[pct-l] Lightweight Backpacking--I'm a Believer

[dude@fastmail.ca (dude)]

--
Tom - congrats on discovering something that you like!  As far as the
food goes, my experience is that you really have to view food as
nothing more than fuel while on the trail if you want to carry light
loads.  For a tent, you want the most space and best material for the
least amount of weight.  If you extend the same philosophy to food,
you should look for the most calories/nutrition in the least amount
of weight.  It makes cooking on hikes very boring and almost a let
down, but as you said "by shedding the pounds I could go farther and
faster."

It takes getting used to.  The last ultralight hike that I planned
with some friends illustrated the point:  We had just finished hiking
about 14 miles before lunch and all my friends were saying all
morning long how great the ultralight philosophy was because we could
cover so much distance so effortlessly.  But then when we had lunch
(tuna and crackers), my buddy says "Wait a minute... Let me get this
straight.  I hike 14 miles before noon and the only food i get are
these six crackers and some damn tuna!!!???"   Like I said, it can be
a let down if you are looking forward to a big reward at the end of a
day's hike, but once you get used to it and just accept that the
rewards will only be at the drops or at the end, then it works out
fine.

Good luck!

peace,
dude


> After reading many messages favoring lightweight backpacking on
> this list for five years, I finally took the plunge and had a
> "total makeover." The Vasque Sundowners were replaced by New
> Balance 805s... The old frame backpack was replaced by a Go Lite
> Gust backpack... The old REI half dome was replaced by a Clip
> Flashlight... The old Peak One stove was replaced by an MSR Pocket
> Rocket... I won't go on, you get the idea.
>
> Could an old guy approaching the half-century mark adapt to this
> new way of hiking? I was skeptical but now I am a believer. On my
> recent Goat Rocks PCT hike my feet never felt better (the
> Superfeet insoles helped, I'm sure). I didn't bother with camp
> shoes and I didn't need them. The Gust pack was surprisingly
> comfortable. The system worked: I found that by shedding the
> pounds I could go farther and faster.
>
> I still need to work on the food angle. I like "real food" too
> much to just live on dehydrated meals or Powerbars and granola.
> But the weight of the food certainly added to the overall pack
> weight. For five days this was still manageable, but I can see how
> a longer hike of 7 or 10 days would require totally rethinking
> trail food. Are there ways of eating well yet staying light? (No,
> I'm not ready for corn pasta.)
>
> One last point, this list has been great with its advice over the
> years regarding lightweight backpacking. Thanks to everyone who
> has contributed to the discussions. They really made a difference
> for this older hiker.
>
> Tom Griffin
> Seattle, Wash.
> PCT Section Hike--Harts Pass to Canada
> http://staff.washington.edu/griffin/pct.html
>
>
>
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