[pct-l] Tents vrs Tarps - Bivies?

[Timothy Nye]

Granted, some may well be 'obsessed' with gear for 'appearances', but for
others experience dictates a more cautious approach in attempting to limit,
insofar as possible, the amount of weight to be carried.

In particular, if you are older, it makes sense to reduce the weight that
you have to carry as much as possible in order to reduce the liklhood of
sustaining a repetitive motion or cumulative injury.  I'd suggest that it is
no accident that both Ron and Billy Goat have adopted the rig that they
have.

Let's bear in mind the number of hikers that start and the actual number
that finish.  I'd wager that a substantial portion of those that don't
finish due to injury and or fatigue have as a causative factor the amount of
weight that they elected to carry.  True, conditioning is important, but for
those who are older problems with ligaments, tendons, Morton's Neuroma,
stress fractures are all things  that are not so easily delt with through
conditioning as they are for a younger person.  Muscle strength and aerobic
conditioning are much more easily acquired.

Personally, I'm all about cowboy camping.  It's the simplist and easiest and
most rewarding.  There clearly are weather extremes that can and are
encountered that may make a tent attractive.  But I've experienced being
knocked off the trail because of injury; one that wouldn't have occured if I
wasn't carrying too much weight and that took over a year recovery time.
Speaking for myself, the clock is ticking as to the number of opportunities
that remain.  Too others similarly situated, I urge that they attempt reduce
their base weight as much as comfortably possible for them individually;
trail and error is a younger persons game.