[pct-l] Section-hiking and ultralight backpacking

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

On Jan 4, 2011, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

> I've mostly been lurking this lit the last week or so, and while  
> reading
> everyone's plans and experiences is really amping me up to hit the  
> PCT, I'm
> also finding I might not be in QUITE the right company.

There are lots of section hikers on this list. It's just that the  
thru-hikers have all just joined and are pretty excited. Probably  
most people on this list who participate are section hikers and it  
really doesn't matter anyway, because much of the info is the same.  
You're still going to want to know about the water report, gear,  
transportation/hitching and who knows, maybe even resupplying, among  
other things.
>
> What's the right way to become
> introduced to the philosophy of lightweight or ultralight  
> backpacking?  I'm
> thinking of reading Beyond Backpacking

It's a good place to start. Lightweight backpacking is only partly  
about the gear. Maybe only 50%. It's also about strategy. Ray Jardine  
is awesome for strategy. A lot of his ideas sound really stupid at  
first, but when I've tried them (with the exception of corn pasta  
yuck!) they've worked.

I'd also recommend reading Backpacking Light web site and its forums.  
Read the gear lists. Post your gear list. Whiteblaze also has good  
info. My favorite place to start is How to Dirtbag like a  
Professional. http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php? 
p=206678#post206678 . It's not all about UL gear, it's about going  
cheap, but it's really surprising how UL and cheap are quite often  
the same thing.

Not all UL gear is expensive. Much is second-hand or made from  
garbage. And of course, stuff not brought doesn't cost anything!