[pct-l] at the "edge"

[Reinhold Metzger]

Diane,
I'm proud of you....I think I'm beginning to love you.

After years of criticizing and ridiculing "Heavy Truckers" you finally 
seem to
have come to the conclusion that there really is nothing wrong with "Heavy
Trucking".
If "Heavy Truckers" like Yoshi want to carry all the extra luxuries for 
added
comfort and convenience and are physically  able and willing to carry a
heavy load, they are "Heavy Truckers" by choice, not because they do not
know any better.
I am a "Heavy Trucker" when I hike with my wife or the scouts, and have
hauled packs weighing as much as 85 lb, and an extreme "UL" fast packer
on my JMT speed hikes.
I hike on both sides of the fence and get agrevated when "Heavy Truckers"
are portrayed as fools who don't know what they are doing because they
have not yet seen the light.
I must agree that some "Heavy Truckers" are "Heavy Truckers" because
they are fools and have not yet seen the light, but there are also "UL" 
fools.

And yes, Yoshi is one of the nicest guys you could possibly meet on the 
trail.
We met on the JMT a few years ago...I was heading North and Yoshi was
heading South.
He wooped out his stove and insisted we share a cup of coffee in the
middle of the trail, and when he realized I was running low on food he 
insisted
on giving me a loaf of his home baked JMT bread (best bread I ever ate).

And yes, front pockets really distribute the weight and make the pack more
comfortable.
I put front pockets on my home made JMT pack years ago which usually hold
everything I will need during the day, that day, which eliminates 
stopping and
taking off your pack every time you need something (very important for 
speed hiking).

Well, anyhow, yoshi is a great guy and I am glad Diane Finally got to meet
him and realize there is nothing wrong with "Heavy Truckers".

JMT Reinhold
Your UL & Heavy Trucker trail companion
-----------------------------------------------------------
Diane wrote:
I have a rep for being "ultralight", but on my last trip I had a few 
luxuries, such as
my 1lb musical instrument (a strumstick, look them up, they're really 
fun to play.)
This summer I had the privilege of hiking with Yoshihiro, aka Low Gear.
Man he's strong!
He can power up those mountains with triple the weight on his back as mine.
His pack is really comfortable for such a big heavy pack, too.
The food he cooks is great! I learned a lot from him this summer.
I've got all kinds of dried greens now for my "Yoshihiro soup" and I 
found some
flattened rice similar to what he brings.
I now even have a Japanese pocket bidet (thank you for sending it to me.)
His pack had really cool front pockets.
So big you could put a full-sized SLR camera with a big lens in one side 
and
still have room for more, but it was not in your way.
I want to try to attach something like that to my own 
pack......................