RumiDude
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Post by RumiDude on Feb 11, 2023 16:05:20 GMT -8
And you should have base weight pretty much nailed down before you leave home. I did a 10 week section hike of the AT. It changes the way you look at gear. After acclimating to trail life you will have things you thought you needed but end up sending home or giving away. I imagine when you thru hike this is even more pronounced. You can only take your best guess before you leave home. Usually there are only minor items that need to be acquired or dropped once you get on trail, unless they really didn't have their base weight nailed down. Things like camp chairs, frying pans, extra clothes, etc get dropped into the Hiker Box or sent home fairly quickly. On the PCT and CDT, because they travel through distinct types of terrain over the course of their entire length, are the cause for actually obtaining gear and shipping it home and depending on whether the hiker is SoBo or NoBo. I saw a guy ditch his camp shoes in a hiker box, and then decide he really did like having camp shoes so he got some from a Hiker Box. He decided he didn't like those and ditch those and went to town to buy something else for camp shoes. Some people just can't make up their minds. Personally I was wary of any clothing from a Hiker Box. I used some duct tape from a hiker box to repair a shoe and grabbed a shoelace to replace one that had broke. Some Hiker Boxes were little more than trash bins. I bought a pair of nail clippers because I decided that trimming nails with the scissors was not for me. Rumi |
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Feb 12, 2023 9:20:51 GMT -8
I have trouble imagining what I’d dump from my pack. The main things I think a gram weenie would snoot are the kindle and notebook, plus my fleece pants. But I can’t imagine going off for more than a few hours with nothing to read or write on, and I hate being cold. Maybe on a thru I’d go to bed as soon as I got chilly. And I’ve noticed that summers are hotter than they used to be, so I might imagine leaving the fleece pants behind until shoulder season.
That question of camp shoes is a vexed one.
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Feb 12, 2023 10:14:17 GMT -8
This is possibly one of things you might shed. When you know you're carrying it and not using except for "just in case". To have one less thing to pack, carry and take care of sometimes outweighs having to be a little cold for maybe a day or two. You should at least be warm once your get into your sleeping bag at the end of the day. You may very well find that the time between getting off the trail and into your bag is short enough that pants aren't needed. |
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Feb 12, 2023 13:05:38 GMT -8
^thats^ when I’ll put on my rain pants, blocks the wind so my shorts get a warmth boost by lowering windchill on my legs. They’re also my goto for bugs. Probably used more for those than blocking wind driven rain truth be told. I tend to focus insulation to my core, I’ve found when my core is warm my legs etc. tend to take care of themselves by not shutting down peripheral circulation.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Feb 13, 2023 9:30:13 GMT -8
^thats^ when I’ll put on my rain pants, blocks the wind so my shorts get a warmth boost by lowering windchill on my legs. They’re also my goto for bugs. Probably used more for those than blocking wind driven rain truth be told. I tend to focus insulation to my core, I’ve found when my core is warm my legs etc. tend to take care of themselves by not shutting down peripheral circulation. That seemed to be adequate when I was younger. Seems like as I age I have more trouble with seriously cold feet, which I can help avoid by keeping my legs warm. But the reality is that those chilly afternoons and evenings in camp we used to have don’t seem to be happening as much anymore. Shorter afternoons, for one thing, since I hike longer without small children, but also just seems like fewer really cold nights. I do like the warm pants when I’m out before sunrise for photos on a frosty morning, but as you mention, there are other ways of keeping at least mostly warm. On a long hike I think I’d adjust better to the temps, too—that always used to happen when I spent a lot of time outdoors in the winter. |
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Post by leadbelly on Feb 15, 2023 7:01:46 GMT -8
I have used the same digital luggage scale, REI brand, for at least 15 years to check pack weight. no longer made. so old the rubber handle has started to get tacky. didn't cost much when I bought it, uses a couple of quarter-sized button batteries.
this isn't high end tech, I wouldn't overthink it. there are some manual options if you don't want batteries, but they're larger/heavier. if you go digital, make sure the weight limit works for you and the strap/clip look sturdy.
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Post by cweston on Feb 15, 2023 9:33:30 GMT -8
FWIW, I have never, not even once, weighed my pack (or all of the gear that goes into it). I'm not saying there's anything wrong with doing so (HYOH), but I don't find it necessary. I know that if I eliminate some item, or replace it with a version that weighs less, my pack weight will go down. If I add something, obviously I'm making my pack heavier, so it needs to be worth it. I've learned from experience to pack what I will need (or appreciate enough to make carrying it worthwhile), and to not pack what I don't need.
Sometimes it's hard to decide--I know I'd really like to have an ice axe for that one ascent on day 5 (or whatever), but do I need it enough to carry it all week?
If I end up packing out a bunch of extra food, then I know that maybe I need to adjust, next trip. And so on.
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Feb 15, 2023 10:08:37 GMT -8
Sometimes it's hard to decide--I know I'd really like to have an ice axe for that one ascent on day 5 (or whatever), but do I need it enough to carry it all week? I pondered that tradeoff regarding traction devices on my last two spring Grand Canyon trips. There was still plenty of snow and ice on the top 1000 feet (more so the first time), but the risk could be partially offset by poles and extra caution. I've made the call both ways on different occasions. |
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Feb 15, 2023 21:29:33 GMT -8
I know I'd really like to have an ice axe for that one ascent on day 5 (or whatever), but do I need it enough to carry it all week? When I carry an ice axe I don't have to carry my big ass protection knife. |
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Post by cweston on Feb 16, 2023 5:52:37 GMT -8
When I carry an ice axe I don't have to carry my big ass protection knife. LOL. Not sure why you need so much ass protection, but... (Don't forget to tip your servers. I'll be here all week.) Also, an ice axe digs awesome cat holes. So you can leave all .6 oz of that trowel behind. |
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Feb 16, 2023 7:50:55 GMT -8
LOL. Not sure why you need so much ass protection, but... First, unfortunately I have a big ass. Secondly, when I have had to carry an ice axe I do reflect on what an awesome weapon it could be but mostly I am sort afraid of it hurting me most of the time. When it is on my pack and I think what might happen in a fall is what scares me. |
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Post by Lamebeaver on Feb 16, 2023 8:19:55 GMT -8
Here's what I use: www.harborfreight.com/digital-scale-95364.htmlIt also makes a decent kitchen scale. For larger items, I use a bathroom scale. Pick up the item. weigh. Put down the item. weight. Subtract 2nd from 1st to get the weight of the item. |
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Post by cweston on Feb 16, 2023 8:46:30 GMT -8
Secondly, when I have had to carry an ice axe I do reflect on what an awesome weapon it could be but mostly I am sort afraid of it hurting me most of the time. When it is on my pack and I think what might happen in a fall is what scares me. FWIW, There are handy tip protectors that weigh almost nothing...  |
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Feb 16, 2023 8:54:17 GMT -8
There are handy tip protectors that weigh almost nothing... I have tip protectors but I figure that they are just to stop from poking someone/something as you move around. In a fall if the axe head hit something and drove the handle spike towards the back of your head it would maybe slow it down a little. Also you have to be careful with tip protectors freezing to the axe. I'm never had that problem with my ice axe since I have rarely ever carried it (east coaster here) but for a while I was using tip protectors on my crampons until I had them freeze to the crampons. I guess you could only put them back on if somehow the crampons were dry but I just went with a heavier crampon bag and no protectors. |
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Post by cweston on Feb 16, 2023 9:16:49 GMT -8
I have tip protectors but I figure that they are just to stop from poking someone/something as you move around. In a fall if the axe head hit something and drove the handle spike towards the back of your head it would maybe slow it down a little. Got it. If it makes you feel any better, I've fallen a few times while having an axe strapped to my pack, and it's never caused any problem or anything. Related: I use an axe seldom enough that I always take a few minutes to run through safety principles and practice arrest position when I get it out--mentally, if I'm solo, or out loud with a partner. If you do fall and need to self-arrest (and I have), the best case is that you get your downhill hand onto the axe shaft and the axe into pre-arrest position *before* your body lands, so that you don't have a dangerous sharp instrument flopping around on its leash. Of course that's not always possible, but I figure it won't *ever* be possible unless I've given some deliberate thought to the process before the fall. Like you obviously do, I have a great deal of respect for the havoc that an ice axe could wreck. (Just ask Trotsky!) |
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