[pct-l] Gear/Weight/Risk

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good afternoon,

My normal base weight is sub-10 lbs. in a 13-ounce GoLite Breeze pack.  The
heaviest load I can recall was 38.7 lbs. out of Mojave, via Tehachapi-Willow
Springs Road, when I loaded for 7 days and 145 miles up to Kennedy Meadows.
 http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=277060  The 10 lbs. that I show
included a pair of instep crampons left over from further south.  I really
shouldn’t have been carrying them.  Also, that 10 lbs. didn’t include my
bear ‘can which I received at Kennedy Meadows.   38.7 lbs. is a pretty solid
number because there’s a postal scale in the lobby of the Mojave Post
Office, and I weighed the entire loaded pack just before I hit the trail.

I’m not fond of carrying 13 lbs. of water up that climb north of Hwy-58 – in
the middle of the day – but the water weight attrits steadily through the
day, and once one gains the top of the ridge the trail levels-off quite a
bit.

At Kennedy Meadows I received the bear ‘can, but I didn’t need to carry
nearly as much water.  As I recall, in Independence my ‘can with its food
weighted around 18-19 lbs. for 8 days and 152 miles up to Tuolumne Meadows.

Perception of safety is mostly dependent upon one’s skill, experience, and
an understanding that there are really very few unforeseeable/unavoidable
disaster scenarios.  Almost always there are options to avoid or mitigate
potential difficulties which don’t involve having to carry many pounds of
“just in case” gear.

Good luck with your planning,

Steel-Eye

Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09


On Sun, Feb 20, 2011 at 10:31 AM, <dnielsen at djmurphycompany.com> wrote:

> To those experienced through hikers, particularly anyone who has done large
> sections or completed the PCT:
>
>
>
> I am a longtime backpacker since the 70's but not a "thu-hiker", yet.  Been
> wanting to do the trip since I read Eric's book in grade school. I have a
> 20lb base weight for 3 season trips. I was always taught to be totally self
> sufficient and use quality gear as your survival can depend on it. Old boy
> scout motto drilled into us was "be prepared" and it stuck. On my usual
> trip
> I generally know what to expect regarding weather and water and can plan
> accordingly, multi day/1 week trip.  What I am struggling with most on the
> pct is the wide range of conditions, from needing 2 gallons of water in the
> pack one day at low desert and then being faced with a potential snow storm
> at the top of a mountain the next day. (not to mention proper
> mountaineering
> gear for snow, not trail runners.) My 20lb base equipment will allow me to
> handle this with the level of safety that I am used to and my full frame
> pack can handle 50lb + (Although my back does not do as well anymore).  So
> if I have a 20lb base load, 8 quarts of water 16lb, 5 days of food at
> 11.5lb, I will have a 47.5 pound pack, excluding bear can. Very reasonable
> load in the "old days" but more than I really want to or can likely carry.
>
>
>
> I have a lightweight set up that I use for overnight trips when I have a
> good read on weather and water and basically where I only need to carry 2
> quarts of water. Base weight is 11lb and my pack with food and water is
> under 20lb.  If things go really bad on the weather I just leave. There is
> however no way that I have been able to get comfortable with this setup for
> the wide range of pct conditions that I am envisioning.   This is a 1lb
> backpack and there is no way I want to put 16lb of water and 11.5lb of food
> in it not to mention that the gear does not seem sufficient for this "wide"
> three season range, i.e. 1lb 35 degree bag, etc.
>
>
>
> I know people are obviously making it the entire way with these light base
> loads and packs I just seem to have a disconnect with it.  Perhaps my
> safety
> threshold is just higher than theirs. I have been in situations where my
> life truly did depend on my gear and that has burned in pretty hard.  It is
> one thing to talk gear online and another when you get multiply days of
> freezing rain, snow and 50mph winds.
>
>
>
> 1.      I really want to carry less weight, questions is do I have to
> increase my risk level to do so?
> 2.      What is the real weight of the ultra light people once they get all
> that water, food and bear can onboard?  And how the heck to you carry that
> in a 1lb backpack?
>
>
>
> Thanks - all suggestions and info welcome.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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