[pct-l] Roller Pack - Field Test

[mdonnay at yahoo.com]

> From: Tortoise <Tortoise73 at charter.net>
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Preliminary Report - Dixon Roller Pack
> To: Hiker97 <hiker97 at aol.com>
>
> I'm
waiting for field test results on an actual trip over rough trail.
partially snow covered
> trail. And over a snow bound pass.  Tortoise


Sorry for the late reply to Switchback's interest in the Dixon Roller Pack and Tortoise's desire for a field test.

Even though it has been pointed out that all mechanical and rolling devices are prohibited from the PCT, some of you may be interested in this roller pack idea for another trail.

I designed and built my own "Roller Pack" back in 2003.  I had been diagnosed with a herniated L4/L5 intervertebral disc in 2001 and had been suffering daily back pain.  I was afraid that I might never hike long distances again and hoped that this contraption might actually extend my hiking years.  (I was only 32 at the time).  Of course, this was years after my AT thru-hike in 1996 where I carried a 60 lb. pack.

After building my
 roller pack out of two-meter long aluminum poles and a mountain bike fork and wheel, I tested it on weekends in Dartmoor National Park in SW England while studying there during the summer of 2003.  After final tweaks and adjustments, I used it on a 200-mile trek through remote wilderness in the
 Northwest Highlands of Scotland, from Fort William to the northwest point of the UK, Cape Wrath.  This trek wasn't so much a trail, but a bearing taking me on a mix of wildlife paths, hunting tracks, old jeep roads, some paved roads, and lots of bushwhacking.  The trail was very rough at times, especially when bushwhacking, but there was no snow around.

I used the waist belt of my old Dana Designs pack to connect the roller pack to my waist, and decided to use my old Dana pack form my AT thru-hike on the roller pack frame just in case it failed and I had to hike on with my load on my back.

Here is a photo album of my trip:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mdonnay/2003JulCapeWrathScotland?feat=directlink

Some Observations:
- With my pack on top of the roller pack frame, I found it quite top-heavy.  When the wheel wasn't perfectly vertical, it fought me to flip over.  Finally, I gave in and let
 it flip over allowing my
 pack to hang
 under the frame upside down.  This made it extremely stable yet it sometimes dragged my pack on the brush when I was bushwhacking on uneven terrain.  It did stay off the ground on smoother trails and jeep roads though.

- I often felt like an 18-wheeler Mac truck when harnessed in.  To turn around to take a photo or a bearing while navigating or simply to take in the views was a production and I felt like I had to have a beep-beep-beep signal when backing up!

- There were many sections with tall livestock and wildlife fences and various designs of turn-style gates.  All of them required me to unharness, climb up on top of the gate, haul up the roller pack one side of the fence and lower it down the other.  That was a real pain in the arse!

- It did feel like an incredibly light load sharing it with the wheel, though.

- And Switchback, you would have really liked my nifty water bottle holders that I
 mounted on the frame
 within easy reach.

- I think the wheel was a standard 26" mountain bike wheel with a knobby tire.  It was awesome.  It would smoothly roll over anything that I could step over.  That felt really cool and stable.

- Steep descents, especially on loose gravel or talus, were somewhat scary as I had forgotten to include a hand brake on this initial design.  So it felt like someone was literally pushing me down the slope.  I would definitely incorporate a hand brake in my next design.

- I had a couple really steep traverses across mud-slid hill sides.  Had I slipped or had the roller pack slipped down sideways, it would have pulled me hundred of meters down the bare rock mud slide path.  I obviously unharnessed for these short but dangerous sections and pushed the roller pack ahead of me like a wheel barrow.

As you saw in the photos, the frame snapped in two one morning after a few days of
 bushwhacking.  I mended it with cord and hiked to the nearest village where friendly locals were happy to help me fix my roller pack.  I had obviously made weak spots on the aluminum poles by drilling holes into them to attach the cross pieces.  Clamps would have been better to maintain the strength and flex of the poles.  I thought I might even consider carbon fiber poles if I made a second prototype.  I finished the trek successfully with the roller pack.

The following year, instead of a second roller pack design, I read Ray Jardine's PCT Guidebook and Beyond Backpacking.  The rest is history.  I have since adopted the simplicity and freedom of the ultra-light philosophy.  I ebayed my 9 lb. Dana Designs 10th Anniversary Terraplane pack amongst lots of other heavy gear.  My full pack now has a 12 lb. base weight complete with a TarpTent.

At work I have a stand-up desk and as long as I keep up
 my core strengthening and stretching exercises, I
 hike each summer free of any back pain whatsoever.  I have found that sitting at a desk for hours is the very WORST thing that I can do to my back, while hiking long distances under a light pack is the very BEST thing I can do for it.  That's what I have found with my back.  YMMV.

I hope this "field test" account was helpful.
Happy and healthy hiking.
Mike