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  1. #41
    Hiker bigcranky's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by garlic08 View Post
    I know this is an AT forum, but I think it's interesting that if this discussion were on a PCT forum, the pack weights would be about 1/2 of what is being discussed here.
    I think part of that is weather at the start. Hiking in early March in Georgia is different from hiking in southern California desert in late April.

    The other part may be resupply and water -- if I know I have to hump a gallon or more of water, and carry a lot of food, I'm more likely to keep my pack weight down to start with.

    Finally, overall weather and rain conditions are different, most of the way. The limited hiking I've done out West was *very* different than AT Hiking in terms of rain, in both duration and amount.
    Ken B
    'Big Cranky'
    Our Long Trail journal

  2. #42
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    I also think that is a great guideline, that half the weight should be food.

    Another guideline that I like is that insulation, meaning wool, fleece, down fill, blue foam pads, etc, should be at least half the weight of all your gear. I came up with that while lugging an 8 pound tent around one January. I had enough insulation as it turned out, but way too much metal and nylon, and not enough food as I was slowed down.

    So 50% Food, 25% Insulation, 25% for all the rest. See now say 30 pounds. 15 pounds food, thats food for about 10 days, perhaps 7 days in winter. 7.5 pounds of insulation might be 2 pounds in the sleeping bag, 8oz in blue foam pad, and 5 pounds in clothing, not counting shells. By my reckoning 5 pounds of clothing, 80oz, is good for 80 degrees below 80F, so 0F. That leaves 7.5 pounds for your pack, footgear, shelter, sleeping bag shell, rain shell, wind shells. Works for me.

  3. #43
    First Sergeant SGT Rock's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by lingo View Post
    Rock, I like the idea of using LBM as a determining factor in pack weight. After doing a little beer math of my own, I feel better about my pack. I am used to carrying about 50 lbs of gear through the woods for work. I was getting tired of people that I have talked to about my 40lb pack being too much. My #'s are close to yours. That is the first reasonable way I have seen of roughly determining pack weight. Thanks
    Good to go. It just makes sense that a bigger guy should be able to carry more weight and at times will need to carry more weight in order to have gear to fit their frame. I have carried a lot more weight for work and when doing trail maintenance, but this gives you a zone...

    Quote Originally Posted by Big Dawg View Post
    Good info, Rock. I agree. &.... you called me out,,,, YES, I'm fat. hahahaha. Seriously, the reduction of the "50+ lb fat pack" I wear all the time would make me feel like I'm flying. I think if I got down to 175, I'd look emaciated, but understand what you mean re: LBM. Honestly, 200 lbs is prolly a good weight for me. I'm working on it. FWIW, last year this time I was 330 lbs. I've come a long way baby!!
    Glad I could help to throw some sense into it. Keep on hiking and you will do fine. Every time I hear someone at work bitching about not being able to lose weight, I tell them I have the perfect weight loss plan. They can eat all they want, but they have to carry everything they eat 10 miles a day on the AT and all the other stuff they will need too. I figure 1 week per 10 pounds is about right.

    Quote Originally Posted by garlic08 View Post
    I know this is an AT forum, but I think it's interesting that if this discussion were on a PCT forum, the pack weights would be about 1/2 of what is being discussed here. On the AT, you can carry pretty much whatever you want and still hike it in six months or so. But many hikers carry a much lighter load and have a different kind of experience. It all depends on what kind of hike you want to do, and you can adjust as you go, as many have already said.

    I like Sgt Rock's post about the food bag outweighing everything else in the pack. Mine's the same, especially for the longer (100 mile) food carries.
    I've thought about that. I've looked at some PCT gear lists and figure I would probably drop about 3 - 4 pounds of gear weight based on what I have seen. Lose the hammock and it's stuff, and some of the cold weather clothing I hike with in winter here. But 6 or 7 days of food at a shot, and desert where you need a gallon or so of water. Great thing with that sort of hiking is the weight goes down to very little the longer you are out in the wilderness.
    SGT Rock
    http://hikinghq.net

    My 2008 Trail Journal of the BMT/AT

    BMT Thru-Hikers' Guide
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    NO SNIVELING

  4. #44
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    My pack is 19 pounds loaded with 3 days food and 2 litres of water..check out www.gossamergear.com for help with shelter and pack weights.
    Sandalwood

  5. #45
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    Quote Originally Posted by RememberYourZen View Post
    truer words were never spoken. It's obvious that im bringing items i could live without (i.e. ipod, book to read, pillow, etc). but i can justify each as much as I can food!
    One thing that I do when at the gym, commuting (car and subway/train), even during downtime at work or at home, is to do away with the bulk from my books by purchasing them on CD and ripping them to mp3 format (well I use Linux, so technically I prefer ogg), and then transferring them to my mp3 player.

    Now don't get me wrong, there is something both special and uniquely soothing gained from reading a book, but logistically speaking, and if for no other reason than just wanting to knock out a few additional books, especially for scholastic purposes, listening to them on my mp3 player is an acceptable compromise. With high quality earphones and by lowering your player's volume, you can greatly extend battery life as well.

    I'm planning a 2010 thruhike with my girlfriend, we're both avid readers, and we'll both be using mp3 players and cell phones for storing music, books, ebooks, maps, trail data, etc.; these will not contain vital information, just supplementary info, and should lighten our load just a bit.

  6. #46
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    Starting out 28 would be good, especially when you might only have 2-3 days of food until Neels Gap.

  7. #47

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    with or without the dogfood and the dogs gear?

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