1000 miles with the Mariposa

Hello Gossamer Gear-

I wanted to send a shout out for the awesome Mariposa Plus pack!

This past summer I went on a long walk which started at the Lost Coast in Northern California and ended at Mt. Whitney. Overall the adventure consumed 52 days and about 1000 miles, give or take, with nearly 1/2 million feet of vertical gain and loss… at least according to the TOPO software. My girlfriend and hiking partner, Sage Clegg, designed the route. She even took it a bit further and continued walking from Whitney all the way to the Badwater Basin in Death Valley when I bailed to go to work! We called it the Japhy Ryder Route in honor of Gary Snyder's character from the Dharma Bums. It still has some work and re-routes in order to make it a more doable route for other folks, but that's the goal for the future.

A quick synopsis… We beach walked down the coast from Mendocino Point, cut inland at Shelter Cove, navigated many miles of roads through the coast range, crossed the Yolla Bolly & Mendocino National Forest while hoping to avoid illegal pot grows, dropped into the sweltering central valley then biked across it, hiked up the west slope of the Sierra, and meandered our way down the Range of Light via a conglomeration of PCT, TRT, Sierra High Route, and JMT.

My Mariposa Plus was my faithful travel companion -other than Sage ;) - for the whole journey. I loved the pack! Not only was it super light, but it was extremely durable. After miles of bushwhacking, beach sand, and scraping it down 3rd-class granite passes, the Mariposa is showing very little signs of wear. It can easily fit a bear canister (I used 2 types, both the plastic Garcia one and a Bearikade), carry an ice axe, and haul 6 baguettes from the Great Basin Bakery in Bishop (which I've included a picture of!). I love all the mesh pockets as they help me stay organized and keep my gear easily accessible. I added two hip-belt pockets which I used for snacks, sunscreen, h20 tx, and my camera. I never had any chaffing issues. The wide shoulder straps are some of the most comfortable I've had on a pack.

The Japhy Ryder was my first go at a long hike and a lightweight one, at that. Although I had many choices of pack brands, I'm very happy I chose Gossamer Gear. Thanks for making great gear right here in the USA!

Happy trails, errr, ski tracks… as it is that time of year.

cheers,

Adam Drummer Bend, OR