Whats your Starting Pack Weight with Food and Water.( in lbs.) Hike your on Hike .

[JAK]

I would take 6 days of food or more so I wouldn't need to stop in so many towns, and the feeling of independence. I love stopping for a cup of coffee and a donut when the opportunity presents itself, but it nice to have the option of not getting totally reamed, so I would do most of my resupply in grocery stores unless I see some reasonable prices along the way. I think I would also enjoy not planning too far in advance, other than knowing the grocery store towns, so carrying the extra food would be worth it, and carrying less of everything else would enable that.

It's liberating how much farther you can hike between resupplies as you lose weight, even though you can burn more body fat when you are heavier. For myself, 6' tall and 49 years old, it works out roughly as follows...
220#, 5 pounds of food for 2.1 days, 16.6 miles per day for 36 miles to resupply
210#, 10 pounds of food for 4.1 days, 17.2 miles per day for 71 miles to resupply
200#, 15 pounds of food for 5.9 days, 17.9 miles per day for 105 miles to resupply
190#, 20 pounds of food for 7.5 days, 18.7 miles per day for 140 miles to resupply
180#, 25 pounds of food for 9.0 days, 19.6 miles per day for 176 miles to resupply
170#, 30 pounds of food for 10.4 days, 20.5 miles per day for 213 miles to resupply

This assumes you only want to carry an extra 5 pounds of food for every 10 pounds you lose.

[max patch]

Not everyone wants to resupply every few days

Exactly. Everyone is different, but on my thru a perfect week was one where I hiked 6 days and rested in town on the 7th. Seems like most of the time my resupplies were at 5 days though, just depends on where the towns are and your pace is.

[takethisbread]

Not everyone wants to resupply every few days

Maybe so, but nobody likes to carry six days of food. It's folly. You can resupply at Neels Gap without leaving the trail .
Most people do resupply at some point in Georgia.

[takethisbread]

Freedom is having a light pack. A light pack lets you get where you want. If I leave springer mt at 6:30am and leave at a strong pace and I feel storm clouds with big rain looming in early afternoon, I can easily make Woody Gap to get
good shelter before dinner, and there's a chance I can make it all the way to Neels Gap, with Headlamp hiking into the night .

That's freedom in my mind. Carrying 6 days of food is bondage.
You are prisoner to your heavy pack, limiting your range and enjoyment the whole way.

I would take 6 days of food or more so I wouldn't need to stop in so many towns, and the feeling of independence. I love stopping for a cup of coffee and a donut when the opportunity presents itself, but it nice to have the option of not getting totally reamed, so I would do most of my resupply in grocery stores unless I see some reasonable prices along the way. I think I would also enjoy not planning too far in advance, other than knowing the grocery store towns, so carrying the extra food would be worth it, and carrying less of everything else would enable that.

It's liberating how much farther you can hike between resupplies as you lose weight, even though you can burn more body fat when you are heavier. For myself, 6' tall and 49 years old, it works out roughly as follows...
220#, 5 pounds of food for 2.1 days, 16.6 miles per day for 36 miles to resupply
210#, 10 pounds of food for 4.1 days, 17.2 miles per day for 71 miles to resupply
200#, 15 pounds of food for 5.9 days, 17.9 miles per day for 105 miles to resupply
190#, 20 pounds of food for 7.5 days, 18.7 miles per day for 140 miles to resupply
180#, 25 pounds of food for 9.0 days, 19.6 miles per day for 176 miles to resupply
170#, 30 pounds of food for 10.4 days, 20.5 miles per day for 213 miles to resupply

This assumes you only want to carry an extra 5 pounds of food for every 10 pounds you lose.

[Sassafras Lass]

Freedom is having a light pack. A light pack lets you get where you want. If I leave springer mt at 6:30am and leave at a strong pace and I feel storm clouds with big rain looming in early afternoon, I can easily make Woody Gap to get
good shelter before dinner, and there's a chance I can make it all the way to Neels Gap, with Headlamp hiking into the night .

That's freedom in my mind. Carrying 6 days of food is bondage.
You are prisoner to your heavy pack, limiting your range and enjoyment the whole way.

Sure. But we're not all you.

Some people are especially susceptible to cold and hypothermia, which means they're bringing many more clothes than others would feel necessary, plus a space blanket and maybe heavier Nalgenes to keep boiled water in their sleeping bag.

Or they don't want to pay MSRP for every blessed thing (and then some, have you seen their Ramen $$??) at Mountain Crossings, and so bring extra food so they can bypass that resupply point.

Or they're out of shape and don't want to push beyond 10 miles per day in the beginning.

Or any number of things. If people have never hiked in this manner before, it will be a while before they have confidence on the trail and get into a groove and understand their hiking style. You can't fault people for that.

[pdcolelli42]

If there's one thing I learned on all these different backpacking forums, it's that people can get serious about talking about gear/planning/etc... What it always boils down to every time is HYOH. What one person thinks suits them best may not suit a different style of hiker.

[Larry Vaughn]

At 36 pounds right now leaving in a few days, Somewhat a budget hiker so not as many resupp stops for me.... still working on downsizing, would like to shave off another 3 pounds or so but if not I will live with it. that is total weight with food ( 4-5 days ) and water.

[Abela]

Hello,


I am not doing the AT in 2012 but I am attempting to thru-hike a 400 mile thru-hike trail, and after that will be section hiking as much of the PCT as the season will permit.




Here is how it is looking for me:


My primary gear will be 5.38 pounds.


For part of my hike I will need an additional 1.41 pounds of electronics (Iridium 9575 Extreme & GPS - both required because of the utter remoteness of this trail)


For when the weather turns cold I will have to add another 1.53 pounds of clothing.


My standard Perishables/Consumables weight is 7.33 pounds. (This is for 4 days of food using the 1.4 PPPD method, 1 liter of water, and TP, WetOnes, Fuel, Tea, and an OpSack for all of that)


So that puts me at 12.70 pounds TPW for the summer/shoulder season and 14.06 for the winter season.


FSO in winter season (the heaviest setup at any point) would be 17.28 pounds.




At least, that is what the spreadsheet is telling me at this point. I still have another 18 days before its hike time!


My gear list for this hike is at https://bitly.com/pxBnOo than click on the "BFT 2012" sheet on the very bottom right.


I welcome feedback & suggestions!!

[Nooga]

With an early April start date, I will be at 22 - 23 lbs.

[rocketsocks]

I'm at 37 to 40 lbs.I like to eat!,and color,unless I bring out the big crayons then it's like 42 lbs.The ones with the metal flake add about and extra .0042 oz.but they burn nice colors,So....they come.And before you ask I only burn my Crayons in an approved crayon burning vessel and in an approved crayon burning facility.

[Tenderheart]

Whats your Starting Pack Weight with Food and Water.( in lbs.) Hike your on Hike .

About 19 pounds with five days food and 2L water.

[ddanko2]

26 lbs for early Spring/late Fall. Around 20 for summer time. with 4-5 days food & water.

[Adrian]

Just weighed in - Fully loaded w/winter gear and 5 days worth of food, I'm at 21.8 pounds. This doesn't include the clothes I'll be wearing on day 1 and my trekking poles. 4 days to go 'til I'm on the road to Springer!

[Drybones]

I agree, there is no right or wrong, just what fits. Me personally, it's easier for me to hike 20 miless carrying 25 pounds than 10 miles carrying 50. There has to be a statistics nut out there willing to graph the thing and tell us the optimum weight to carry to maximize hiking miles.

[Bushrat]

32 lbs. which includes water and food. Less if I can manage it.

[ezNomad]

Just got done with my preliminary gear list all weighed out and saw this thread.

Early April start

23lbs base weight. I could lower this 4-5lbs by shedding some heavier winter stuff & electronics, but I'll start with this & adapt based on results. I've been training with 25-30lbs. and not having a problem.

30-32lbs with 4-5 days food & 1L water.

[Rayo]

I just updated the Gear Section on my blog. Kinda proud, let me know what ya think!

Base: 19.17 lbs.
(+) Food/Water: 32.17

http://followingblazes.blogspot.com/p/my-gear-list.html

[Firefighter503]

Looking good Rayo. You will seldom need 3L of water, but start with that if you think you will need it. Count on about 4 lbs less wait though after you figure that out!

[tophatxj]

34 pounds with food and water

[swamprat]

35 lbs. 4 days of food