That moment I realized my pack weight was killing my knees on the PCT

Last summer I was about 200 miles into the PCT near Belden Town and my knees were just screaming. I had this 45 pound pack and thought I was being tough carrying all that extra gear. Then I met this older guy at a campsite who had a 28 pound base weight and he was cruising past me like it was nothing. He mentioned he ditched his camp chair and extra clothes after the first week. That got me thinking, am I carrying stuff just because I was scared to leave it behind? Now I'm torn between ultralight purists who say under 20 pounds is the only way and the comfort campers who bring full cook kits. What's your cutoff for pack weight before you start cutting stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

leow9015d ago

Cracked me up reading this because I had almost the exact same wake up call on the JMT a few years back. I was hauling a 50 pound monster through Evolution Valley and this guy with a tiny pack flew past me like I was standing still. Felt like such an idiot when I realized half my weight was stuff I never used like a camp chair and three extra pairs of socks. These days I shoot for around 30 pounds total and that feels like the sweet spot for me. I still bring a Jetboil and a little comfort gear but I stopped pretending I needed to be a pack mule to prove something.

kim_patel8915d ago

That part about the camp chair got me. @leow90 you're SO right about ditching the stuff you never use. I trimmed down to 30 pounds too and my knees thanked me on the descent.