pack weight
I will begin my thru-hike April 1,2005 with a pack weight of 42lbs. Is this a reasonable weight to start with?
Sure, as long as you are happy with the gear. You may lighten up later as you go.
SGT Rock
http://hikinghq.net
My 2008 Trail Journal of the BMT/AT
BMT Thru-Hikers' Guide
-----------------------------------------
NO SNIVELING
i started with 60,was to heavy for me.like 25 nowneo
At 42 lbs. you'll probably be carrying just a touch above the average pack weight I'd guess. A lot of experienced thru-hikers will have packs (with food and water) in the 20-30 pound range, and big guys who like their creature comforts will carry over 50.
Ideally, you would be carrying no more than 20% of your ideal body weight, so 42 pounds would be reasonable for a 200-pound man. The more you can do to drive pack weight down to something more like 15%, the more comfortable you'll be at the end of a long day of hiking. It's certainly possible to carry more weight -- I hauled 50 pounds as a teenager when I weighed 150 -- but I carry 25 now and my feet aren't nearly as sore after a long day.
Whatever weight you carry, make sure that your pack can handle the load and places most of the weight on your hips instead of your shoulders.
GA←↕→ME: 1973 to 2014
I'm just curious - does 42 lbs include food and water? I too am starting soon and have a weight of about 45 lbs including food and water, but I feel I have just the bare necessities - nothing left to cut!
Figuring food and water is about 10 pounds, what in that 35 pounds if base weight are you taking, it cant all be necessities (unless all your gear is crazy heavy). Look to cut some weight now, instead of later...
Food water is about 15 lbs - I prefer to stay out longer so that 15 lbs covers 10-12 days of food. Gear is 30 lbs. and my luxury items include an 8oz camera, and 5oz mocrocassette recorder for interviews (school project). The rest of my gear is relatively light (titanium whenever possible, down sleeping bag, etc) My major weight (of the 30lbs) seems to be extra clothes - 3lbs worth. LS shirt, L pants (zip off legs), socks, liner socks, nylon shorts (prevent chafing), and underwear.
I'm hesitant to drop the LS stuff starting in mid march, but willing to do so if wiser advisors deem it OK.
I'm carrying a dragonfly stove, but like to cook when I can. I'm hoping to use an alcohol stove while out (all you diehard fans, I just want to try one), I find them interesting, but have neither the technical skills nor the patience to build one of my own.
I'm comfortable with 45 lbs, but don't want pack weight to be a trip ender. Any input is appreciated!
sorry if i came off a bit "jerk-ish" i was just kinda curious...but my new question is why you are going to go so far between resupply of food, any specific reason, or do you just not wanna loose your groove out there. for the extra clothes, may i suggest a bounce box. RITBlake and I plan to use this tool to our advantage on the trail, so we only have the clothes we need, and not carry stuff we wont need at the present time.Originally Posted by hikerjohnd
Well 30 pound base ain't bad. What really matters are if you are comfortable with your gear and can you hack the weight. I think you will probably find yourself carrying about 10 pounds food and 2-4 pounds of water. Me personal guess is you will probably find ways to trim the base weight by the time you hit Neels gap, and probably tweak it past that.
You could post your packing list here for folks to comment on.
SGT Rock
http://hikinghq.net
My 2008 Trail Journal of the BMT/AT
BMT Thru-Hikers' Guide
-----------------------------------------
NO SNIVELING
You did not come off jerkish at all!!! I appreciate ANY input that will help me have a successful hike!
As to staying out - prefer longer outings, getting away from the rat race appeals to me. I see that towns in the south seem to be a bit farther off the trail than those in the north. I do not see the need to traverse so many extra miles just to get supplies and then get back on the trail.
But - I had not considered a bounce box for some stuff. That may have me going into towns more than I thought... What kind of stuff are you planning to bounce?
Yes, but my knowledge of the "bounce box" is at a newbe level, I made a post to figure out how to execute it. the bounce box appeals to me, just casue i know im gonna need the long sleeve shirt and pants kinda stuff later into my hike as it gets colder (i leave June 1st and plan to finish in mid September), and Id like to have them at my dispossal and not need to have family send them. other items will make the box too, but as my knowledge increases i can make more concreate decisions.
Here is my gear list - shred it to your hearts content - bear in mind, I do like to cook when I can... So long as there is good conversation, I enjoy company at meals too. (Now I'm sure I'll see a yogi or two)
- Bandanna - .9 oz
- Camera – 8.4 oz
- Clothes – 3 lbs – (LS Shirt, L pants (zip off legs), socks, liner socks, nylon shorts (prevent chafing), and underwear)
- Cookset – 15.8 oz (MSR Titanium 1.5 l pot, 1 l pot, tea kettle, cup) I do like to cook
- Data Pouch (maps, guidebook, journal, pen, cassette recorder, 3 cassettes) – 1 lb 3.1 oz
- Film (2 rolls) – 1.2 oz
- First aid / grooming kit – 13.5 oz
- Fuel bottle w/ pump (full) – 1 lb 7 oz
- Kitchen kit – 11.2 oz (fork/spoon, MSR strainer, measuring spoon, S&P, small whisk)
- Knife/Watch – 4.6 oz
- Lighting (zipka) – 1.9 oz
- Misc kit (repair stuff, batteries, clevis pins) – 5 oz
- Pack w/cover – 6 lbs
- Raingear – 1 lb 7.9 oz
- Rope – 2.5 oz
- Sleeping bag (Kelty NightLight 45) – 1 lb 15 oz
- Sleeping pad – ¾ self inflating thermarest – 1 lb
- Stove (Dragonfly) – 14.8 oz
- Tent – Big Agnes – 3 lbs 7 oz
- Water filter – 12.8 oz
- Xtras (water bag, wallet, tp/shovel, sunglasses) – 15 oz
No not at all acceptable...I could be polite and say so..but not at all....just trying to save you weight and money at Neil's Gap!
Start with a base weight of 15 lbs. of weight (without food, water and fuel) and IF doing the approach trail ADD 4 days of food (8 pounds), 1 pound of fuel and 2 lbs of water and you will do just find with a starting weight of 26lbs. total !!
Days 3 & 4 MAY require an additional 2 lbs of water to round out at 28lbs !!
Not to tell you what to do (you are certainly allowed to do whatever you please!) but carrying 10-12 days of food is not really recommended. Yes town stops in the south can be far off trail and turn into zero days, but you can be disciplined. No one says you can't get in and get back out in the span of an hour or two. Neels Gap is right on the trail, the BB patch is a 3 mile hitch , the NOC is on trail and Fontana PO is 2 miles away.
From my experience the folks who said they were going to carry 7+ days of food generally didn't save any time on folks carrying 2-3 as they had much heavier packs and couldn't walk as many miles.
Going along with that I met many hikers (especially early on) who had the atttitude that they were anti-town and civilization. Not only did most of these folks change their style and accept and love hostels/towns, but many times these were the folks who I witnessed enjoying towns more than the others!
Like I say, certainly nothing wrong with it, if you are willing to hump 20+ lbs of food (thats 10 days worth). Just be open to changes, as you may change your mind.
Anything's within walking distance if you've got the time.
GA-ME 03, LT 04/06, PCT 07'
[QUOTE=hikerjohnd]Here is my gear list - shred it to your hearts content - bear in mind, I do like to cook when I can... So long as there is good conversation, I enjoy company at meals too. (Now I'm sure I'll see a yogi or two)
[/QUOTE
- Bandanna - .9 oz
- Camera – 8.4 oz
- Clothes – 3 lbs – (LS Shirt, L pants (zip off legs), socks, liner socks, nylon shorts (prevent chafing), and underwear)
- Cookset – 15.8 oz (MSR Titanium 1.5 l pot, 1 l pot, tea kettle, cup) I do like to cook
- Data Pouch (maps, guidebook, journal, pen, cassette recorder, 3 cassettes) – 1 lb 3.1 oz
- Film (2 rolls) – 1.2 oz
- First aid / grooming kit – 13.5 oz
- Fuel bottle w/ pump (full) – 1 lb 7 oz
- Kitchen kit – 11.2 oz (fork/spoon, MSR strainer, measuring spoon, S&P, small whisk)
- Knife/Watch – 4.6 oz
- Lighting (zipka) – 1.9 oz
- Misc kit (repair stuff, batteries, clevis pins) – 5 oz
- Pack w/cover – 6 lbs
- Raingear – 1 lb 7.9 oz
- Rope – 2.5 oz
- Sleeping bag (Kelty NightLight 45) – 1 lb 15 oz
- Sleeping pad – ¾ self inflating thermarest – 1 lb
- Stove (Dragonfly) – 14.8 oz
- Tent – Big Agnes – 3 lbs 7 oz
- Water filter – 12.8 oz
- Xtras (water bag, wallet, tp/shovel, sunglasses) – 15 oz
Good gear list, but at your request here are the reples...the pack weight is OUT OF SIGHT...could lose 5 lbs.?...go for an alcohol stove and lose another 12 oz...lose the water filter and another 10 oz. is saved.
Cookset and Raingear could be cut in half weightwise!
that is a very well put together list, i am impressed with your ability to plan out every piece this early in the game. my suggestions of stuff you can get rid of are as follows (and my opinion comes from my experiences talking to thru-hikers i met on the trail this past summer during a hearty section hike of the AT, i asked hundreds of questions to dozens of diffreent hikers in order to prepare myself)
* remember, think in terms of oz not pounds, the oz will add up
-as far the the cassette recorder goes, only carry one tape insteed of 3, you can get a blank cassette in town pretty easily.
-the first aid kit can be replaced with some duct tape and maybe a band aid or two, the duct tape can be wrapped around your trekking poles, and while on the trail a first aid kit really has no value, the grooming kit can be replaced with a leatherman micro, whihc has scissors for snippin'
-repair stuff will become your duct tape, if there is major damage you wont be able to do much about it, just head into town and call the company to get a new one sent out.
-raingear was the one thing that the thru hikers i met all agreed was almost un-usable, for the reason that it is heavy, no breathable, and youll get wet no matter what so no sense in delaying the inevitable, so they all ditched their rain gear for a light weight cheap plastic 99 cent poncho to use in a pinch.
-dont bring a little shovel, youll get laughed at, we did and ditched it the first day
-the only other thing is that your big 3 (tent, pack, bag) are in the +10 range, you bag is light but you pack and tent are very heavy, if you are cool with the weight more pwer to you, i personally explored lighter opions for those 2 items
-the cook set i left for last, casue i know it will be hard to hear this....you are bringing way to much stuff, i dont think youll find the need for 2 different cook pots and a kettle. also the measuring spoons, strainer, fork, and wisk all seem to be somethign id look into ditching. but liek i said, if you really wanna carry them..more power to you, just consider losing some of those cooking items, you could shead some serious weight.
while i may feel these are worth while suggestions, its all about hiking your own hike, and working what feels comfortable for you. im bringing the lightest items i can , and limiting almost everything to keep my pack weight down so i can hike bigger miles each day.
Thanks A-Train - I am open to any changes (hey I'm posting here for input). What is the BB patch? I don't know why, but I thought most southern towns were like 10+ miles off the trail. Maybe I should dig deeper into my guide.
John-
The BB patch is the Blueberry Patch, a hostel 3 miles from Dicks Creek Gap. It is the same road that goes to Hiawasee, except that town is 11 miles from the AT. Yes there are a few towns that are of some distance but they aren't necessary. Franklin NC is 10 miles but I skipped it.
Building on the list I started with in the last post, Standing Bear Farm hostel is practically on the Trail and Hot Springs NC IS on the trail. Erwin is 4 miles off the AT but worth the time, trust me!
Kincorra Hostel is practically on the AT and Damascus VA IS THE AT. You don't need to venture far for resupply for sure.
The towns in Maine are generally 5-8 miles off the AT, but none are necessary to stop in (cept maybe Monson), but that is not something you need to worry about now.
I'd recommend picking up the thru-hikers Handbook or the ATC' Companion, or atleast a data book, so you can begin planning food stops. Baltimore Jack has an excellent resupply plan on this website in the articles section
Anything's within walking distance if you've got the time.
GA-ME 03, LT 04/06, PCT 07'
Happy - How would you cut the raingear? I bought new (old weighed over 3 lbs) to get to the weight I have now. Suggestions?
Oh - do you mean (like a-train) CUT the raingear? Interesting...
The pack itself seems heavy - 6lbs with rain cover? You might can cut weight later down the road by getting a lighter pack. Personally I would lose the recorder and cassettes and just keep a written journal (provided that is what you were carrying it for). As others mentioned, you could go with an alcohol stove to save weight, or even a canister stove would save weight over liquid fuel. You may want to consider the availability of canisters along the trail though. Others could comment better as to how easy they would be to find. You could leave the filter behind and carry Aqua Mira or Polar Pure for a bit more weight reduction. Good luck on your hike. I'm sure as you progress along the trail you'll find what works best for you. I carried some things that on my first section hike that I plan to leave behind next time. I figure I was running about 37lbs with food and water for 3 days, and I'll likely be closer to 30 next time out.
Last edited by grrickar; 12-30-2004 at 14:46. Reason: spelling
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