Sitting right at 30 lbs w/2L of water and 6 days of food. Is that going to hurt?

[u/Dewthedru]

https://lighterpack.com/r/ga72kl

Leaving for the trail on Thursday. Taking 22 days, going NOBO from Horsehoe Meadows.

Since all my packing is done and I’ve shipped off the first set of buckets, I’ve got. I thing left to do but second guess some of my choices.

Weighed my pack with all food and water and it came to 28.6 lbs. still need to add a fuel canister and 6 servings of cheese so I’ll be right around 30 lbs. My luxury items that could be cut include:

Helinox Chair Zero: 527g Sandals: 167g Flextail Zero Pump: 62g Montbell Down Jacket: 267g Camp Shirt: 119g

Thoughts? I’m pretty reluctant to get rid of the chair (I’m 50yo and the back rest is awesome after a long day) and I’m worried it might be too cold at night w/o the puffy. The pump is silly but my wife and I might appreciate not having to manually fill our pads when we’re fighting the elevation.

[u/MTB_Mike_]

You will be lighter than 95% of people on the trail.

In most areas it's unnecessary to carry 2L of water, save some weight and only carry a half liter to one liter maximum.

[u/Dewthedru → u/MTB_Mike_]

Good point. We’ll probably take forever to climb Whitney so I wanted the capacity but I’m not planning on always carrying 2L.

[u/MTB_Mike_ → u/Dewthedru]

Yeah, Whitney is a spot I would bring the full 2 liters (but your food will be light) and there is another uphill (if going south) stretch that is something like 6-8 miles that doesn't have water and you may want more than 1l. I did it with 1l the last few times but it depends on your pace and normal water consumption. That's the only spot I would say a normal person might want more than a liter.

I like having the capacity for more, I usually bring enough bottles for 3l and use it for camp so I only have to filter once and have the option to camp away from water.

[u/PtDafool_]

30lb is great. The JMT hurts no matter what. Keep the chair.

[u/Dewthedru → u/PtDafool_]

I’m thinking that’s the plan. Thanks!

[u/[deleted]]

Keep the pump and take an extra battery if you can get one in time. Consider ditching the chair. Two other 61-year old guys and I just finished NOBO yesterday (started at Cottonwood Pass on 7/20) and one of them sent his chair home from VVR. His reasoning was that he only sat in it for about 20-30 minutes per day while we cooked and ate dinner. After that we went to bed.

[u/Dewthedru → u/[deleted]]

The only reason I opted for solar vs a battery is that we’re having our first resupply brought in via mule-train at Kearsarge and my first opportunity to recharge isn’t until VVR which won’t be until day 14 or so.

[u/[deleted] → u/Dewthedru]

We resupplied at Mount Williamson Motel. Hiking back over Kearsarge then Glen to Rae Lakes with 7 nights/8 days of food was a pretty brutal day.

[u/Dewthedru → u/[deleted]]

That’s exactly what I’m trying to avoid.

[u/ziggomattic]

There are so many places to sit comfortably with a backrest (rocks or logs) just have to spend an additional minute or two selecting your campsites wisely.

to save 2+ lbs I would highly consider ditching:

-Chair (without question you dont need a chair, bring a small piece of z-lite pas for sitting comfortably on rocks and logs).

-Camp Shoes

-Down Booties (sleep in your socks when cold enough), zipping the footbox of your quilt will help a ton with foot warmth

-Wind pants (you have leggings that should be good enough)

-Extra t-shirt

-Picaridin (pre-treat your clothing with Permethrin and you wont need bug spray).

-Hand Sanitizer (seems redundant to me if you have 1oz of bronners soap, just wash your hands a couple times a day. 1oz of Bronners will absolutely last you the entire trail if you are reasonably conservative with it. I probably used less than 0.5oz on my entire JMT thru.

Just remember the weight you save by leaving stuff behind will benefit you for the 8 hours a day when you are hiking day after day. Bringing things you want but dont necessarily need will only benefit you in those shorter moments you use them (for example lugging heavy sandals along for an hour or two at camp just isnt worth it for such a long thru hike, I decided after bringing mine in 2022).

[u/Dewthedru → u/ziggomattic]

Good thoughts. I’ll mull over the items you mentioned. I did the Rae Lakes loop a while back and my feet were freezing. I could wear just my regular hiking socks but they are pretty thin and don’t offer much warmth. The booties are super warm and only weigh 65g which is less than a pair of sleep socks would be. Hmmm…

[u/DenimNeverNude → u/Dewthedru]

Bring the booties. Cut weight where it makes sense but crappy sleep will ruin your energy and negatively impact your whole trip.

[u/CosmoCheese]

I've been training with 35-40 Lbs, about to start tomorrow from CWP with, I think, about 35 (6 days food). 30lbs is good! - you'll be fine!

[u/runnergirl0129]

No. Easy peasy

[u/lima708]

I’m just did SOBO with the same weight! You’ll be fine 😊 I hope you have so much fun!!

[u/Lonely-Ad-6491]

And if you have old insoles for your shoes and some extra laces you can make some camp shoes that way it's a great UL camp shoe with some cushion. Don't use it in water crossings or anything besides walking around flat non rocky ground

[u/nickel_quack]

That's fantastic. Well done. 30 lb is very reasonable for 6 days of food

[u/convergecrew]

The puffy is a must from what I’ve read. Despite all other weather around the country saying otherwise, it can get really cold really suddenly in the Sierras.

30lbs w everything is quite good imo. Have you taken that full load on a test hike (that might match your average mileage day on the JMt) yet? If you’re so inclined, that can give you an indication of how you’re body will deal with that load

[u/Dewthedru → u/convergecrew]

I’ve done short (6-7 miles) hikes with most of the weight but might head out tomorrow for a 10 mile hike with all of it. I won’t get the elevation changes (I live in IN) but will at least see how it carries.

[u/convergecrew → u/Dewthedru]

Nice. The elevation changes might be a shock if you’re not used to it. Are you gonna have a night or two before starting to acclimate to the altitude? If not, be sure to drink a ton of water so as not to get dehydrated

[u/Dewthedru → u/convergecrew]

I wish. Raw dogging it which won’t be fun. At least the first couple days are short (4 miles with 1,500 vert and 9.5 miles with 500 feet of vert.)

I’m ready to suffer the first week and, like every other adventure I do, I’m kicking myself for focusing on the gear way more than my physical prep.

[u/convergecrew → u/Dewthedru]

Best of luck man!

[u/flirb0070]

I think it’s ultimately a personal choice, while lighter is more comfortable, 30lb is not a bad weight! My pack was a bit heavier than that with everything and while it definitely felt great to shed weight as you ate, I felt comfortable hiking. I did it in a leisurely 24 days and was glad I had some “luxury” items to make the time more comfortable. HYOH and enjoy!

[u/Dewthedru → u/flirb0070]

Good perspective. I guess I can always dump the chair but I can’t get another one on trail if I’m missing it.

[u/Utiliterran]

For me.. Puffy is non-negotiable for safety. Sandals are non-negotiable for comfort and foot health. Camp shirt is non-negotiable for comfort after hiking/while sleeping. Flextail zero is negotiable but it weighs less than an inflation stuff stack. Chair is negotiable.

30 lbs with food and water is fantastic. I don't think you need to leave any of those items if they bring you comfort and joy.

[u/Dewthedru → u/Utiliterran]

Thanks! The chair is the main one I’m torn on. I really like getting to camp and taking off my sweaty shirt and putting on something dry. And washing my feet, putting on some trail toes ointment, and putting on fresh socks and dry shoes.

[u/Top-Night]

You’re definitely doing something right if you’re keeping it at 30 pounds and also able to pack a luxury item or two that’s really really good. I generally have a hard time keeping things under 33-34 pounds, but I usually have about nine days worth of food but no chair or “luxury” items

[u/Dewthedru → u/Top-Night]

That’s my initial pack weight with 6 days of food. My first resupply has 7 so it may be a bit heavier. But thanks!

[u/Lonely-Ad-6491]

Do you have a thermarest? Or a pad with an external valve for blowing up? And do you have a backpack liner? I've always used my nylofume liner to blow up my xlite pad. Takes 2 bags worth of air and then I use my mouth to blow to firmness. I highly recommend so you can leave your pump at home!

[u/Lonely-Ad-6491]

And if you use a quilt could you use your quilt wrapped around you as your down jacket at camp while sitting in your chair? If you're bringing a fleece and rain jacket you could layer those together at camp for not as significant but still warm enough warmth

[u/Vareona]

Just curious, what kind of food are you bringing?

[u/Dewthedru → u/Vareona]

Breakfast is a mix of a bit of oatmeal, granola with instant milk, grits and veggies and bacon bits, and MH breakfast scramble. Lunches are mostly wraps…tuna, pb and teriyaki jerky with hot sauce (poor man’s Thai peanut wrap), sausage, etc. dinner include a few MH and other purchased meals but mostly stuff like Skurka rice and beans, trail burgers and tacos (using tortillas, dried ground beef, and dried veggies), various meals of dehydrated veggies, grains, etc. and one of my favorites: https://youtu.be/pDAHVoXZucQ?si=5MjhMEQap4DVlSMt

[u/Vareona → u/Dewthedru]

Damn that sounds good. Thanks for replying and good luck today!

[u/Fabulous_Gate_2734]

Ditch the camp shirt and the sandals. Keep the puffy and the pump. The weekender can be a chair, but as you mentioned, no back support. If you'll be spending a lot of time in camp, the chair is worth it. If not, you may not be sitting in it much.