[at-l] Pack list for feedback

[ROYROBIN@aol.com (ROYROBIN@aol.com)]

In a message dated 10/5/01 6:06:56 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
jpf23235@yahoo.com writes:

<< I submit for your review and dissection a potential thru-hike base weight
 pack list. No, it is not 10 lbs and probably never will be. It is
 considerably more than 10 lbs, being my winter pack list. But, I may be able
 to shave some with your help. Here's the catch; I love my stove & tent -
 ain't changing. Seriously, your feedback and suggestions are welcome...  >>

With a week of food (at 2 lb per day), your pack weight will be close to 40 
pounds.  There's a lot of room for improvement.  May I suggest you get a 
postage scale and start thinking in oz, not lbs?  

For example:  A decent pack for long-distance hiking should weigh under 30 
oz, and that includes your sleeping pad and hydration system.  I know you 
love your stove, but a long-distance hiker heats water for dinner.  For this 
kind of cooking, a good alcohol stove is ideal and weighs less than 2 oz.  
Fuel for a week is another 14 oz.  

Backpacking and thruhiking are two different animals.  I have a great 5-pound 
pack, which I will use if I'm going in to a remote lake for a 10-day stay.  
But when I am planning to hike the trail and resupply every five or so days, 
I pack 25-pounds or less and am a lot happier doing it.  Less weight means 
more miles per day, means less food to carry for the distance, means less 
weight, means ....  

For some ideas about what to take along and what to leave home, check out 
tested winter and summer gear lists at:  

http://homestead.juno.com/roy.robinson/Triple_Crown.html   Click on "Gear 
List."