In prep. for my first thru-hike attempt, I'm struggling with keeping my pack weight as low as possible. My question is, what is included in pack weight? Are the clothes you are wearing, your shoes, trekking poles included in pack weight? After all, you are carrying these items but they aren't, strictly speaking, in your pack. I know that this is basically a semantic question but I would like to be clear what, exactly, is meant by base pack weight. Thank you for any response.