Ultralight Backpacking
by: Steve Gillman
Want Safer, More Comfortable Backpacking?
Contrary to what many think, ultralight backpacking is not just
about the freedom to hike more miles or to take your whole pack
up the mountain with you. It is also about comfort and safety.
Backpackers with heavy loads work too hard and threaten their
joints too much. Challenges may add to the experience, but why
suffer more than is necessary?
The Disadvantages Of Traditional Backpacking
Lack Of Freedom
You can't easily take a side trip up that hill, just to see what
is there. If you do it without your pack, you have to go back the
same way to get your pack.
It's A Hassle
Putting on and taking off your heavy pack quickly becomes a
chore. You start leaving it on even during rest stops, just so
you don't have to deal with it.
It's Tiring
Backpacking is clearly more tiring with a heavy pack, and you
probably won't enjoy yourself as much when you are tired.
More Injuries
Sprained ankles, blistered feet, sore muscles, and back and knee
problems are just some of the common consequences of too much
weight on your back.
Slowness
More weight equals slower progress, which means less access to
wild places (you can't go as far on your four-day trip), or it
means less time to for enjoyable activities, like a swim in a
mountain lake, or a relaxing evening in camp.
More Dangerous
More injuries, and the inability to move quickly when a storm is
coming or an emergency requires you to get to a road, means that
backpacking can actually be more dangerous with a heavy load. Add
to that the possibility of bad decisions due to tiredness.
The Ultralight Backpacking Alternative
Done the right way, ultralight backpacking gives you more
freedom, more comfort, more safety, more enjoyment and less
suffering than traditional backpacking. It allows you to move
faster, but notice that I say "allows." It doesn't require it. It
just gives you the option. That's more freedom.
I have yet to meet or hear about a person who has tried
lightweight backpacking for a while, and then gone back to a
heavy load. I'm not saying it is for everyone. Bad ankles may
require heavy hiking boots, and bad habits may require a big pack
to satisfy them. But even a backpacker who needs a pillow and big
rectangular sleeping bag, can find these in lighter forms.
You just can't understand the sense of liberation felt by a
convert to ultralight backpacking, until you try it yourself.
When I, with my eleven-pound pack, walk past overloaded
backpackers struggling up steep trails, I remembered being in
their place, and I know I am enjoying myself more now.
Misconceptions About Ultralight Backpacking
Lighweight Backpacking Means Sacrifice
Not so. Bring your favorite camera! A lighter load means you can
stop to use it more easily. If you leave behind the things you
don't need, and bring a lighter backpack, tent, and sleeping bag,
you can more easily bring that telephoto lense or whatever is
really important to you.
Lighweight Backpacking Is Less Safe
The opposite! Bring all the safety items; a sleeping bag, first
aid kit, shelter, water purification, etc. Just bring lighter
versions. A light load makes you less likely to lose your balance
and fall, or to otherwise injure yourself. It also means faster
response to iffy situations.
A note about safety:
It is lagely a matter of knowledge and experience. A trained
survivalist will always be safer backpacking with no shelter than
a neophyte with the best tent. Learn a little about how to use
you equipment properly, or to read the sky for comimg storms, and
you can go lighter and safer.
Lightweight Backpacking Is Less Comfortable
Is it less comfortable to have 18 pounds on your back than 50? Is
it less comfortable to have an ultralight sleeping bag if it
keeps you just as warm? I stopped getting blisters (totally) when
I started using running shoes instead of hiking boots. Cut the
weight on your back by twenty-five pounds, and you can add back a
heavier coat, if that is what you need to be comfortable.
Lightweight Backpacking Is Expensive
Ultralight sleeping bags are expensive. Almost everything else
needed for ultralight backpacking can be found for the same price
or cheaper than traditional gear. There are many sub-three-pound
backpacks under a hundred dollars, for example.
Bottom Line:
Try it. The first time you are fifteen miles into the day, and
you realize that you can easily run up that hill-just to see what
is there, you'll know you made the right decision.
Steve Gillman is a long-time backpacker, and advocate ultralight
backpacking. His advice and stories can be found at
http://www.The-Ultralight-Site.com
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