Gossamer Gear customers Rik Christensen and Paul Cronshaw invite Glen to play in the San Rafael Wilderness area in the mountains behind Santa Barbara, California.

Rik Christensen has been a customer since the early GVP Gear days, and owns a staggering number of Gossamer Gear packs, including a silnylon G5 with over 5000 miles on it. Rik is a gear tinkerer and a gear inventor in his own right. He recognized Paul Cronshaw's pack as a G5 one day when he passed him on the trails behind his house, and the two became fast friends. The two of them invited Glen up for a romp, along with Jake, a recent convert to ultralight by Rik.

The artic air mass promised cool temps, though it ended up not quite getting down to single digits as Rik had suggested it might. The first night, it was so cold that water taken from a stream in liquid form for dinner, was slush with a crust on it by the time we got it to camp 5 minutes later.

Glen's Gear List
Paul's Gear List

Please lighten your load responsibly. Never take less gear than required for your particular trip, experience level, and travel group. These are all (well, except Jake, and he's catching on fast) experienced ultralight backpackers.

	If you invite Glen along for a trip, you KNOW there will be a weigh-in, at the only location that counts, the trail head as you're stepping out on the first day. The temp was 14 degrees F, and got down to 12 before starting to nudge up.		Jake sporting his brand-new Mariposa beside the Manzana River, which the group crossed repeatedly this day. This was Jake's first real backpacking trip, but under Rik's tutelage, he is starting very light.
	Jake finds it easy to hop across streams with a light load, even without the benefit of trekking poles.		Finally in the sun, Paul, Rik and Jake gaining some altitude.
	Paul standing near the top of the seasonally-dry Manzana Falls.		In the shade, there was still plenty of ice. The next day, heading back, there was three times the ice at this location!
	Jake learning the finer points of using a baggie to pour water from a placid stream into a platypus.		Rik next to his homemade tent at South Fork campsite.
	Glen and Rik watching the Bushbuddy Ultra in action. This was a great little stove, and boiled pot after pot of water. Note Glen is wearing his sleeping bag under his Driducks as a down jacket.		The view down the Sisquoc River, where Glen and Jake made a short excursion the following day. Paul got ill during the night, so after giving him a rest, we hiked back towards the trailhead in the afternoon. He took a turn for the worse, and with Rik hiked all the way out that night.