Cartoon from the Mr. Boffo Archives - Folks, this is some funny stuff!

One day, I was getting ready to hit the trail for a few weeks. I thought about what to pack, crossed out all, errr... most, of the "fluff", and selected lightweight equipment and alternatives where it was practical. Once I gathered the gear together, I stuffed everything into my pack and stepped onto the bathroom scale - the result...

A 30lb pack

- we're just talking base weight here, noo food or water. Assuming that I could manage to save a few pounds, I'd still be up around 30lbs after stuffing my 35mm camera, lenses, film, tripod, and a few filters back into my bag.

Where, oh where, did I go wrong?

"It'll all work out once you cut off that toothbrush handle and the extra length off those pack straps", my wife said sarcastically... at least she was getting into the spirit of things.

To say the least, I was a bit disappointed. This was not the weight that I had envisioned. After looking at all the "Ultralight" pages out there, I figured I could carry some luxuries (tent, Therm-A-Rest, MSR stove) and have a pack which weighed in at around 20lbs - If an "Ultralight" packer was bragging about sub-10lb loads, I was giving myself an 10lb cushion. No problem, I thought. I didn't even bother weighing each item - down to the last Ziploc - It seemed like such a waste of time.

Looking on the bright side of all this, reality has caused me to dissect my pack, weigh each item to detirmine where that 30lbs came from, and rationalize the need for carrying it. Hopefully, my findings will help you trim some excess out of your load as well.

I've broken down the process of finding and eliminating the weight into the following pages. Also, if you haven't bought any gear, you're really in luck - Just follow the links one-by-one and you'll be way ahead of your "more seasoned" backpackers in no time.

1. How I threw away 9lbs without any noticeable sacrifice
2. Evaluating Your Load - Weight and Ounce-Counting (coming soon)
3. Sleeping Bag Options
4. Sleeping Mat Options (coming soon)
5. Shelter Options
6. Water Purification Options (coming soon)
7. Stove Options (coming soon)
8. Clothing Options (coming soon)
9. The 1st-Aid dilemma (coming soon)
10. Buying a Pack (coming soon)
11. Buying Boots (coming soon)
12. Budgeting Your Money (coming soon)
13. Smart Shopping Tips (coming soon)
14. Going Ultralight - The BIG Plunge (coming soon)

Base Kamp