[pct-l] Cheryl Strayed's Pack in Wild....you ain't seen nothing yet

[Reinhold Metzger]

Yes Golly,
We were a different breed of cats back then.
"Heavy Trucking" was the standard back then, not the exception.
We hauled everything we needed to survive anything Mother Nature might
throw at us and some extra, just in case.
Yes, I know what you mean Golly, I hauled a 85 lb pack when I hiked the
JMT with the Scouts back in 1996.

However, nowadays I hike on both sides of the fence..."Heavy Trucker"
when I hike with my wife and "UL" to the extreme on my JMT speed hikes.

I really like my homemade pack that I made for my JMT record attempts.
The pack weighs only 11 oz. and is very comfortable if not overloaded.
On my JMT speed hikes it usually weight at the max. 25 lb with all the
gear, food and water for the 222 miles from Happy Isles to Whitney
Portal.

It is a strange looking pack,...nothing like what you see on the trail,
but very balanced and not top heavy because it is designed to rap around
your chest...sort of like a hunters vest.
That allows me to carry all the food I need for the day and items or
gear that I might need including water on my sides or on my chest.
That makes it very balanced and allows me to go all day without taking
of the pack because everything I need for the day is right there where
I can reach it....reducing "down time".
This is very important in speed hiking.
My tent poles are the internal frame for this pack and my foam sleeping
pad is the padding between my back and the gear.

Like I said, you guys think Cheryl looked strange?
You ain't seen nothing yet until you've seen JMT Reinhold.
I am a real strange looking bird....a different breed of cat.

JMT Reinhold
A different breed of cat
.................................
  
Golly wrote:
Love your story~  although I know it's not a story, but the reality of
how we hiked back then.
We carried everything and some group stuff to boot.
A 40 or 60 pound pack was pretty normal; but I have been with guys who
have carried well more than 80 for a long trip (30 days in the Sierras).
Golly
..............................

JMT Reinhold wrote:
/There has been much talk recently about Cheryl's huge, strange pack and
//other hiker's huge, strange packs.
//
//You ain't seen nothing yet until you've seen JMT Reinhold on his first,
//post USMC, civilian hike.
//
//Hey, I remember my first Mt. Whitney hike in 1968, with my wife,
//hauling a monster pack and wearing combat boots.
//
//BTW...you ain't "Hard-Core" until you hiked Whitney in combat boots.
//
//I was a bad a$$ recently discharged Marine Infantry "Grunt", where hiking
//is a way of life, used to hauling heavy packs and treating women right.
//It went against my grain to burden my recent bride with a pack.
//So, everything went into 2 Marine Grunt Packs strapped onto  a Marine
//Grunt Pack board and onto my back with Karen(my wife) skip hoping along
//and me grunting all the way.
//That may give you guys a clue why they call the Marine Infantry the
//"GRUNTS."
//A pack board is a sturdy plastic board with burlap shoulder straps but
//no waist belt, used by ammo humpers in heavy weapons teams like
//Bazooka & Machine Guns to haul the extra ammo.
//
//So there I was, with 2 packs strapped on a pack board, with 4 military
//water canteens and a military first aid pack on a a military cartridge
//belt, stumping up Mt. Whitney....in "COMBAT BOOTS".
//
//You don't see them like that anymore.
//
//BTW...I also had to carry "Schatzy", our miniature dachshund most of the
//way.
//But Karen coooing into my ear..."Reinhold you are my hero"...made it all
//worth it.
//That is all I ever wanted to be ....."Karen's Hero."
//Of course I was Mitzy's hero also.
//
//Say guys, I understand now-a-days you guys make your women carry their
own//packs.
//Yes,....things have really changed from the days when Switchback and
//Reinhold ruled
//the trails.
//
//  JMT Reinhold
//  "Karen's hero"
/