rather than requiring the boys to stay with us all the time, it was better to let them go.  The radios enabled us to split up without anxiety.  I strongly recommend finding a set that has the fewest optional gadgets and modes, however.  In the wilderness, you want easy operation under stress.  Also, avoid radios with power on/off located on a front-facing button, even if it has a lock feature.  Every time the button gets bumped, a really ANNOYING beep is emitted.  The weather radio feature wasn’t much use, as there was no signal.