Blanca Peak 1st timer

[LCLMSTEVE93]

My pack currently is weighing in at 42.18 lbs and trying to reduce the weight. My group wants me under 35 lbs. I have listed my weights from heaviest to lightest below for advice and recommendations.
Sleep System - 9.1 lbs (145 oz) (hammock, straps, rain fly, sleeping bag and pillow, stakes)
Food Bag - 8.15 lbs (143 oz) (4 days rations - 6 OMeals, 4 Snack Bags of Jerky/Nature Valley Granola Bar/Kind Bar/Clif Bar/Rice Krispie Treats)
Pack - High Sierra Long Trail 90L - 6.5 lbs (101 oz) Just purchased a Gregory Palisade 90l (On its way)
Full Hydration Bladder 3L - 6.14 lbs (110 oz)
Clothes Bag - Cool and Warm Gear and Camp Shoes (mesh water shoes) - Minimal - 4.10 lbs (74 oz)
Rain Gear - Nike Storm Gear/Frogg Togg Poncho - 2.7 lbs (39 oz)
Necessities/Hygiene/Meds/First Aid - Diddy Bag - 2.0 lbs (32 oz)
Empty Camel Back for Day Hikes - 1.2 lbs (18 oz)
Water Filtration - .7 (7 oz)
Bear Rope/Utensils - .6 (6 oz)

Total weight 42.18 lbs (675 oz)

Goal Weight 35 lbs
Currently 7.18 lbs away from goal weight

The easiest way to cut weight is don't carry too much water (filter along the way) and don't carry food that you won't eat.

Next up is the big three: pack, shelter, sleeping bag/pad. Those items will give you the best weight loss return on your investment.

90L pack is way too big for summer backpacking. 70L max if your items are bulky. It takes a while to get comfortable transitioning to lighter setups, 55L would be a great goal. A smaller pack forces you to think about what you really need vs. stuff you might carry and never use. My big pack is 75L and weighs 3lbs 12.4oz. My smaller pack 60L and weighs 2lbs 9.4oz. The latter is still consider HUGE for most lighter-weight backpackers. I'll also carry a small REI Flash daypack if scrambling is involved, that weighs 1lb.

Food. 8 pounds seems like a lot. I usually carry 1 pound of food per day. I'd take a closer look at this category.

Water. Depends where you start on the Como Road, but anywhere from 1 to 2 liters should get you to a water source for filtering more water.

Sleep system. 9 lbs is way too heavy. Two of the big three here, shelter and bag/pad. My luxury setup for this category is 5lbs.

Clothing seems okay. Rain gear seems quite heavy. Personally I don't carry rain pants. I use my rain jacket primarily as a wind layer above treeline and for keeping warmer at night. If I expect rain, I carry a lightweight poncho-pack cover combo.

Hiker Guy, Thanks so much. Your input was so helpful among everyone's help. I re-evaluated everything and have been able to drop from the original 42.3125 lbs down to 29.875 lbs just by your input all together. It is truly amazing what you guys know. I am looking forward to this next challenge and will fill you guys in with some updates as I get closer and complete this climb.

You can see by my update above that I was able to shave a lot of weight. Still working on a new pack to lighten the load.

[LCLMSTEVE93]

Why a hammock? If you're going in a group, split a lightweight tent with one or two other people. What kind of sleeping bag are you carrying? A good down bag will be a whole lot lighter and more compact than a synthetic one. Leave the pillow behind, stuff some clothing into a stuff sack and use that. If you have to have a pillow, get a lightweight inflatable one. Your sleep system does sound heavy. I'm pretty sure my tent, sleeping bag and sleeping pad come out to less than 6 lbs, and there are lighter setups than mine. What are you cooking with? Like a few other people said, your pack sounds awfully big for a trip of this length. Like one other poster said, losing a few pounds of body weight would make this whole trip a lot more pleasant (and maybe safer), but it might be a little late for that.

Thanks for evaluating my post. I do not sleep well in a tent and have had nothing but bad nights on the ground, even with a good pad. Hammock Camping suits me well. Additionally, thanks to everyone's advice, I have been able to shave a lot of weight from 42 to 29 lbs. As you can see in my update to my original post. Thanks again for the help, it is greatly appreciated.

[nunns]

Why a hammock? If you're going in a group, split a lightweight tent with one or two other people. What kind of sleeping bag are you carrying? A good down bag will be a whole lot lighter and more compact than a synthetic one. Leave the pillow behind, stuff some clothing into a stuff sack and use that. If you have to have a pillow, get a lightweight inflatable one. Your sleep system does sound heavy. I'm pretty sure my tent, sleeping bag and sleeping pad come out to less than 6 lbs, and there are lighter setups than mine. What are you cooking with? Like a few other people said, your pack sounds awfully big for a trip of this length. Like one other poster said, losing a few pounds of body weight would make this whole trip a lot more pleasant (and maybe safer), but it might be a little late for that.

Thanks for evaluating my post. I do not sleep well in a tent and have had nothing but bad nights on the ground, even with a good pad. Hammock Camping suits me well. Additionally, thanks to everyone's advice, I have been able to shave a lot of weight from 42 to 29 lbs. As you can see in my update to my original post. Thanks again for the help, it is greatly appreciated.

Sleeping well the night before a hike is worth a couple of extra pounds IMO. So carry what you need to sleep well. One bit of advice that I have seen is to start early up the Lake Como road because it gets really hot during the day. I also recommend not being in a big hurry on the hike up the road; save some energy for the big days higher up.

Sean Nunn

[rijaca]

Note, the other peak people climb is Ellington, another class 2 in rock. Many do Blanca and Ellington on the same hike. Little Bear is in a different direction and much dangerous with a class 4 part.

There are numerous threads on how far one can drive up the road to Lake Como. It has big rocks and destroys some vehicles. I just parked were you first see cars parked and hiked extra.

Some seasons Lake Como has a serious bear problem. A bear canister for you food is recommended. I forgot whether suitable trees were available to hanging food.

Peter, it's Ellingwood Point. Named for Albert Ellingwood, Colorado mountaineering legend.

[nunns]

Note, the other peak people climb is Ellington, another class 2 in rock. Many do Blanca and Ellington on the same hike. Little Bear is in a different direction and much dangerous with a class 4 part.

There are numerous threads on how far one can drive up the road to Lake Como. It has big rocks and destroys some vehicles. I just parked were you first see cars parked and hiked extra.

Some seasons Lake Como has a serious bear problem. A bear canister for you food is recommended. I forgot whether suitable trees were available to hanging food.

Peter, it's Ellingwood Point. Named for Albert Ellingwood, Colorado mountaineering legend.

And again remember to stay away from the Little Beer while you are up at the Lake.

Sean Nunn

[Ptglhs]

Of course lighter is best according to the more seasoned guys/gals on this site, but that should be plenty doable considering your size. My first backpack up to Como had a 50lb~ pack (I weigh 130-135) and my partner was pushing 100lbs LOL. Funny how quick you can learn on this forum

It was a brutal 4.5 miles up though..

50lbs for an overnight at como. O.O were you taking rope and gear for the traverse?

A human can carry 20% of their body weight on their back without noticing much of a difference, at least the next day. 25% is where people start to feel it. Your shoulders will get sore, especially the next day, and your back could start to hurt depending on how it's positioned. Anything over a third of your body weight and you're really going to feel it. It's not to say it can't be done, members of the Armed Forces typically carry more than 50% of their body weight when they're heading out. It just hurts. I weigh about 210 and try to keep my pack under 50lbs, even for winter overnights I limit it to 55.

[cougar]

I do fine with a 35-40 lb pack, average weight around 150, looks like you did good cutting it to 30, lots of extra stuff you don't need.
I know Texans who don't hike that much, maybe a few times a year, but did fine on Blanca with camping at Lake Como. Just a bit of a slog up the road. Not sure how far they drove up either.

If you want to be out there for 4 days at the same base camp, the Zapata Lakes route might be a better choice, as the other peaks accessed from that side are easier to climb than LB (13ers Twin Peaks, California Peak). The drawback is there may be snow in C2 (probably not much by mid-July, and I didn't find it that bad), just have to re-climb Ellingwood on the way back from Blanca so it's a tougher day than doing Blanca from Como, and some class 3 (not too hard but steep and airy). More secluded camp, water following decent stretches of the trail. If I was in the area for a rest day I'd hit the sand dunes or Herard which overlooks them.

[mtree]

A human can carry 20% of their body weight on their back without noticing much of a difference, at least the next day. 25% is where people start to feel it. Your shoulders will get sore, especially the next day, and your back could start to hurt depending on how it's positioned. Anything over a third of your body weight and you're really going to feel it. It's not to say it can't be done, members of the Armed Forces typically carry more than 50% of their body weight when they're heading out. It just hurts. I weigh about 210 and try to keep my pack under 50lbs, even for winter overnights I limit it to 55.

I'm calling BS on this one. Where did you come up with those numbers? A gumball machine?

Everyone is different. I weigh 175 and a 35lb pack is a serious difference. Its a freakin' haul and I can feel it the moment I strap it on. The heaviest I ever carried was about 40 lbs and that was brutal. Couldn't wait to chug down those beers to lighten the load. And I'll feel it afterwards and the next day. Before any backpacking trip I train for a couple weeks carrying the load. Its no picnic. I'm sure there are folks out there where 20% of their body weight is nothing. And I KNOW there are alot of folks where 20% is a load. So don't go by some numbers pulled out of a hat. You'll figure it out on your own quickly enough.

[Ptglhs]

I'm calling BS on this one. Where did you come up with those numbers? A gumball machine?

Everyone is different. I weigh 175 and a 35lb pack is a serious difference. Its a freakin' haul and I can feel it the moment I strap it on. The heaviest I ever carried was about 40 lbs and that was brutal. Couldn't wait to chug down those beers to lighten the load. And I'll feel it afterwards and the next day. Before any backpacking trip I train for a couple weeks carrying the load. Its no picnic. I'm sure there are folks out there where 20% of their body weight is nothing. And I KNOW there are alot of folks where 20% is a load. So don't go by some numbers pulled out of a hat. You'll figure it out on your own quickly enough.

I'm basing it on my personal experience and the experience of individuals with whom I've gone backpacking. My apologies if the original post wasn't clear. Someone carrying 20% of their body weight won't be terribly sore the next day. Obviously someone will notice if they have an extra 30 pounds on their back while it is there.

[nunns]

A human can carry 20% of their body weight on their back without noticing much of a difference, at least the next day. 25% is where people start to feel it. Your shoulders will get sore, especially the next day, and your back could start to hurt depending on how it's positioned. Anything over a third of your body weight and you're really going to feel it. It's not to say it can't be done, members of the Armed Forces typically carry more than 50% of their body weight when they're heading out. It just hurts. I weigh about 210 and try to keep my pack under 50lbs, even for winter overnights I limit it to 55.

I'm calling BS on this one. Where did you come up with those numbers? A gumball machine?

Everyone is different. I weigh 175 and a 35lb pack is a serious difference. Its a freakin' haul and I can feel it the moment I strap it on. The heaviest I ever carried was about 40 lbs and that was brutal. Couldn't wait to chug down those beers to lighten the load. And I'll feel it afterwards and the next day. Before any backpacking trip I train for a couple weeks carrying the load. Its no picnic. I'm sure there are folks out there where 20% of their body weight is nothing. And I KNOW there are alot of folks where 20% is a load. So don't go by some numbers pulled out of a hat. You'll figure it out on your own quickly enough.

Maybe it is the beer you are feeling, not the load.

Sean Nunn