Packing Lists: Alpine Style Car Camping

Its springtime, and with spring comes the road trips - places near and far, for a day, a night, or a week. The longer I'm gone the more elaborate my car camping gets - the shorter the simpler, especially for overnights, when I've been known simply to throw in a sleeping bag and called it good.

Somewhere along the way in our culture/community/sport/lifestyle/whatever, car camping became complicated. REI is probably complicit in this - just take a walk through and look at all the modern conveniences of the modern world re-built for the camping life.

Yes, car camping can be luxurious. But I live in a city, without off street parking, so packing means filling up a collection of plastic bins and duffels. If I'm lucky I found a parking spot on the block in front of my house and I can simply move the bins/duffels to the door, and then out the door to the car. If I'm unlucky the car is parked all the way around the block on the other side. And then I get to repeat the process when I come home, usually to the excited barking of two 50 lbs dogs who want me to wrestle while simultaneously unpacking.

Its a pain in the arse. So instead I go without - I sit on a foam pad or stand instead of a chair. I get cold deli food from my local grocery instead of cooking. My stove is primarily to boil water for hit drinks.
So here, then, is my alpine style car camping list. I use it for a night out or a weekend.

Kitchen:

• Car coffee mug
• Spoon
• Fozzil Bowl
• MSR Reactor Stove with a handful of half-used canisters
• Via instant coffee or French Press with ground coffee. This really depends on the trip - if its a single overnight and alpine start, I'll go with the Starbucks. If its a longer, or more leisurely, trip then I'll use the real stuff.
• Tea/Apple Cider for dinner
• Pastries for breakfast
• Fruits and bars for lunch
• Deli sandwiches for dinner
• Chips and salsa for appetizers
• Adult beverage(s) of choice - I prefer something stronger than beer because it doesn't need to be refrigerated.

Sleeping:

• Tarp or tent. I actually prefer sleeping under a tarp - but if the fly's are bad a tent is a must.
• Air mattress and a foam pad. My concession to comfort - and the foam pad doubles as a seat. Be warned: an air mattress and dogs do not mix well together, no matter how well behaved or intentioned the dogs are. A crash pad can be substituted if its coming along already.
• Sleeping bag - duh! I prefer a 20 degree synthetic that I got years ago. I don't have to worry about holes, or stains, or spilled coffee.

So my Kitchen stuff (minus the coffee mug that already lives in my car), gets thrown in a bin. My tent, unstuffed sleeping bag (its going in a duffel, why bother?), pads and extra clothes get thrown in a duffel. My climbing or ski gear get thrown in a separate pack, and that's it. A weekend in three containers, I can be packed up in less than 30 minutes and a quick trip to the grocery.

One day, I'll reclaim my road trip mini-van and eliminate a lot of the packing list. Who wouldn't like a car pre-packed with the kitchen and bedroom already set up? Meanwhile, I know it can be fun to bring along the expedition dome tent, camp chairs, the big coleman stove, and an entire cooler of food.

But more often, I like this method instead:  grab your s#!^ and get going.

photo from the Model T Ford Forum, www.mtfca.com

Smash & Grab #11

I'll be honest - it's a bit of a dice game out there right now.  Last night I canceled a personal two-day trip into Boston Basin (we were supposed to hike in today).  Here's what the weather looks like at the likely suspects this week:

Washington Pass:

Leavenworth:

Snoqualmie Pass:

The pattern is similar all over the Cascades.  Thunderstorms on the east side, moderate chances of rain on the west side.

So what can you do?  Keep expectations and commitment factor low - like Meredith is doing with me tomorrow (Tuesday).  We're heading up to Chair Peak in the morning, playing the weather "by ear".  If its as good in the morning as it was this morning, we'll go for the West Ridge of Chair Peak.  If it looks like we need to move faster, we'll try Chair's NE Buttress, and since we're local, if it completely craps out we'll try to reschedule some time in the next month.

Or keep it limited to cragging - I just spent Saturday (another 30%-chance-of-rain-day) climbing with Carlton at Exit 38.  While it threatened a few times, we got in 10 pitches without being hit by a drop!

And shoot, if we make plans and we do get rained out, we still got all of September to get 'er done!

That's the reality here - we love the deep green in the summer and the deep white in the winter, but sometimes we have to pay the piper and this week may be it.  It does look like this system is moving out at the end of the week, so I'm expecting the weekend to be much more favorable.  Still, if anyone want's my opinion I'd want to go climb day trip objectives like Guye Peak's Improbable Traverse, the East Face of the Tooth, and the West Ridge of Chair Peak.

Other stuff happening this week - the 5 Point Film Festival is coming to Bellingham on Thursday, 29 August!  From Carbondale, Colorado, the 5 Point Film Fest is a celebration of being outside - that awesome intersection of mountain and surf culture that shares so much in common.  A love for the human powered experience of the untouched world.

What makes it really special is that I'll be there - as the MC!!  That's right!  I'm so freaking psyched!  Come cheer me on - or heckle, whatever your fancy!  All sorts of things start around 5pm at the Bellingham Depot (where the weekly farmers' market is held, right across the street from the Boundary Bay Pub! Movies start up around dark-o'clock (8-ish).  One of the cooler things you could win - food and accomodations in Carbondale, CO in April for the 2014 5 Point Film Festival.  I've never been to Carbondale, but have always heard about what a great mountain town it is - now I've got an excuse to load up the Missus and the dogs and see for myself!

So, re-cap:  Stay flexible, keep the objectives low on the commitment grade but high on the adventure grade, and take an evening to visit Bellingham for good food, drinks, and the 5 Point Film Fest on Thursday night.

Hope to see you soon in the mountains!
Chris

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Smash & Grab #10

Weather report:  Its clear and sunny for the foreseeable future - as far out as anyone dares.  Leavenworth and Mazama is forecasted to reach the 90's (ouch!), but the passes are 20-degrees cooler (low 70's), and the high mountains even cooler.

So what's good:  Why drive farther than you have to?  First, tick off the Snoqualmie Pass alpine classics like the West Ridge of Chair Peak (5.7, 8 pitches), the East Face of the Tooth (5.8, 5 pitches) or the Improbable Traverse on Guye (5.8, 7 pitches).  If you've already been there, consider a road trip to Washington Pass.  Spontaneity Arete (5.7, 8 pitches), the South Buttress of Cutthroat Peak (5.8, 12 pitches), and the Southwest Rib of South Early Winter Spire (5.8, 10 pitches).

Here in the Pacific Northwest, often times knowing what the weather is forecasted to be determines where the best climbing or skiing is.  Smash & Grab is an almost-weekly heads up, hopefully inspiring a last-minute rally to get out and do something.