Lightweight backpacking

"This will be different, Cyndy explained. "This is lightweight backpacking."

Lightweight backpacking, I soon learned, meant carrying no more than 30 pounds on your back - enough gear and food needed to live comfortably for a week hiking in January in the Arizona Mountains.

Lightweight backpackers trim their load by asking themselves these questions: Do I really need this? Is there a lighter alternative? and What will happen if I don't bring it?

Working from suggested pack lists and the advice of NOLS instructors, I started hiking with 26 pounds in my pack. Following the basic tenets of lightweight backpacking, items I normally would consider necessities on a wilderness trip were left behind. Two 1-liter Gatorade bottles replaced my heavier Nalgene bottles and my cook kit now consisted of only one pot, a lid and a spoon. Instead of a tent, we would sleep in a Black Diamond Mega Light shelter, which amounts to two trekking poles lashed together to hold up a tarp, resembling a tepee. It sleeps four and only weighs 3 pounds, 8 ounces.

In the spirit of going light, Cyndy and I replaced our old fiber-fill synthetic double sleeping bag with a much lighter two-person down comforter-style bag made by Nunatak.

Manufacturers of outdoor gear are marketing an array of lightweight items to accommodate those looking to hike with less stuff. When we showed up at the REI store, we passed by the hulking bags used by the classic hikers, to a rack of diminutive packs. True lightweights want frameless bags weighing less than 2 pounds with a capacity of about 3,000 cubic inches. I settled on a 2.8-pound, 3,500-cubic-inch Osprey Exos 58 with a frame. I figured my senior citizen status allowed me to fudge a little on the pack. I shed some weight later by leaving the pack's removable top section at NOLS headquarters when we began our hike.

We spent a day at NOLS Southwest headquarters near Tucson, Arizona. First we packed our food, removing all commercial packaging and measuring ingredients into plastic bags to minimize weight and make it more compact. Then we learned the principles of lightweight backpacking, were issued our group gear and weighed all our personal clothing and equipment.

Socks, jackets, sleeping bag, toilet articles - everything was weighed. If you deviated from the recommended packing list, you were bringing "luxury items." But it was expected that everyone would bring a couple of such things. I selected a third pair of socks, a second fleece hat for sleeping and a camera. I was eventually convinced to take no reading material. Turns out I never had time to read during the trip.

My online research showed that dedicated, perhaps fanatical, lightweight backpackers have been known to take scissors to shorten pack straps, cut pockets from tents, slice away all manufacturers' labels, saw their toothbrush in two and then drill holes in the remaining stub handle. NOLS didn't suggest taking these measures, but encouraged us to take only what we needed.

Clothing was about function rather than fashion. I would wear the same Capilene long-sleeved shirt and nylon wind pants for all 14 days. When it got cold, and almost every night the temperature dropped into the 20s and 30s, I pulled on a nylon windbreaker, my down jacket and, if needed, my raincoat. The lower second layer was a pair of shiny black synthetic puffy pants. Wearing those made me feel like an Elvis impersonator, but they were warm. Add hat and gloves and I was ready for the chilly Arizona mornings and evenings. Other than a couple pair of socks, one more pair of underwear, as well as long underwear bottoms and a balaclava for sleeping, that was my entire wardrobe.

It has been said that each pound saved on shoe weight is equivalent to 5 pounds less in your pack. With less weight on your back, less support is needed for your ankles and feet, so the heavy hiking boots can be left at home. Most wear lightweight hiking shoes or running shoes. I wore a new pair of Adidas Supernovas and had no problems.

The trekking poles I took proved indispensable. Every time you plant your pole you apply 10 pounds of pressure. As far as your knees are concerned you weigh 10 pounds less. Despite going up-and-down steep mountain sides, I experienced no knee pain. In addition, the poles gave me two extra points of balance when crossing streams and walking on uneven terrain.

Cooking was simple. Breakfast and dinner were one pot meals cooked over a 1-ounce alcohol fueled stove made by AntiGravityGear. It took about five minutes to boil water without expending much fuel. The menu consisted of the usual high carbohydrate camping fare - pasta, Minute Rice, quick-cooking oatmeal, couscous, potato pearls and dehydrated beans, plus hot sauce, salt and pepper to give the entrees more zip. We also added liberal amounts of olive oil and butter to our dinners to help resupply the calorie deficit we created hiking and trying to stay warm. We carried granola, Clif Bars and Pemmican bars for snacks while we hiked.

At 62, Cyndy and I were the senior members of our 12-person group. The others ranged in age from 18 to 29. For 13 days we hiked in the Galiuro Wilderness Area, moving up and down between 3,000 and 7,000 feet in a mountainous area where we saw no other travelers. The last two days, when we were pelted almost continuously by rain and sleet, our gear and our spirits were challenged. However, we accepted this adversity with smiles and determination.

It was wonderful group, led by two extremely capable leaders. This being our third trip with NOLS, we highly recommend their program.

The trip made me a convert to lightweight backpacking. I'll continue grunting and struggling with heavier packs on my paddle and portage trips , but I'm done wearing a 50-pound pack on a multiday hiking trip.

Most assuredly lightweight backpacking will work well in the upper Midwest and Great Lakes. For those looking to try hiking in this part of the country, I would suggest only two adaptations. To give you protection from bugs and the more frequent rains, substitute a lightweight tent for the floorless shelter. Instead of just a light rain jacket, I think a full rain suit becomes more appropriate when hiking up in moist woodlands.