Mt Kilimangaro gear list

Here is my gear list for climbing mt Kilimanjaro. As discussed in the previous post I intend to go with a guide/group, but carry all my own needs including shelter and food.

Backpack:

Ospery Exos 46 medium Backpack 1,050 g (37 oz)

Homemade silnylon pack cover to keep pack dry 69 g (2.5 oz)

Shelter:

Black Diamond Hilight with Fibraplex poles Tent 1,162 g (41 oz)

4 MSR Ground Hog Stakes Base tie-outs 57 g (2 oz)

4 MSR Needle Stakes Extra tie-outs 35 g (1.25 oz)

Sleep System:

Western Mountaineering Versalite size medium Sleeping bag 1,063 g (37.5oz)

Therm-a-Rest NeoAir regular Pad 391 g (13.8oz)

Homemade foam pillow 55 g (1.95 oz)

Homemade down booties 65 g (2.25 oz)

Earplugs and 6 Benadryl as sleeping insurance 2 g (.07oz)

Cooking Gear:

MSR XGK Expedition stove with 11fl oz fuel bottle 507 g (17.9oz)

Small box of matches to start stove 7 g (.25 oz)

REI Ti Ware Nonstick Titanium Pot - 1.3 Liter 164 g (5.8 oz)

MSR Folding Spoon 14 g (.5 oz)

Clothing:

Surprise Silk Shirt for warm weather 72 g (2.55 oz)

Montbell Alpine Light Down Parka Small Jacket 403 g (14.2 oz)

Homemade cashmere top as base layer top 252 g (8.9 oz)

Homemade silnylon jacket for rain protection/vapor barrier 89 g (3.15 oz)

Seirus Innovation Neofleece Combo 51 g (1.8 oz)

Homemade nylon pants as warm weather pants 75 g (2.65 oz)

Terramar Woolskins Bottoms small Base layer bottom 155 g (5.45 oz)

Possum Glove 43 g (1.5 oz)

6 XL Nitrile Surgical gloves to wear over possum gloves 38 g (1.35 oz)

Footwear:

Vasque Aether Tech SS US size 10 Shoes 640 g (22.6 oz)

Thin base-layer socks 42 g (1.5 oz) (estimate)

Toasty Feet Warm Insole 88 g (3.1 oz)

Smartwool trekking heavy crew Warm socks 92 g (3.25 oz)

Homemade silnylon socks Vapor barrier socks 23 g (.8 oz)

Integral Designs eVent Shortie Gaiter 69 g (2.45 oz)

Medical/Protection:

Acetaminophen, aspirin, caffeine to treat headaches 14 g (.5 oz)

Diamox Prevent AMS 3g (.1 oz) (estimate)

Homemade first aid/emergency kit 156 g (5.5 oz)

Sunglasses for eye protection 24 g (.85 oz)

Chapstick 10 g (.35oz)

SPF 60 Sunscreen for skin protection 43 g (1.5 oz)

Toiletries:

Aurelle TOOB Brush Tooth brush 43 g (1.5 oz)

Toilet paper 78 g (2.75 oz)

Dr Bronner's bar soap piece of bar for dishes and hands 30 g (1.05 oz)

Small sponge for cleaning and drying 7 g (.2 oz)

Disposable water bottle to use as pee bottle 11 g (.4 oz)

Electric:

Black Diamond Cosmo headlamp 71 g (2.50z)

Kestrel 4000 Pocket Wind Meter 105 g (3.7 oz)

Panasonic DMC-ZR1K Camera 231 g (8.15 oz)

Gorillapod Camera stand 44 g (1.55 oz)

Spare camera battery 23 g (.8 oz)

Ziplock bag for camera to keep dry 6 g (.2 0z)

ipod shuffle and headphones 20 g (.7 oz)

Miscellaneous:

Passport and Wallet 56 g (2 oz)

Gerber Ultralight L.S.T. Knife 16 g (.55 oz)

Outdoor Products Dry Sack 488 cu. Inches to use as food bag 40 g (1.4 oz)

Outdoor Products Dry Sack 488 cu. Inches to fetch water 40 g (1.4 oz)

2 1 Liter Platy Bottle 57 g (2 oz)

20 Katadyn Micropur Purification Tablets Treats 10 L water 13 g (.45 oz)

Weight varies during trip:

Food 7 days 4,000 g (141oz) (estimated)

Water 2 liters 2,000 g (70.5oz) (estimated)

Fuel 10 fl oz 220 g (7.8 oz) (estimated)

Total base gear weight: 5,780 g (12 pounds 12oz)

Total gear, food, water, and fuel weight: 12,000 g (26 pounds 7 oz)

Total gear and clothing weight: 7,980 g (17 pounds 9 oz)

Total everything weight: 14,197 g (31 pounds 5 oz)

Actual bag weight at start (total weight minus clothing worn at start): 13,209 g (29 pounds 2 oz)

Estimated weight of bag at end of trek: 8,672 g (19 pounds 2 oz)

Items I'm probably not going to take, but still considering:

Gossamer Gear Lightrek 4 Trekking Poles 211 g (7.5 oz)

Garmin Oregon 400t GPS 197 g (7 oz)

Black Diamond Absolute Mitt 350 g (12.35 oz)

Montane Super-Fly XT Jacket Breathable waterproof 465 g (16.4 oz)

Therm-A-Rest Z lite Size Regular Extra pad insulation 447 g (15.75)

4 SMC T-Anchor With cord Snow stakes 115 g (4.05 oz)

(All weights are actual measured weights unless otherwise specified)

Cooking on Kilimanjaro

I'm currently in my second year of physician assistant school at the the University of Iowa doing clinical rotations. In January, I will be doing a foreign rotation in Tanzania and am planning on climbing Mt Kilimanjaro while I'm there. This is the first of several posts that will discuss my preparation for the trek.

Official guides are required for climbing Mt Kilimanjaro by Tanzania law. The trekking companies that provide the guides also provide porters to carry the majority of all food, equipment, water, etc. Personally, I would much rather carry my own things. For me it is an important part of the experience and feeling of accomplishment in a successful climb. I'm in good shape and am training for the hike the same way I would for running a marathon (following a Marathon Training Calendar ) I'm also a bit of a disciple of light-weight backpacking and expect that the total weight of my pack (including food for 7 days, water, stove, tent, sleeping bag, etc.) will be under 30 pounds. I'm in the process of creating a gear list and will post it when complete.

I plan on creating my own dehydrated meals using Freezer Bag Cooking which I have had good success with on past backpacking trips. My favorite system for cooking freezer bag meals is with an alcohol stove. Specifically, the Caldera Keg™ System is my favorite. I made 7 homemade versions a few months back that work great. In a future post I may discuss how to make them, but unless you intend to make several it is usually cheaper just to buy one.

Freezer bag cooking has many advantages. It is much cheaper than store-bought dehydrated camping meals and allows for more selection and control of ingredients. Freezer bag meals are lighter than most conventional camping meals and allow for the use of extremely light-weight stove systems and minimal fuel use. But my favorite thing about them is that clean up only consists of licking your spoon clean. No more camping dishes! My wife and I have been using the cook book Freezer Bag Cooking: Trail Food Made Simple , but there are also many recipes that can be found on the web by simply Googling something like “freezer bag recipe”

A brief explanation

To whom it may concern:
"To whom it may concern," was one of the titles we considered for our blog, but some one else is already using it. We also tried "Our little corner of the world." but there are at least two blogs by that name already. I trust that our posts will not be as redundant as our ideas for titles.

A bit about us:
My wife and I have been married for nearly 3 years. We have one child, Meg, who is 19 months old and currently screaming in the bedroom. I grew up in southern California and my wife, Courtney, grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada. We met in college at BYU. She stays home with our daughter and I am going to the University of Iowa to become a physician assistant.

Expectations and predictions:
We would like to share our ideas, projects, and perhaps adventures. We don't plan on directing many family members or friends to this blog. By keeping principally an audience of strangers we hope to write with greater candor.

- Brett & Courtney