In July of 2008 Venture Crew 1716 trekked 40 miles through Alaska’s Wrangell St. Elias and Denali National Parks. Rugged terrain, uncooperative weather, bears, amazing scenery and high camaraderie characterized the trip.

Each of us are seasoned backpackers. We’ve trekked Philmont and paddled Northern Tier, the crème-del-a-crème of BSA high adventures, along with many National Parks like Glacier, Teton and Yosemite.

Alaska required more. Here’s what we learned. Some practical observations about gear, i.e. what we used, hints/tips on how we used it, and how well it worked. Comparisons to some of our favorite gear from previous treks.

What you’ll find here reinforces and extends the basics:

• Scouting’s Skills – Ready for the Great Outdoors section in the BSA handbook
• Gearing Up section in the BSA Fieldbook
• Camping, Hiking, Backpacking and Wilderness Survival Merit Badge books
• Philmont advisor’s guide

-          Steve

• Redundancy/backup of vital gear, i.e. gear that provides a critical function, was a mandate. Why incur the extra expense? Simple, to “be prepared.” Gear can get lost. It can be damaged. If the group gets split up, and the satellite phone is with the other group, how to you call for help?
• Repair capabilities for very important gear. Stoves can get plugged up with dirty gas. Water purifiers can clog with silt. Inflatable sleeping pads can be punctured by rocks.
• Lightweight

• We assumed cell phone coverage was non-existent in the Alaskan wilderness. We knew from a newspaper article that portions of Denali had coverage, but nothing we were willing to bet the safety of our crew on.

• Our primary communication tool was a rented Iridium 9505A satellite phone. Excerpt from the Iridium website: “… works anywhere in the world (where cell phones don’t) … small enough to carry in a backpack. Very simple to use.”
• We used it! No emergency help calls were necessary. However, inclement weather, unsafe trail conditions, and a habituated bear forced us to change our itinerary. We called the park ranger with the sat phone to discuss alternative routes around the prohibited area. We also called the flightseeing company to change our departure time.

• For redundancy, we purchased a SPOT Satellite Messenger. Excerpt from the SPOT website: “Uses GPS satellite network to acquire its coordinates, and then sending its location – with a link to Google Maps™. Tracking your progress, checking in with loved ones, and non-emergency assistance are also available. Works around the world – even where cell phones don't.”
• TRY IT OUT: RENT OUR SPOT Satellite Messenger – It’s now our BSA fundraiser!
• Fortunately, we never needed to the emergency features. The Google Map feature allowed parents and spouses to track our progress through the backcountry.

• Route selection Downloadable PDF maps were a start
• Topo map SW necessary for adequate route planning
• Buy the best book (more details than web), it should be an edited document.

• Some wilderness area, including both Wrangell and Denali require the use of canisters.
• Canisters allow for individual control.
• We rented BearVault BV500 Food Canisters from REI. Tops screw on and are locked in with two little tabs. According to the REI website, bears have figured out how to open them.
• Check each backpack – make sure the bear canister fits inside it.

• Bags are significantly lighter than bear canisters.
• Bags require suitable terrain, i.e. trees to hang them on (unlike BSA’s Philmont, there are no poles or wires at Wrangell or Denali)
• Philmont supplies a rather heavy, 5/16” diameter, 100’ long, solid braid nylon rope to hang your bear bags with. When doubled, it’s then 50-feet long.  We use lightweight #550 Parachute Cord, Type II (400 lb minimum breaking strength)
• Philmont provides bear bags. They resemble feed bags, measuring about 2 ft by 4 ft.  Typically a crew of 12 uses 3 or 4.
• Tie with a lark’s head knot, to the center point of a single quarter-inch 100-foot long rope (it's not parachute cord).  When doubled, as it will be, it is then 50-feet long. 
• Hoist, and then tie each of the two rope ends to two separate tree trunks. 
• Attach a carabineer to the center knot where you will place a 2nd rope for hoisting an "oops bag" to conveniently hang small items later. 
• Don’t throw the rope with a rock - a big safety no-no.  The weight of the rope itself will usually do.

Observations

• Potable drinking water is essential, therefore water pumps are designated as very important gear. This means not one, but two pumps, were necessary.
• Water purification tablets weigh less, but are considerably more expensive, than two pumps.
• We choose Katadyn Micropur MP1 Purification Tablets from REI, same as Philmont uses.
• Youth were, on average, concerned that the tablets would have an aftertaste. In contrast, the adults were ambivalent. One youth decided to take a Katadyn (formerly Pur) Hiker pump as his luxury item, so we ended up taking both tablets and a single pump
• We used the pump a lot vs. tablets. It needed cleaning by the end of the trip.
• Plastic water bladders are lighter, but more fragile, than Nalgene bottles.

Hints

• Practice cleaning the pump, and be sure you have tools/replacement parts.
• Cooking dinner usually takes around 96 oz., plus more for cleanup if you cook in the pot.
• 3-5 quarts/liters of water per person for drinking water
• 1-2 quarts additional water carrying capacity for dry camps. Spreading the load amongst crewmembers is preferable to the traditional method of carrying 2 large water containers weighing 20 lbs. 

Observations

• Tents are designated as very important gear, thus requiring repair capabilities. We used a Tent Pole Repair Kit for fiberglass poles, from Campmor.
• Free-standing vs. non-free-standing tents:
  • Free-standing tents are usually heavier
  • Non-free-standing tents are cumbersome to setup in the rain
• Double-wall (rain fly) vs. single wall tents
  • The rain fly adds weight
  • Single wall tents “sweat”. As you sleep moisture from your body condenses on the inside of the tent. In comparison, double-wall tents pass the condensation. I use an ultra-absorbent sports towel, a.k.a. chamois swimmer’s towel, to wipe the inside of the tent before packing it up.

Hints

• Bear safety: remove food smells - wash your tent in Nikwax Tech Wash or Woolite.
• Test your tent for leaks. Seam seal. Waterproofing floor. Repeat process, again and again,   until no leaks.
• Practice:
  • Pitching your tent in the dark.
  • Pitching your tent in the rain. Have your crew hold the tarp while you setup the tent underneath it.
  • Know where, and how, to pitch your tent for proper rain control. Stake down fly properly – avoid allowing it to come in contact with the tent body.
• Inner ground cloth (innie) is preferred over an outie (excerpted from the Philmont Discussion List, US Scouting Service Project):
  • The ground cloth is placed inside the tent (kind of like a second floor).  One's sleeping bag and pad and all other gear is placed on top of it.  The value of this method is that no matter what, water will not come up through the plastic (or whatever the ground cloth material is) and that the gear will stay dry.  Especially if the tent is older and the floor fabric isn't as waterproof, this method works very well. 
  • The only downside to the "Innie" method is that the bottom of the tent gets dirty and is subjected to more rocks, roots and sharp points from which a ground cloth might protect.
  • When it rains long and/or hard, pull the edges of the inside sheet of plastic up into the shape of a boat. Your bag will remain dry even though water is seeping in the bottom of the tent.
  • Home Depot, Film-Gard .70 Mil Embossed Drop Cloth, # EM001K, $2.29/Each
• Outer ground cloths, a.k.a. footprints, are optional (excerpted from the Philmont Discussion List, US Scouting Service Project):
  • Places the ground cloth on the ground then set the tent on top of it. This method protects the bottom side of the floor on the tent, but potentially can be a collection point for rain water.  Then, if water gets between the ground cloth and the floor, the water has nowhere to go but through the floor fabric making the gear inside of the tent wet.
  • The ground cloth should be tucked under the tent's edge; therefore no water collects onto it. That doesn't, however, ensure perfect performance.  Movement inside the tent (or even wind) can expose the ground cloth causing it to become a rain collector (and usually in the middle of the night!)  Heavy rain can find the slightest of depressions under the tent and go there. 
  • The way the ground cloth is laying will determine whether or not it will perform as expected.  If the rain is a light drizzle, no problem.  But should the rain be heavier, water flow can go over the folded edges of the ground cloth causing water to accumulate between the sheet and the tent floor.  In that case, water has only one place to go - through the tent floor and onto the things you want to keep dry.
  • Home Depot, Film-Gard 2 Mil Drop Cloth, # HM002K, $3.89/Each
• Use bar soap to lubricate sticky tent zippers. Wash out grit use the irrigation syringe in your first aid kit.
• Lightest single-wall tent I’ve had good luck with: MSR Solo 12 . Yes, it’s my current tent and held up extremely well in daily, soaking rains and high winds we encountered in Alaska.
• Lightest double-wall tent I’ve had good luck with: Sierra Designs Ultra Light Year CD (now the Light Year 1)
• In comparison, a standard-issue Philmont “blue” tent weighs…

• Link to First Aid/Safety section

• Link to Food & Cooking section

Steve Lagreca’s wanderlust for hiking and backpacking has taken him to 90 national and state parks, in 6 countries. He shares this with others by volunteering as an Associate Advisor for BSA Venturing Crew 1716 and leading the Philmont Ranch contingent for Detroit Area Council.  Facebook LinkedIn