{"id":8963,"date":"2016-08-03T08:10:11","date_gmt":"2016-08-03T15:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=8963"},"modified":"2018-11-11T21:49:48","modified_gmt":"2018-11-12T05:49:48","slug":"make-home-while-backpacking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/make-home-while-backpacking","title":{"rendered":"Make Home while Backpacking"},"content":{"rendered":"

Arctic blasts of wind slam us as a nuclear sun reflects off the snow to create an intense solar oven: At 12,000 feet in California\u2019s High Sierra in mid-April, we\u2019re in a world of atmospheric extremes. We stroll up to our \u201ccampsite,\u201d a flat expanse of snow-covered ground below the soaring East Face of Mount Whitney. This will be our launching point for our attempt to climb the Mountaineers Route to Whitney\u2019s 14,505-foot crown, the highest pile of rocks in the contiguous United States.<\/p>\n

It will be also our home for the next 40 hours, give or take. I look around and think, Okay, time to turn this into some semblance of a home\u2014even if it\u2019s temporary.<\/p>\n

As an avid and frequent backpacker, climber, backcountry skier, yada yada for about three decades and counting, I\u2019ve slept a lot of nights on the ground way out in nature. I like it. A lot.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m also quite fond of resting smartly and sleeping well\u2014which help make physical challenges like climbing a mountain or carrying a backpack for many trail miles more enjoyable.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where my camp strategy and gear come in.<\/p>\n

\"Mount<\/p>\n

My 15-year-old son, Nate, and I have come to climb Mount Whitney with five readers of my blog, The Big Outside, and three guides. The guiding company is providing three-person mountaineering tents from a respected brand to everyone else on our team. But because Nate and I will sleep better without a third tent mate, we chose instead to bring the two-person Big Agnes Battle Mountain 2<\/a>\u2014a mountaineering tent not quite as roomy as the model the guides\u00a0are using, but roughly half the weight and plenty spacious for two people.<\/p>\n

After we get our tent up, I inflate my air mattress, a reasonably lightweight but very comfortable model. I\u2019m a firm believer in backpacking as light as possible, but I won\u2019t compromise sleeping comfort (and we needed pads with added insulation for sleeping on snow). I fold it inside a chair kit and plop down into that cushy mini-recliner to peer up at Mount Whitney. Our several climbing partners stand around enjoying the view\u2014at least a few of them, I suspect, coveting my chair.<\/p>\n

Life, at this moment, seems very good. I love climbing mountains. And when I\u2019m not climbing mountains, I make myself as comfortable as possible in camp\u2014to ensure that, when the time comes, I\u2019ll have the energy for climbing mountains.<\/p>\n

For more backpacking\u00a0information, visit REI.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Arctic blasts of wind slam us as a nuclear sun reflects off the snow to create an intense solar oven: At 12,000 feet in California\u2019s High Sierra in mid-April, we\u2019re in a world of atmospheric extremes. We stroll up to our \u201ccampsite,\u201d a flat expanse of snow-covered ground below the soaring East Face of Mount […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":8974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,387],"tags":[15,8,386],"internal-tag":[551,1672,1673],"class_list":["post-8963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-camp","category-hike","tag-backpacking","tag-hike","tag-letscamp","internal-tag-michael-lanza","internal-tag-pre-redirect-camp","internal-tag-pre-redirect-hike"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/hike\/make-home-while-backpacking","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Make Home while Backpacking","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/make-home-while-backpacking","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/make-home-while-backpacking"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/08\/Winter-Camping-Mount-Whitney.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/08\/Winter-Camping-Mount-Whitney.jpg?fit=1280%2C497"},"articleSection":"Camp","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Angela Crampton"}],"creator":["Angela Crampton"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["backpacking","hike","letscamp"],"dateCreated":"2016-08-03T15:10:11Z","datePublished":"2016-08-03T15:10:11Z","dateModified":"2018-11-12T05:49:48Z"},"rendered":"