One cheap and one free way to lower your pack’s base weight

I still remember the first backpacking trip I took with my wife. We were living near Tacoma WA around 25 years ago and we got it into our heads that we would put a 3-day weekend to good use by hiking in the Olympics. Sounded rugged and romantic. The problem was, we had no gear. I mean we didn’t even own a backpack. So we went to an “outfitter” and were talked into buying a whole heap a shizzle. We had no clue what we were doing.

It was August, and we had decided to hike from low elevation up to Hurricane Ridge, and thence onward to Grand Lake. It was 75 degrees at the trailhead, where it took about 30 seconds for an army of ravenous mossies to suck a pint of blood from each of us before we found our bug spray. Once protected, we hit the trail and began a long uphill climb. It didn’t take us long to wonder why we were carrying elephants on our backs. I’m sure my pack weighed well over 50 lbs. But we dug deep and climbed. And climbed. And when we crested the ridge a summer sleet storm slammed us. Yeah, this was all going great.

Well, we finally made it to Grand Lake for a couple of relaxing days, but when it came time to leave, we were talked into a shortcut by some fellow backpackers that turned out to be steep. And narrow. And a little bit dangerous. Our heavy packs almost kept us from making it out. I distinctly remember that we crawled on hands and knees that final half mile, and when we finally reached my truck, we were too tired to even drive. We certainly weren’t sure that we’d had fun.

A few years ago when I decided to get back into backpacking, I remembered hikes like this one, and I knew that my nearly 50 year-old body needed to drop some serious weight before hitting the trail again (both from pack and body). It’s been a bit of a journey, but several things ultimately helped me become more or less ultralight.

One- research. I joined BackpackingLight (worth every penny) and read thousands of posts and hundreds of articles. The Reddit r/ultralight is also a good place to pick up some knowledge.

Two- I got out there and found what worked for ME. From personal use, I discovered what I liked and more importantly what I NEEDED. I learned how to unpack my fears along the way.

And then came Three and Four- purchasing a kitchen scale and utilizing LighterPack, an online sort of spreadsheet that allows you to make gear lists and see what everything weighs in total.

My scale is a $30 Escali Primo, but there’s all kinds of models out there that will work. Get one that can weigh things in grams and/or to a tenth of an ounce, and start weighing your gear. Don’t just trust manufacturer specs- they may fudge, and there’s always product variability too. Anyway, weigh EVERYTHING, and start inputting it into LighterPack. You can check out one of my gear lists HERE.

You’ll quickly see where you can cut weight. Your Big Three (pack, shelter, sleep) are where you are likely to make the changes that save you the most weight, but bear in mind that backpacks, sleeping bags/quilts, and shelters are also among the most expensive items you’ll carry. Know what you want before dropping several hundred dollars on it. For example- shelters….tent vs. tarp vs. ‘mid, front, side or dual entry, netting or no, trekking pole supported or no, etc. You only learn by getting out there and testing gear out.

After that, pay close attention to sundry items and to packed clothing. Be careful about packing fears. Such as, you know, packing a 3rd set of clothes because you might set one on fire by accident and get the second sprayed by a skunk. You want to have a safe but minimalist mindset. Don’t overdo it and put yourself in danger though, that’s known as “stupid light.” The more you get out there and put your gear to use, the more you’ll know what you really need. And then, when you get your pack weight really low, you just might be able to justify packing a luxury item or two. For me, sometimes that’s a couple of beers. For others it might be a camp chair, a Kindle, maybe some camp shoes.

Ideally, you don’t want to ever carry more than 30 lbs. at any one time including food and water. A good initial goal is to get your base weight (everything minus worn items and consumables) to 15 lbs. or less, and then try to gradually get lower. Remember though that there are no gear police on the trail…”sorry m’am, your base weight is 16 lbs., you have to return to the trailhead.” I cannot emphasize it enough, find out what works for YOU. Lighter in general is better, but HOW light is a personal choice. Also, different environments necessitate different gear. HYOH (Hike Your Own Hike) and first and foremost, be safe.

Be aware that as you get lighter, your total gear volume is likely to drop, which might eventually require getting a smaller pack. You can always sell or trade old gear, or keep it to loan out to a friend.

A few years ago, we found our old backpacking gear in some boxes in the attic. We couldn’t believe that we used to use that stuff. We’ve come a long way. The last time we hiked together- a weeklong trip- my starting pack weight was around 31 pounds and hers 24. Because of that, we finished with smiles on our faces.

Thank God it’s not in a national park

Our dysfunctional government is still shut down, primarily due to President Shitgibbon caring more about what Ann Coulter thinks than what the rest of us want. But that’s ok- this section hike of the Florida Trail is looking better all the time.

I’ve got my gear picked and my itinerary all planned out. I have the Guthook Florida Trail app and 400 roots reggae tunes loaded on my phone, a fresh oil change for the car and a shuttle all set up. All I need now is some reasonable weather. Typical weather is supposed to be highs in the 60-70 range, lows around 40 with possibility for occasional frost. Sounds better than tromping through snow on the AT.

Crucially, the all-important menu has been finalized as well. I’m looking forward to trying out some great new dinner recipes and posting them for you guys. I’m also going to be trying various commercial oatmeals and granolas from Good2Go, Patagonia Provisions, Heather’s Choice and TrailFork for breakfast, which I will post reviews for. I figure with the easy terrain of this hike I have some extra time to boil water for breakfast. Plus, I may hurl if I ever see another granola bar in the morning.

What are the things I’m “worrying” about? Honestly, not much. Bears maybe. Ocala National Forest has Florida’s largest population of black bears, and there’s at least one campsite that has an ongoing problem bear. I am therefore bringing the dreaded bear can with me. Maybe Baloo will break a tooth on it.

Rain- I really don’t like hiking in rain. But it’s Florida, so SOME rain is probable. I’ll deal.

Ah, what about skanky water sources? Swamp water! Do. Not. Care. Nasty water has never really bothered me. I have NUUN tablets to help mask any funky taste, a water filter of course, and a few AquaMira tablets for any extra sketchy water.

Getting lost? Pretty hard to do with the Guthook app and a well-blazed trail

Snakes? I suppose if it isn’t truly cold I could encounter a rattlesnake. Probably equivalent odds to the gov’t re-opening before I depart.

We’ll see how it goes. Even though I’m a meticulous planner, fate always seems to throw me a curveball on a hike. But whatever it is, it’ll still beat working.

Washington DC’s failures have put a crimp in my plans

So, for several months I had been looking forward to leaving the Southeast and doing something a little bit more “epic.” I had settled on the Outer Mountain Loop in Big Bend National Park, which combines mountains and desert along with the challenges of finding and/or caching water. I had an itinerary all figured out, and even had made reservations for the night before at Chisos Basin Campground.

Enter one Donald Trump. And now the national parks are closed. Three weeks out from departure, it’s crunch time- I either have to cross my fingers, or get to work quickly on a Plan B.

I chose the latter. LOL @ having any confidence in the White House on this one. EABOD Mr. President.

For Plan B, I still wanted something different than my usual forays into the green tunnel of the AT. Except now I’m limited to places not affected by the government shutdown. And ideally, something within a day’s drive of where I live.

I have chosen a section of the underappreciated Florida National Scenic Trail. Although the FT gets a bad rap due to the considerable miles of roadwalks that come with it, I wasn’t looking to hike the whole thing- I just wanted a nice week-long section, and it turns out that the FT has several really interesting ones. I ruled out Big Cypress because I’m not wading through swamp for a week (at least not yet). The Appalachicola region would have been intriguing, but is still closed due to hurricane damage.

I discovered that the Ocala National Forest section was perfect. A combination of dry pine scrub, longleaf pine forests, palmetto jungles, and open water prairies. Well-marked on the ground, and there’s a Guthook app to boot. What’s not to like?

The section is approximately 70 miles long, has scattered campsites and campgrounds along the way, passes a couple of first-magnitude springs, and even goes by a small store. Water can be a challenge in spots, but is manageable. Lots of bears though, so I’ll be (grudgingly) bringing my Bearikade. All I have to do now is line up a shuttle, and I have several leads already, so I’m not too worried about it. Plus, it’s merely a 9 hour drive. I’m all in. Big Bend will have to wait until we have a president whose head isn’t in rectal storage.

Every hiker needs a system for managing water procurement and consumption

So lately I’ve been thinking a lot about water, probably because I’m planning a hike to the arid Big Bend National Park in February. It will be my first ever desert hike, and a lot of the planning revolves around finding agua.

Almost all of my prior hikes have been in the Cumberland or Appalachian Mountains, and in general finding water has rarely been an issue. But I have had a couple of hikes during a drought where it became a concern.

The first thing is to know water reports for the area you are about to hike in. If you’re hiking at a state or national park, a call to the ranger’s office will usually provide you with the desired beta. If you’re going on the AT or another major long-distance trail, chat forums often have what you need. Or you can refer to the Guthook app, which allows users to post reports on just about everything on your “map” that has an icon, including water sources. Once you’re on the trail, it’s often useful to question hikers passing you in the opposite direction as to the status of water sources up ahead.

All of this will help you determine how much water you need to be carrying at a given time. Typically, I carry 2L unless I’m getting bad water reports. That’s one 1L SmartWater bottle in each side pocket.

Why SmartWater bottles? They’re skinny and tall, which means I can reach them while on the move with ease, and return them with nearly equal ease. They’re also tougher than regular water bottles.

Now of course, you need a system to purify water on the trail. Giardia, viruses and bacteria are ubiquitous these days. My philosophy is ALWAYS treat, except maybe if it’s a spring and you know for sure that there is nothing human uphill from the source, to include livestock.

I am currently using the Katadyn BeFree filter.

This filter uses a membrane with micropores. From the Katadyn website:

PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS Technology: Hollow fiber filter; 0.1 micron (0.0001 mm) EZ-Clean MembraneTM Effect: Removes bacteria, cysts and sediment Output: Up to 2 l/min Capacity: Up to 1,000 l depending on water quality Weight: Approx. 59 g Dimensions: 7 x 7 x 27,5 cm Guarantee: 2 years Material: EZ-Clean Membrane™ with Hollow Fibers Hydrapak® SoftFlaskTM made of TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane), 100% PVC and BPA free Accessories: Hydrapak® SoftFlaskTM, EZ-Clean Membrane™ Article No.: 8019946 Katadyn BeFree 0.6L

Almost all of the water where I hike is from clear streams, and this filter seems to do a great job at filtering out whatever pathogens are in the water. It will however clog fairly quickly when filtering more turbid water (same thing applies to the Sawyer Squeeze filters). The big advantage of the BeFree over the Sawyer filters is the much faster flow rate. You can squeeze the contents of the 1L bladder through the filter into your bottle in under a minute. If and when the flow rate slows, you simply unscrew the filter mechanism and swish the filter in water. The Sawyer must be backflushed.

I also carry chlorine dioxide tablets to use as a backup for filter failure, and to “double treat” sketchy water sources. They are very lightweight, so there’s little excuse not to have them in your pack. One tablet treats 1L of water. These tablets meet EPA standards for water purification, and they kill bacteria, viruses, and protozoan cysts (Giardia and Cryptosporidium). IIRC bacteria and viruses are killed within 15 minutes, whereas protozoans can take up to 4 hours. Treatment times are longer with colder water.

The BeFree usually suffices for on-trail use. Now, when I pull in to camp, one of my first chores is to fetch water. I like to have an extra 3L to cover me for dinner, nighttime and breakfast, and I use the HydraPak Seeker for this purpose.

The HydraPak also comes in 2L and 4L versions. The 3L version weighs just 3.3 oz. It is tough, and it rolls up small when empty. AND its opening is compatible with the BeFree filter.

When I’m hiking with a partner, we like to use the MSR DromLite for our camp water, typically the 6L version.

The 2L, 4L and 6L Dromlites respectively weigh 4.6, 5.1 and 5.7 oz. respectively. They are also really tough, and they strap easily to the outside of your pack. They are NOT compatible with the BeFree filter, however. What I typically do is have Mule fill up the 6L Dromlite, and then I toss in 6 Aquamira tablets. Usually by the time we actually need this water, it is well-treated.

What do you do if you’re faced with a water source that isn’t flowing and is shallow, like a seep? It’s pretty hard to use the BeFree bladder in this scenario. What I do is use my 1/4 cup measuring cup to ladle water into the bladder before filtering it. Other folks successfully use small ziploc bags or plastic scoops for the same purpose.

What if your water source is disgusting? One time during a drought I was THIS CLOSE to using a fetid pool with a dead squirrel in it. It was the only water I saw during this particular 2 1/2 day hike. IF I had decided I had to use it, I would have prefiltered it through my bandana, then filtered it with the BeFree, and then double-dosed it with purification tablets…..or boiled it.

What am I going to do in the desert? Well, I’m getting my base weight down as low as possible, and I’m closely watching the water reports. It is conceivable that I will have to carry 10L at two different points. I will be prepared by carrying FOUR 1L SmartWater bottles and TWO 3L Hydrapaks. Six total water containers. Which means if one fails I’m not totally screwed. I will also be caching 2 gallons at two separate locations pre-hike. You don’t fool around and take chances in the desert, especially if you’re a noob like I will be.

Remember to drink while you’re hiking. You should go through 4-5L per day and you should be peeing at least several times, and it shouldn’t be dark yellow or orange when you do. If it is, you’re dehydrated. Dehydration will sneak up on you, even when it’s cold. And it will make you do stupid things.

Balance all of this against packing your fears, and find out what works for YOU. Don’t carry 4 liters of water when you know you’ll be crossing good streams every mile or two. At the same time, always have enough on you that if the next source is unexpectedly dry, you have enough to reach the next guaranteed water source.

One other tip- when water sources are few, camel up at the ones you find. This means take the time to drink at least 1L at the source before departing. This is easy to overlook, a mistake I plan not to make in the desert.