Summer LT Pack

  • Category Weight
  • Packing
    1.2 lb
  • Shelter
    1.65 lb
  • Sleep
    3.04 lb
  • Hiking Clothing
    3.71 lb
  • Mid Layers/Camp/Sleep Clothes
    1.12 lb
  • Outer Layers
    0.9 lb
  • Cooking
    0.99 lb
  • Water Filtration & Carry
    0.35 lb
  • Bear Bag
    0.19 lb
  • First Aid & Hygiene
    0.79 lb
  • Nav
    0.35 lb
  • Electronics
    1.27 lb
  • Misc
    0.88 lb
  • Consumables
    8.99 lb
  • Total 25.43
    lb
    • oz
    • lb
    • g
    • kg
  • Consumable 8.99 lb
  • Worn 4.58 lb
  • Base Weight 11.85 lb

Description

TL:DR - Hiking the LT. Could get cold. Full pack weight is 21 lbs packed for 4 days between resupplies in summer.

I'm planning to hike Vermont's Long Trail, northbound "end-to-end" as they say. That's 272 miles from its southern border with Massachusetts, to Vermont's northern border with Canada. The kids do that in 2-3 weeks. I'll take closer to a month... The Long Trail is every bit as tough as the toughest sections of the Appalachian Trail. Especially in the North. So I'm motivated to go as light.

Overnight lows at the northern terminus in early August average around 54°, with the 10 yr record low at 43°. Subtract 3.5° for each 1000' of elevation, and the lows at 3000' are likely to be the in mid 40's with the possibility of dipping down into the low 30s. So I'll want my clothing, sleep and shelter stuff to work together to keep me warm and dry should it get that cold.

Water sources can dry up as summer wanes. When I dry camp I like to have at least 2L of water so I can make dinner, breakfast, and start out the next morning with a full 1L bottle. I replaced Sawyer's older Mini with their new Micro Squeeze. With it's new 32 oz squeeze bag, and the new adaptor that allows me to leave the backflush syringe at home, I have a much faster flow rate, my water carry capacity is right at 2 liters, and I drop my pack weight by whopping 14g!

Below you'll see items with a shirt logo. That identifies them as "Worn Weight" to the spreadsheet. That includes what I wear while hiking, what I carry in my hands, and what I stuff in my pockets. The software is smart enough to know that if one lists an item as worn, with a qty greater than 1, that they probably don't wear more than 1. So it adds the remainder to the pack's base weight. I.e. I carry 2 pairs of socks, flag them them as "worn." The software includes the weight of one pair in worn weight, and adds the other to base weight.

My base weight (everything minus worn or consumable items) is 12 lbs. Add in 9.0 lbs of "Consumables" for four days, and my "Total Pack Weight" is 21 lbs. That's within the comfort rating of my pack. My "Full Skin-Out" (Total) weight, as I'm leaving town packed for 4 days, is 25.4 lbs.

I'm ok with that. But, I'll keep looking for ways to make it lighter ... Without sacrificing safety or too much comfort.