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  1. #61
    Registered User kayak karl's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gray Blazer View Post
    Hey! He needed all that TP!!
    wasn't there cans of spinach involved?
    I'm so confused, I'm not sure if I lost my horse or found a rope.

  2. #62

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    Quote Originally Posted by kayak karl View Post
    wasn't there cans of spinach involved?
    and some cuttlefish.

  3. #63

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    He wasn't thru-hiking, but the biggest pack I ever saw on the A.T. belonged to Demetri Coupounas, the founder of GoLite, who hiked into Neel Gap from Springer with a pack that weighed 132 pounds (it was a bit heavier when he left Springer).

    I put the thing on and walked it 70 yards into the store and it damned near killed me.

    I habitually carry a big pack but this was ridiculous.

    This was also the biggest pack "shakedown" at Neel Gap and the largest UPS mailout in their history. The whole precedure was kinda fun to watch.

    On the other hand, I came away with a new-found respect for the durability of GoLite packs.

  4. #64

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    Why was the founder of go light carrying a pack that was the very opposite of going light?
    Love people and use things; never the reverse.

    Mt. Katahdin would be a lot quicker to climb if its darn access trail didn't start all the way down in Georgia.

  5. #65
    Registered User sasquatch2014's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JustaTouron View Post
    Why was the founder of go light carrying a pack that was the very opposite of going light?
    The pack was really light just all the crap in it was heavy. I can see it now people using tarps for the light weight and then using old railroad spikes to stake it down.
    Often Accused, Often Guilty but Seldom Guilty of What I am Accused.

  6. #66

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    He wanted to break some type of record by hiking 620 miles in 40 days without resupply. Changed his mind when he hit Neels.

  7. #67

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    Quote Originally Posted by sasquatch2014 View Post
    The pack was really light just all the crap in it was heavy. I can see it now people using tarps for the light weight and then using old railroad spikes to stake it down.

    Titianum railroad spikes are what is needed.
    Love people and use things; never the reverse.

    Mt. Katahdin would be a lot quicker to climb if its darn access trail didn't start all the way down in Georgia.

  8. #68

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    I don't know about breaking a record, as I don't know of any such "records." All I know is that he originally planned to hike "unsupported", i.e., without stopping to re-supply, for 40 days, so his pack contained,in addition to other gear, 40 large Ziplocks of food.

    For various reasons, he decided to end his trip after 4 days, but the fact that he carried this thing for even 30 miles was pretty amazing to me......just getting it from the hiker hostel to the Outfitter store almost killed me; the idea of hauling that thing up and over Blood Mt. boggled the mind.

    Also, I think he really wanted to put his stuff to a serious test, especially to counter critics over the years (who included me, by the way), that had publicly stated that his stuff was too lightly constructed to hold up well under tough and strenuous conditions.

    I had a really good look at his pack when this thing was done, and this was a pack that nobody thought was any good for much over 30 poounds.

    The pack was in great shape, despite being totally maxed out as far as its
    original "specs".

    GoLite's critics, including me, were dead wrong about the durability of their packs. I had no trouble saying this at the time and I have no trouble saying it now. Coup might not have wanted to go 40 days with this beast (and I sure don't blame him!) but I have no doubt that it could have been done, even with a liteweight pack.

  9. #69
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    I had to go back and check my journal for details, but I still remember the 81 year old gentleman I met in the Sierras on the PCT.

    I came around the corner to see the largest external frame pack I had ever seen, with 2 long skinny legs sticking out from beneath it, moving at a slow, methodical pace. I passed the man, and stopped to chat for a moment. He told me he had traveled around the world 6 times, and the Sierras were still the most beautiful place he had ever backpacked. He had an amazing presence, and I had to pull myself away.

    A moment later I came across two younger men waiting alongside the trail. They asked if I had seen their grandfather. We chatted a minute (chatting often interferes with my mileage), and he walked up, and slowly began to tilt towards a large rock beside the trail. The men ran over, lowered him to the rock, and then removed the pack. It took both of them to remove this pack. I mean it was massive, really massive. I just watched in amazement.

    As I watched him, and saw his joy at being out there, I remember wondering if I would be that happy with 100 lbs. on my back.

  10. #70
    Registered User gravityman's Avatar
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    Meant a sobo section hiker in 2005 at the shelter just north of Caledonia (the one with the flower pots) who was going as far as be could. Big guy with a bigger pack. He 'thought' it was more than 100lbs. It looked like more than that to me. When he asked if we needed anything from his pack to lighten his load, I said that we were running low on soap. He pulled out a full size Dawn bottle and said take as much as we want. He was blown away when we pulled out our small 1 oz bottle to refill!

    Gravity

  11. #71
    Registered User sasquatch2014's Avatar
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    I met Tea Bag in 08 at the hostel just north of Harpers Ferry. I have a big pack and even I was amazed at the size of the pack this guy was carrying. This was not his first rodeo and he made the miles all the more power to him.
    Often Accused, Often Guilty but Seldom Guilty of What I am Accused.

  12. #72
    Registered User Caboose's Avatar
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    Default take it all

    Winter gear is bulky and heavy, so you should have more room in your pack by July. Pack as much as you can carry and afford. I'll be down to GA in May to pick it all up and sell it on E-bay to the the next wave of North migrators. lol
    "Some things weigh a little, but everything weighs something"

  13. #73
    Registered User whistle dixie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Toolshed View Post
    Whistle, I am not a gram wheenie and I don't lecture people on the weight of their gear. What I wasn't sure of is what your experience level is? You mention hooking more gear to the outside of your pack. Colin Fletcher ("The Complete Walker") referred to this once as having Gear festooned from your back. This makes walking fast, or up and downhill a little more tricky, as well as in areas that require intricate footwork (such as bending and leaping for footplacements. All that gear festooning from your pack will knock you off the center of gravity.
    I once watched a newbie in the Dacks about a mile from the TH in the early 90's with a large canteen slung over one side of the frame and a pair of sneakers laced together, slung over the other side. Every time he bent over or took a large step or stepped down, he was wacked in the head by either the swinging sneakers or the swinging canteen. I followed behind him for about 3-4 minutes and then passed him - I hoped the folks he was with would explain a better way to pack his gear before the end of the his trip.
    my experience is very little on a trip longer than 48 miles. i live near mammoth cave national park in ky. it's not that big!


    but i enjoy the outdoors i hook alot of my stuff on the outside but believe me nothing moves. i got so many straps on that thing i could bungie jump off of clingmans dome. i was mainly taking food. never liked going hungry when all you have to do is add a few grunts.

    _______________________________________________

    just a good ole boy making his way the only way he knows how

  14. #74

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    Quote Originally Posted by whistle dixie View Post
    gosh, was this guy scared of the woods or wanted by the law? lol.
    He was from Dorville, Ga., only 27 years old, had started his own very successful business and needed a break. His FIRST night of camping EVER was on Springer...he thought that everyone would try to attack and rob him.

    geek

  15. #75
    Registered User whistle dixie's Avatar
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    this will be my first time camping outside of kentucky, hek this will be the third time i've ever been out of kentucky

  16. #76

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    Quote Originally Posted by whistle dixie View Post
    what is the heaviest pack anyone has ever heard doing the thru hike?

    Probably me. in 1971.
    That was long before "shuttles" to take you to Walmart and Red Lobster while in transit.
    I carried about 60 lbs. There really wasn't anyone else around so I shot squirrels, doves, quail, and fished to supplement my meals.
    I even took a turkey in VA. Laid up for 2 nights and smoked it to death.
    Nice protein supplement for the following week.

    I'm old...................

  17. #77
    Registered User whistle dixie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Doooglas View Post
    Probably me. in 1971.
    That was long before "shuttles" to take you to Walmart and Red Lobster while in transit.
    I carried about 60 lbs. There really wasn't anyone else around so I shot squirrels, doves, quail, and fished to supplement my meals.
    I even took a turkey in VA. Laid up for 2 nights and smoked it to death.
    Nice protein supplement for the following week.

    I'm old...................

    thats awesome i bet back in those days solitude was a whole different meaning than now days.

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++=

    old just means you learned from your mistakes the first times

  18. #78

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    Quote Originally Posted by ShelterLeopard View Post
    Also, if something is swinging from your pack (and not properly strapped down), it doubles the weight.

    (Example- your thermarest doesn't fit, so you roll it up and tie string around it, then hook it to your pack, where it hangs loosely. It'll feel like two thermarests instead of one, because of the bouncing. So strap it down really tightly, and it'll feel much better.)
    I saw a guy on the approach trail with an extremely full, heavy looking pack. Apparently there was no room for the tent because he had what looked to be a 7 lb tent dangling from his waist belt, and it was hitting him in the shins with every step. Oh, and him and his lady were wearing cotton head to toe...
    "I always told you I was more of a Westerner than an Easterner"
    -Theodore Roosevelt

    Appalachian Trail 2008

    Colorado Trail 2010

  19. #79
    Registered User randyg45's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by whistle dixie View Post
    after i sent that i figured it out.
    thanks. boy i'm to slow with these abreviations.
    you can tell i'm from kentucky. lol.
    What does lol mean?
    I'm from WV.
    (If you're from Loma Linda, WV means West by God Virginia)

  20. #80
    Registered User whistle dixie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by randyg45 View Post
    What does lol mean?
    I'm from WV.
    (If you're from Loma Linda, WV means West by God Virginia)

    lol is short for lolly gagger, or lumps on landing,or level on loads,or
    letting on letter.
    oh heck i don't know, just sounds good and alot of people use it. just wanted to sound fancy.

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