[pct-l] Weather Preparedness (was max pack weight)

[dsaufley at sprynet.com]

Please don't underestimate the warm clothes that you will need for the desert sections.  People make this mistake every year. They think it's Southern California so it must be hot.  Wrong.  It can be really cold in the deserts and the mountains you will pass through any time of year.  Desert temps can plummet, with a huge range between lows and highs. 

While it has been the driest winter on record, there's no guaranty that it will be the hottest spring and summer (though I'm not making any bets one way or the other).  Be prepared -- hypothermia occurs most often in temps of 40-50 degrees when people are not prepared for a drop in temps, whereas they are usually prepared when they head for the snow and alpine locations. 

We've had the weirdest weather I've seen in 48 years of living in So Cal.  Be prepared.

L-Rod 

p.s. sorry this doesn't directly address your question regarding how much weight you can carry in your pack, but it might further add to your overall weight down south.  

-----Original Message-----
>From: Brian Lewis <brianle at nwlink.com>
>Sent: Apr 16, 2007 1:06 PM
>To: 'pct back country' <pct-l at backcountry.net>
>Subject: [pct-l] backpack max weight limit
>
>I'm hoping to thru-hike next ('08) year, but want to figure out my equipment
>well in advance.   It's occuring to me that the max weight capacity of my
>backpack is a challenge for the desert and the Sierras.
>
>I reckon to add 3.3 pounds of extra clothes and a little gear for the
>Sierras, plus a 2.7 pound bear can for a total whopping 6 pound increase.
>Add to that the potentially long no-resupply stretch after KM (barring a
>substantial side trip to somewhere like Lone Pine or Independence) and the
>weight some folks might be carrying out of KM looks pretty high.
>Back-of-envelope calcs take my base pack weight of 14+ pounds up to maybe 48
>pounds out of KM if carrying 11 days of food.
>Similar issues with water haulage in the desert, given that 8 - 10 liters
>weigh ~18 - 22 pounds.
>
>My Mariposa Plus pack has a suggested weight limit of 35 pounds.  I have a
>ULA P2 that has a suggested limit of 35 - 40 pounds, and a "not to exceed"
>limit of 45.   So it extends my range by 10 pounds, but weighs 2 pounds
>more, so I really only gain 8 pounds net (plus a little more volume
>capacity).
>
>Question: do folks regularly exceed the listed max weight limits for
>backpacks, and for those that have, what kind of issues do you have?
>Discomfort?  Material failures?
>
>I fear that I might reluctantly have to go from Campo to Echo Lake (41% of
>total mileage) using the 2-pound heavier pack.  I really don't want to do
>this, but there's a limit to what I'm willing to do to further whittle down
>my base weight (or extra-stuff-for-Sierras weight).
>
>Perhaps I should just resign myself to walk + hitch to Independence in the
>Sierras in order to avoid this?  I recall reading someone's recommendation
>to gut it out and do the whole Sierra stretch straight through if possible,
>and that's what I'd rather do.
>
>Apologies insofar as this has been thrashed out before (?), but I've not
>seen any discussion of intentionally exceeding listed max backpack weight
>limits.
>
>
>
>         Brian Lewis
>
>
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