Why people carry so much "stuff"

[paintedstars]

I just read this entire post and already knew everything about how importance weight is, but I'm carrying my martin backpacker no matter what. I'm already at 25 lbs without food and water. SO BE IT, let me be the one to learn my lesson, or carry that weight and burden. I'm documenting my whole journey with artistic aspects so I don't care what anyone says here. HIKE YOUR OWN HIKE.

www.nathanielmaloney.com

[Heald]

I just read this entire post and already knew everything about how importance weight is, but I'm carrying my martin backpacker no matter what. I'm already at 25 lbs without food and water. SO BE IT, let me be the one to learn my lesson, or carry that weight and burden. I'm documenting my whole journey with artistic aspects so I don't care what anyone says here. HIKE YOUR OWN HIKE.

www.nathanielmaloney.com

Suddenly I miss the ole hide a rock in the hikers pack trick.

[Capt Nat]

I've never long distanced hiked. I've done numerous 2 week stretches on the FL trail, flat but sometimes wading in swamps. I get the whole weight thing. I don't want to go UL. I'm man enough to carry the weight. For me, it's not about the speed I can make, but trying to find the balance between enjoying the hike and enjoying the camping. I'm looking at about 24 lbs base and looking to get lighter but if going a bit heavier makes my experience better I'll accept that. If your goal is to go UL very fast with big mile days and finish first, I'll try to get out of your way. I find that someone is always faster, lighter, better, more experienced. I'm not competing so they can win and I'll applaud them.

[paintedstars]

I like your photography...did you ever consider carrying a SLR camera on the AT?

[trucker2015]

I agree. You'll be way ahead of the learning curve when you hit the trail. Prolly look at all those hikers carrying 65 lb. packs, shake your head, and say "Bless their heart".

I was one of them people 15 years ago. But I didn't have the net.

[garlic08]

On the AT, pack weight just doesn't matter all that much. The average hiker can load up 40 pounds, hike 12 miles a day for 180 days, and be a successful thru hiker.

If you want to see something interesting, look at the difference between the average PCT or CDT starter and the average AT starter.

Papa D, I was also pretty amazed at the loads I saw in GA on my AT thru, after hiking the Western trails. By the second half of the AT, things looked a little more reasonable.

[Heald]

I like your photography...did you ever consider carrying a SLR camera on the AT?

Thanks. I did actually carry one in 96, although I sent it home in VT. I carry a DSLR with me whenever I hit the trail now, for video purposes (mostly).

The link below this post is where I post that stuff.

[Amanita]

My goal is to reach the end of a trip with nothing in my pack I wish I'd left behind, and nothing left behind that I really wish I'd brought. So far the only thing left behind that I missed was my stove, and only for the 1 day it was raining. Other than that, I believe I'll continue to move slowly towards the ultralight end of the spectrum.

[lunchbx]

'Cause they don't know any better.....end of thread.

[randyg45]

Papa D, I'm curious about your personal evolution as a hiker.
Do you still carry everything you started with?

[flemdawg1]

I just read this entire post and already knew everything about how importance weight is, but I'm carrying my martin backpacker no matter what. I'm already at 25 lbs without food and water. SO BE IT, let me be the one to learn my lesson, or carry that weight and burden. I'm documenting my whole journey with artistic aspects so I don't care what anyone says here. HIKE YOUR OWN HIKE.

www.nathanielmaloney.com

Have you considered a Guitalele instead of the Martin Backpacker?
http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-Guitar-...1832702&sr=8-1

[Feral Bill]

I just read this entire post and already knew everything about how importance weight is, but I'm carrying my martin backpacker no matter what. I'm already at 25 lbs without food and water. SO BE IT, let me be the one to learn my lesson, or carry that weight and burden. I'm documenting my whole journey with artistic aspects so I don't care what anyone says here. HIKE YOUR OWN HIKE.

www.nathanielmaloney.com

Perhaps you might care to lose weight elsewhere to accomodate the guitar and a weatherproof case. Then you could still be at a reasonable weight and enjoy your music.

[kayak karl]

i don't think all hikers are like the ones on WB. i think some think of hiking the AT on Monday and leave on Friday. gathering what gear they can and heading out with barely enough money to get to Franklin. many don't care if the quit. they call themselves thru hikers to fit in and get fed at the feeds.
its not a life long dream, just leaving on a whim to go hang with friends.
i think with some its a priority in their life, having an obsession with gear/planning and focusing on nothing else but their dream. pointing at others and talking about how they are better "in typical Whiteblaze style"

[ekeverette]

that was a good one k.k.!

[Watson]

Whistles, sunglasses, sunscreen, water filters, profile maps,..................now that's the goofy ****.

You say stuff like that and then come across someone like me who has had eye surgery and is sensitive to light. So I wear sunglasses. Everyone has their own reasons for the stuff they carry. Hike your own hikie.

[Pedaling Fool]

Ain't it just great to be among so many freakin' experts

[swjohnsey]

I just read this entire post and already knew everything about how importance weight is, but I'm carrying my martin backpacker no matter what. I'm already at 25 lbs without food and water. SO BE IT, let me be the one to learn my lesson, or carry that weight and burden. I'm documenting my whole journey with artistic aspects so I don't care what anyone says here. HIKE YOUR OWN HIKE.

www.nathanielmaloney.com

I have a Martin Backpacker (steel string, no amplification), can't imagine it surviving the AT. I keep a tenor size ukele at hand as a thinking aid. Have you considered one of them?

[flemdawg1]

Have you considered a Guitalele instead of the Martin Backpacker?
http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-Guitar-...1832702&sr=8-1

I have a Martin Backpacker (steel string, no amplification), can't imagine it surviving the AT. I keep a tenor size ukele at hand as a thinking aid. Have you considered one of them?

Great minds thinking alike?

[TyTy]

Couple things I have seen mentioned..

'Im not gonna spend $3,000 buying cuben fiber'. Going light, for me, was cheaper...way cheaper. Most everything that I have bought that was expensive I have sold or returned because it was heavy. A lot of it is sitting in my bin in my garage because I just dont bring it. That was a big part of the appeal to me, lighter is cheaper.

'Im not trying to win a race, if you want to speed down the trail doing big mileage have at it'. Next weekend my base weight will be 10.5 lbs for a 2 night trip. I promise I won't be covering a ton of miles, I am a slow hiker. My last trip we covered 12 miles in 2.5 days. Regardless of how many miles you hike, weather it is 2 per day or 20 being lighter is just plain easier.

I hear a lot of defending the heavy pack mentality but I don't hear any good arguments. What does a 60lb pack have in it for a 3 season trip that my 10 lb pack does not have? I have a sleeping bag that keeps me warm, a blow up pad that is as comfortable as it gets, I have a big pillow, I have a full tent with bug netting, I have a stove for hot food, I have extra layers for warmth, I have full rain gear, two sources of fire, a first aid kit, a tiny knife, plenty of food, plenty of water, UV light purification (sometimes chemical backup), etc. If at 10.5 lbs I am warm, dry, well fed with hot meals, sleeping in a full shelter comfortably...what am I missing out on that a person with a 50-60 lb pack has?

The only thing I can think of is more extra clothes and maybe a chair? (yes, that one does make me jealous sometimes). I can't even think of anything else I would want to bring or anything that would make my camping more comfortable (other than a chair). Being light does not mean you sacrifice anything it just means carrying lighter options that perform the same.

I am open to hearing about what is being missed out on.


And yes, I do think it is crappy when salespeople help load someone up a pack that will weight 60 lbs, especially when I see them doing it to young and old people many of which probably take that out one time, are miserable, and never go again because they think that is the only way.

[rocketsocks]

Carrying a heavy load builds character...and strong bones.