A park ranger's offhand comment made me rethink my whole packing strategy

Last month I was at Glacier National Park doing the Highline Trail loop. I passed a ranger doing trail maintenance and we got to chatting. I mentioned how I always bring 3 pounds of extra gear for emergencies. He just laughed and said, 'The only emergency you'll have is carrying all that.' He told me his standard is a lighter, a knife, and a phone battery. That hit me differently because he sees people struggle every day with too much weight. I went home and cut my pack down from 32 pounds to 19 pounds, just by trusting the route more. Has anyone else had a pro talk them into dropping gear they were sure they needed?

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leow9024d ago

Did that weight drop change how you actually felt on the trail? I've had similar moments where someone with way more experience points out what I'm carrying is just fear in a backpack. It's wild how much lighter you move when you stop packing for every possible what-if.