After reading some of the posts in the "is a 4lb (emptly) pack unacceptably heavy" I thought I'd start my own thread on how such a focus misses the mark for so many of us. More easily ignored this way.
Mostly, I was thinking about how heavy (read: fat) many of the proponents of light weight packs are. Seems very odd to me that one can be all consumed with the weight of a pack when when exponentially greater improvements could be had by monitoring what they consume themselves-- at McDonalds.
That is were one can cut weight big time.
Then again, I would be the first to admit that an "extra" pound (or 20) feels more uncomfortable in a pack when walking down the trail than it does on my belly. Just as bad for the knees and such, but comfort wise, I am saying. Why is that? I guess the obviouls answer is becasue of the way the weight is distributed.
Go figure, weight distribution matters to comfort-- but that would be the subject for another thread. As would by my musings on whether or not one's pack choice and weight terrors might actually be a driving force behind the popular choice to resupply every more frequently along the AT. Nah, that couldn't be.
Anyway, I am off to Dunkin's for a couple donuts and a bagel. Who knows, I might meet up with some light-weight (gear wise only, of course) hikers in line there and contiue this discussion as we load up.