[pct-l] Ultralight???

["Robinson, Brian A" <brian.robinson@compaq.com>]

Hi Karen,

Never take less than you're comfortable with.  That would be foolish.

Is your pack 40 lbs without food and water?  If so, you'll be adding as much
as 15-20 pounds food (1.5 - 2lbs per day)for a long section.  For a 20-30
mile waterless hike you might need 2 gallons or more of water, adding
another 16+ pounds.  Now your maximum pack weight is over 70 pounds.  Ouch!

Even if you're quite strong you'll want less.  One of the keys is to bring
only what you'll need for the current section.  Heavy water loads come in
the hot sections.  If you feel comfortable bringing less of your cold
weather gear, you can save weight.  What you don't need now, you can mail to
the next post office in a drift box.

Another idea is that the lighter your load, the more miles per day you can
enjoyably hike.  The more miles, the fewer days between resupply, and the
less food you must carry.  If you can cross a 23 mile waterless stretch in
one day, you don't need to carry as much water.  This feeds back on itself
in what Ray Jardine rather smugly calls "the pyramid of style."  In spite of
the hubris, he has a valid point.

If you want to go slowly, smell the flowers, and enjoy the trip, more power
to you.  Too many of us get caught up in the rush to get to Manning.  But
don't ignore pack weight.  Light and slow is still more enjoyable than heavy
and slow.

Brian Robinson
PCT '97

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