Made it out for my first training overnight last night. It's been a while since I've backpacked (little over 10 years) and here's a few things I've noticed:
1) Tent - It rained for 16 consecutive hours (from 7 PM last night until around 11 AM this morning). My tent was a champ. No water issues, weighs nothing, and goes up in no time (BA Fly Creek UL2).
2) Water - I've been a little iffy about filtering water, going between a Sawyer and Aquamira. I really loved using the Sawyer though and it was simple, much more so than pumping used to be.
3) Cooking - I've decided on a Jetboil and this was my first trip with it. I've used alcohol in the past and while it works well in most conditions, but I just wanted cooking to be easy. A little over two minutes to boil two cups of water? I'm into it. It might be my favorite new piece of gear at this point.
4) Sleeping - I picked up an Alpinlite. Comfortable, VERY warm, and very light. I slept very well in it last night. However, I'm on the fence about the Thermarest Neoair xlite. I always slept on pads when I was younger and I found myself rolling off of the Neoair quite a few times during the night. I tried it blown up completely, almost flat, and everything in between. Laying on my back while on it was also uncomfortable. I'm not done with it, but it's really the only thing I have that I wasn't thoroughly happy with.
5) Pack - Osprey Exos 58 - Nothing bad to say here. Light, perfect size for me and has all the little pockets that I love about Osprey.
6) Fitness - I mountain bike 4-5 times a week and can go for hours and climbing mountains did a number on my hip and knee. I only did 18 miles over two days (1 night) and I'm very sore now. I never used hiking poles when I was younger but discovered how great they are around mile 15. Training with a weighted pack and using my hiking poles will hopefully be all I need to not suffer the first few days next year.
I also taught myself the PCT bear bagging method and was able to practice it with tons of success. It's way easier than how I bagged years ago. If you haven't yet, get on youtube and practice up.
Anybody else make it out this weekend or recently? I'd love to hear how you guys are doing and anything I should be doing right now to get my skills where they should be.