"Carry That Weight"

The Beatles tune that seems to fit the item of the day. A friend of Wes who is going on the trip called me this morning to find out what kind of pack he needs to "carry that weight" in Big Bend. Most outdoors individuals that I know are gear nuts in addition to loving the activity. I do not know what drives this but I just know I love to look at, talk about, compare and eventually buy gear. I once had to have the best money can buy but now I want to get value for my money. In addition, since I am older now, I want to find the lightest gear I can find. I cannot control the weight of the water that I carry (desert hiking) but I can control the weight of everything else I put into the pack.

The latest on the backpacking chat rooms is light-weight and ultra light-weight packing. This ranges from homemade alcohol stoves rather than backpacking white gas stoves, to tarps instead of tents or just no shelter at all. I think like most things this can kind of get out of hand. However, by reading and studying what is being taught you can alter this to fit your own needs.

Backpacking is hard enough without trying to make the experience something that cave men used to do. I try to make sure of a few things when I go: I do not like to be cold, wet, hungry or thirsty. I will pack as much gear as I can to make sure that I am not any of the aforementioned. At least not for any extended time.

Today was a regular Monday exercise program. I did spin class for 45 minutes, then core exercises for 30 minutes then on the treadmill with my pack on for 30 minutes. I was a little sore from the down hill I did on Saturday but all in all everything went well.