[pct-l] Thru-Hikers and cans (was Scary bear story&nothangingfood)

[dude at fastmail.ca (dude)]

> Any suggestions about what I could do to make my life better on trail?
> Should I spend even more on a bigger pack?

in my experience, here's the way it works:

The size of your pack is directly proportional to the amount of comfort 
you will have "in camp" and inversely proportional to the amount of 
comfort you will have while hiking.

In other words, the more crap that you carry means that you will be 
more comfortable when in camp and while sleeping, however, this will 
mean that your pack will be heavier and it will definitely be harder to 
carry while hiking and you will get more fatigued and more tired and it 
will be harder to cover the same distances that you would with a 
lighter pack.  Conversely, the lighter your pack, the easier it will be 
to hike longer distances and you will cover more ground and be more 
comfortable while on the trail, however, you might not have all the 
creature-comforts in camp that you would like (ie: nice think and comfy 
sleeping pad, a lantern, a chair, reading material, slippers, a dutch 
oven, a pillow, etc).

Some people say "ultralight, feeze at night".  Others who have thru-
hiked with nothing more than a bivy bag and no down sleeping bag swear 
that they were comfortable enough to enjoy the hike.  There is no hard 
and fast answer to the question.  You just have to find out what works 
for YOU.  Get plenty advice from people who have experience, but in the 
end, you have to find out by trial and error.

good luck.

peace,
dude

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