[at-l] Pack weights of yesteryear

[Mara Factor]

I was gone for the weekend so only skimmed this thread so I'm not sure if 
some of this came up...

Some earlier hikers may have saved weight by not carrying sleeping pads 
(used pine boughs), perhaps forgoing tents (fewer hikers competing for space 
in the shelters), and maybe using cooking fires instead of stoves (hot coals 
are good for cooking).  Also, they may have planned shorter hiking periods 
(4-5 months) and therefore needed less in the way of cold weather gear.

FWIW, my base weight in '99 was 28 pounds.  By 2001, I pared that down to 14 
pounds.  Wish I had done that BEFORE my thruhike.

Just thinking out loud...  err, you know what I mean...

Mara
Stitches, AT99

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