Packing Up

I am a road cyclist as well as being a hiker, and the two activities have a few things in common.  One of those things is the importance of having the right gear and equipment.  Success on the bike and on the trail requires one to have stuff they can count on when they hit the road or the trail.  While it isn't always true, my experience has been that you usually get what you pay for.  That doesn't guarantee that the most expensive item is always the best, but more often than not the cheapest one is usually the worst.  

A major concern for serious cyclists is weight.  Anytime my cycling friends discuss a bike part or accessory, the first question asked is almost always "How much does it weigh?"  It is a never-ending quest for a cyclist to reduce the weight on the bike.  Every ounce eliminated is one less ounce to have to pedal up a steep incline.  A smart backpacker has to think the exact same way.  That doesn't always happen, though.  Humorist and outdoor writer Patrick McManus tells us how not to plan the weight of your pack:

"The rule of thumb for the old backpacking was that the weight of your pack should equal the weight of yourself and the kitchen range combined.  Just a casual glance at the full pack sitting on the floor could give you a double hernia and fuse four vertebrae.  After carrying the pack all day, you had to remember to tie one leg to a tree before you dropped it.  Otherwise you would float off into space.  The pack eliminated the need for any special kind of ground-gripping shoes, because your feet would sink a foot and a half into hard-packed earth, two inches into solid rock." (Emblidge 74)

In spite of all the warnings about watching the weight of pack and equipment, most thru-packers still start out with too much weight.  They end up jettisoning items that are not necessities within the first few days on the trail.  They give away extra food to other hikers, and mail home equipment they think they can do without.  One of the items that most often gets mailed home, given or thrown away is books.  Hikers often think they will hike all day and then spend a leisurely evening reading by a campfire.  In reality, they usually are too tired to read at night anyway, so the books get left behind.

Proper outfitting for a long hike is not cheap.  It is difficult for a hiker to get everything they need for less than $1,000.  In addition to expense, it also takes a great deal of planning.  A hiker has to research equipment and clothing to find what works best for them.  It is not a matter of simply stopping by a Wal-mart and grabbing a few things.  Success on the trail starts weeks before hitting the woods, and lies in finding just the right equipment.

Successful thru-hikers also do extensive planning of their schedule up the trail.  They study maps and guides to know approximately where they will be at certain times.  They plan trips into towns along the trail and know where they can obtain needed supplies and food along the way.  Most of them have family or friends who mail packages of needed items to post offices in trail towns.  The post offices then hold the packages until the hikers pass through.  Proper planning of these mail drops can be the difference between success and failure.