[pct-l] Pack weight to speed ratio

[SnoLepard at TrekkingKats.com (SnoLepard)]

In  September 1997 I hiked the Wonderland Trail around Mt Rainier, about 93 miles, in precisely one week. I had a traditional heavy Gregory Denali pack with an MSR stove, Gortex suit, a tent etc. I trained hard to do that and felt as if I really busted my butt to do it that fast.

In September 2001 I repeated the trip with a GoLite Breeze, a tarp, an Esbit stove and almost no extra clothes beyond a shell. I did it as a three-nighter, or in four full days. I was 44 at the time. It made all the difference in the world to have that lighter pack.

I had the same experience with three trips on the Timberline trail around Mt Hood. It's about 41 miles. I did it twice with traditional packs each time as a three day trip, then once with a very light load as an overnighter. I hurt more the first two times, even though I was in decent shape.

And for myself I notice it most when I get up in the morning. I'm not feeling trashed, like I always did after carrying those enormous packs. Nowadays I'd rather be comfortable while I'm actually hiking. I still feel comfortable in camp because I haven't been beating myself up all day.