Thanks for the great story/trip report/advice Akichow. I will definitely be shaving the pounds and ounces aggressively for this trip. Thanks for your advice and observations on camp distance versus hauling the packs. Something to discuss with my party.
My nickname should be 'Tortoise' because my husband is the 'Hare', but my hiking pal keeps to my pace when we we have gone into the Adirondaks so it sounds like we will be similar to your party.
We have been upgrading/lightening selected equipment over the past year. Thanks to ebay and great sales at EMS, Campmor, and Ramsey Outdoors I have some excellent lightweight replacements for backpacks, sleeping bags, and boots. I cannot believe our vintage Cat's Meow bags weighed in at almost 5 lbs while the new Marmot one is only 2.5 lbs (and is much warmer/cosier). The last big ticket upgrade will be the 8 lb Sierra Designs Meteor Light CD tent (circa 2002 or 2003) for a 3 to 4 lb one (looking at a few brands/models). Up for debate are the ancient 2 lb+ orange 3/4 Thermarest pads which still work but new ones weigh less and probably insulate better. These pads are so bulky they need to go on the outside of the new backpacks.
Yeah these were the reasons the old school packs I hauled were 40-45 lbs.... I started my own 'light' revolution years ago and the trend for high quality light equipment makes it easy to get with the program!
