[pct-l] Base weight criteria, AND..

[Jeffrey Olson]

In 1992 my girlfriend and I started at Lassen heading to Whitney with 
Jansport D-3 and D-5 packs, leather boots, 10 days of food, and 72 and 
56 pounds respectively.  We carried two sets of homemade fleece - 100 
and 300 weights.  My kelty Tioga was four feet tall. I blew out an ACL 
at Tahoe.

In 1994 I started a section hike wearing five pounds of boots and 25 
pounds of gear.  I got rid of the boots at Crater Lake and picked up 
mail order NB 801s at Diamond Lake.  I wore Tevas for that short 
stretch.  I hiked my first 20 mile days in the Oregon desert - base 
weight down to 20 pounds.  I ended that six week trip at about 17 pounds.

In 2005 I abandoned snowshoes just south of Harts Pass.

I'm chomping at the bit for another long section hike, and can't wait to 
be comfortable and safe at a sub-10 pound pack.  What with cuben fiber 
and experience I think it's possible.  Sleeping quilt, pad, tent and 
pack are now around 5 and a half pounds.

Now - it's do I get the knee replaced - the right one is worn out...

Jeff

It's been years and years whittling down gear.
On 11/10/2013 11:42 AM, Diane Soini wrote:
> I started with a bunch of gear that I already had, except for a brand
> new tent I bought from Gossamer Gear. I figured the weight of my old
> gear isn't that bad. Yadda yadda.
>
> Soon enough I started to realize that the pack fit poorly and the
> weight carried painfully. The sleeping bag took up too much space and
> I ended up tying things to the outside and walking down the trail
> with stuff bumping and swinging uncomfortably. I arrived at every
> water source with more than 2L still in my pack. My zip stove was not
> safe in the wind, not pleasant to use in the heat and messy. Goretex
> shoes are the worst invention ever conceived. Basically, my gear was
> not making my trip enjoyable.
>
> By Warner Springs I started to send home unused items and continued
> to do so at nearly every town stop. By Idyllwild I started either
> requesting things from home be sent to me or going shopping from the
> Internet or in brick-and-mortar stores for new gear. By the end of my
> first half of hiking the PCT the only items I started out with that I
> still carried were some of my clothes and my Gossamer Gear tent.
>
> Before my 2nd trip the following year, I spent the entire winter
> thinking of ways I could reduce my pack weight even further. I spent
> a lot of time on Backpacking Light's forum. I managed to cut another
> 9lbs off my pack weight, equally with new gear purchases (but cheap
> ones) and with replacing stuff with up-cycled homemade gear.
>
> My advice to you is bring a list of post office addresses and a
> credit card and make use of Internet shopping along the way. Use the
> first few hundred miles as a gear-testing adventure. At one point I
> was sending myself a new stove to try out, if I liked it, I sent the
> other one home. If I didn't, I tried another stove for a section. I
> did that with shoes and with other small items.
>
> When I set off for the PCT I expected a total solitary wilderness
> experience. I expected it to be like going to the moon. What you have
> is what you have and you better be prepared for anything and
> everything. Well, it wasn't like that at all! You need not make final
> decisions now as new decisions can be made along the way. As silly as
> it sounds, you can shop your way out of a lot of gear failures on the
> PCT.
>
> On Nov 10, 2013, at 7:31 AM, rogerrobinson at madasafish.com wrote:
>
>> Hi Diane
>> your Reply is one that actually makes so much sense
>> I am worried about  my weight  ive been training  with 25Kg  about
>> 55 Lb. which im sure is  fine on a lovely day  but maybe murder
>> dragging  my arse through the desert !!
>> I have a 70L Pack, a two man tent , why because i like the room ,
>> etc etc
>> I know i'm going to learn the hard way , Again i'm arriving with
>> too much stuff, My logic is if i start with it i dont have to buy
>> it . and  i will then Post  up the trail in my Bounce box . My main
>> concern is resupply and  water . I have a Heavy Katadyn water
>> filter , But also purifcatin tabs
>> Ive gone for a  white gas stove , and  again still trying to work
>> out how much fuel to carry ,  Its  on the Job training lol
>> But I am so looking forward  to it ..
>> Roger (snailtrainer)
> _______________________________________________
> Pct-L mailing list
> Pct-L at backcountry.net
> To unsubscribe, or change options visit:
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
>
> List Archives:
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/
> All content is copyrighted by the respective authors.
> Reproduction is prohibited without express permission.
>