Oh man, that sounds like a really fun time! Unfortunately I am racing the 10 Mile Blue Point Brewery run on Saturday morning, so no hiking for me.
I've only done day hikes to this point, and my camping experience and gear is for car camping. large 3 person tent, 15lb sleeping bag, etc! I need to start gearing up and doing weekend trips asap. I need the fiance to make sure she enjoys this and can handle a few days of pooping in a dirt hole before we commit to a thru together.
To Everyone Else,
Thank you for the well thought out responses. I had a feeling that would be the general consensus. $$ for a new pack will not be a huge issue in 2 years, and I'll use this one on shorter hikes and maybe fore backpacking around europe next summer for a few weeks.
Would you say it's worth replacing the pack sooner and using it on 2-3 day hikes way in advance of a thru attempt?
Assuming I don't want to go UL, and will be carrying 60% of our combined load, could you folks recommend a solid pack that would be suitable for that? I know Osprey is very popular, but what size would you go for if you had to carry your own gear + a portion of your partners?
PS Sorry for all of the newbie questions =P