Favorite sleeping pad I've used is the REI Flash. 3" thick insulated inflatable, weighs 16 oz, packs smaller than a water bottle for $100. I'm a side sleeper and don't have any trouble with it and a mummy bag, I just roll the whole bag sideways with me. 3.2 R value may not be enough for really cold temps, but it's higher than CCF.
For water I use a Katadyn Mybottle purifier along with a Platypus hydration system and a spare platypus bladder for dirty water. The hydration pack is refilled with safe water when available, the dirty bladder is used to fill the Mybottle in the backcountry and boil for cooking. Probably a better system out there but it works well for me.
I do the same with nuts/jerky for a 2-3 day trip but it gets old after that. Summer sausage and cheese and the 90 second jambalaya rice pouches are great. I try to keep it over 100 calories per ounce but could use more ideas.
I currently use an alcohol stove but could use something better for group cooking, it's a pain for each person to have to carry all of their individual food and cook separately. It would be a lot nicer to have a stove large enough to take turns cooking and still be lightweight.
