Help with weight

[Bulldawg]

I don't know if I am too heavy or not. But I am getting ready for my first real live overnight hiking trip. I am all packed up and weighed my pack. Lows are forecast for 20*F this weekend here on the mountain. But first here is what I am carrying.

Food for two full days
Gallon of water (trail is really dry I am hiking, it is a ridge trail)
Hammock
Under quilt
Down bag
Sleeping pad
Silk bag liner
SilNylon Tarp
Stove
Stove Fuel
Cookset
Extra set of thermals
Extra set of Socks
Balaclava

Thats about it except for maybe a couple of other camp necessities. I am sort of worried about my weight though. I just weighed in at 32 pounds. That is food, water, everything. So is that too much? I can't think of anything I might can trim. So I am just fretting it for no reason? i had been doing day hikes with 20-25 pounds thinking I could get it down to that with everything. On top of the weight, my Vapor Trail is stuffed to the gils as well.

[take-a-knee]

The weight shouldn't be too bad, just take it easy going uphill. I've had a little more than that in my Vapor Trail. I stick my 70oz platypus between the framesheet and the backpad, that stiffens the framesheet and makes a little room in pack. If your underquilt is down, you should have more room in that pack. With my KAQ I'm kinda squeezed for space. I wish I could go with you guys this weekend.

[Bulldawg]

The weight shouldn't be too bad, just take it easy going uphill. I've had a little more than that in my Vapor Trail. I stick my 70oz platypus between the framesheet and the backpad, that stiffens the framesheet and makes a little room in pack. If your underquilt is down, you should have more room in that pack. With my KAQ I'm kinda squeezed for space. I wish I could go with you guys this weekend.

No my underquilt is a dual layer of climashield. It is also 7'x5', so its pretty large, but it is warm as heck. I laid out in it last night in the lower forties and fell asleep even with nothing over me. I weighed last night with just the quilt, hammock stuff, and down bag and I was right at 18lbs. And I think a gallon of water weighs 8 pounds, I have 16 ounces of fuel (better safe than sorry) so I guess I have 5 pounds of food. I don't know how, but I guess I do.

I know the quilt weighs just a tick over 3 pounds, the down bag probably weighs right at 3 pounds, the hammock, straps, ropes, biners, and sack weight probably 2 pounds, and the vapor trail is what, just under 3 pounds.

We'll see, I just can't go out with lows in the lower 20s expected with any less. At least most of the food will be ate by the time I hit the toughest climb.

[Cannibal]

What is your hammock set-up; particularly your suspension?
What kind of down bag? Quilts will save you ounces.
What kind of stove system?
I find liners more bothersome than beneficial, but to each their own.

32 lbs. doesn't seem too bad, but it does seem heavy for what you're taking. For 2 days I doubt 32 lbs. will be a horrible weight to carry. You'll have fun and forget all about the weight.

[Cannibal]

Sorry you were answering my questions as I was typing them.

[Appalachian Tater]

That's an excellent weight especially for your first overnight. Make sure that you drink a lot of water starting at least 24 hours before you leave so you are well hydrated and drink a bunch of water right before you leave. A lot of people are under-hydrated every day, and if water is scarce you don't want to start under baseline. That is pushing the Vapor Trail's capacity, but as you eat and drink the weight will go down.

[Bulldawg]

That's an excellent weight especially for your first overnight. Make sure that you drink a lot of water starting at least 24 hours before you leave so you are well hydrated and drink a bunch of water right before you leave. A lot of people are under-hydrated every day, and if water is scarce you don't want to start under baseline. That is pushing the Vapor Trail's capacity, but as you eat and drink the weight will go down.

Yeah I'm sort of more worried about my pack than I am myself. Although I am worried about me too. I know the weight is going to drop maybe as much as 10 pounds by the end of the hike. We have a guy staging a truck at a road crossing pretty close to the campsite. I could stage some stuff there, but I really want to do this the right way.

Now, I have camped all my life. What I meant was this was my first 'hiking overnighter'. Just wanted to clear that up.

[warraghiyagey]

I'm a little worried for your water situation. Hope you find some along the way. A gallon isn't alot. Be sure to drink lots of water before you leave. have a great hike.

[Bulldawg]

Well, when I made the comment about water I didn't mean there was none. It is just all at the beginning of the hike on the first day.

[Appalachian Tater]

Well, when I made the comment about water I didn't mean there was none. It is just all at the beginning of the hike on the first day.Hike the other direction so you have some when you get to where you're going!

[Skidsteer]

Just carry a quart of water, John.

That'll last you till you cross Wolf Creek @ 3 miles in where you can get another quart if you need it. You'll step across other water sources as well. Fill up with a gallon at the creek just after Calf Stomp, carry it the 1.5 miles to Wildcat for your camp water. The next morning you can get water, if you need it, at WolfPen Gap down the road to the right.

The Coosa is not a dry trail.

[Two Speed]

Food for two full days Only need food for one day for an overnighter. Eat breakfast on the way up, and catch lunch on the way back. Presuming this is you're referring to your first shot at the Coosa go ahead and bring some snacks, just in case lunch is a little later than you planned.
Gallon of water (trail is really dry I am hiking, it is a ridge trail)See what Skids said.
Hammock Well, if you're gonna insist on doing that goofy ****, OK.
Under quilt Good idea if you're gonna insist on doing that goofy ****.
Down bag Same as above, except that a down bag would be required anyway, even if you weren't doing that goofy ****. The fact that you're using down indicates that you're thinking about what you're doing, which is always good.
Sleeping pad Why? Kinda duplicates the underquilt, doesn't it?
Silk bag liner Ditch it.
SilNylon Tarp Yep, gonna need that with the hammock.
Stove Yep. Hope you have the good sense to use an alkie, but you're a newb. Whatever works for you is good, just make sure you know how to use it.
Stove Fuel See above.
Cookset Yep, no point in bringing a stove if ya can't cook on it. Just make note of what you use and what you're not likely to ever use, and next time ditch the stuff you don't use very often.
Extra set of thermals One set will be plenty. Ditch the extra set.
Extra set of Socks I wouldn't go with an extra set, I'd go with a heavy set of wool socks to sleep in.
Balaclava Depends on your tolerance for cold. If you see me in a balaclava you know life's gone to Hell on Planet Two Speed. The cold part of Hell, that is.
Just carry a quart of water, John.But do have an empty litre bottle with you, minimum. Very few folks can get through dinner and breakfast on one litre.
Fill up with a gallon at the creek just after Calf Stomp,Gallon's more than I normally would do, but whatever you do make sure you don't miss that water source, or it'll suck to be you in the morning.
The Coosa is not a dry trail.Unless you miss that creek just past Calf Stomp, in which case it'll seem very dry.

Actually John, it looks like you're doing pretty well. The fact that you can get your gear into a Vapor Trail is a good sign, even if it is a little tight in there. The whole point of these training loops is to improve the way we play our game, check out new gear and techniques, etc. Goofing around with other WB'ers is part of the plan, too, so I'd say you're gonna do just fine. Take notes, see what works, observe the folks you hike with for tips and I'll bet you any amount of money that you get on top of your game in no time.

take-a-knee, you ought to join us some time. Skids and I will probably be cranking up another trip in three or four weeks.

[bigcranky]

32 pounds, minus 8 for the gallon of water, minus about 4 for all the food you are probably bringing = a 20 pound base weight. That's not bad at all, even for an experienced hiker. I think on my first overnight trip I carried about 65 pounds total.

Definitely "camel up" before you start hiking -- drink a quart of water on the way to the trailhead. Leave a quart in the car for when you get back. Carry what you think you need, given the advice above.

[rafe]

32 lbs. all-up, for a winter hike, isn't bad at all, IMO.

I would caution about hiking solo in the winter, though. At the very least, inform folks at home of your itinerary -- as accurately as you can predict it. If you get hurt in the woods in the winter, it can be a long time before the next hiker comes by. Winter hiking is much more difficult than summer, in all sorts of ways.

[bloodmountainman]

Try and trim off a little of the food. For an overnighter you will need 1 lunch, 1 supper, 1 breakfast, and a FEW snacks.:D

[Tinker]

Just curious - do you need the pad if you're using the underquilt?

Your cookset - is it more than you need? I used to carry 2 pots with a lid and a cup as well as spoon. Leaving one pot at home may save a few ounces. This is personal preference, of course, but for short trips, I just try to replace calories lost, and don't worry too much about food palatability.

[Alligator]

What other warm clothing do you have besides your thermals and a balaclava?

[ScottP]

Dude, you're doing great for a hammocker. As others said before, a gallon is a lot of water for hiking in Appalachia. That being said, when it's cold make sure that you force yourself to drink a lot of water! It's hard to be thirsty when you're cold.

I'm assuming that you also have the obvious bits of gear (lighter, maps/guides, rain jacket, etc)

Lots of weight loss will come once you switch to lighter versions of types of gear rather than just from leaving items behind.

[Bulldawg]

I did carry WAY too much food. And if you guys have never done the Coosa, it will kick your a$$ if you aren't ready for it. And I was not really ready for it with that kind of weight. I think I could trim back a bit and do much better. Thanks for all the advice. I will be coming back and reading it several times I'm sure. I can say I was not cold AT ALL. In fact when the winds on top of the knob stopped about 3 this morning, I started sweating in the hammock.

[Cuffs]

Since the hike is over, now try this:

With all the gear you took, make 3 piles.
1. Stuff you used daily
2. Stuff you used, but rarely
3. Stuff you never used. (if your 1st aid kit, rain gear etc are here, Congrats! and move them to pile #1.)

Analyze whats in 2 & 3, see what can be left home next trip.

[Bulldawg]

Since the hike is over, now try this:

With all the gear you took, make 3 piles.
1. Stuff you used daily
2. Stuff you used, but rarely
3. Stuff you never used. (if your 1st aid kit, rain gear etc are here, Congrats! and move them to pile #1.)

Analyze whats in 2 & 3, see what can be left home next trip.

I sort of did that already. The biggest thing I saw was the food. I brought entirely too much food. I though with as many ups as there were, I'd be much more hungry than I really was. I carried entirely too much food. The rest of the stuff was all used to some extent. Plus I was planning on pretty cold temps and I'm glad I did.

[gungho]

I sort of did that already. The biggest thing I saw was the food. I brought entirely too much food. I though with as many ups as there were, I'd be much more hungry than I really was. I carried entirely too much food. The rest of the stuff was all used to some extent. Plus I was planning on pretty cold temps and I'm glad I did.

The only way we can learn is by trial and error. Taking to much food was my issue on my first overnight backpacking trip also.You will find out what works for you.:)

[bigcranky]

A lot of people take too much food -- the body takes some tome to adapt to trail conditions, and sometimes it's tough to actually eat when you're totally wiped out.

That said, the opposite problem -- not having enough food -- is far worse. Done that twice, once on family hike in April at Standing Indian in 2000, and the first half of my section last March. In 2000 we actually ran out of food the morning of the final day, after eating very short rations the night before. That Burger King in Franklin never looked so good. Last March I was just starving when we got to Hot Springs, and ended up buying a lot of extra food for the second half of the section.