This trip was a huge improvement over the 1999 trip and most of the reasons why can be found in excruciating detail in the text which my dad has provided. I just want to add a couple of notes that I think will round out the information provided.
I have a few notes on what went really well on the trip, and that I would recommend to do on other trips. First, bring a notepad and a pen or pencil. Say you have a terrible freeze dried dinner and make a mental note not to buy it next time. However when you are planning your next trip, you will realize that you don't remember which freeze dried dinner tasted like crap because you didn't write it down anywhere. I like to take notes on everything that went right and wrong on the trips, from what freeze dried dinners were particularly tasty (or inedible) to where we could have taken a better route. [Dads note: a chip off the old block!]
The most important thing that I wrote down for this trip was that dried mangoes are possibly the best backpacking food ever. And if discover that someone you are backpacking with has a desirable food product, you will most likely be able to barter for it with the dried mangoes. My uncle brought some of them on the trip and me and my dad were constantly trying to figure out how it was that we were going to get some of their dried mangoes. I would not go on another trip without at least one package of dried mangoes.
The only complaint, which my dad did not already mention in his trip report, was packing a bear can in a Breeze. I found it difficult to pack a my GoLite Breeze comfortably. I couldn't seem to keep the bear can from eventually creating a dull pain in my back. With less clothing and soft stuff on the trip, the options to put padding between the can and my back were limited. The only really soft thing that I had to cushion my back from the canister was my not so thick vest. This lack of padding made me happy that my pack was as light as it was, because with a heavier pack it would have been a real problem. My dad was able to get it set up fairly well, but a rigid graphite tube with aluminum edges did not allow for much error. I was unable to pack the Breeze as well as my dad. In the end the Breeze could have been more comfortable but I really didn't suffer.
All in all the complaints about this trip were few, and it was easily the best backpacking experience that I have had. Ultralight backpacking really did live up to what I hoped it would be.