LightBackpacking.com

My lightweight backpacking philosophy

I believe that either the “pack is the one” - the weight is all you can think about — or you’re “one with the pack,” gliding unburdened through the wilderness enjoying the sights, sounds and smells.

My quest to join the ranks of the backpacker started in 1997 with months of research, talking to dozens of so-called experts at REI and local independent outdoor stores. Ultimately, this expert advice led to all the wrong choices. The result: I was $1,500 lighter in the pocketbook and my pack was nearly 22 pounds before food, water and other basic gear. On my first six-mile test run on the hills of a local park, I carried 38 pounds for 3 miles, sat down exhausted, discouraged and sweating. I had serious thoughts about quitting. The strain got worse. By the end of my first summer on the trail, I was rich with sage advice from members of my hiking club and had added another seven pounds of goodies, such as a Thermarest chair, increasing my load to 45 pounds.

A Heavy Heart

You can say I had rocks in my head, but certainly it felt that way in my pack, a 7.5-pound, 5,800cc big-load monster Terraplane LTW by Dana Design stuffed with:

• A 7.5-pound Sierra Designs - Meteor Light 3-Season Tent (two-man, three-season stand-alone)
• A 3.3 pound, 5-degree Western Mountaineering Sequoia Super MF sleeping bag (semi-rectangular, 66-inch down filled), and finally…
• A huge, comfy 2.5-pound, 72-inch Thermarest Prolite 3 Sleeping Pad.

Gives me a heavy feeling just to write about it.

The Conversion

Three years later, I was down to seven pounds for the same basics: tent, sleeping bag, pad and pack. Sub-5 pounds is certainly within reach, given that most of my trips are three days (because I still work fulltime as a public relations consultant) and my pals and I avoid the mountains in winter and early spring.

Despite a constant churning of equipment (I have three or four of everything much to my wife’s chagrin) I have begun to rethink my pack and have slipped from ultralight to merely light, choosing some “luxury” items that make life pretty comfortable on the trail. I blame this on my hiking buddies. They insist on bringing apples and wine and I now carry the community cooking pot and other not-so-essential items, all of add to my pack weight.

While an ultralight devotee, I admit I have wondered when light is too light and when does the goal to be ultralight jeopardize safety, defy common sense or just plain reduce your enjoyment of the outdoors. To some, there is no such thing as too light. To others, ultralight is crazy. Personally, I think ultralight is a wonderful way to go. Light or semi-ultralight has its advantages, too. On these pages, I hope to strike a balance between the hardcore ultralight philosophy and alternatives that add weight to your pack, but make your trip a little less spare and still allow you to be “one with the pack.”

Finally, tell me what you think … the good, the bad and the ugly.