Michael Jay Lissner

Snow Mountain Distance Map

2013-08-27T10:48:25-07:00

I put on my cartographer’s hat today and made a distance map (png/svg) for Snow Mountain. The regular map for this area doesn’t have any distance markers on it, so these are based on talking with the ranger in the park. He seemed knowledgeable, so these numbers are probably the best we’ll get for a while.

If somebody discovers that the rangers in Snow Mountain finally have firm distances, let me know what they are, and I’ll happily update this map. Until then, attached is the map as both an SVG and a png. Enjoy.

Best Energy Pack for Ultra-light, Long-Distance Backpacking

2013-07-19T14:13:25-07:00

Obviously, the best ultalight battery pack is no battery pack, but on our trip we’re going to be bringing a phone, a camera, an MP3 player and two headlamps. The phone doubles as our GPS and the headlamps might be USB rechargeable. Having spare energy to get us through longer sections is important.

I’ve completed some research, investigating which are the best options. As I was reviewing the many battery pack and solar charger solutions that are out there, I came to a few conclusions right off the bat:

The models with turbines, like the Eton BoostTurbine2000 are crap. I called Eton to ask them how many cranks it would take to charge a phone. The technical support guy’s response: “You’d be at it all day. These are meant for emergency use only.” So turbines are out.
The idea of using a solar panel is great, but doing so will suck. I looked far and wide for an ultralight solar panel, but they’re all heavier than just getting a battery pack. The problem with solar panels is that they need to have their own battery packs, so you end up carrying the extra battery pack and the panel itself. If you’re out for really long trips, these are probably worth it, but for trips where you’ll be in and out of towns, there are lighter options.
There are a million wannabe battery pack manufacturers, like Timetec, Powergen, Rokit and Unu. They’re strong on branding, but when you go to their website — if they have one — you’ll find more marketing but not much real innovation or information. For example, in my attached chart, there are many blank spots and questions marks for these brands.

Looking for battery packs for backpackers means finding one that’s light, durable and efficient. There are a few features you probably want in particular:

You want a battery pack that will charge your devices as quickly as they support. Many battery packs, particularly the small ones, only provide 1 amp of output from a single USB port. If you have a device that can handle more (like a tablet), it’ll charge quite slowly. The best ones have as much as 2.5A output, and will adapt to send the right amount of power to your device.
You want a battery pack that charges quickly when you plug it into the wall. You don’t want to get stuck in town overnight because of how slowly your battery pack charges.
You want a battery pack that offers “pass through charging”. This allows you to plug the battery into the wall, and plug your device into the battery — simultaneously — allowing you to charge both at the same time. Most battery packs don’t offer this.
Finally, you want the most energy packed into the smallest, lightest device.

When looking at all these features, there are three standout energy packs, the Innergie PocketCell Duo, the Anker Astro 5600 and the Just Mobile Gum++.

The Anker Astro ($30) is the lightest of the bunch, but it also is complex, charges slowly when plugged in, and has a complex body. It has a flashlight, for what that’s worth, and, at 4.2 ounces, has an energy density of 1333 mAh/oz. It does not appear to have passthrough functionality.

The Just Mobile Gum++ ($90) is a very simple, lightweight and durable option. At 4.6 ounces, it’s still very light. It has a slightly lower energy density from the Astro (1304 mAh/oz), but boasts an ABS shell, the fastest charge rate when plugged in (2500 mA), and just generally looks like a good, simple option.

Finally is the Innergie PocketCell Duo ($90). This is the most powerful of the bunch, at 6800 mAh, has the highest energy density at 1456 mAh/oz) and has two output ports (both at 2100 mA). Unfortunately, unlike the Gum++, it only chargest at 1500 mA, so it will take longer to charge.

The PocketCell and Gum++ are both very new products, and don’t have many reviews. The Anker has been around awhile and has decent reviews, though some upset people that aren’t happy with their products.

Here’s my recommendation: If you need a battery pack that can charge two devices at the same time, get the Innergie PocketCell Duo. If not, get the Just Mobile Gum++. If you want to do your own analysis, check out the attached spreadsheet and go wild.

Update: Since Innergie does not mention whether their device supports pass through, I’ve contacted them via their contact form and via Twitter. After more than two months, they’ve been entirely non-responsive. There is another person on their Twitter stream that is complaining (loudly) that they never responded to a broken device complaint that he had. I can’t recommend Innergie despite their slick device, great marketing, etc. Something is going wrong with that company.

Desolation Wilderness

2013-06-17T11:41:40-07:00

Z and I went to Desolation Wilderness this weekend in preparation for our thru hike of the Te Araroa trail in November. It was a great trip, and photos are here. If you need permission to see them, let me know.

The route

Our route brought us to Wrights Lake at about 10pm on Friday night. From there, we hiked up to Twin Lakes and found a spot by the south western edge. This was pretty lucky. Getting across the lake’s outlet at midnight when we got there was a pain, especially for me, since I lacked a flashlight.

On Saturday, we hiked halfway to Island Lakes, then south to a east-west ridge that forms one of the edge of Mt. Price. This ridge was stupidly dangerous, hoping from bounder to boulder with no safety net and a giant fall below. In wet or snowy conditions, it’d be impossible, but with some patience we were able to do it without too much trouble. Once traversed the ridge to the east, walking up the southern side of Mt. Price was a cake walk.

After spending some time at the top, where we observed some friendly (but skinny) marmots, we headed east towards Mosquito Pass. Getting down from the top was a hairy mess, with lots of rocky cliffs we had to very carefully pick our way down. Eventually, we made it off the cliffs and into the snow fields, which happily were soft enough to glissade down. We didn’t have ice axes, so if we couldn’t glissade, we would have had to wait for the sun to get higher and melt more snow. The snow here was full of medium-sized sun cups, which Z naturally (and quite properly, given her running shoes) slid around on and hated. I hated them too, but my shoes at least afforded me some traction on them. The snow went down almost to the top of the ridge between Clyd and Aloha lakes, but not quite, and once we got there, we clamored over the rocks for a while until arriving back on trail at Mosquito Pass. From here, we walked along Lake Aloha, to camp at the southern edge. Mozzies were pretty bad here, but bearable.

On Sunday, we woke up, hiked back over Mosquito Pass, and beyond it through a long valley, up and over Rockbound Pass. From there we hiked down, back into the Mosquito zone, and beyond to our the car.

Regrets

I forgot to put new batteries in my flashlight, and the old ones were all but dead.
The deet that we brought was old and didn’t seem to work too well.
Z needs real shoes.
Ice axes would have been safer.

Awesome things

Lake Aloha is amazing but crowded.
The snow was just right, despite it being WAY too early for a trip to the High Sierras.
My legs again were abused: Scratches from the night hike with no flashlight, and sunburns from poor sunscreen application.
The itinerary pushed our muscles without injury (unlike last time).
Z is a natural backpacker and a great hiking partner.

The Contents of My First Aid Kit

2009-07-17T21:15:02-07:00

I present to you approximately a decade’s worth of first aid kit refinement. Emphasis is on completeness and lightness. Inside a custom silnylon envelope (with no zippers or fasteners that might slow down frostbitten, missing or otherwise failing hands), I have the following:

An ultra-fine tipped 0.5ml syringe
A 1ml glass vial of epinephren
One half sheet moleskin and a small quantity of mole foam
Ten butterfly adhesive bandages
One package steri-strips
Two 2” x 3” non-adhesive pads
Some gauze, but not much
A package of second skin
Two single-use eye droppers
Two stainless steel safety pins (one big, one small)
A small quantity of triple antibiotic ointment
One nitrile glove
A miniature backup chapstick with sunscreen
A single course of ciproplaxen
Thirteen 500mg Vicodin pills
Eleven 600mg ibuprofen pills
Seven 120mg pseudoephedrine hydrocloride (Sudafed) pills
Six diphenhydramine hydrochloride (Benadryl) pills
Dosage and indication instructions for all of the above pills
A SOAP note

Total weight is 124.7 grams (4.4 oz.). Don’t take this as medical advice.