Got told my pack was 10 pounds too heavy for the JMT and I fought back at first

I was all set for the John Muir Trail with a 45 pound base weight. A guy at REI said I was carrying a small house and laughed. I changed my tent from a 6 pound old Coleman to a 1.5 pound tarp setup and dropped my cook kit from stainless to titanium. That shaved off 8 pounds right there and I didn't miss the extra stuff at all. Has anyone else had a stranger's blunt advice totally rework their gear list?

3 comments

3 Comments

harper9142d ago

45 pounds base weight is honestly not that bad for a trip like the JMT if you know what you're doing. I did the whole thing last year with a 48 pound pack and zero regrets. That REI guy probably has never spent a cold night shivering under a tarp because his "ultralight" setup failed in a storm. You swapped a solid tent for a tarp and now you're one high wind gust away from eating granola bars in the rain. Plus titanium pots suck for even cooking - my buddy's titanium cup burned his oatmeal so bad he had to scrape it out with a stick. Sometimes carrying a few extra pounds for actual comfort and reliability is better than chasing some gram counter's perfect spreadsheet.

blake7922d ago

and honestly that titanium pot thing is spot on lol. i had a similar brutal experience with my first titanium mug, burned rice so bad it fused to the bottom and i had to chip it off with a rock. the whole ultralight cult acts like weight is the only factor but they forget that gear actually has to work for real people in real conditions. i hiked the long trail with a 52 pound pack one year and yeah my shoulders ached but i slept like a baby every night in my big bulky tent while my buddy was up at 3am chasing his tarp stakes across the meadow. there's something to be said for just being comfortable and not having to baby your gear like it's made of eggshells.

christopherw342d ago

45 pounds is honestly not that bad" - I gotta ask, how did your shoulders and hips feel on day 12 of that trip? I'm not some hardcore ultralight guy myself, but I dropped from 42 to 34 pounds on a similar trip and it was night and day for my knees. Like, did you have any pain or just power through?