alright, so I should have specified this in my first post.
I don't always pack light, depends on where I am going and what I might be in store for. Case in point, 2 years ago I went to the Leopold Wilderness and my pack probably toted in at 60-65lbs to start.
Reasons for such a heavy pack, weather was unpredictable, enough food was brought for 8 days (planned on a 6-day trek, but thought that we might feel up for the extra challenge). I'd say that almost all the gear that I brought was used, and we almost axed some of it off. The start of the trip began with 8" of snow before we started going up into the mountains, the weather report from the day before said highs of 70F all week... The result was getting wet and not being able to dry out during the night. I actually had to lone some of my things to my friend to keep him warm (he was real sure that we wouldn't get that cold).
So, I guess I'm the kind of hiker that is prepared for the worst, but at the same time I try to keep it lean. I don't have the money right now for real expensive gear, so I can only afford to have one pack, and will probably wait a while on the lower weight supplies. My goal pack weight is a max of 50lbs, I don't really foresee going over that.