Hey everyone,
My name is Heath and im researching and planin a thru hike from ga to maine in early to mid march when i get back from WEMT training. Ive heard UL hiking alot and an very curious and would like to hear from anyone who does UL or standard gear. Also whats an average pack weight and a UL pack? How much does the average thru hike cost in total?
HeafBAR
10 pounds is my target base weight for winter hiking, 5 pounds for summer. It’s not hard to do once you start to study the situation. With the Big Agnes Air Core pad, I don’t give up anything in comfort.
Bob
Bob Martin
Lightweight usually means under 20lbs baseweight while traditional is above that. UltraLight amongst the UL crowd is usually 10lbs or less (more traditional types say under 15lbs). SUL (Super UL) is 5lbs or less.
I go out on week long trips with anything between 8lbs and 13lbs baseweight depending on the trip, where it is, and weather expected as you obviously need a different gear list from mild summer weather compared to several cold days with snow expected. For the AT I’m expecting a baseweight between 8 to 10lbs (depending on how much electronic/camera gear I bring) with a total packweight never more then 25lbs (often less) when leaving town.
Years ago, I started backpacking with a 50-60pound total packweight in the early 90’s and for the last several years I’ve slowly worked on reducing it. Experimenting with new things in safe conditions until I felt comfortable with the new gear and techniques before moving on to try something else out. So yes, I’ve become one of those tarp/quilt/frameless pack kind of guys. Though one of the biggest things I disagree with UL guru Ray Jardine on is his hiking in spandex shorts. That is sooo not happening.
Miner
UL on the AT. It’s best between June and September. Starting your hike in mid-March…It’s too cold in try the UL experience. I think that 15 lbs total quals you to be UL. I think the main reason to go UL is to either produce big mile days or to help with some physical limitation. The question to ask yourself is, How much suffering can I take? As the pack weight goes up the suffering index goes down…until you reach the point where the weight of the load itself causes the suffering. That point for me is 25lbs. For many NOBO Thru hikers starting in mid March that weight is 32 lbs. 2 months later most of them will have swapped out the heavy stuff for a lighter pack. I say, for the fit, if you go UL make sure you are making big miles, otherwise you suffer for nothing.
As far as money goes, 5 to 8 grand will make a comfortable trip.
Frank the Tank
I beg to differ. Done properly, UL is less suffering. WM bag (one for winter, another for summer), Big Agnes Air Core ( insultated for winter, uninsulated for summer), GoLite tarp, Gossamer Gear pack (one size for winter, smallest size for summer), MontBell jacket, cat can stove with an MSR windscreen cut to be a pot stand, Nike running clothes for base, long underwear for winter, North Face untrathin jacket, umbrella, running shoes, three pairs of socks and a hat. Where’s the discomfort?
I DO leave all electronics at home except for a minimally sized Petzl headlamp. I dont’ think there is much point in trimming all the weight off just to add ipods, cameras, cell phones, chargers, extra batteries, etc.
And, as for big miles, the point is to enjoy the trip, which can be done with UL gear and reasonable miles. But, you will find that you CAN put on bigger miles when you need/want to so you actually wind up more comfortable as you can make that next town a bit sooner!
Remember - the idea is to have a good time!
Bob
Bob
Bob Martin
Carrying less weight has not only made backpacking easier, but has allowed me to keep at it. Be safe, be comfortable, omit gear you do not use. Weigh all items that you put into your pack and see if you can find lighter alternatives that give you the same results: examples: spoon, knife, sleeping bag, stuff sacks…everything. An ounce saved here, another there will soon add up to a pound shaved off the weight you will have to carry.
As you climb up hill to get to a campsite at the end of a long day on the AT, you will be glad to be carrying as light a load as possible on your back.
Here is a directory of links where you can find lightweight gear:
rambler
You can get light enuf cameras, ipod/radios & cellphones (that come with a camera) today that you don’t have to leave em at home… a tiny radio can be a life saver if the weather report is vicious & you are headed up into the Whites with minimal storm clothes! Also, you may be able to save the life of a dumb dayhiker touron (or your self) with a cellphone & gps info. ur charger(s) could be in a drift box that get forwarded after you charge up stuff in a good trailtown with 'lectricity. Lithium batteries are extremely light (even AA’s) in your camera (please recycle if possible). If you keep the rest of your gear quite lite & hike fast, you can for example carry less water that is the biggest weight problem, after all!
gingerbreadman
In '89, I was counting on my last paycheck from UPS, but that deadbeat criminal corporation (who was mad at me for challenging the corrupt way they counted packages sorted by us in the warehouse) sent it to the state of TX instead… so I hiked the AT with basically no money, having shopped for most of my food beforehand. I finally got my IRS refund so had a few hundred bucks… but I had to rely on hiker boxes at times for food, fuel & gear… I started out no-cook but used some metalware in a hiker box to create a sort of stove to cook hiker-box oatmeal & taters in…(pour isopropyl alcohol into shallow aluminum pan, light it & place sierra cup directly into fire… not bad for 70% alcohol! But on the CDT, I used a potted meat can for a stove & used HEET or 100% alcohol) It wasn’t pleasant or advisable, but I did the AT on about $2/day… I very much recommend at least $10/day (for restaurants, gear & emergencies) if most of your food & postage is prearranged & you don’t need many motel stays… otherwise, take a credit card & expect to spend at least $15-30/day; depending on how much you can roughit!
gingerbreadman
Most hikers know about wearing lite layers of clothes instead of a heavy jacket (for instance silk long underwear & the lightest nylon shirts, shorts, & pants you can find at the dept store that don’t stain or show dirt due to the dark, weavy patterns )… you can apply this system also to your camping gear… you can get away with a lighter sleeping bag, if you have several items that add warmth… I always use a silk mummy bag liner (6oz) that not only keeps you warmer, but keeps your bag clean & is easy to hand wash & dry. For emergency warmth, I always carry at least 1 or 2 space blankets (1/2 oz each) that add a ridiculous amount of warmth, though you have to throw it off for the last hour of sleep or the top of your bag will be moist from sweat…IE. I tried to only use them for the coldest nights etc…My raingear was too hot, so I ended up using a vinyl poncho from the hikerbox (at PO’s & hostels in town) that kept both me & pack dry, (don’t ask me how), until I lost it. After I also lost my tent in New Jersey, I went without one the rest of the way, relying on shelters & white mtn huts that let me work for free room & board, (since I was somehow in a thru-hikerless bubble in August between the fast & slow hiker packs)!!!
gingerbreadman
Dear Heavyweights, Someone please explain to me what I’m missing out on by carrying lighter gear.
Does your sil-nylon shelter keep your drier than mine? Does your 20-degree bag keep you warmer than my 20-degree job? Does your propane stove boil water hotter than my Esbit? Is the second set of filthy clothes in your pack more comfortable than the one set of filthy ones on my back? Is it more fun to tote 40 pounds up and down mountains than it is 20? Never mind, I know the answer to that last one!
MAtt
It’s all relative. Yea my 20 degree bag is warmer than yours, yea my jetboil boils faster (not hotter) than yours, and yea my extra set of clean, dry clothes are nice to put on after two days in the rough. And if you think hiking the AT is wilderness… if you think you can bring your crapy UL gear into the Rockies or Sierra/Cascades in poor climates… think again. My last Ritter trip required: mountaineering boots, cyborg crampons, lightning ascents, 30mX8mil twin rope, 2x ice axes, BD sn shovel, and all the 4-season gear I could carry… so like I said it’s all relative. Hell, I carry 0kgs when I go to the store for a beer, 20 lbs when I hike the AT, and 40 when I’m really in wilderness.
hellkat
Well, when I was in the Smokies, we had problems with a few UL hikers who insisted that we give up our shelter space because we had tents they didn’t. It nearly caused a fight because it was cold and rainy.
W J White