[pct-l] Ultralight as a must?

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

I did a significant portion of the trail with an Osprey Ariel (or was  
it an Aura) 65. It was a great pack. In fact, I traded a lighter pack  
for it when I got to Agua Dulce and it relieved a lot of back pain  
for me and actually felt lighter because it could handle the load  
better. This summer I hiked for a few days with a young lady from  
Germany who started the CDT with 65lbs of gear. She had traded out  
some of it for lighter gear shortly before I met her, but she loved  
her tent and would declare that love every now and then. It was some  
kind of really popular tent for Germans and Europeans. That lady was  
a fast, strong hiker, too.

It's probably all those little things you'll end up getting rid of  
anyway, and those little things will make a big difference.  
Eventually you might send enough little things home that your packs  
are too big (that's why I traded my Osprey eventually for an  
ultralight pack--the Osprey became mostly empty), but that doesn't  
really matter very much.

So enjoy your hike. You'll be fine.


On Sep 29, 2012, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

> From: Stefan Rinnert <stefanrinnert at googlemail.com>
> Subject: [pct-l] Ultralight as a must?
>
> 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