[pct-l] Re: History of Ultralight (was: new resource for homemadeequipmt)

[kborski at yahoo.com (Karen Borski)]

I also agree that it's strange to me when people
equate lightweight backpacking with Jardine.  The
concept of going light is definately not new, nor did
it start even in the 1960s or 70s.  

In the annals of early American (European) explorers
is a small group of people who ventured out on foot in
the midst of a great unmapped wilderness.  In modern
terms, they are "mountain men," but back in the 1800s
they were the fringe community of "crazy" people who
gave up normal lives in civilization, at least for a
little while, to follow the call to adventure.  Sound
familiar?  

Here is a brief account of John Colter's solo hike in
1808 through the midst of the Rocky Mountains during
WINTER by H.M. Brackenridge:  "This man, with a pack
of thirty pounds weight, his gun and some ammunition,
went upwards of five hundred miles to the Crow nation;
gave them information, and proceeded from them to
several other tribes."  This trip was one of the
greatest single feats of exploration and human
endurance.  Colter set out alone in the fall (no
horse, just on foot), crossed over the Continental
Divide, explored completely unmapped country in which
he did not speak the native language to even
understand where he was when he did see the occasional
"friendly" Indian, then crossed the divide again to
arrive back in civilization the next spring to the
complete awe of his fellow mountain men and trappers. 
They'd all thought him dead.

Lightweight?  You bet.  The year:  1808.

What it boils down to is common sense.  Anyone that's
ever had to walk long distances carrying supplies with
them cannot help but think, "How can I get this thing
lighter?" or "The lighter this pack is, the further I
can go."  Duh.

The concept is as old as time and humanity.  It
doesn't have anything to do with increased efficiency
of modern high-tech materials, nor does it have
anything to do with any recently written books.  In
1808, a man hiked over a thousand miles in the dead of
winter in the mountains with no maps and no resupply
carrying only 30 lbs of gear.  That's a fact, and it
wasn't a one-time incident.  I say it's just common
sense.

I will say that I feel that Ray Jardine reawakened
common sense during an age when backpackers were
trapped in an industry that had grown heavy with the
1980s/90s marketing strategy equating "bigger" with
"better."  (case in point:  SUVs, "biggie" sized fast
food, super Walmart, 20-screen movie theaters,
McMansions, Dana Terraplanes*)  Jardine made us all
take a step back and say, if the industry doesn't make
it lighter, WE WILL!  It was a great wake-up call.

Sometimes, though, I think about making a 30 lb pack
out of deerhide, filling it with Colter's flint &
steel, some wool clothes, some lard and jerky,
and......[fade to dreamland]

Nocona

*I love my new ultralight Dana pack, so no diss meant
to the company.



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