so this was probably the first little lesson I learned while out on the trail. obviously I had never been backpacking before so I really didn't know what would be the best way to pack my pack. I had to consider things like how much food I would need, how many clothes will last me the whole trip, and all while keeping a running tally of how much weight I'll be carrying on my back. so to help me with all this I had my mother. don't get me wrong I love her to death but there are just somethings I should just do myself. I ended up with about 2 weeks worth of snacks, way too many clothes and, as my uncle would say, everything but the kitchen sink. you name it I had it. I only went out for 3 days and wound up carrying 45 pounds in my backpack. to put that in perspective, my uncle who is about 4 inches taller and 75 pounds heavier, was only carrying around 33 pounds. to say the least my shoulders and back were killing me by the end of the trip.
when I got home that weekend I did some serious downsizing. I took out the majority of the food I brought and really thought about what I actually ate while out there. the clothes I brought down a bit too, realizing I ended up wearing the same stuff and only changing the essentials, and all girls should know exactly what essentials I'm speaking of. I found I reused a lot of stuff and a lot of the stuff I didn't use got taken out. I kept things like rain gear and my first aid kit and got rid of the giant roll of duct tape my mother promised was light and a good thing to take. which duct tape is always good but definitely not light.
in the end, by my next trip I had downsized my pack to about 30 pounds. what I do now is when I'm finished packing and back home I take everything out and transfer it straight to a bin. this way I can keep track of it all and I know I'm not adding weight or forgetting anything I need. so my tip here is take a couple days to seriously think about all the things you need before going out. never let someone else pack your pack either. this may take a few trips out and finding out what a good weight is for you to carry. one of the best tips I got was if you take something out three times and never use it then you probably don't need it.
Duct tape is awesome! Maybe you should bring a few paper clips instead. (:
ReplyDeleteSounds tough, I know I would pack very light the first time I did something like this. But I might pack too light and forget stuff... Although I would have my Swiss Army knife. (: