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Post by zurwad on Aug 2, 2016 16:16:20 GMT -8
Were going to Zaleski state forest in ohio for a 2 maybe 3 day trip. I'm thinking 2 to just get our feet wet. It will be 7 miles each day and our packs weigh 20lbs each fully loaded with water(3l)/food. My husband and I are fairly active. We both lift heavy weights squats deadlifts etc and we're training for a 5k at the moment. We workout 6 times a week but we are overweight. I am 5ft 7in and 210lbs and he is 5ft 9 195lbs. Our trip is at the beginning of September so we should be doing the 5k completely by then.
What are your thoughts on our pack weight? Should we do a few miles hike with the packs loaded for an idea? On my back just standing here and walking around it feels fine.
Also there is water available at each of the camps. Should we take the full 3l of water or should we maybe take 1.5l making sure we start out very hydrated?
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Post by cweston on Aug 2, 2016 17:25:38 GMT -8
Water is a very personal calculation: I would carry 2 liters for a 7 mile trail hike to a camp with water, but if you feel more comfortable with 3, then carry 3.
It wouldn't hurt to practice a little with your full packs, but also you don't need to overthink things--just hit the trail and see how it goes.
Have a great trip.
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Post by johntpenca on Aug 2, 2016 17:39:04 GMT -8
Sounds like you have it dialed as far as pack weight. Water wise, I'm not sure but 3l each sounds like plenty, but I tend to be conservative in that respect; 2l would probably work for 7 miles. Take it easy, enjoy the sights and focus on just enjoying yourselves.
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zeke
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Post by zeke on Aug 2, 2016 17:48:04 GMT -8
20 lbs each? you really have your gear dialed in, and your clothing. Food should weigh about 2 lbs per day/ per person. 1.5 if you really are good at knowing what you will eat. That's dehydrated or freeze dried. Water is 2 lbs per L. Let's look at day 1. 3 day trip? 5 lbs of food, 6 lbs of water. that's 11, each. Add in a kitchen, sleeping gear, 1st aid kit, change of socks and underwear, tent. Rain gear? Ok, so it can be done.
White Box stove 1 oz. Tea pot 5. alcohol for 3 days + bottle 8. good down bags 16 each. pads 16 each. FAK 5. socks and shorts 4 per person. Thats' about 6 lbs + rain gear. Tent can be as little as 2 lbs, but is likely to be closer to 4. That's 10 lbs to be split up between the 2 of you, so 16 lbs each + the weight of your packs and rain gear.
I would go and test yourselves and your set ups. Take it easy at first, and see how you like this endeavor. Most of us take a long time to get our gear weight down to the kind of numbers we are talking about here. Good luck.
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toejam
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Post by toejam on Aug 3, 2016 0:54:57 GMT -8
you don't need to overthink things--just hit the trail and see how it goes. This is usually the first thing I think when reading new backpacker posts. I'd take 2l of water. Resist the temptation to bring extra stuff. Hope you have a great time! |
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amaruq
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Post by amaruq on Aug 3, 2016 3:41:31 GMT -8
At 6'1.5" and 210ish lbs myself, I feel like this is not overweight. I'll add another reverberation to cweston's advice. The only way you'll figure out this backpacking thing is to go do it. Start your first trip with everything you think you'll need in order to gain the experience to start chucking/adding items. I typically carry 2L of water, sometimes I can make it last an over-nighter (2-day). Though some actions probably shouldn't be emulated. |
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Post by zurwad on Aug 3, 2016 4:19:36 GMT -8
At 6'1.5" and 210ish lbs myself, I feel like this is not overweight. I'll add another reverberation to cweston's advice. The only way you'll figure out this backpacking thing is to go do it. Start your first trip with everything you think you'll need in order to gain the experience to start chucking/adding items. I typically carry 2L of water, sometimes I can make it last an over-nighter (2-day). Though some actions probably shouldn't be emulated. I like your disclaimer haha He is by bmi standards considered overweight and his body fat % is pretty high. He's about 30% body fat. My brother is the same height as him but he spends a lot more time in the gym and looks vastly different than my husband despite weighing 30lbs+ more than him. So it's all a matter of how much muscle you have. You're also a lot taller than my husband. The first camp were going to is 7 miles out but there is one 5 miles out on the same trail. So I figure when we pass that 5 mile camp if we over packed or overestimated our abilities we can stop there for the night and turn back in the morning if we want. |
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Post by cweston on Aug 3, 2016 7:50:23 GMT -8
Oh Gawd, don't get me started on BMI. It is a totally made-up scale that is not based on any actual science. Being "overweight" according to BMI does not correlate positively with any negative health outcome. I'm 5' 11" and weigh about 205. Yes, I could stand to lose 10 pounds of beer off my belly, but BMI says that my "normal" weight range is 135-175. I haven't weighed 175 since high school, before I filled out--I have a fairly stout build. I'd probably look damn good at 175, but anything much less than that and I'd look like a starving person. I'm bordering on obese per BMI. Here's a picture of this "obese" hiker a couple weeks ago:  |
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Post by riversong on Aug 3, 2016 9:01:00 GMT -8
Honestly, I would cut calories and drop some body weight before the trip, as that is a pretty straight forward way to carry less weight if that is a concern to you. I dropped 15 lbs for this last trip because I am too lazy to have to carry it around on hikes with a fully loaded pack.  As far as water, I have been fine with 2 liters per day, treating as I go, if needed. When I have carried less, have gotten dehydrated. I make high calorie trail bars, so I eat less than 1.5 lbs per day. If you are interested, check out recipes for Logan bread, BRICK, and Hudson Bay Bread. You can save a lot of weigh by carrying calorie-dense, homemade food, if doing a little baking interests you. If you are carrying less than 20% of your body weight, your packs should be fine. |
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Aug 3, 2016 10:39:22 GMT -8
You really have your pack weight down, but if you want to drop it more, I'd carry less water. I'm assuming that camp at 5 miles has water, so you really only need enough to go 5 miles (refill there and continue if you're going to the farther camp). You have some means of treating water, right? So you only need to carry as much as you need to get from one source to another. I virtually never, outside of the desert, carry 3 liters, and seldom even two.
Some practice with the full packs will give you a better idea of what it feels like and what to expect, as well as being good training (nothing prepares you for carrying a pack like...carrying a pack).
Most important: have a great time!
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tigger
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Post by tigger on Aug 3, 2016 11:14:44 GMT -8
Your weight seems extremely reasonable. How you carry that weight on your back may affect your comfort level. Try and carry your heaviest items in between your shoulder blades and as close to your back as possible. In regards to how much water to carry, I often have to carry 3 liters depending on the terrain and water sources.
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Post by zurwad on Aug 4, 2016 4:05:49 GMT -8
Honestly, I would cut calories and drop some body weight before the trip, as that is a pretty straight forward way to carry less weight if that is a concern to you. I dropped 15 lbs for this last trip because I am too lazy to have to carry it around on hikes with a fully loaded pack. As far as water, I have been fine with 2 liters per day, treating as I go, if needed. When I have carried less, have gotten dehydrated. I make high calorie trail bars, so I eat less than 1.5 lbs per day. If you are interested, check out recipes for Logan bread, BRICK, and Hudson Bay Bread. You can save a lot of weigh by carrying calorie-dense, homemade food, if doing a little baking interests you. If you are carrying less than 20% of your body weight, your packs should be fine. I've already lost 72lbs and heart lost 60lbs. I don't see with our current weight lifting regime that we will be able to lose 15lbs by our trip I'd expect 5lbs. I'm not too concerned about our body weight. Honestly I probably shouldn't be concerned about our pack weight either because it's only been 3 months since I lost that 20lbs and I was carrying it around everyday then. 8 months ago I was carrying around 71lbs. Our food is actually rather light. We don't eat carbohydrates for the most part so all we have is calorie dense protein and fat sources. I could probably go a bit lower by getting sardines in a pouch instead of a can but I really like this brand of sardines and we only have 1 can a day. For longer trips I plan on making pemmican which was the original trail food of the Native Americans. It's basically dehydrated meat and fat. I found a recipe for bacon pemmican which anything with bacon is good.  I think the only way I can get my pack significantly lighter is less water and a better lighter sleeping mat or switching to hammocks..which my husband is concerned he won't be comfortable in. You really have your pack weight down, but if you want to drop it more, I'd carry less water. I'm assuming that camp at 5 miles has water, so you really only need enough to go 5 miles (refill there and continue if you're going to the farther camp). You have some means of treating water, right? So you only need to carry as much as you need to get from one source to another. I virtually never, outside of the desert, carry 3 liters, and seldom even two. Some practice with the full packs will give you a better idea of what it feels like and what to expect, as well as being good training (nothing prepares you for carrying a pack like...carrying a pack). Most important: have a great time! I think we will just carry 1.5l there are 4 different cisterns along the trail at every camp and we can filter if needed. I do have a fancy water filter that's supposed to filter 98% of everything including bacteria out. Which I don't 100% trust that but better than nothing. I've tested the tds of it and it's only slightly higher than my reverse osmosis sink filter. |
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Post by zurwad on Aug 4, 2016 4:14:19 GMT -8
Your weight seems extremely reasonable. How you carry that weight on your back may affect your comfort level. Try and carry your heaviest items in between your shoulder blades and as close to your back as possible. In regards to how much water to carry, I often have to carry 3 liters depending on the terrain and water sources. Our heaviest items are going to be the water and sleeping mats. The water is going to be against our spine in a hydration bladder compartment. The mats I currently have strapped to the bottom with the sleeping bags and tent. So the pack is pretty bottom heavy. I can get the mats on the top of the pack. It's just easier on the bottom to remove if it starts raining. The included rain cover with the pack won't cover the mats so we will have to carry them if it rains. Ultimately I'd like to get a poncho that covers the person and the pack but that's not in the budget atm. |
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Post by zurwad on Aug 4, 2016 4:23:14 GMT -8
Oh Gawd, don't get me started on BMI. It is a totally made-up scale that is not based on any actual science. Being "overweight" according to BMI does not correlate positively with any negative health outcome. I'm 5' 11" and weigh about 205. Yes, I could stand to lose 10 pounds of beer off my belly, but BMI says that my "normal" weight range is 135-175. I haven't weighed 175 since high school, before I filled out--I have a fairly stout build. I'd probably look damn good at 175, but anything much less than that and I'd look like a starving person. I'm bordering on obese per BMI. Here's a picture of this "obese" hiker a couple weeks ago: Oh I know bmi is a load of sh*t. My bmi scale wants me to be 118-145. My lean body mass (aka muscle) is 130ish last I checked. I'd rather keep that muscle which is healthy than lose muscle to fit into their ridiculous guidelines. I'd have to be like 5% bf to meet that. Which as a woman isn't that good for reproductive health. I'm going more off body fat percentage for my weightloss goal which I want to be around 18-22% body fat. He's at 30% +- last I checked and I'm at 39%. Honestly as far as health goes I'm healthy now. I've reversed my prediabetes insulin resistance High blood hypothyroidism and high cholesterol. Among other things. The only rx I have now is an inhaler for when I run because I have exercise induced asthma. |
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tigger
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Post by tigger on Aug 4, 2016 5:28:55 GMT -8
So the pack is pretty bottom heavy. I can get the mats on the top of the pack. It's just easier on the bottom to remove if it starts raining. If you notice lower back pain or like you're being pulled backward, it will be time to readjust your items. Just keep your eye out for it. As long as you are aware of it being a possible problem and know what to do about it, you'll be alright. |
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As far as water, I have been fine with 2 liters per day, treating as I go, if needed. When I have carried less, have gotten dehydrated. I make high calorie trail bars, so I eat less than 1.5 lbs per day. If you are interested, check out recipes for Logan bread, BRICK, and Hudson Bay Bread. You can save a lot of weigh by carrying calorie-dense, homemade food, if doing a little baking interests you. If you are carrying less than 20% of your body weight, your packs should be fine.
