Pack weight

[Lemhi]

Hi everyone,

I'm stepping off later this month from Maine heading for Georgia and am in the throes of packing/re-packing and feeling pretty ridiculous. I've got the re-supply angle covered and my attic has been converted to a small warehouse, but I'm obsessing.....no other word for it....about my pack weight.

I'm at 30lbs give or take an ounce or two. That's "all in" including food, but not counting what I'm wearing. I'll exceed 30lbs slightly for the hundred mile wilderness to make up for a few days of extra chow, but once thru that obstacle I should hover right around 30 lbs (including 5 days food as an avg).

Could some of you please give me their avg packweight for comparison please?

Many thanks,

Lemhi

[Blissful]

Well that looks good to me...! Just go and have a good time

[Pootz]

30 pounds including food and water will put your pack at or just below adverage for AT thru hikers. Most ofd the people I hiked with were around 30-35 pounds.

No need to worry. You will soon learn what things you do not need and what you want to add to your pack.

Enjoy your hike.

[Kerosene]

I agree to Pootz: You should feel good about starting out carrying 30 pounds of total weight. Over the first few months you'll find ways to reduce that weight further, but as you're taking off soon I'd just stick with the configuration you have. Enjoy your hike!

[bigcranky]

30 pounds is actually pretty light compared to many of the hikers I see on the trail. Especially the ones just starting out in Georgia. You'll be fine.

[Lemhi]

Thanks folks,
I think I'm pretty close to right....I guess I have to be; my pack is full. I'm 6'5" and 265lbs. I forget that everything from my clothes to my sleeping bag is a little bit bigger and wider than just about everyone elses and takes up more space. That effectively keeps the ridiculous stuff out of the bag from sheer necessity. Thanks for the input. Stepping off 26 July.

Lemhi

[Nasty Dog Virus]

I did a 4 day hike last week...

29.3 lbs with 4 days food & 2 lts. of water
21.5 lbs with no food or water

I saw a NOBO thru-hiker with a 56lb pack last week . He was about 5'6" 150lbs. He had professional camera equipment and some sort of musical instrument in a case.

[Trailweaver]

The NOBO with 56 lbs will get rid of that weight soon and/or be off the trail. ; - ) I think 30 lbs is wonderful for a thru hiker. Congratulations. You'll make adjustments as you go, and it just takes going out there to do it.

[Nasty Dog Virus]

The NOBO with 56 lbs will get rid of that weight soon and/or be off the trail. ; - ) I think 30 lbs is wonderful for a thru hiker. Congratulations. You'll make adjustments as you go, and it just takes going out there to do it.

He had made it from GA > MD with 50+ lbs but he was worried about the Oct. 15th deadline in ME...

[mac attack]

ouch makes me feel a little ridiculous for being 5'6", 150lbs and starting out with a 39lb pack. I know that I am overdoing it with food, but I used to lead trips with a dozen or so campers, and I am haunted by the thought of running out of food. Never happened, but just the thought flips me into 'panic and hoard' mode.

I am planning for about 8-9 days worth of food from KSC to monson, and my KSC food is not included since I will be treated to real food from my father. Is my pack weight a little too ridiculous?

[jwalden]

ouch makes me feel a little ridiculous for being 5'6", 150lbs and starting out with a 39lb pack.

I am planning for about 8-9 days worth of food from KSC to monson, and my KSC food is not included since I will be treated to real food from my father. Is my pack weight a little too ridiculous?

I don't think so as a starting weight, although I say so predicated on your probably shipping non-food items home from Monson. I ended up with about that much food when I went through, and it basically lasted exactly as long as I needed it -- except that I ran out of trail snacking food about a day or so out of Monson and had to cook extra dinners during the day while hiking. This played havoc with hiking time as I had to stop for a couple hours to cook them, but it mostly worked -- and really, "well enough to get to Monson" is all that matters.

Unless you manage to seriously hurt yourself by pulling or straining a muscle, you can hike even with a well-overloaded pack and still get to Monson to continue south in a more enlightened manner (pun intended). You can endure anything if you only have to endure it for a week until you can fix your mistakes; my pack started at 58 lbs. not including water (I packed without a scale), so I can personally attest to this. (I'm roughly 5'6" 150 as well, for comparison.)

[myotheralt]

He had made it from GA > MD with 50+ lbs but he was worried about the Oct. 15th deadline in ME...

That is exactly why I am going to start in Maine. I dont want to be forced to quit if I am not finished.

BTW, As I am going to be hiking into Tennessee/Georgia mountains into winter, what types of gear would I need? Snowshoes, ice axe, things like that?

[tammons]

That does not sound bad to me. Is that with H20 ??

You could probably get it down to 25# with a 2L of h20 and 4-5 days of food with some UL gear and a much lighter wallet.

I am at a 13.5# base weight right now, but thats good enough for 0dF.

From what I see most people whos packs are on the heavy side usually have a big 4 combo that weighs too much and could lose a couple of pounds there.

My big 4 weighs 7.5# with a tent, but I have a very light custom backpack.

Another thing I see a lot is a cooking setup that weigh too much for me.
You can do a solo bag cook kit that is 4oz and cost almost nothing.