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[pct-l] lightweight hiking
Ron,
Since you are interested, here's some info:
My brother and I started on May 1 with the plan of hiking the trail in 4
3/4 months. We ended up finishing on September 12. I started with
a pretty light pack at about 22 pounds before food and water. If I did
it again, I would probably have it closer to 15 pounds. We started
out hiking 20-25 miles a day from Campo to Kennedy Meadows. This was often
dictated by how far apart the water sources were located. I remember
that my feet started getting sore after about 18 miles, so the last
couple miles weren't the funnest. Eventually this went away. We then
found out that are girlfriends wanted to meet us near Lake Tahoe, and to
make a long story short, we hiked about 15 miles average (taking it
easy and taking the time to climb Mt. Whitney) through the High
Sierras because we had to meet them on a certain date. We got off the
trail at Yosemite and spent a week hanging out at Lake Tahoe. Then we
got back on the trail at Tuolumne with one of my other brothers.
Averaged about 15 miles a day for another week to Echo Lake, where he
left us. Then we really started to move. Went from Echo Lake to Seiad
Valley without taking a day off and averaging high-20's. Then we did all
of Oregon in 15 days without taking a day off (31 mpd avg). Once we did
that, we realized that we could take Washington easy and we averaged
about 25 mpd to the Canadian border. By the time we hit Washington,
low-20 days were pretty easy. We needed to get to the border by the
third week of September because we had our college classes starting up.
My lightest pack was in N. CA when I had it down to 14 pounds, including
a book. Gear I shared with my brother was a tent, tarp (not both!), stove,
pot, water filter, and camera.
I was 24 and my brother had just turned 21. I have a "cross-country
runner" build and my brother has a "football" build, which turned more
into a "cross-country" build by the end of the trip. I only lost a
couple pounds, my brother lost about 20. This trail will get you into
the best shape of your life! We both are students, so we both had been
sitting in chairs for the six months preceeding the trip. I hadn't been
working out, but my brother had been running some. Both of us are in
good shape though, even if we haven't been "training". We both were able
to go 20 miles the first day, even though we hadn't really trained for
that many miles. I don't think age matters that much, there were 40-year
olds out there burning up the miles (hiked with Andyman <hi Andy!> for 2 weeks
and he can do as many miles as us "youngens", also hiked with Hungry
Hiker for a month and he matched our mileage from mid-OR to the Canadian
border). I think being in shape, carrying a lightweight pack, and having
sufficient willpower are the most important requirements for a successful
thru-hike.
A note on lightweight backpacking: Notice I didn't say ultra-light
backpacking. Ultra means taking it to the extreme, and I only recommend
this to the MOST experienced hikers. Lightweight backpacking just means
bringing the lightest essential gear for the area you will be hiking
through. I don't advocate an 8-10 pound pack unless the hiker is very
experienced, but I think anyone can get away with a pack under 20 pounds.
This pack weight still gives me both safety and comfort in the backcountry.
I have only met one true "ultra-light" hiker and that was Wolf. He had his
pack down to 15 pounds,including food and water, through the High
Sierras. He also has 20,000 hiking miles under his belt. All
those miles have given him the experience to carry this kind of
ultra-light gear. I consider everyone else who carries a light pack,
icluding myself, a "lightweight" backpacker. I don't have to go to any
"extremes" or endanger my own safety in the backcountry to get my pack
weight down to 15 pounds. I just bring essential gear that is
lightweight, and I don't bring the "kitchen sink".
I've never understood why hikers think they have to have hiked a
thousand miles before they have the "experience" to pack a lightweight
pack. Setting up a tarp isn't that much more difficult than setting up a
tent. Carrying a lighter and smaller pack isn't that much different than
carrying a larger and heavier one. Turning on a 1 oz flashlight isn't
any different than turning on a 5 oz headlamp. Using a 0.8 oz knife
isn't any different than using a 3 oz knife. Wearing running shoes on the
trail isn't that much different than wearing lightweight boots. Wearing
a 19 oz w/b parka isn't that much different than wearing a 2 pound one.
Out of this whole list, the only skill that needs some experience is
setting up a tarp, and mostly that's common sense. The rest is simply
having the confidence that smaller and lighter is just as safe and
comfortable as larger and heavier.
That's what I like so much about this mailing list. I'm able to learn
from other hiker's experiences. If something works for a hiker and they
share it on this list, we all get to benefit from this knowledge. Of
course, you want to try out all your gear before you go on the big trip.
That's what weekends are for! I don't need to carry a piece of gear for
a couple weeks to figure out if it's going to work for me. Usually I can
figure that out on a couple weekend hikes. See if that lightweight pack
holds all your gear. Experiment with running shoes on day hikes first,
then with a light pack on weekend trips. Bring a tarp on a weekend trip
(with a tent, just in case) and spend the night underneath it. Even this
limited experience with a piece of gear should tell you if it will work
for you. Remember, there isn't any gear out there that will work for
everyone. We all need to bring what we are comfortable with.
The other thing to remember is that this all fits into a system of
hiking. You can't bring a heavy pack and running shoes. You can't bring
lighter clothes and expect that you can stand around in 30 degree
weather. You can't bring lighter food and expect that it will give you
the energy to stay moving all day if it is cold and wet out. Make sure
you realize that there is more to lightweight hiking than simply the gear
you bring with you. Some people call this experience, I call it common
sense. Common sense will be the most essential piece of "equipment" you can
bring into the backcountry!
I give a lot of the credit for my truly enjoyable thru-hike to my
lightweight pack. It often felt like I was out for a dayhike instead
of a 4 1/2 month long trip! I was able to wear lighter, more comfortable
footwear, and for most of the trip I didn't even really notice that I had
a pack on. I guarentee you a lighter pack will help you to enjoy your
trip more. Getting a lightweight system worked out before the trip will
also save you a lot of headaches during the trip. I don't remember
worrying about my gear once during the whole trip. Of course, I sent
home some unneeded gear near the beginning of the trip. Everyone does.
But who wants to worry about gear when you are trying to enjoy nature to
the fullest?
In conclusion (finally!), I think that being in good shape, having a
lightweight hiking system, and having the willpower to finish the trip
are the most important attributes a potential thru-hiker needs to have
before beginning their trip. Having just one and not the others probably
won't cut it. Having a lightweight system, but only being able to hike
10 miles won't work because you'd have to take mega amounts of food
between resupply points. Being in shape, but not having a lightweight
system works for some people, but a lightweight pack puts you in a much
better mental state and leads to less potentially trip-ending injuries.
Finally, a person could be in shape and have a light pack and still not
finish because they lack the willpower to fight through the pain and mental
stresses that happen to EVERY thru-hiker, no matter how much weight they
are carrying. After the first month, the trip becomes more and more
mental. Only those who have promised themselves they are going to make
it to the border, no matter what, will actually finish.
Jeremy Rice
(Ricebrothers '97)
Hope this helps someone. If anyone wants to know more about lightweight
backpacking, or any other questions about a thru-hike, just email me.
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