When I first started hiking, I had the usual big Gregory pack (Shasta, just under 7 pounds), a synthetic 20-F bag, an "ultralight" solo tent in the 5 or 6 pound range, and a 2.5 pound Thermarest. Total "big four" weight was easily pushing 20 pounds. Just for me, solo. Add a ton of clothing and other gear. This would have been mid 90s or so.
My wife and I have spent some time over the last twenty years working on lighter packs, like everybody else. Right now we're planning an April spring break hike in Georgia. I was adding up the "big four" weight and it came to just under ten pounds. Before you say, hey that's still really heavy, realize that it's for two people -- two packs, a shared tent, double pad, and two-person quilt. So between the two of us, our total "big four" weight is less than half what I was carrying solo twenty years ago.
The scary part is that I could get it a few pounds lighter, but we're balancing comfort versus weight, and given how light all this stuff is, we can add back in some extra comfort and not notice it. So the packs have frames, the tent can sleep a platoon, etc. All this stuff is pretty mainstream as far as gear goes, too.
I'm constantly amazed at the quality and variety of modern lightweight hiking gear.