Packing your backpack...

[Petey]

Got a little 3 day excursion coming up. So this past weekend I loaded down my pack and with pretty much all my gear and did a 4 mile hike on some pretty aggressive mountain bike trails. Hard to simulate the mountains in the valley completely, so you make do with what you got.

Gear packed...

Sleeping Bag
Ridge Rest
3lb 1 man tent
Full Water Bottle (for the trail)
Katadyn Filtration System
Fleece top and bottom
Rain Gear
Extra Shorts, T-shirt, Socks
Whisper Light Stove
Whisper Light Lantern
2 small canisters of fuel
Camp Pot & Pan set
Plastic Fork, Knife, Spoon
Hunting Knife
Lighter
Head Lantern
100 foot of small cord for hanging food and other things animals may get too.
Camp Soap
TP Paper (not a whole roll, some wrapped up in a zip lock bag)
Wading Shoes
Fanny Pack of fly fishing gear (which this maybe overkill, because I have 3 fly boxes, tippet, indicators, floatant, extra leader)
Rod and Reel
Hand Held GPS
(Small odds and ends like meds, allergy pills, etc.)

The only thing I didn't have packed was food.. Which will probably add a pound or two max. Depending on how fancy I get.

Now as I go down through that list I go "Wow that is a lot of crap!"

This is about my thresh hold as my pack will be right around 50 lbs when all is said and done. As of now my intention is to wet wade, but if this weather pattern holds, that could make for a cold option. Which now I am forced to pack waders. If that is the case then some of this other stuff has to go... Heck some of it may go just to drop weight. I am currently debating ditching the whisper light lantern extra can of fuel, and probably the fanny pack. Get down to one fly box, essential tools and a small selection of indicators. I could also purchase water tablets and leave the filtration system behind as well. I could leave the ridge rest behind as well, but I don't much like the idea of sleeping directly on the ground...

Everything else I look at and think, "Gonna need that"... What would you ditch out of that pack?

[Jay]

I would drop the lantern, the GPS, and the water filter in trade for iodine solution. I would absolutely not part with my sleeping pad under any circumstance! I have a titanium pot and pan set if you would like to borrow it. It is sick light! Looks to me like you only have the essentials form this point.

[Petey]

Yep, looks like it is going to be wader weather.... I agree the lantern and extra can of fuel can go. I may still carry the GPS, doesn't add much weight. I have an aluminum cookset I am going to take. It doesn't weigh much at all. I bought the water filter for this type of thing back in the day, gave a good penny for it too. Have only got to use it a few times. Almost want to drag it over the mountain just because. I am going to repack my bag and go hit the trail for a few miles tomorrow in the AM and see where I am at.

Maybe get in an extra mile and a tougher hike to ramp it up a notch.

[flip]

There is quite a bit I would leave out. I guess I am more of a "purist" when it comes to camping. I would leave the gps, stove, lantern and fuel out. I would take one change of clothes. In exchange for the pots and pans, I would take aluminum foil. You can make any kind of cooking container needed from foil. If it looked like a dry weekend, I would probably leave the tent at home. You can make a nice lean to out of a small tarp. I would also take a small first aid kit and a roll of duct tape.

In the words of Dennis Miller, "Maybe it is just me, I am a different breed of cat"

[Petey]

For me that would be extreme... but it would definitely shave weight... Those are all good suggestions. I have this very bad habit of over packing... I take a Noah stance to when I pack sometimes, two of everything.

I have not taken a tent before... woke up with bug bites that followed me for weeks...

Miller was a different kind of cat.

[Petey]

I was way off on weight... I had always assumed weight... I have never had a scale at the house. So I had pops bring one over. So my final pack weight before I add food is 35 lbs. I had always assumed I was north of 40 lbs and I guess I was when I packed in my 2 man sierra design that weighed 8-9lbs. The one man tent I have is 3 lbs..

[bootsfishing]

Yea, I would also ditch the lantern, ex fuel, but add first aid kit with electrical tape, super glue and hand sanitizer (fire starter). If ya take the waders, fold them over the pack for some waterproofness oh and clothes goes in zip locks too.

[rbaileydav]

pack all you want and just let your personal Sherpa carry it for you

DD

[Petey]

A personal Sherpa must be nice...

After food, and a couple of odds and ends that I deemed necessary my pack ended up weighing 42 pounds. I did end up leaving the 100 foot of cord, lantern, extra can of fuel and water filter behind. But after getting over the mountain I could have carried those things in if need be. I still could go lighter on the tent, and may start working that angle as well.

Petey