[pct-l] UL vs Heavy Trucking

[Reinhold Metzger]

Hey Incredible Bulk,
Yes, I remember meeting  you and your son at Soldier lake on my way to 
Whitney
getting acclimated for a JMT fast-pack.
And Yes, that was a homemade pack and inside was a homemade tent,home made
fleece jacket, home made rain gear and I believe a  home made alcohol 
stove, unless
I was going cold.
However, although I was taking UL to the extreme, everything I needed to 
survive any
weather that  I could reasonable expect to encounter was in that pack, 
including a 1 lb
sleeping bag graciously donated by Western Mountaineering, bless there 
little harts,
for one of my earlier JMT record attempts, map & compass (even though I 
now the JMT
very well, I never venture into the wilderness without them) cold 
weather gear, rain gear,
cut down 3 oz foam pad, 1st  Aide Pack, emergency kit including 4" 
knife, headlamp,
  matches, lighter, mosquito repellant, iodine crystals for water 
purification and personal
items like toothbrush & paste, APP and yes, even my trusted cut down 
potty trowel.
And yes, even a little note pad and pencil and those d$$n reading 
glasses and a few
other things.
Yes, I need reading glasses nowadays to read the map...BUMMER...extra 
weight.

So you see, that pack holds a whole lot more than you think...the key is 
to keep things
compact and pack & stuff things efficiently.
Also, I made that pack sort of like a hunters vest....it raps around my 
chest and belly so
I could carry all the food and water for the day and all the items I 
might need during the
day either on the side or up front.
That made the pack very balanced and there was no need to drop the pack 
during the day.

The pack with all the gear but without food & water was about 9 
lb....about 22 lb with food
and water.
However, I have also hiked with 85 lb packs.
So you see, I'm on both sides of the fence....sometimes  "UL"  to the 
extreme, sometimes
"Heavy Trucker."
What kind of pack you are carrying should be determined by your physical 
condition, your
comfort level and what you want out of your hike.
That is why I can never understand all the ranting and raving and 
arguing about why this way
or that way is the correct way or why the UL is right or wrong or vise 
versa.

I say  HYOH  and who cares what everybody says.

The rabbits will always say the turtles are overloaded and travel to slow.
The turtles will always say the rabbits are traveling to fast to enjoy 
their journey.
Who is to say the that the rabbit, skip hopping along, enjoys its 
journey more than the turtle
lumbering under its heavy load.

I like the way "Radar" once put it........"Why must there be a right way 
and wrong way to hike
he trail"?........Yes, I ask why?

JMT Reinhold
Your puzzled trail companion

-----------------------------------------------------


On 12/2/2012 3:32 AM, nitnoid1 wrote:
> I can attest to Reinhold's going UL to the extreme. My son and I saw him at Soldier Lake in the summer of 2007, i think, with a homemade pack that appeared to be more fanny pack than backpack. My sleeping bag would have trouble fitting in his UL pack. He was on his way to Whitney via the mountaineers route.
>
> The Incredible Bulk
>
>
>
>
> On Nov 28, 2012, at 11:20 AM, Reinhold Metzge wrote:
>
> Joan,
> What you saw was a "HEAVY TRUCKER."
> Heavy Truckers are "Old School" and are known to carry oversize,
> heavy packs to be prepared for anything they may or can reasonable
> expect to encounter on the trail.
> When I hike with my wife or the Scouts, I am a "Heavy Trucker" because
> I want to be prepared for anything I can reasonably expect to encounter
> on the trail...in other words, I don't take any chances when hiking with
> my wife or the Scouts.
> However, on my "solo" JMT "fast-packs" I am willing to take chances and
> go "UL" to the extreme.
>
> And yes, I do look like a filthy, scroungy rat on those fast packs and
> could very easy be mistaken for a "hobo" or "homeless"
>
> Now "SWITCHBACK",...you could never mistake for a "hobo" or "homeless."
> Switchbacks wears the finest and most fashionable garments available.
> I mean Switchback looks like he just stepped out of a fashion clothing
> store, all perfumed up and spick & span clean.
> BTW....Switchback also does not have that malnourished look....he appears
> to be well nourished.
>
> Say Joan,....Would you pick me up if you saw me, all grubby and scuzzy
> looking, but with well developed calve muscles?
>
> Seems like the girls are very fond of calve muscles.
>
> So, if you guys want to increase your chances of getting a ride from a girl
> that fancie calve muscles,...."wear combat boots."
> Nothing turns women on like "hairy legs in combat boots"....especially if
> you have well developed calve muscles.
>
> JMT Reinhold
> Your hairy legged trail companion in combat boots
> ---------------------------------
> Joan wrote:
> I once drove by an FT thru hiker thinking he must be homeless because
> his gear was so oversized and shabby.
> Then I saw the muscles in his
> calves and turned around and picked him up.
> Just one more way to differentiate the homeless from hiker trash.
> (In all fairness, his pack weighed more than 60 lbs.)
>
> Joan
> -------------------------------------
> Reinhold wrote;
> Yes,
> It is very difficult to tell "hiker-trash" from a "hobo" or "homeless."
> I mean, let's face it, what is the difference between sleeping on the
> trail somewhere for 5-6 month or sleeping in an alley somewhere?
> Not much,.......except you will never see a self respecting "hobo" or
> homeless" wear "Gortex".
> Another way you can tell a "hobo" or "homeless" from "hiker-trash"  is
> cleanliness.
> Homeless seem to be much cleaner.
> Homeless" also seem to look less malnourished and don't have that wild,
> deranged,far away look in their eyes, like "hiker-trash" does.
> So you see, unless you know what to look for,it is very difficult to tell
> a "hobo" or homeless" from hiker trash...they are the same breed of cats.
> One prowls around in alleys,.... the other prowls around on trails.
>
> JMT Reinhold
> Your JMT prowling alley cat
> -------------------------------------------
>   BF wrote:
> ....have any of you PCT thru hikers ever had any //problems with being
> confused being homeless during your travels on and off //the trail? /
> ---------------------------------
> Radar wrote:
> I was viewed as a 'hobo' by the driver who picked me up outside Mojave
> on that same trip.
> Some people don't seem to even comprehend what backpacking is never
> mind the more esoteric experience of long-distance hiking.
> Radar
>
>