East vs West - Appalachian Trail

imported
#1

One of the differences I’ve noticed between Eastern and Western hikers is the way they refer to their pack weights. This is a pretty silly issue, but I’m looking for help understanding it.

I hiked the AT last summer after doing a lot of hiking out west, where I live. I’ve hiked the PCT and CDT. It seemed to me that all pack weight discussions out west use pack “base weight” (no food or water) as the normal standard. So if someone talked about a 12 pound pack, you just knew he or she meant base weight.

But on the AT, it seemed that most hikers I met talked about pack weight with “a full load of food and water”. And that seems to continue in forum discussions, too. My question is, what exactly is a “full load”?

I remember a frustrating conversation when someone I met on the AT asked me how much my pack weighed. When I replied with a very low number, he said, “No, I meant with food and water.” So I asked, “OK, how much food and how much water, and I’ll do the math.” He just couldn’t answer me, for some reason. We couldn’t communicate over this very simple issue, and I still can’t understand why. This happened often enough to make me wonder about it.

Any insights? Anyone care?

PS: By the way, One other difference I noticed was Easterners rely less on raingear and clothing. It didn’t seem to matter so much if you got wet on the AT. I’m pretty sure I spent more time trying to keep dry than most hikers I met on the AT. Now that I’m back home, I wonder why my friends put on their rain shells for every little shower.

Garlic

#2

While upon the AT I could not give any real answers as to what my pack weighed…alot more leaving town than entering town was about it. Over forty something to high twenties. Some showed true dismay for me not knowing my “baseweight”. As for the rain, let it soak you. AHHHHH! So much better than the sweat that soaks you anyway. Just had two and a half days of the stuff here in nor’east Connecticut. The lab and I just got in.

fishngame

#3

Well I guess it’s just personal.
To some, BW is everything - food & water.
Others, BW is everything - food, water, fuel, TP, toothpaste, aquamira.
Still, BW is your definition of BW + your clothes, boots, hiking poles, sunglasses, watch & wedding ring, etc.

It’s just easier for me (a E/Midwest hiker though not a thru) to completely load up my pack, including food & water, and put it on the scale.

I guess it just depends. Although you probably know much more about this than I do because I am hardly a triple crowner!

Tilly

#4

Also, sometimes I think the mental aspects of packweight are exhausting. Sometimes it’s easier just not to think about it.

Tilly

#5

for each trip I have a pretty standard leaving town weight liquid containers full,if resupply is soon I will take heavier, nicer food for longer stretches I may have all freeze dry

george

#6

The reason east coasters do not worry about getting wet is that it is unavoidable. It is so much more humid out here then out west if you wear rain gear you are soaked from sweat and you start to stink even worse. At least the rain is a free shower. Out west I would remain dry all day even while I was sweating because the air was dry. Here I am wet from sweat even when its sunny out.

Big B

#7

Base weight is base weight, everything you carry, NOT TO INCLUDE FOOD AND WATER. In the east, particularly on the AT, we have the luxury of resupply about every four or five days. We also have the luxury of water access at least once a day almost all the time under normal circumstances. Hence, base weight is not so important. Folks pay more attention to what thier pack weighs with four or five days of food and one or two liters of water.
In the west your resupply points can be drastically different from point to point. The diffierence ofcourse will determine they types and amounts of resupply, or food, to carry. Same with water. Total pack weight can change big time depending on the section being hiked.

As for rain gear. Never been in a snow storm on the AT in July or August. Have been in the Rockies. Most of the time getting wet on the AT is a discomfort, although it can mean serious danger, we shouldn’t downplay hypothermia. Hiking at high alltitude, even 7,000 or 8,000 feet is a whole different game and improper protection from the elements can mean death. That may seem harsh, but you get forty miles from a road, mixed with one of those crazy summer storms with freezing temps and soaking wet gear and cloths, you got a problem.

bob

#8

that gentle little rain at our state’s highpoint is a picnic compared to those mesa top hailstorms west of the Pecos, or even the Blue Ridge. Raingear should be a must in the elevated planet.Does base weight include the rocks that friends sneak into your pack?

fishngame

#9

this discussion has been very helpful and thought provoking for me (as paw and i plan on hiking the PCT next year)…

we’ve often been told, “you both are experienced hikers…so don’t worry about whether or not you can do a PCT hike”…yet, with the weather, terrain, elevation, etc, differences in the east and west, there does seem to be the need to at least consider very carefully those differences…

so far, we have only the AT to compare to…(and for us, pack weight is pack weight…you carry what you carry…and as far as rain gear goes, we carry umbrellas for maximum comfort (no sweating under rain suits, hats, or ponchos)…BUT i can totally see now (after reading these comments) that this possibly won’t work on the PCT!..

we were looking at some good deals on frogg toggs the other day and sort of passed on the offer because we thought, “oh, we have our sil nylons that we probably won’t even use because we have our umbrellas… and besides, folks tell us it’s so much drier out west”…but now we’re thinking maybe we DO need better, breathable rain/wind suits (and not to mention protection from BUGS, too, which possibly is another different situation out west than it is in the east)…

anyway…if garlic (or any of you other ‘western experts’) can give us any more help on this (hopefully through more conversation here on the forum), we’d be so grateful…

also, we plan to be at the ALDHA gathering to ask these sorts of questions and to glean as much good information as we can from those of you who’ve done it…

so… maybe we’ll see you guys there!

maw-ee

#10

maw-we - You can hike the western trails with umbrellas. The storms I spoke of can be rare. You can hike for months and never see those conditions, but they do occur. Don’t be in a hurry to go out and get rain suits. If you know how to keep your gear dry on the AT, you will do OK out west.

bob

#11

We wore Frogg Toggs on the PCT and, for the most part, they were fine. They weren’t really warm enough in snow/sleet, but we only had a few days of that (once in the Sierras and 3 times in Washington). It can rain and snow in southern California and Oregon so you need to be prepared, but your biggest chance of rain/snow is in Washington so you really need good raingear there. For the rest a poncho would probably work.

We wore the jacket only - with Supplex zip off pants. Friends who wore shorts all the time carried the FT pants for snow and to protect against mosquitoes. Bugs don’t bite through Supplex - so we had Supplex shirts as well as pants - but I found them too hot to hike in. The PCT is a very hot trail most of the time.

Ginny

#12

Thanks for the insights, everyone. Bob’s reply is pretty close to what I had expected, that with all the resupply and water options on the AT, pack weight is not so critical. Also, it seems some hikers just don’t really care, and that’s OK.

Maw-ee, best of luck on the PCT! I agree with Ginny, that Frogg Toggs or silnylon raingear is OK on the PCT. I carried cheap Red Ledge stuff the whole way, but like Ginny, I found it not quite sufficient in WA. I wished I’d had better gear and one more layer in the last couple of weeks. An umbrella would not have helped in the wind we had. I saw umbrellas put to use in the desert for sun protection. I wouldn’t go out there without rain gear.

You’ll probably be increasing your daily pace on the PCT. With the friendlier grade that won’t be a problem. But pack (and shoe) weight really starts to make a difference when you exceed 15 mpd. As you surmised, the AT method (“it weighs what it weighs”) may not be best. You probably want to take a lot of care about what goes in the pack. I decreased my base weight from 28 to 14 pounds for the PCT (my first long hike), and that took two seasons to accomplish. With that change, I was able to confidently wear running shoes, which probably made as big a difference as the pack weight for me.

Again, good luck, and thanks for the feedback.

Garlic

#13

I agree with Garlic about not going out without rain gear. My comment about not going out and getting rain suites might be misunderstood. Rain gear is a matter of personal preference. I happen to prefer a poncho and rain pants. I prefer the poncho because it gives me the option of using it as a tarp instead of my tent. But, honestly, it’s been 35 years since I hiked Washington, and when I did it was in July and August, so I am not an expert.

bob

#14

maw-ee, don’t forget protection for your ears and neck from the sun. The sun is brutal at higher elevations where the air is thinner.

GottaWalk

#15

thanks everyone who responded to this topic. I really enjoy reading them. :cheers

Train

#16

I’d like to chime in maw-ee that umbrellas on the PCT are the bomb! Not that I’ve actually hiked with one but next time I am. The desert is so brutal the portable shade is totally worthwhile.

Trainwreck