Advice for Packing 28 day EBC Trek

[mtncanyon]

Namaste. Im packing for the trip. Starting in Phaplu, EBC Gokyo, Thame. possibly Nangpa if I can arrange. Despite spending more than Id like to for some good equip Im finding it hard to get down below 18-19 kg. Most important for me is to be comfortable, being able to withstand the cold, not having to rush down from KP etc, yet having a load that wont kill me. For clothes I have the following
Arcteryx Bora 80 Pack-3.8kg
Gortex Jacket. Arcteryx Theta Ar-548 grams
Down Jacket. Mountain Hardware Sub Zero-800gm
5 pairs smartwool socks 2 medium 2 heavyweight trekking, one mountaineering
REI Taku windproof waterproof soft shell pant. 600gm
2 pair of convertible Nodth Face Parmount Convertible pants 1kg
2 pair of midweight icebreaker 260merino tops 520g
2 pair of midweight icebreaker260 merino bottoms520gms
windproof fleece hat
trekking sun hat
psolar facemask
Do I still need to bring fleece or powertretch type pants?
20f synthetic bag.north face cats meow 1.5kg This puts me at 10kg. I still have sneakers shirts? camera, batteries water purifier gloves and Toiletries which will prob push it up quite a bit. Is this too much clothing? Thx much!!!! Mtncanyon

[Petrus]

You have enough, in a pinch you can layer 2 pairs of merino, 2 pairs of trekking and 1 pair of wind pants... I would make some changes, though.

Why 2 pairs of trekking pants? Replace one pair with powerstretch, leave one set of merino long johns behind, this saves a few gramms. You still have 3 presentable top layers: conv, softshell, powerstretch.

Fleece jacket is often nicer than down, which can not be worn when moving with a pack (sweat, and it does not dry...). In the highest lodges you will need both fleece jacket & down jacket in the evenings. Take both, fleece is cheap in KTM, but naturally some upmarket jackets are both warmer & lighter (thinking about the monkey man jacket by Mountain Hardwear, or new Patagonia R-series).

Water purifier is not necessary, can do with chemicals or even without. Go light with toiletries, really small containers, can survive without a shampoo.

You will be wearing some of those clothes, so the total weight will be less, or were these just the spare clothes???

[mtncanyon]

I am wearing some of those clothes. God help the Nepalis should they see me trekking naked. Good point re the powerstretch and the fleece. Im hesitant not to bring a filter though since bottled water adds up and is bad for the environment. Chemical filtration never appealed to me but I know it works. Ill stick with the peace of mind the filter brings at the expense of the weight. Thx for your ideas.... mtncanyon

[RRainey]

My first thought. why are you carrying anything more than a daypack. Hire a porter. RR

[Oli]

Arcteryx Bora 80 Pack-3.8kg

Get a smaller - and lighter - pack. 80L is a lot of space and you'll be tempted to fill it, 60L ought to be enough and will be correspondingly lighter.

How many pairs of pants? Facemask? I'm not a great one for packing light, but surely 18-19kg is way too much :eek:

[yakshaver]

I am with Oli, I think if you go over 10-12 kg for a lodge (tea house) trek you are packing too much. Unless you're a keen photographer and your camera gear weighs that much alone. My gear is normally around 10 kg, minus my camera.

Sometimes, 8 kg (like when I did the AC in summer, in July).

I would drop the waterproof pants. Normal comfortable trekking pants are enough, and usually one pair is enough. If you rip them or something, you can easily find a sewing kit at the lodge, or even buy another pair at various places along the trail.

What are convertible pants? Whatever they are, i would drop them.

No, I would not have fleece pants. The two pairs of icebreaker bottoms (provided they are long...) are enough. If it gets too cold in the sleeping bag, you can put them both on.
You don't need very heavy clothing while actually walking. Stopping for a drink and a rest in a cold snappy wind at Mong La, or on one of the ridges between between Dole and Machermo is another matter. But you can alsways take refuge in some lodge, which is almost never more than one hour away.

I agree with Petrus, water purifier is not a must. I don't even use tablets these days. Just drink boiled water (available at all lodges) and tea, soft drinks which you can easily purchase everywhere, etc.

If you cannot manage less than 12 kg (God knows, I took 18 kg on my first trek in Nepal...) Rainey's idea of getting a porter guide is not a bad one, especially if it is your first trek in Nepal. Opinions are split on this one, but I take a porter guide with me even if I know the trek quite well and my pack is 10 kg.
Let me know and I can recommend a couple of good ones.

[RRainey]

Further discussion of hiring a porter.

I certainly could carry the pack myself. I just got back from a 9 day hike in the Dolomites where I did just that, but I figure I like to have more contact with locals, stimulate the economy a bit, and enjoy the hike more.

If its too easy go faster.

I tend to take too much also, but I have "special needs" like I need to bring cereal and powered milk. I can not stand hot cereal to put it delicatly it does not stay in my stomach. I am also bringing coffee as I understand its not available. RR

[yakshaver]

I tend to take too much also, but I have "special needs" like I need to bring cereal and powered milk. I can not stand hot cereal to put it delicatly it does not stay in my stomach. I am also bringing coffee as I understand its not available. RR

Yes, mushy rolled oats for breakfast is not very apealing... Especially when cooked with water or watered milk.
I would bring some ground quality ground coffee, indeed. In January for Gokyo, the Swiss pair in our group brought some (alongside Caotina hot chocolate!!). Trust the Swiss to think of everything... I will take some with me on trek from now on. In Thamel and a couple of places in Pokhara you can get decent coffee. On trek it is just instant, and life's too short for that...

[mtncanyon]

Thx much for the advice. The reason I planned on taking so much is that every guidebook I looked at basically reccomended I take the quanity and type of items I listed. I realize most trekkers esp those who just make Nepal one part of the trip dont carry much or have any type of high quality gear and do just fine. My last trekking trip was to NZ. I carried a 20kg pack although left stuff at hostels while trekking. It was heavy first few days but manageable. I know there is no way I could carry that much at altitude. I did dump some socks and the extra pair of pants I replaced with powerstretch. Didnt save much weight. I went for the pants shell because besides being reccomended Im thinking that would come in handy on top of KP and the higher passes. Wouldnt those help in windy and cold conditions? Thx for getting me to lighten my load. Ive considered a porter but frankly at least from here at my desk, I dont feel too comfortable with the employer relationship that involves. I need lots of flex in my itinerary so I am hesitant to get involved with an agency even though that takes some responsibility off my shoulders. I might find after one day of trekking that I need the porter and will do it then. Clothing a porter sounds like a hassle and time consuming. I anticipate hiring one at a local lodge to go over the Cho La. Im thinking theyd be more prepared and familiar since theyre more likely to be local? Maybe Ill meet up with someone and hire a porter together!! avs

[Escher]

Are you including camping gear for the Nangpa La in there? That is very heavy if not! Last trip I carried 5 kgs of camera gear, tripod, video camera, a few lenses, and a few bits and bobs I wouldn't normally carry and with 2 litres of water, all the clothes I was wearing my pack was still only 17kgs. And I wasn't doing my normally obsessively lightweight thing.

If you are carrying bivvy/tent, stove, sleeping mat, food and crampons then 19-20kgs sounds about right, if not then you have way too much.

95% of the time the weather is quite good in the Nepali Himalaya. I would much rather I was not equipped for absolutely any eventuality (avalanche, forest fire & flood) than carry loads of stuff I don't need. That will make every step hard work as opposed to a cold night or two or wet feet for a couple of hours and you'd be unlucky if you even get that.

I also took 20kgs on my first trek and I regretted it. I didn't need half the stuff, didn't use it and never took it again.

Too much clothing? Yes! And your pack is a monster. Arcteryx packs are heavy and overspecced and very expensive. If you aren't taking camping gear then a 3.8kg 80 litre sack is very big. Of course it is all a matter of opinion but I like a lightweight pack and could immediately slice 3 kgs of your pack weight by just using a lightweight pack.

Another item that saves weight is an insulated hooded softshell. They weigh about half the weight of a fleece and I live in mine in the hills in the UK (where the weather is generally worse than in the valleys of the Nepal Himalaya). Superb piece of kit. It triples up as a fleece, windproof and shell jacket and can cope with everything except heavy rain (when it rains I just get wet! That's not happened often and I prefer the weight saving over keeping dry 100% of the time - I've got wet maybe twice out of 9 treks). It will cope with drizzle/light rain and is brilliant in snowy and cold conditions. Keeps you warm, breathes really well meaning you are much less sweaty. Hard shell jackets = very sweaty = cold when you stop! With that one garment it means I don't take a waterproof jacket, fleece or windproof and can save 1-2kgs. A softshell works much better in a lot of conditions than those items anyway. A weight saving of a couple of kilos for a day or two's rain is worth it for me.

Just a smaller pack, 2 pairs of trousers and an insulated softshell instead of fleece and goretex jacket will save you 5 kgs without even trying.

For example:-
http://www.climbers-shop.com/detail.aspx?id=21073&utm_source=Froogle&utm_medium=PriceComp&utm_term=Froogle&utm_content=None&utm_campaign=PriceComp1

One of the big assets of the main trekking trails is that you don't have to take porters and guides if you don't want to. For the independently minded you can carry 10-12kgs, have everything that you need and go and do whatever you want without having to have extra people in your group, while still spending all your money in the hills which goes into local economy rather than to Kathmandu based agencies (of course you can hire local porters and the money will get straight in their pocket). Some prefer the independence of having all you need with you, whereas others will laugh at you as you lug your big pack up the hills as they have employed a porter to carry their's! The point is you can go with either style in those areas and it is one of the main attractions for me. Many other areas require porters/mules or warrant you having to carry 30kgs, food and camping gear - which is why the tea house routes are so great. Hut to hut independent trekking with minimal gear. But then I prefer my own company.

But for god's sake chuck out half the crap you are tempted to take, be ruthless you won't regret it. A light pack is vastly more important than have two or three spare of everything. My favourite way to lighten my pack is to have an experienced trekking/climbing friend go through my pack. If you can't answer convincingly when he/she says "what are taking this for?" then throw it out!

[RRainey]

Yes, mushy rolled oats for breakfast is not very apealing... Especially when cooked with water or watered milk.
I would bring some ground quality ground coffee, indeed. In January for Gokyo, the Swiss pair in our group brought some (alongside Caotina hot chocolate!!). Trust the Swiss to think of everything... I will take some with me on trek from now on. In Thamel and a couple of places in Pokhara you can get decent coffee. On trek it is just instant, and life's too short for that...

To each his own! There is only one way I would eat hot cereal. It would be after about 2 weeks of starving in a remote prison cell!

Not only am I bringing coffee I am bringing my lexan 8 cup french press.

I will not be overburdening the porter. we each have our "own". RR