RE: [pct-l] a novice's perspective

[Ronald Moak <ronm@fallingwater.com>]

Ginny writes >> One advantage you had back then - you went before the days
of filters,
stoves, and sleeping pads. That's at least 3 lbs off your base weight
right there.  Most people cooked over a fire and drank out of the
streams. And packs are much heavier now than they were then (unless you
bought army issue) - that "lifetime guarantee" is HEAVY. <<

Well you're right about one thing. We didn't carry a water filter. We did
however take a Seva 123 stove with 1 quart of fuel. Our packs were state of
the art Kelty. Mine was a Tioga and Linda carried a Sonora (which she used
again in '97). We slept on a version of Blue foam that's a bit thicker than
is found today. They were full length and weighed just under a pound. Our
sleeping bags were LL Bean Down. Somewhat heavier visions of today's
lightweight models.  

I simply spent weeks before hand going through every item of equipment
trying to reduce weight. Stuff like cutting the edges off maps, etc. We did
however have the heavy Vasque hiking boot. Life before lightweight boots was
hard and my feet hurt for over a 1000 miles.

Except for my boots and our daily hiking clothes, I believe we still have
every item we carried back then. My son still uses our tent on hiking trips
with the scouts.

Ron "Fallingwater" Moak
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PCT 2000 Journey - http://www.fallingwater.com/pct2000


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