75 pounds!
Damn Tipi, do you normally carry this much on a hike? http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/...s&cutoffdate=1
I guess I'm used to it by now, no real complaints though by the end of each trip I've lost around 10 pounds of body weight. My winter pack weight is definitely more than the summer, and my last several trips included more food than I needed. Things like 10 eggs, precooked brown rice in ziplocs(heavy), frozen corn and broccoli, too many granola bars and all the rest. I could probably get by with 8 pounds less food per trip. My pack and tent together weight 16 pounds.
You won't hear me complain, and I have no hot iron up against my bung to do the miles, but I can pull 9 or 10 a day with no sweat, even do the Slickrock Nutbuster trail and stay motivated, etc.
I pack for 10 days out usually, unless I'm pulling a weekend thing with friends, and then my pack weight goes down to 45 or 50. Feels light to me. On my last trip I brought more winter gear than necessary, though it went from 80 degrees one day to 25 the next, with a cold rain and then snow, so I'm glad I brought the WM down bag, the thick thermarest and the extra fuel. And I always carry a couple of books, a pocket radio with extra batts and about 32 ozs of fuel. I figure I could do about 21 days with an 80 pound pack, have enough food and fuel to stay out w/o resupply. And this includes the books, a couple cans of ginger ale, and some apples, an avocado and a bag of grapes. Why not? I'm living out of my pack.
tipi, you're old school and hardcore, this coming from a guy that likes to pack 5 liter bags of wine
I noticed that tonnage too when I read his journals & saw pics of him standing in the dark in broad daylight but it was his pack blocking out the sun.
Definitely old school. I can relate to not having to skimp on the creature comforts. Though I've never gotten close to that type of tonnage. The only way I could do it would probably be to first setup camp and then portage the provisions on a second trip. I like the idea of comfortable extended stays without the pressing need to leave the campsite for lack of provisions.
You can never appreciate the shade of a tree unless you sweat in the sun.-- Author Unknown
konnarock trail crew tried to break me of heavy pack weight...long story involving me, a bottle of tequila and a harmonica the night before a work week, being woken up with a super soaker and a chainsaw the next morning and finding out that my pack had been filled with cans of peaches and that i was elected to carry three rock bars into the site. a 6 month pregnant woman made it to camp before i did
Reminds me of my last trip. I was coming out of the roller coaster in Northern Virginia after being soaked for a full 48 hours of cold rain. I was moving so slow that someones grandmother nearly passed me ... (grant it she was a day hiker ... but - DamnedOriginally Posted by sofaking
a 6 month pregnant woman made it to camp before i did)!
You can never appreciate the shade of a tree unless you sweat in the sun.-- Author Unknown
heh heh heh! k-rock also 'volunteered' me to freighter frame a 90lb rock drill and three 10lb drill bits into some place waaaaay uphill in tenn...
Hey Tipi:
What percentage of your body weight is that load anyway? Inquiring minds want to know.
You can never appreciate the shade of a tree unless you sweat in the sun.-- Author Unknown
I'd lose the avocado if I were you. I know it's mighty tasty but it's half nut.
well, I guess this avatar is better than the one with the gross finger thing.....but.....still..........I'd lose the avocado if I were you. I know it's mighty tasty but it's half nut.
"It was on the first of May, in the year 1769, that I resigned my domestic happiness for a time, and left my family and peaceable habitation on the Yadkin River, in North Carolina, to wander through the wilderness of America." - Daniel Boone
50% at the start of a trip and dipping down to one-third by the end.
Holy crap Batman! Though the figures make sense. The heaviest load I can actually hike with are within those percentages - it happened when a friend sent me a mail drop in Bland,VA filled with canned goods. The load was at 55 + without water. I ran out of profanities and had to start making new ones.
You can never appreciate the shade of a tree unless you sweat in the sun.-- Author Unknown
There are many kinds of loads but to my mind there are just two: Heavy and Dangerously Heavy. Everyone has their particular limit and inner "switch" which clicks on when a load reaches the dangerous level. My limit is around 90 pounds, at such a point my brow furrows and I question the point of it all. Anything around 80 pounds and below I am comfortable with and can manage w/o undue strain. The big loads past my limit buckle the legs and hips and defeat my worldview and headgear, but I've had to carry such mammoth loads thru the years to set up basecamps and to reach the ridgetop tipi with supplies(100 pounds of canvas or a 140 pound woodstove).
The mad marts of men and "society" is the real weight on my shoulders. Trying to lighten that load is a real challenge.
SOCIETY
Situation as before I'll get by and let them live,
Nothing serious I've let no one down
Their baggage let them carry I'll travel lighter with my own.
If my mind unclutches so the situation's clean,
The mind unplugged can walk the wind
And the only weight's the weight within.
True so true. Think of it this way - the price to admission to a true wilderness experience is high. The heavy load keeps you out of reach from the strip mallers and political sound bytes. Overall though the escapes can be limited in duration it's all worth the heavy price of admission. So much for the introspection ... the dog just farted.
You can never appreciate the shade of a tree unless you sweat in the sun.-- Author Unknown
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