Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Pack Suggestions For A Day Hike

Hello All. First time posing here on this wonderful board. It's always a pleasure reading all the great things everyone has to share.

I have a question regarding a pack for a day hike of Whitney. I'll be going this summer in August, and I'm looking all over the map from a smaller Camelbak Rim Runner, to a higher end Camelbak, to even something like a 40L bag. Looking to spend ~$150 or less (I guess no one is ever really looking to spend more, though).

So, specific questions:

- Is something like the Rim Runner enough for Whitney, assuming not much more than the 10 essentials?
- Is something like a 40L bag overkill and not a great idea?

I looked in the first timers section (which is fantastic, btw), but it didn't speak about packs. Perhaps this was intentional, if packs are as much a personal preference as boots, but I'm mostly just looking for first hand experience and any opinions - I recognize that there is no Gospel truth. Thanks all!

-Joe

August certainly is a warmer month than most, especially at lower elevations, but are we talking 40 liters (your 40L bag)?? A quick calc reveals close to 80 pounds of water. That is a considerably heavy pack, and that's just your water. If you were to carry ALL of your water, and not use any stream water, I think 2 gallons would be sufficient on a round trip day hike. That would be about 16 lbs. I'm certain you will get more comments.

I've used a few different packs, but the ones I usually settle on are my GoLite VO24 or my Black Diamond Speed 30 .

Plenty of room for summer stuff, including rain gear.

The Rim Runner looks fine to me. It would be plenty of room for me. That seems like a great price. I prefer to carry my water in 2- 1 liter bottles rather than a reservoir. I find its easier to fill up along the trail by just submerging the bottle, rather than having to to remove the reservoir from your pack.

I would be more concerned with how the pack fit and feels with some weight in it. I think anything more than 40 liters is overkill.

Sorry, I meant a 40L capacity bag, not 40L of water. That would be... heavy

The Rim Runner being a 26L bag seems in line with your packs, MooseTracks. Hikehigh, thanks, I wasn't thinking of going above 40L, but good to confirm that thought (and thanks for the sale link, I was eyeing that already, hehe).

-Joe

I humbly digress to correct my mistake - I thought you were asking about the size of something that carries water only; I do realize that cubic sizes of packs (day or otherwise) are measured in litres. Although BTW, in googling water containers, there is a 40 liter water container with wheels that would probably fit on the main trail .

40L - just put 4 of these bad babies in your pack - and
voila.......

You said it, packs are almost as personal as shoes....
For what it's worth I use a Camelbak Cloud Walker for all my day hikes. I bring along an empty arrowhead or crystal geyser bottle to refill with (way lighter than nalgene) or treat if necessary. But then I don't treat Sierra water either, or haven't for about 40 years (except for what's in the wading pool at Trail Camp)
I don't bring too much food and water is mostly plentiful on the trail. You never know about weather but I don't bring a lot of stuff - if it gets bad I turn around, the mountain will be there next year too.

You will need something that will handle about 15 lbs. comfortably, figuring you will have about 9 lbs. pound of water weight and containers for you trip from Trail Camp to the summit. Even though it is August, you can end up hiking on a very cold day. Therefore, you will need room for the warmies.

A 40 Liter pack is overkill for trail hiking in the summer months. With that said, I used a 40 L pack in the summer because it was the most comfortable pack I owned.

I currently use a 30 L pack for long day hikes and about 11 L for short day trips.

One thing I'd caution: if you get something bigger, it tends to seduce you into bringing more stuff.

Frankly, this is a place where you can go pretty cheap. I have a weekend pack that I paid $15 for, new, at an army-navy store. Probably weighs 2-1/2 lbs, holds about 3000cc, comfortable to carry with a light load. It's lasted 4 years so far. You do NOT need high tech stuff for what you want to do. Big 5, Walmart are places I'd look.

Many, many years ago I came to Lone Pine with no pack. I simply went to a store in town and bought their cheapest, no-name pack. I still use it today. It's flimsy, but it easily carries what I need for a Mt. Whitney dayhike - a couple of extra layers of clothing and my camera. There's no need to carry water - just empty bottles to be filled along the way.

Thanks for the advice, All! I ended up getting a larger pack than planned, simply because absolutely nothing smaller I tried on was comfortable with 15+ lbs. Maybe I have funny hips or something (perhaps also the reason I look funny on the salsa dancefloor).

-Joe