[pct-l] Ultralight as a must?

[Craig Stanton]

(An old thread, but I read this via the archives and I'm a bit behind the times)
Hi Stefan,
	I took a MacPac Ascent along the trail in '07 and though it was 4.5lbs I'm glad I had it. So long as the two you've got are heavy because they are strong and not because they have lots of spare bits and clips dangling from all places then I don't see any problem with taking a non-ultralight pack. This monstrous you mentioned is not an absolute point, but a continuum that we're all on. All the hiking I had done in New Zealand conditioned me to prepare for and defend against everything. I'd never considered cowboy camping until the 3rd gate cache, and then I didn't get back in my tent until Washington, it's amazing what sleeping in the dirt will do to you :-) I massively overpacked and got blisters in the first few hundred miles. But as I went I got more comfortable with my kit and put items that I didn't need into my bounce-box and slowly my packwieght went down. I only weighed my pack twice because other people were curious about it but I never got hung up about it. 
I've rambled on now but I'm coming to a point. Don't strive to get your bags down to a particular weight or to earn the "ultralight" label. Just try to pack efficiently, only take what you need and as you get more comfortable wearing the same underwear for a week you'll find that you need to carry less things and your pack weight will naturally come down.
~Craig/SunWalker/Heaps

> Dear all,
> 
> somehow we are a bit confused about the gear we are planning to take with
> me for the pct-hike. we thought we had found the "right way" for us, but
> this UL-thing keeps coming back into our minds. we'll hike as a couple and
> therefore are able to share some weight/gear. beside our packs (osprey
> aether 70 and ariel 65, each 4 - 4,5 lbs; both packs that fit our expected
> needs, and our tent which weighs little less than 4 lbs) we try to keep the
> total gear weight very low and aim to reach a total of round about 14-18
> lbs excluding pack (empty), food and water. since the PCT-community in
> germany is from non existing to not so big, we feel somehow helpless and
> intimidated by this "ultralite monstrum". Beyond, we cannot assess the
> impact of weight+ total distance.
> alltogether, the chosen gear might be a result of cautiuosness: tent as
> protection against insects, snakes and the "heavy" backpack due to health
> considerations even though we`re 24&26 and fit :)
> 
> we're thankful for suggestions, comments and experiences!
> 
> regards,
> 
> stefan