Our equipment is the bubble that protects us both physically and mentally from the world around us. The trick is to balance the needs of both. Carry just enough equipment to maintain some semblance of sanity but not so much as to kill yourself in the process.

I've always tried to go as light as possible. Occasionally that has come at the expense of some comfort. Generally it more than balances out in the long run. Carrying a lighter pack reduces the risk of injury (more important as we get older) and allows me to feel better at the end of the day.

With this trip, I'm tying to go as light as possible. When I started the planning phase, I was coming off a long illness and was totally out of shape. A light pack seemed to be my only salvation to even attempting to do the hike. As a result I spent many hours reading, searching the net, and reviewing my equipment usage and needs. I've had to seriously rework my attitude about equipment.

In the months since we started preparations, I lost a lot of weight and am in as good or better shape as I was when we did the trail in 1977. I still feel that the light pack will reduce some of the normal aches and pains experienced during the first month of the hike.

I don't particularly advocate light packs just to make big miles each day. Instead my goal to is to arrive in camp with my wits about me, feeling like I could easily do another five miles. I don't recall with too much pleasure the days of dragging oneself the last mile of a 12 mile day, to the shelter, only to collapse in a heap for the next hour. On the other hand, I've walked a lot of 20 to 25 mile days and felt great when reaching camp.

If you're feeling shot after a ten mile day, then you need to either reduce the miles or drop some weight. The key is to mix your weight, conditioning, mileage and terrain into a workable balance.

In '77 the goal was to keep the pack weight down to 35 pounds apiece. This time the goal is to reduce that weight by ten pounds. This would mean each of us would carry around 25 pounds including five days of food and water.

Looking at the contents of the pack, there are five major weight zones. These zones include the Pack, Shelter, Sleeping, Clothes, Kitchen. These zones constitute the bulk of the weight in a pack. Removing a pound or more in one of these areas has far more impact on pack weight than removing a travel size deodorant.

Packs: We all have good Kelty packs. I wanted to see if I could reduce the weight of at least one pack. Plus, there wasn't enough time to make three packs. I chose to try and reduce the weight of my Kelty Tioga. I striped the frame as much as possible and replaced the metal buckle with a plastic one. The pack bag is where the bulk of the saving can be made. I designed a new bag with waterproof pack cloth against the frame, bottom, and as the flap. The back and sides are made from waterproof rip-stop. Outside pockets made of netting increase the storage and strengthen the pack. The pack is waterproof, eliminating the need for a pack cover. Total weight savings was two pounds.

Shelter: In '77 we carried a five pound two person tent. Now we have Brandon, plus our Black Lab, Twilight. After reviewing lots of tents, we reluctantly dropped the tent in favor of a custom tarp. There are no lightweight tents that will hold three people and a dog.

The tarp is designed with curtain of netting to allow good ventilation, eliminate the bugs, and provide some privacy. The addition of a plastic ground cloth will provide protection from wet ground. We are all carrying hiking staffs on the trail. At night, they will be used to support the tarp. Weight savings of two pounds four oz.

Sleeping: As good as properly pitched tarps are, water still can get in. Especially in a driving rain. The standard solution is to combine a sleeping bag with bivy sack. To cut down on weight, I decided to combine the sleeping bag with the bivy sack as one bag. These are custom bags with a waterproof rip-stop nylon bottom and Ultrex breathable top.

To further reduce weight, I eliminated insulation on the bottom of the bag. In most cases this insulation just gets crushed and provides little warmth. A pocket inside the bag holds a Therm-A-Rest pad. In the past I always slept directly on the pad and just draped my down bag over me. It just didn't make sense to carry something not being used.

To complete the package, I used Thinsulate Lite Loft synthetic fill. Unlike down, it retains it's warmth when wet. Since we are using less fill, compression is less of a problem. The sleeping bag (less Therm-A-Rest) weighs in at 2 pounds with stuff sack.

I don't know what the rating is. However with the amount of loft, I expect the bags are quite serviceable at around 35 degrees. Since the bags are designed primarily for summer usage, cold should not be a problem.