[pct-l] Jansport D-3

[Jim Lynch]

I've still got an old pack board like we used at Philmont in the 50s (I was 
there in 1956).  I thought that was a *major* upstep from a rucksack!!

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tortoise" <Tortoise73 at charter.net>
To: "Georgi Heitman" <bobbnweav at citlink.net>
Cc: <pct-l at backcountry.net>; <cmkudija at ca.rr.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 7:20 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Jansport D-3


You ain't an "old timer" unless you've carried and used a Svea 123 or
similar stove. Also helping to qualify are Sigg aluminum bottles,
especially with the metal stoppers, and Sigg potts.

My pack is still an A-16 frame circa 1971 with a replacement bag from
??? both of which I got at Sierra Equipment in San Francisco on Polk St.


Now with all the people doing ultralite runs of the PCT, how about
someone doing it with post WW2 gear.

----------
Tortoise

<> He who finishes last, wins! <>

I switched to Mac OSX rather than fight Windows
Using Mozilla Thunderbird  http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/

Georgi Heitman wrote:
> Ceanothus...
> I think you're on the money...my pack 's
> wings were looped, in fact, I had a thing-a-ma-bob that had a clothes 
> closet rod hanger on one end and a clothes pin on the other.  I could hook 
> the thing over the bottom loop, and clothespin my wet socks or whatever to 
> it.  Dry in no time.
> And we certainly are wallowing is something, hopefully the past, and yes, 
> these are the Model T's of todaý's world.  They were the forerunners, the 
> link between the old wooden? packboard backpack frames from WW2, maybe?  I 
> remember when I told my ex that my G.S. troop wanted to learn to backpack 
> and that our two daughters and I needed sleeping bags and packs, he said 
> we were crazy, there was no way we'd ever get him out there with one of 
> those 'instruments of torture'  that he wore in the army.  He was amazed 
> when he saw what we brought home...my first pack was a Camp Trails that 
> was a comfortable fit,...before surgeries, but not after.  I started 
> borrowing packs from Boy Scouts in the neighborhood.  The Jan Sport that 
> Swen Wedigen lent me was the answer. The leather alone on mine must have 
> weighed a pound, and around the Twin Lakes area of Lassen N.P.,  I had to 
> hang it to keep the local skunks from nibbling on it. And the leather that 
> held the wings in place just may have
 creaked...I'd forgotten that.
> These early good packs proved that comfort was possible while wandering 
> thru the woods, after that, making them lighter and able to carry weird 
> stuff, like skis, climbing gear, etc, was about all you could do in terms 
> of innovation.  Lighter weight fabrics that wore as well as cordoba cloth, 
> and shed water w/in reason was a good place to start. These packs are like 
> the Alpenlite packs, the old Eureka Timberline tents, the Gerry Sleep 
> System,  the  MSR Whisperlite stoves and Frostline Kits.  They set 
> standards for designers at The North Face, The Granite Stairway, The 
> Marmot Mountain Works, Sierra Design, etc. to strive to improve upon.  I 
> marvel at today's equipment, things like my neighbor, Bill Davis has shown 
> me.  He gets his gear mostly online from Backpacking Lite.  But my old 
> pack fits me just fine, and if it's a Model T that's  fine too.  I'm 
> almost old enough to be a Model T myself so we go together well.  And this 
> past summer, two section hikers came through wearin
g Jan Sports, newer, lighter, fabric as well as the frame.  And they were 
smaller clones of mine.  So...if it ain't broke, don't fix it.  It's a good 
pack.
>
> Georgi, ramblin' on....
>
>
>


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