Let's talk about ...WEIGHT

Every hiker fears it...
Every hiker obsesses over it...
And every hiker has it....
What am I rambling about?
WEIGHT, OF COURSE! 
Base weight to be exact. 


For those of you who are unfamiliar, base weight is the term coined for the weight of your full pack and all gear included, except for perishables such as food and water. That's everything...tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, toiletries, extra clothing, mess kit, electronics (if any), etc. The average thru-hiker base weight is anywhere from 6-15 lbs.

Just to get an idea of what all those items look like listed, take a look at our gear list below:

KEY: Pink indicates gear we will have on us at ALL TIMES

Blue is gear sent to Kennedy Meadows

Red is gear used in the desert 

Orange is gear picked up along the trail

If you haven't already guessed, to the majority of hikers, ''EVERY OUNCE COUNTS!''. Some take this more literally than others, this breed of hikers are called ''Ultra Lighter's''.


You may think it's frivolous at first. Silly hikers, I mean we're only talking OUNCES here, right?! Wrong. Ounces, although small, add up to POUNDS (and too quickly if I mad add). And these pounds are going to be on your back everyday, all day, for 2,650 miles of hiking over varied terrain. 


Now, to be fair we do not carry ALL of our gear at one time. For example, gear used solely in the Sierra's i.e. micro spikes, ice axes, heavier thermals, head net, etc. are all on stand by at home until we need them. The general rule of thumb is that cold gear items such as these be sent to a town by the name of Kennedy Meadows, CA which marks the beginning of the Sierra Nevada's.


But, for the most part anything and everything we will need (necessary items are up for debate depending on personal preference) will be with us at all times.


Michael and I did not take the Ultra Lighter route. Instead, we tried to buy top of the line gear which 9 out of 10 times came in the lightest materials on the market today. The biggest down fall in a strategy such as this is that generally the lighter the gear, the more expensive it is. It didn't help that we purchased from some of the more higher end outfitters, either. But, Michael and I are both alike in the fact that we would rather pay more for an item initially that's going to do it's job efficiently and last us a very long time, rather than skimp on price and sacrifice efficiency and durability. 


At the moment our base weights are weighing in at about 10 lbs each. That will probably change as we work out the kinks in our packing. Once food and water is added a thru-hikers total pack weight can reach up to 40-50lbs. GULP!!!


-Felecia