View Full Version : Heaviest Pack Weight
:-?We always hear about how light people's pack weight is when they go backpacking. I always wonder what would be the heaviest pack weight anyone every carried the entire AT. My pack is 38 lbs with food & water. I may not qualify.
I ran into a guy carrying 50 pounds last year.
wyoming skateboarder about 90# 2 of everything, a paddle for a stick and not a big dude, may have a journal
Lion King
03-06-2011, 17:01
In 1998, I weighed my pack at the AMI ranger station and without water it weighed 67 LBS...
This was due to a lack of experiance or knowledge of hiking at that point, plus I was carrying one of those stupid ass ginormous Rambo style knives with a compass in the handle, as well as base first aid and fishing gear stuffed inside it too.
I had a full size acoustic guitar strapped to the pack, a large 'ski rope' style rope for bear hanging, which I used once.
Never again, but now I carry an 5 LB camera and extra weight in tapes and charger...so...
right now, I average about 45 LBS.
Not too bad considering I weigh 260.
Lion King
03-06-2011, 17:02
ps, All that heavy shiz was mailed home from Suches, when they had a store PO back then.
SouthMark
03-06-2011, 17:10
My grandson met a guy at Gooch GAP Shelter with an 80# pack. Two stoves, a gallon of fuel and 5# of bacon. He went home at Neel Gap.
Lion King
03-06-2011, 17:12
My grandson met a guy at Gooch GAP Shelter with an 80# pack. Two stoves, a gallon of fuel and 5# of bacon. He went home at Neel Gap.
was that in 09?
Did he have a dog?
I think I met that guy, he was in that shelter for like 3 days in the rain bragging on his heavy stuff, but was going home and giving all his food and gear away.
SouthMark
03-06-2011, 17:16
Oh and I'll be doing a 130 mile section in Maine this August. I calculate that my starting pack weight will be less than 18#. That's with water and six days of food. My FSO should be less than 22#. Base weight will be 6.62#.
earlyriser26
03-06-2011, 17:58
Back in the early 70's a couple guys an me were going to hike from Baxter to Caratunk with no resupply. Our packs weighed about 100 lbs (21 days of food as I recall). Of course we quit after 2 days.
Mtn Scout
03-06-2011, 18:15
met 2 guys last weekend. one guy was about 92lbs. his hiking partner was around 70. the heavier guy had 2 heavy duty tarps that you could cover the entire roof of my shop with and its a 16x20. my heaviest has been 36 lbs and that was for a fishing/hiking trip
SouthMark
03-06-2011, 18:19
Lion King, it was last year, 2010. I don't think he had a dog.
Bob McCaw
03-06-2011, 21:41
I ran into some characters in the 100 mile wilderness that were carrying 95 pound packs. They had come about 15 miles from Monson to the Long Pond Stream Lean-to in three days.
They figured out they were carrying too much and offered me a fifth of vodka, a two-pound tub of peanut butter, and I forget what all.
Oh well, they had a sense of humor. I think they called up Keith Shaw the next day and headed for the bar.
I have a friend that had about 80# and a big kelty red cloud IIRC. We were in the desert with about 5 days to go to the nearest road and with in an hour his hip belt and then a shoulder strap both ripped off. We feared the last strap might break so we stopped for about an hour and made a new shoulder strap out of duck tape and used a belt for a hip belt. neither would have worked with out the dental floss. I had to do his hip belt for him every time he took his pack on and off for the next week but it worked. We also had to put duck tape and mole skin on his shoulder after it started bleeding from the duck tape shoulder strap.
This same guy later tried doing a backpacking trip with a bug out bag that we got from work (military back pack) when he got home he said he wished a hip belt. Then I told him it was folded in the pack the whole time.
His nick name is meat. This of a 6'6" Rocky but clumsy.
innermountain
03-06-2011, 23:37
I saw a guy with a heavy friggin pack - he had about 10 books for the hike. He said he was going to mail them home as he read them, but still, that's a lot of extra weight. Probably 60-70 pounds.
beakerman
03-07-2011, 10:47
I always seem to have about 40# no matter how long I'm going to be on the trail. If its just a weekender I carry more luxury stuff like a chair for longer treks I carry less of the comfy things and more food of course...its odd but it always seems to be right at 40#.
I've seen boys try carrying more than that. I had a fellow scout, back in the day, who carried close to 100# of course it was all rocks courtesy of his fellow scouts ;-). he didn't even break a sweat--the kid was a mountain 250# and not an ounce of fat on his body jsut solid bone and muscle....kind of scary really we decided not to make him mad for fear he might rip our arms off like a wookie.
tirebiter
03-07-2011, 11:05
And here I thought I was too heavy with my 25lb base weight.
Met a guy last year on his second thru-hike who carried about 65# (lots of camera equipment and I don't know what else) and he successfully completed for a second time. Heaviest I've ever carried is 42# while inter camping in the UP of Michigan.
Leapfrog^
03-07-2011, 13:44
Try as I might just can't get below 32 pounds. Two years ago bought a 2 pound thermarest to save $40. Last year smartened up and bought the one pounder. Learning lessons don't come cheaply.
flemdawg1
03-07-2011, 13:55
I ran into a guy carrying 50 pounds last year.
I met a guy carrying about that at the Curley Maple Gap Shelter. His trail name was buck-ten, because he started from Springer w/ 110 lbs.
Trailweaver
03-08-2011, 03:30
O.K. - Something happened to the post I just wrote. . . hope this doesn't end up as a double post. I'll try again.
I spent the night a few years ago at Hawk Mountain Shelter with a father and son who came in just as it was getting dark and they proceeded to put up a "hotel" of a tent - one of those large enough to stand up in and sleeps 6. (How much does that weigh?) They had also packed in a grill (and maybe a small ice chest, but I'm not sure on that) and they then started to build a fire in a ring behind the shelter. I very politely explained to them there was already a fire ring in front of the shelter and why it was there - to no avail. They built a huge fire and killed several small trees to do it.
Next morning they packed out early. After they left I went to see what they had done and discovered the remains of burned cans, al. foil, misc. tissues and small boxes, as well as two half-eaten steaks. I cleaned it all up as best I could and packed it out, as mad as I could get without foaming at the mouth.
As I was putting my stuff in my truck on USFS 42, they came huffing and puffing back up the trail and said they'd decided to cut their trip short as they hadn't realized how difficult it was to backpack on these steep trails with all that weight.
I realllly wanted to give them some hints on backpacking as well as tell them a thing or two about leaving meat near a shelter with active bears in the area, but I was a lone female who would have been facing down two guys in the middle of nowhere. . . and I had a dead battery. I just sucked it up, asked them to start my truck, and figured my hiking out their mess was just the price I had to pay. They'd suffered enough, too, I figured.
takethisbread
03-08-2011, 07:42
Sad but not Uncommon tale.
Hotel tents are great though ! Except the carrying them.
O.K. - Something happened to the post I just wrote. . . hope this doesn't end up as a double post. I'll try again.
I spent the night a few years ago at Hawk Mountain Shelter with a father and son who came in just as it was getting dark and they proceeded to put up a "hotel" of a tent - one of those large enough to stand up in and sleeps 6. (How much does that weigh?) They had also packed in a grill (and maybe a small ice chest, but I'm not sure on that) and they then started to build a fire in a ring behind the shelter. I very politely explained to them there was already a fire ring in front of the shelter and why it was there - to no avail. They built a huge fire and killed several small trees to do it.
Next morning they packed out early. After they left I went to see what they had done and discovered the remains of burned cans, al. foil, misc. tissues and small boxes, as well as two half-eaten steaks. I cleaned it all up as best I could and packed it out, as mad as I could get without foaming at the mouth.
As I was putting my stuff in my truck on USFS 42, they came huffing and puffing back up the trail and said they'd decided to cut their trip short as they hadn't realized how difficult it was to backpack on these steep trails with all that weight.
I realllly wanted to give them some hints on backpacking as well as tell them a thing or two about leaving meat near a shelter with active bears in the area, but I was a lone female who would have been facing down two guys in the middle of nowhere. . . and I had a dead battery. I just sucked it up, asked them to start my truck, and figured my hiking out their mess was just the price I had to pay. They'd suffered enough, too, I figured.
I ran into a guy carrying 50 pounds last year.
Did I meet you last year?:)
I only weighed my pack twice last year. In Boiling Springs with very little food, and my summer gear it was 32#. At Pinkham Notch with winter gear, and very little food it was 42#. On several occasions I'm sure it was around sixty, probably more going into the 100 mile wilderness. I'm not exactly light weight.
Graywolf
03-08-2011, 18:42
I think my stomach weighs more than my pack. Does it count as pack weight?
I wouldn't mind carrying a 100 pound pack if it was full of money. :banana
Panzer
Did I meet you last year?:)
I only weighed my pack twice last year. In Boiling Springs with very little food, and my summer gear it was 32#. At Pinkham Notch with winter gear, and very little food it was 42#. On several occasions I'm sure it was around sixty, probably more going into the 100 mile wilderness. I'm not exactly light weight.
Maybe strtd approach around April 15, did Georgia section.
Wise Old Owl
03-08-2011, 22:07
I wouldn't mind carrying a 100 pound pack if it was full of money. :banana
Panzer
Panzer is secretly Dan Cooper and even knows how to jump out of the back of a plane......
Wise Old Owl
03-08-2011, 22:12
Posted on another forum
Large Alice can carry 70 pounds, medium 50 pounds (according to the alice manual).
1) Large Alice with Frame = 3800 CUI, 6 lbs
2) Medium Alice, no frame = 2400 CUI, 3.3 pounds
3) Molle2, no pouches, with sleep carrier = 4600 CUI, 8.6 pounds. Pouches are about a half pound each.
4) USMC ILBE = 4500 CUI, 7.5 pounds (produced by propper / Arc'Teryx)
5) USGI SPEAR UM21 pack, 4 pouches = 7000 CUI, 12 pounds, about 10 pounds with no pouches (5400 cui no pouches) (produced by gregory) Ya, that's 12 pounds EMPTY http://zombiehunters.org/forum/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif
6) Gregory Palisades 80 = 5000 CUI, 6.45, CIVILLIAN pack, included cause it's here next to the rest of them
Posted on another forum
Large Alice can carry 70 pounds, medium 50 pounds (according to the alice manual).
1) Large Alice with Frame = 3800 CUI, 6 lbs
2) Medium Alice, no frame = 2400 CUI, 3.3 pounds
3) Molle2, no pouches, with sleep carrier = 4600 CUI, 8.6 pounds. Pouches are about a half pound each.
4) USMC ILBE = 4500 CUI, 7.5 pounds (produced by propper / Arc'Teryx)
5) USGI SPEAR UM21 pack, 4 pouches = 7000 CUI, 12 pounds, about 10 pounds with no pouches (5400 cui no pouches) (produced by gregory) Ya, that's 12 pounds EMPTY http://zombiehunters.org/forum/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif
6) Gregory Palisades 80 = 5000 CUI, 6.45, CIVILLIAN pack, included cause it's here next to the rest of them
Uhmm ok, not sure what at has to do with the price of salt, but ok.
swjohnsey
03-08-2011, 23:15
Posted on another forum
Large Alice can carry 70 pounds, medium 50 pounds (according to the alice manual).
1) Large Alice with Frame = 3800 CUI, 6 lbs
2) Medium Alice, no frame = 2400 CUI, 3.3 pounds
3) Molle2, no pouches, with sleep carrier = 4600 CUI, 8.6 pounds. Pouches are about a half pound each.
4) USMC ILBE = 4500 CUI, 7.5 pounds (produced by propper / Arc'Teryx)
5) USGI SPEAR UM21 pack, 4 pouches = 7000 CUI, 12 pounds, about 10 pounds with no pouches (5400 cui no pouches) (produced by gregory) Ya, that's 12 pounds EMPTY http://zombiehunters.org/forum/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif
6) Gregory Palisades 80 = 5000 CUI, 6.45, CIVILLIAN pack, included cause it's here next to the rest of them
Good to know. I carried a large ALICE about a million miles so it is a good point of reference.
jersey joe
03-08-2011, 23:20
In 02' I left springer with about 65pounds.
I had 14 days worth of food.
My backpack weighed 7lbs 14oz. by itself.
I sent 8lbs home from neels gap.
My pack weighed 52lbs in Damascus.
Sierra Echo
03-08-2011, 23:27
The first time I stayed at the Len Foote Hike Inn they told me about this guy who spent the night there on his way to Springer. Amicalola called the Inn at around noon and said the guy was on his way up the trail to the Inn. Well 6pm comes around and the guy still hadnt shown up. Mind you, its only a 5 mile trail. They were arguing over who was gonna go look for him when the guy shows up. The guy was acting weird, slurring his speech, etc. Didnt want dinner or anything, said he was just going to bed. The next morning the guy showed up for breakfast and apologized for the night before. Said he was just exhausted because his pack was so heavy. They put the pack on the pack scale and it weighed in at 107 lbs. Needless to say, they did a major shake down on him. They also trail named him Kitchen Sink.
Trailweaver
03-09-2011, 04:02
I'm surprised the guy didn't have a heart attack on the way up. What in the world did he NOT take!?
Chillfactor
03-10-2011, 21:32
I think you're referring to Buck 20. Started with 120 pounds.
wanderluster
03-11-2011, 02:24
Next morning they packed out early. After they left I went to see what they had done and discovered the remains of burned cans, al. foil, misc. tissues and small boxes, as well as two half-eaten steaks. I cleaned it all up as best I could and packed it out, as mad as I could get without foaming at the mouth.
UGH.... That's awful.