My draft 2026 "Plan B" list (didnt draw--insert frowny face here). This is not a "lightweight" list per se, its more of a "backcountry luxury" list with an eye toward not being excessive since I'm carrying a lot of the group weight. Trip is 5 days, 4 nights high country backpack fishing trip with my wife, with the expectation that I'll be carrying all of the "group" gear and that some creature comforts are what allows this sort of "family vacation" to happen at all. And becasue I'm a softy. She'll carry just her personal gear and food/immediate water. The expectation is elevations 8k-11k', mostly decent weather, lows in the 30's-40's, highs in 50's-70's, but frequent afternoon thunderstorms and a random longer period of bad weather is not unpossible. Our dates are fixed so barring weather of Biblical proportions whatever happens weather-wise is what we need to be able to deal with. Most of the stuff on this list is highly vetted already, but a few new items already settled on.
In question/still TBD:
*considering a new stove setup that will boil quicker and sized a bit more with 2 people in mind, my setup is light but pretty dated. Suggestions for best combo of fast boil/lightest weight & low packing volume
for a full liter of water at a time are welcomed.
*considering bringing a small tarp to hang out/cook in so we arent tent-bound if we get weather. I've often brought a tarp in the past in areas that get rain, and been SUPER-happy about it several times...but I see very few people have a tarp on their list in addition to a tent. Curious on peoples thoughts.
*weights in the fishing gear are approximate, TBD how much I cut weight from the full front-country kit. dont really need help here, but curious if people have a well-oiled lightweight kit what it looks like.
Thoughts, constructive criticism (missing item, extra item, lighter option, etc), snide remarks, etc are all welcomed.