I have been "enlighten"

“Yes, I have finally come 'round. After much research and talking with all the fine people here, I have made the decision NOT to carry all that B.S. electronic stuff on my hikes. Light pack IS the way to go. Only thing electronic that I will be taking is my GPS, a small AM/FM radio and CB (bee sting guy in the party has requested it as back up to his cell phone). That took about 18 million pounds outta the pack. Also, I went to the REI store for the first time (thanks again hyper for the info on location). Great place, staff was very friendly and not pushy and also became a member. The other guys liked it alot as well. While there, I bought the pocket rocket and was the envy of the group. There are concidering dumping thier bulky stoves for one. Tomorrow, we leave for our warm up, and I will keep everyone informed on how we do. Thanks again for all the help you all have been. You have made this newbie's change to this activity a pleasent one!”

“GPS, AM/FM, CB, and phone?

You're kidding
...right?”

“what were you taking before?”

“Wow! That means that there's stuff I don't even know exists? Hmmmmm....”

“Do we like BBD, you hoochie groupie?”

“maybe he had a tv, vcr, stereo, and a generator?”

“Sherman told me it was one of the Professor's Way Back Machines so they could always camp in pristine wilderness once they found a good parking spot.”

“Yeah, what else is there?
I don't carry ANY of that sh!t.
If ya can't eat it.....”

“laqtis:
That is a step in the right direction. About three miles in, you may re-think your current load. You will appreciate how much lighter you are now.

Have a good trip - give us a trip report when you get back”

“or scr!w it...”

“Go right ahead and learn it the hard way...
most of us did.

You'll soon realize that wherever you go (lower 48, anyway), you're never >really< too far from civilization, and that all those gizmos will be at hand again soon enuff.

Buy a compass and learn how to use it.

Call the wife when you get back to town...

You can catch up with the sports scores with the car radio...

10-4?”

“Call the wife when you get back to town???

Isn't that why we go to the woods in the first place?”

“Unless you are very near a highway, a C.B. isn't going to be much use -- limited range, especially if in uneven terrain, and limited audience pool.”

“Pretty close. Kitchen sink, tool box, V6 motor, RPG, Playdough, ice cream maker, cd burner, Shoots and Ladders, Laptop, 500ft of rope, window, shackles, and poster of Alf. My back is thankin' me....”

“Oh, I get it! I thought it was a thread started by ice tea.”

“you mean I shouldn't connect my palm pilot to my cell phone and check the TT forum while hiking?”

“pekka- ROFL at the Professor and his Way Back Machine. Brings back some funny memories of Sherman.

Sunshine- good one. You're getting pretty subtle.

Gordon- I think you have to take the laptop and cell phone.

gojo- Seems funny that no matter what we hear from others, we still have to learn for ourselves, doesn't it?”

“Well, I got to go a little further with the weight. Bee sting guy came over and I talked him outta the CB. We are expected some bad weather today and thus the radio. It's not a jam box. It's a little thing 'bout 2 1/2 inches long and has headphones and is light. Pack seems to a little heavy still, but I remind myself that this is the first time, so I'll get used to it. Tips around the block with it on can't compare to the real thing (though I have gotten some pretty interesting looks). There is still a couple of extras that I could get rid of, but we'll se how it goes. Countdown is T - 11 hours and 45 mins so changes sould be made.

hangman - Thanks for the kind words and I plan on letting everyone know how it went.

Everyone have fun this weekend with what ever you do, where ever you go....”

“.............a poster of Alf? Your sick. VERY sick.”

“lose the radio and the gps.”

“Have fun! I hope the weather cooperates with you. Tommorrow should be wonderful weather. I bet it won't rain today; we need it too bad. Make notes about what you would leave behind and bring next trip. You forget once ya get home!”

“Keep track of the stuff you do not use and leave it home next trip. Keep looking at functionality of each thing you bring. Stop bringing items that only have a single use.

Listen to the advice of others here and make your own evaluations. It sounds like you'll be learning by making mistakes. It's something we've all done.”

“hey dude, i have a stuffed Alf.......and i aint sick.....:)
alf lives man......”

“Alf rocks!”

“T - 9 hours and 45 mins.....

Thanks for the great advice, guys. I'm at work now, but when I get home, there will be more stuff coming outts the bag. I weighed it before I left and I'm at 40 lbs. Gettin' there......

Ski - Trial by falling flat on my face IS the way to go..........”

“laqtis - they're not mistakes if you learn from them! Think of them as lessons. With each trip you get more comfortable with less stuff. Remember, if you are warm, sheltered, hydrated and fed, their is not much else you need. The only other crucial pieces of equipment are your eyes and ears. Enjoy.”

“Thanks switchback. It's like I tell my students here in the theater, there are no mistakes, just learning experiances. On this show, try not to have too many learning experiances... It's just our way of saying do the best you can. If somthings happens, learn from it and move on.

By the way everyone, the radio is coming out as soon as I get home. Geez.... at this rate, by the time I really go on this trip I'll just have a tarp and a pair of underwear.......

P.S. T - 7hrs and counting...........”

“Underwear?”

“Never heard of it, eh?”

“Each pair has four good sides. Just rotate as needed!”

“laqtis - just don't toss out the rain gear. Last weekend I went backpacking and we really were not prepared for the amount of rain we received.”

“hangman -

Rain pants and poncho are outta the pack. I know what you mean (right now there is a real bad storm coming this way and were going to get pounded), that stuf was too heavy. I have resorted to a light PVC poncho that should do the job.


All done packin' Total weight with food and water : 51.5 pounds. Thats as light as I could get it. Dumped all electronic BS (except GPS), cut way down on food, yes I was taking a tarp (two, but I don't want to admit to it) which has found a home back in the basement. First Aid striped down, clothing, lighting (candles) everything else I could think of. I think my pack itself is just a heavy pack to start off with.

T - 3hrs 20mins and counting.....”

“51.5 pounds?!?

How long are you going for? When you get back, I'd be very interested in seeing a detailed list of what you took. I'd also be interested in knowing what you did not use. You'll also get some great suggestions on what to pack and what not to pack. I almost guarantee you'll be able to drop at least 10 lbs. from your pack weight.”

“Ah... I remember my first backpacking trip...
with my Sears sleeping bag - it weighed about 5.5 pounds and would compress down to 13" x 17". I think it fell out of the straps holding to to the bottom of my backpack - twice. I had stuff strapped all over my pack.
... but you know, I had fun, and that trip was the foundation for many more trips over many years. But each trip continues to get lighter and lighter...”

“Trip Report #1

Waterloo-Pickeny Rec. Area.

Base Camp - Green Lake just off of M-52, north of Chelsea, Michigan

Trail Objective -

Day One :
Arrive at trailhead at DNR Headquarters and hike back four miles to rustic site called Horseman?s Campground. Establish Base camp.

Day Two :
Morning - Day-hike 6 miles round trip to nearby scenic outlook.

Afternoon - After returning from day hike, lunch. After lunch, evaluate equipment, make notes about good points/bad points. Pack up full packs (but without tents) and hike back in the same area.

Evening - After returning from trip, Dinner. After dinner, pack up everything, but tent, for the following days hike back to trailhead.

Day Three :
Morning - Wake up at 6 am, small breakfast, Pack up and hike back to trail head because I have to be to work by 11:00 am that day.


Well, as always on a trip, not all things go as planned. As we loaded up the van to leave home, a real bad, but short storm was on it's way. It rained on the way out there (heading west from Metro Detroit area) and by the time we arrived at our planned trailhead, it stopped. We arrived by 7:30 PM Friday night and talked to the ranger on site. We told him our plans and he suggested that we base camp at some rustic sites at Green Lake (just 5 mins north) because the camp we wanted to go to had 10 people there with horses. From Green Lake, we could pickup a more northern part of the trail. We took his advice and went. As soon as camp was set, we packed up our day hike equipment and left on a quick hike before it got too late. We got to the trail and headed south. As we walked, the famous Michigan skeeters made there presence very well known. We sprayed Deep Woods Off on us before we left and it was working, so we just pushed on. We came to a clearing and were treated to an amazing rainbow (we got the best pictures we could).

We hiked in about 2/3 of a mile, turned around a headed back north, over the camp road and took the trail on the north side of the road that ran towards M-52, then hiked to M-52. Once we got to M-52, we started back to base camp and it was dark. I had my Petzel headlamp on me so I led the way.

We guessed that the whole trip consisted of about 2 miles. Had dinner, went to bed. Got up the next morning, we got our packs together for the morning hike, which was hike the north trail from the previous night, past M-52 and go as far as we liked and turn around. I took some the heavy things that I want to change outta the bag and set my bag to a "goal weight" of were I want to be, which is no heavier than 35-40 lbs, with food and water. The other two guys took everything that they brought. One person had a pack that must have weighed 70-75 pounds, maybe even 80.

- I kid you not.

That hike was very nice. We went in about 2 miles, turned around and came back. I gotta say that the bikers on the trail we very cool about sharing the trail. Got back to camp, we had lunch, then packed up our day packs and drove to our original trailhead and do that hike in, just to see if we could've make it.

We headed south on the trail and then down to a nice lake. Then it started. The trail was taking a huge steep angle. We went on, climbing, pushing along the inclines at the best clip we could. This trail started at 831 Feet and wound up being 1075 Feet. Not really that much of a problem if you look at it like that, but this trail had A LOT of steep ups and downs. The trail also became very, very poorly marked, so we got off course. At one point, we stopped, I got out the GPs and figured out that we were in the general area, but no where near where we wanted to be. Well, we turned around at that time and went back to the van, then drove back to base camp. In total, that trail was a nice 8-9 mile hike and we did it in around 3 hours. The bad/funny thing about the whole trip was that every 20 minutes or so someone would say "There is NO WAY we could have done this in with our full packs on yesterday".

The total for the weekend was about 11-12 miles or so. Not too shabby for my first one. I felt really good after it all. The back and the pack held up well. One thing we did as a moral booster was we also lived it up at base camp the last night, having' steaks and beer bought from the local store.




O.K., so what did I bring in and what have I learned from all this? Well, I guess the answer for both questions is = a lot. I brought in way too much weight, though I felted that I had done a good job getting my pack light. I really can't imagine what it would have been like if I did it with what I had in there to begin with. I think I would have stroked out or something. I was real dumb about some things, but I learned.

Water was a huge issue for me. Everyone was right about the filters. Boiling and cooling and all that BS is a HUGE hassle. Again, I learned.


Changes / Upgrades -

My Eureka Tetragon 5 for a 2 man bivy tent that weights 3 lbs (already on its way). This is temporary. I will be saving my money up for a Hilleberry Akto.

PVC 2 piece rain suit

Peregrine Basic Trail Gaiters

Thermal Fleece sleeping bag with Quallofill - just for this summer season/early fall

SafeWater Anywhere Filter
Hydration Reservoir - 70-oz

Candle Lantern

New straps and belt for load bearing vest and pack.

And other needs as they come. My head is just spinning with new things to do.... It's like opening a door. Food ideas just flying through my brain (I went to the store earlier for a gallon of milk and I came back 1 1/2 hours later because I was looking at all the things that could be made in the back country kitchen. Also, I will now only pack what I know I need, not what I think I need, and it must be as light as possible.

Another thing that I learned was that the need for good decisions on the trip are essential. We made some pretty good choices at times and it really save a lot of hassle. If we didn't, I really believe that I would have came home and just dumped my stuff at the road for Wednesdays pick up.

In closing, as I have said before, I learned a great deal. We also have found a good place, that is very close to our homes and that offers good challenges. We will be back, I'm thinking about 2 weeks from now. That should allow me enough time to realize the upgrades and go. I'm charged, full of new energy, and I'm looking forward to be a very dedicated student of backpacking. This is a very cool thing.......

Sorry this is so long. I wanted to cover as much of the experience as I could.


laqtis”

“Hey, laqtis......... what was the first clue there might be HORSES and MEN at the HORSEMAN'S CAMP???!?!? LOL!!! silly goose....... sorry, I just found that immediately funny............”

“Lizs -

well I called ahead and DNR said that they didn't think it was in use that weekend. BOY, that woulda be a nice capper to that hike!”

“Satellite (I can't spell that) phone and Everclear (I CAN spell that).
What else could one ask for?

Oh..

A date.”

“laqtis - sound like you had a good trip. You learn alot on your first couple trips - but it is a never-ending learning experience.
I took my brother-in-law on his first bp'ing trip a week ago - he is itching to go back”

“hangman -

I have really been hooked, not like I wasn't before.......”

“Glad you had a good time laqtis! It gets better the more you do it and figure things out. That's a nice area to hike. Thanks for posting a report.”