Christopher's Backpacking Zone

ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO ENTER HERE

Welcome to my backpacking/infantry/survival website. I've finally organized everything, so all you happy people can access whatever information you want on my page without having to download all 50 pages of my site. I have tried to catalog and consolidate every single bit and piece of information that I could possibly think of, so there's lots here for the searching soul. The primary focus in this site is on equipment, because that is the easiest way to organize everything. I have actual thoughts on skills and knowledge consolidated with related equipment. Happy hunting.

BACKPACKS are pretty important to us backpackers

FOOD comes in handy if you are staying out for more than a few hours

EMERGENCY MEDICAL KITS are a must for the serious backpacker in serious terrain or weather

KNIVES are one of the single most important never-go-without pieces of equipment

CLOTHES can make a big difference if you wear the right ones at the right times

BOOTS are second only to a good knife in level of importance

TENTS are your home away from home; pay attention to what you are getting

SLEEPING BAGS; sorry, no King-size waterbeds for you in the field, so get a good one

MULTI-TOOLS are the modern man's best friend, and here are several good ones I carry

REPAIR KITS let you to stay in the bush in relative comfort if something splinters, shatters, or rips

COMBAT for the people who are into the paramilitary (or actual military) thing

MESS KITS can be a real blessing if you get the right ones; stoves are included here

SURVIVAL KITS just in case a bear drags your pack away, or you live in Bonners Ferry

MISCELLANEOUS is everything that doesn't fit anywhere else

LINKS for everyone who wants to do further investigation into some of the equipment here

Now as for myself . . . well, I am 23 years old. I took my first backpacking trip when I was 11 years old. My Father used to take my brother and I hiking every Saturday afternoon. I went to high school in Hawaii, where I was in the Outdoor Club (a.k.a. Backpacking Club) my freshman and sophomore years, and was president of my junior and senior years. I averaged about two backpacking trips a month through those years. From there I went to college in CA, then OR, then WA, and continued to backpack about once every three months. After college in southeastern WA, I joined the Army, and went into the infantry, and have done field operations with them.

Right now I am preparing for a trip back to the Pacific in the summer of '00, and my plan is for a total of over 100 miles on foot, and over 20,000 feet gained and lost in altitude (highest altitude over sea level will be 14,000 feet) in 9 days on foot across 3 seperate Hawaiian Islands. Five of those 9 days will be carrying our own water; I'm still trying to work that one out. Five days of water = 5 gallons. Five gallons = 35 + pounds in water alone. A half gallon can be carried in my CamelBak; another gallon can be carried in 2-quart canteens on my backpack; another half gallon can be carried in 1-quart canteens on my web belt. That's 2 gallons. A little over a gallon can be carried in a water bladder in my pack. That's three gallons, actually just a little over. After that it starts getting cumbersome.

I am also preparing for a 6-month tour in Bosnia. I actually found out we were headed there well after this backpacking marathon was planned, so it might interfere with the marathon, especially financially. I've been looking seriously into getting a sidearm for my TIS as a backup weapon, and I'm not gonna rely on a $99 pistol; I'd rather spring for the $2000 one and be willing to fall back on it in emergencies.

Here is a list of some of the places I have been:

Pearlridge Valley, Hawaii
Waipio-Waimanu Valley, Hawaii
Kalalau Valley, Hawaii
Hale Akala, Hawaii
Kamehameha Falls, Hawaii
Mauna Loa, Hawaii
Redwood Forest, California
Umatilla Forest, Oregon

And some of the challenges I've encountered:

River crossing (the up to your shoulders 100-feet-wide kind)
Flash flooding (woke up in 6 inches of standing water)
Rock climbing (I wasn't dumb enough to attempt it with my pack on)
Wind storm (strong enough to shatter fiberglass tent poles and even blew out matches lit inside the tent)
Trail breaking (usually nothing amazing, but have you ever tried to do this in a jungle?)
Altitude (no water, no trees for shade . . . just rocks)
Electrical storm (we were camped on a hilltop, too)
Cliff walking (though there were cables for us)
Rain storm (big ole fat rain, itty bitty stinging rain, rain that came in sideways, rain that came up from underneath)

WHAT MAKES ME ME

Colors: Blue and brown, and a little bit of red adds some life, but it can be easily overdone.
Foods: Chinese fried rice, brocolli, stroghanoff, See's chocolate truffles, peanut butter M&M's, and STRAWBERRIES!!
Programming language: That's bound to start massive arguments among my friends. Linux. PCs rule, Macs suck.
Flowers: Roses, no doubt. Love the smell of roses.
Animals: Snow leopards, ruby-throated hummingbirds, harpy eagles, hawaiian leopard moray eel, blue-ringed octopus.
Pets: Cats! Fish just stare at you, birds are poop factories, and dogs drool all over everything.
Songs: Jupiter the Bringer of Jollity, by Gustav Holst; Unforgiven, by Metallica; My World View, by Audio Adrenaline; O Holy Night (not Cartmin's version).
Comic books: Battle Chasers (Alas! It was short lived!), Star Wars Crimson Empire, and Spawn.
Fictional characters: Dick Tracy, John Carter, Zorro, and Dr. Doom.
Drinks: milk (if there're chocolate chip cookies around, otherwise sparkling appled juice).
Movies: Saving Private Ryan, Legends of the Fall, Dead Poet's Society, Aliens, and The Deer Hunter.
Books: On the Beach, by Nevil Shute; The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R.Tolkien; Lost Dorsai, by Gordon Dickson; Orlando Furioso, by Ludovico Ariosto.
Martial arts: Jeet Kune Do and Arnis.
Historical figures: Archimedes, Leonardo da Vinci, Miyamoto Musashi, Sir Francis Drake.
Weapons: M-4/203A1, LeMat (navy model) black powder revolver, Benchmade Nimravus.
Recreational activity: backpacking (real backpacking, not the new age eco-tourist yuppy bullshit).
TV show: Don't watch TV. Heck, I don't even have one. It would just collect dust.
Place of worship: Buddhist temples.
Games: AD&D Player's Option, TIE Fighter, Myst/Riven.
Thing that doesn't really exist: Simon Templar's pocket knife from The Saint.
Car: Acura NSX (yeah, Speed Racer's MACH 5 is cool, but it doesn't really exist).