On our Purcell backpacking trip last year Aidan, Mike and I all had a list going of what we were going to do differently for the next trip. (Since a lot went wrong on that trip) That list kinda disappeared into the realm of Mike for about a year – but recent excavation has uncovered a scanned printout of the original list! Here it is, unedited, for archival purposes.

Group

• topo map
• compass
• reevaluate fuel
• less sunscreen
• powerbar instead of extra food
• no gatorade
• tents!
• metal scrub pad
• smaller sunscreen
• watch
• more chicken primavera
• consider oil for sticking/cooking purposes

Drew

• sandles
• xs compress bag
• gators

Aidan

• xs compress bag
• sleeping bag
• z-lite
• fleece
• pants
• real jacket
• gators

Mike

• sandals
• fucking bags
• carabiners
• nalgene
• backpack
• garbage bags
• hat

I finally found some full resolution digital topographic maps for the area we’re going to be in Montana. For reference – the Montana State Library keeps a complete set of topographic maps availabe for download in TIFF and SID format here.

By using these maps I’ve put together an approximate elevation gain/loss chart for the trail. You can clearly see the 3 passes that we’ll have to do. I think the most surprising part is how high the passes actually are. The first and last pass we have to do almost hit 10,000 ft. In comparison the 1 pass that we did last time we went to Montana was only 8600 ft. So basically I’m going to be sucking wind – being that the elevation of Regina is only 1893 ft.

UPDATE:
Elevation gain per day is approximately as follows: